Magico S3 (2023) Speakers UK Launch Event at KJ West One
The new Magico S3 (2023) Speakers UK Launch event was held at KJ West One the premiere dealership in London to present the new Magico speakers to the UK in conjunction with Absolute Sounds who is the main distributor for Magico in the UK and Europe.
11th May 2023 London, Magico have totally reengineered the 2023 version of the S3 and it is now not known as MK3 version but instead a totally new speaker with a lot of tech taken from its flagship M9 which Magico unveiled in 2020, Alon Wolf from Magico was in attendance to present the new speakers and discuss what makes it so different from its predecessor. Ricardo Franassovici was also present to discuss why Magico is so highly regarded in the high end audio community and to many audiophiles and to Absolute Sounds and his portfolio of products.
The enclosure of the new S3 has 4 different varying thicknesses of aluminium which makes up its enclosure ranging from 1/2" to 2" in thickness because of this the time to manufacture has increased and is much more labour intensive, the cabinet is measured for resonances via the new in-house interferometry system which then takes up to 1000 measurements for each side of the panels to show where bracing is required within the cabinet, the results are that the cabinet is 30% quieter than its predecessor. When you look at them it's not hard to see how much time and effort and has been put into them as they look simply stunning sporting a fabulous blue colour you can't help but fall in love with them. The original press release can be found here for the S3 which describes more in-depth the build and production process.
Alon Wolf talked in-depth about the how these speakers were conceived and the time it took to fruition of the new S3 and it was intriguing to hear him speak and how passionate he is about his company, he is also such an approachable guy who was more than happy to discuss all manner of speaker design and why Magico use extruded aluminium as their main material for their speakers, obviously the cabinet is just one aspect of the process the actual drivers they use have also been re engineered for improved performance again a lot of the technology deriving from the M9 which takes them even closer to the M series for performance. One conversation which was really interesting was why he only uses single binding posts and not 2 like other manufacturers for bi-wiring of Magico speakers and it all boils down to the quality and the introduction of loss into the signal path and another weakness point in the chain for his goal in ultimate fidelity of sound in his speakers.
Below is the introduction Alon gave before we got to listen to the new S3 and questions were asked:
Now on to the most fun part of the event which is actually getting to hear how good these speakers perform and before that I will tell you what other components were used to demonstrate the new S3 speakers, all of the components were carefully chosen to make the most of these speakers and one brand that I have always wanted to hear darTZeel which was the main preamplifier NHB-18NS and amplification NHB-468 monoblocks powering each of the Magico's and for the front end it was the magnificent dCS Vivaldi in APEX form for DAC , Vivaldi Upsampler and Vivaldi Master Clock all of the cables used were from Transparent Cables with the magnificent Magnum Opus looms.
A variety of music was chosen by Alon and then after that requests for different music was taken from myself and other journalists present but as with all the demonstrations it was clear from the outset that these speakers were quite a leap forward in performance from the predecessor, I have heard most of the Magico range albeit the new M9 which I have not listened to yet, the S series was always one of my favourites but this new version has taken listening pleasure to new levels of enjoyment.
At this level of components you get even closer to the music and that live performance and for me the demo of Mark Knopfler's Brothers in Arms was just epic in every way possible, the event took on an arena size with crowds clapping and cheering for this artist and the speakers really immersed you into the concert, they disappeared completely but with pinpoint imaging of the artists on the stage, the electric guitar took on a almost tangible sound with every pluck and chord stimulating emotion and making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up such was the performance, I filmed most of the music and whilst I have shared most of it on my social media platforms it only gives you a taster of what we experienced.
One of my favourite albums is from Boris Blank and the album Electrified and Ricardo first introduced this album to me in 2016 when I heard it on the Martin Logan Neoliths' which was again at KJ West One with the title track Electrified which blew me away, well it did not disappoint this time round either with an immersive and unforgettable sound, at such a fast pace and massive doses of bass the new S3s handled this music with aplomb, track 2 The Time Tunnel was a journey with those 9" bass drivers energising the room with great effect, the electronic sounds swirling around the demo room at lightning speed, the orchestral pieces presented were equally stunning and showed how well these speakers handled all types of music.
Below is a few examples of what we heard:
Alon Wolf is flying out to Munich next week for the big event for HiFi and music lovers everywhere which is the High End Munich Show 2023 but it was great to see him and get to hear his new creations ahead of the show and the rest of Europe, if you are attending you must stop by the Magico rooms and their demos as they will certainly leave you impressed.
The new Magico S3 Speakers represent a leap forward in performance for Alon Wolf and Magico and if you have deep enough pockets to enjoy music at this level then I would not hesitate to get a listen and contact KJ West One or Absolute Sounds to put your order in as like I mentioned earlier production time is extended and orders will take some time to fulfil.
A massive thanks to Absolute Sound, KJ West One and Magico for presenting these speakers to us.
Pricing and availability
The new Magico S3 begins shipping in spring 2023. Two different levels of finish are available – M-Cast, which is a textured powder coat finish, and M-Coat, which is a premium, high-gloss paint finish. M-Cast colour options include black, pewter, silver and bronze. M-Coat colour options include black, titanium, pearl white, orange, blue and candy red.
UK RRPs for M-Cast and M-Coat finish options are £56,998 and £66,000 per pair respectively.
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