Magico S1 Mk II - The measurements

Sound Stage Network released their own measurements and had the chance to evaluate the S1 Mk II for a longer period of time than I have.

It's time for a closer look and to see where I was right, and where I was wrong. Hans Wetzel's review was overwhelmingly positive, while mine was positive with nuances.

Tonality

Honestly, I hate the word "tonality." Is it even a word? So many have heard the S1's and proclaimed them to have "spot-on tonality" to my surprise. I didn't think so, but hey, let's see what the measurements say.

First, remember I said it was bright, with excess energy around the bottom of male voices?  Well, based on my reference speaker curve from Bruel and Kjaer, I was right.

Take a look here, we compare the two.

At least from my own reference perspective, I was spot on. The treble runs a little high for me, and the peak energy is around 200 Hz, a little over an octave higher than I would like.  I was also right about the treble being very smooth and unblemished (more on that in the next chart). I was wrong about the overall balance being smile-shaped though. This is in fact pretty flat, just not necessarily going exactly where I'd like, but that can be adjusted for with reduced toe-in or DSP. When I listened to these speakers it was practically on axis.

In the end there's really no cheating physics and there is only so much you can do with a small driver but I am really surprised the energy falls off that soon, it does sound better than that, but this early bass peak does explain why I though the mid bass was a little too much.  At the same time, that early drop off is going to give a sense of exaggerated bass clarity, since you won't activate troublesome room modes below 100Hz as much as with a true full-range speaker. 

Compression

One measurement I was surprised by was the amount of compression between 70 dB and 90 dB.  That is, at higher volume levels the top treble will stand out more due to compression in the mid-treble.  It is going to be really important to evaluate these speakers at the right volumes for you.  If you listen at low volumes, listen to them that way, and vice-versa.  This undoubtedly contributed to my impression the speaker was smile-shaped.  At 90 dB, it starts to go that way.

Based on the early bass drop off I would try to keep the speakers within 2 feet of the rear wall, but far far from the sides to get a little bit more bass without compromising the imaging and clarity of those wide dispersion tweeters.

Comparing the S1 to the B&W 802 D3

Let's do another graphing trick.  Let's compare Stereophile's measurements of the B&W 802 D3 to the S1 measurements from the NRC of Canada. There are many reasons to be critical of this chart, as the measurement methods are undoubtedly different and I never had access to the raw data.  Still, I think it's worth using as a rough guide to what we could expect, and at least one dimension of how these two speakers could be alike, or different:

Notice the Stereophile Curve is in play with the B&W. See the dip at 2.4 kHz and the peaks at 4kHz and 10 kHz? Not a neutral speaker at all.  The Magico S1 is in fact much closer to neutral, without any gimmicks applied. Of course, the B&W has more bass, and about 7 dB more sensitivity, among many other differences. This technique is fun to play with and as long as lives are not at stake, worth showing.

The Impedance Curve

What about the minimum impedance? I was wrong to worry too much about it going too low. In fact, the impedance measured by Sound Stage is very good, reaching a minimum of around 3.6 to 3.8 Ohms at 150 Hz with a near 0 phase angle.  Quite benign for most modern amplifiers.  Further, that same impedance chart is evidence of a simple, no-nonsense crossover based on well meshing drivers. Fabulous!

The Amplifier

That being said, I was not wrong about these speakers needing a beefy amp. Take a look at the 1 kHz sensitivity. 82 dB?? Wow, that really is pretty low.  In fact I can't remember the last time I saw a 2-way design with such a low sensitivity rating.  The S1 Mk II's will in fact need a big amp to sound loud.

So is this worth $16,000? I think it's a pretty nice speaker, with my objections noted. Listen for yourself. With proper toe-in (as in none) and a subwoofer to support them, and space, lots of space, the S1's are pretty nice.  Whether you find the compression or limited bass objectionable or delightful however is going to be entirely up to you.

Last, unlike some other mid-price speakers introduced this year, they are unlikely to melt in the rain.  Bam! Hahahaha.

Poor Music Lover's Alternative

If $16,000 for a two-way, limited bass speaker pair is never going to be realistic let me suggest three very good sounding kits you can build from $500 to $3,000 on my other blog, here.