Magico S3 London launch
The Magico S3 replaces its namesake with a totally new construction and drive units, according to head honcho Alon Wolf it’s an all new design that honours the original S3 by keeping its name alive. Fresh from its debut at Axpona the Magico S3 made the first stop on its European tour at KJ West One, Wolf explained that what was originally a single piece extruded cabinet has been replaced with a four part construction built from three extruded elements and a machined front baffle. As with Magico speakers of yore the cabinet is entirely made of aluminium.
The reason for this change in construction is that it enables greater flexibility of bracing and damping within the ‘box’, which makes for a quieter cabinet and thus a more revealing loudspeaker. The drive units have the same graphene infused carbon cones as the original S3 but these have an aluminium honeycomb core for increased stiffness on this infinite baffle design. The Magico S3 has three 9 inch bass drivers alongside a 5 inch midrange. The tweeter is a close relation to that found in the range topping M9 and uses a larger than usual 28mm diamond coated beryllium dome with ultra low distortion.
On the end of an exotic system consisting of a dCS Vivaldi Apex streaming source, Dartzeel NHB-18NS preamplifier and NHB-468 monoblock power amps with Transparent Magnum Opus cabling throughout the Magico S3 delivered superb result with a wide range of music. Of particular note was a live rendition of Brothers in Arms from Massey Hall, this really brought the performance into the room and even with Mark Muffler’s weary voice sounded enthralling.
The Magico S3 will retail for £56,998 in the M-Cast finish and £66,000 in M-Coat as shown. UK distribution is via Absolute Sounds.