Magico speakers

[tom1040]

dynamic contrast, and the explosive attack and aliveness the JBL's have.

[Titanium Dome]

I can honestly say I love both brands but for different reasons. I think both Magico and JBL Everest - K2 - 1400 Array are on the leading edge of each design camp. The Magico has less cabinet coloration with more silence between the notes and is very box less sounding. They have taken Wilson Audio's lead in a quieter less resonant cabinet and advanced the science beyond them. Octave to octave, compared with Wilson Audio and JBL, they have a flatter and more accurate sounding bottom end. Not surprisingly they "disappear" better than a horn speaker which has lots of surface area and are a better point source. I have not heard all the Magico models but the Q5 (a stand out in this world of me too mega buck speakers) generally have less tonal coloration, although the Everest is surprisingly neutral, more so than most would think given it's horn design. However the Magico's are obviously compressed sounding, as most low to mid sensitivity "audiophile" speakers are. They lack dynamic contrast, and the explosive attack and aliveness the JBL's have. In short they and nearly all other speakers at the high end of the market are missing GESTALT. Which is more important to you?

As noted in another thread, I voted with a few dollars for JBL K2 S9900 rather than for Magico. Not only do I hear live music regularly (OXOMATLI last week at the Grammy Museum through JBL Vertec Arrays), but also my GF and I still play our instruments together in the music room downstairs at home (trumpet, clarinet, flute) so we have a sense of music from both sides of the instrument.

In that vein, I felt/heard music when I listen to the K2s, whereas I felt/heard sound when listening to the Magicos. Thus, the K2s are in my home; the Magicos are not.

In a discussion with the Magico rep, I was impressed by the build quality and attention to detail as he answered my questions about drivers, cabinetry, construction and design details. I could sense his pride in the cabinetry's craftsmanship and quality of components. They sounded really good, but I never once felt the gentle rain of soul-soaking music through them--just really good, dry, soul-parching sound.

I am not a dissector of sound like many of my audiophile friends are. I do not want to be crippled and damaged by the insatiable need to analyze sound reproduction to the point that it becomes a pursuit of numbers and graphs and microphones and curves rather than a pursuit of the joy of music. Sure, I look at that stuff and it provides a useful context, but I really just want the damn speaker to get out of the way and live up to its name: speak to me, to my heart, to my soul, to my brain, to my emotions, to my sentiment, to my memories, to my desires, to my hopes, to my disappointments, to my aesthetics, and to the rhythms of my body. When I listen to my JBL Performance Series, Synthesis® One Array, and now the K2s, this is what happens, and that's why they are in my house.

It's almost always been this way with my JBL acquisitions over the years, though there are some notable exceptions. Gestalt, yes, but more than that: soul.

Judging from the fact that most of my favorite JBLs that I own have been the children of Greg Timbers (L250, XPL200A, S/2600, Performance Series, SAM1HF, K2 S9900), it must be his soul. What a wonderful compliment (and complement!) to his work.

[4313B]

What do you think of my explanation?

I like it.

JBL's vented - Magico's sealed box. This is a huge design choice and has a lot to do with differences in sensitivity, output, transient response and bass extension differences.

The better vented JBL transducer/enclosure combinations exhibit quasi-third order characteristics, arguably the best compromise between second order seal box systems and the ubiquitous fourth order and higher vented box systems.

[Akira]

What do you think of my hypothesis regarding Magico versus JBL as examples?

I enjoyed reading your 'not so long' post. You said what I have always suspected and articulated it well.
I knew them there 'audiophiles' was missing some brain parts!

[jpw]

Hey 4313, interesting comment about the quasi third order alignment.
Which JBL models use this? What does the shape of the curve look like
on it's way down before it hits the tuning frequency (bump up, flat, gentle sag etc)?
I'm not an engineer but the Everest sounds to me like it might use this. It does not sound ported to me with better definition and tautness, yet has a steeper roll off than sealed box.

[jerry_rig]

Michael Fremer has a new review of the Q5s on the Stereophile site and largely echoes jpw's observations. His only negative comments are about the ability of the Q5 to deliver low-end impact, a feature near and dear to many of us here on this forum.

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloud...ker/index.html

[Hooster]

Thanks, jpw for your fascinating and well informed post. I think there is quite a pronounced live cabinet vs dead cabinet debate out there. Try this for an interesting read:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/livingvoice5/1.html

"The right type of chipboard created a naturally vibrant, energetic, powerful and radiant sound."

Living voice has the philosophy that the cabinets do, and SHOULD contribute to the sound. These speakers are highly respected and much loved so I am sure there is a lot of truth in what they say.

Verity of Canada has the same philosophy and I recently read about the experience of a person who owns a pair, along with a dCs digital source and Halcrow amplification. There was an electrician working in his house and he needed to talk to him. He went looking for the electrician but he was not where he was supposed to be. He found him in his music room, listening to his system. The electrician just stood there, awe struck and said that he did not think what he was hearing was possible. It sounded just like live music and he had never heard anything like it from a sound system.

What do I think personally? I suspect that well implemented live is better than dead. Did you ever hear a guitar made of aluminum?

PS
According the the makers of YG acoustics they make the best speakers in the world. If you ask me they can keep them. I will take the baddest speakers any day over the self perceived "best".