Magico history
Cabinets and Drivers
Magico is a very innovative speaker manufacturer from America. Their first commercial success was the Magico Mini. A completely closed mini speaker constructed from birch plywood. It could hardly be called truly mini, rather enormous. The Magico Mini was substantial, heavy, and very expensive. Approximately €30,000.00 per pair including stands. The units were purchased, but the filter technology was entirely Magico. Later, Magico began developing their own units with the special Nanotech material. Nanotech is a type of carbon fiber, but denser, stiffer, and lighter. These units were first used in the €40,000.00 Magico Mini 2, and later also as woofer/midrange in the Magico V3 and V2. Magico still made use of the excellent ScanSpeak Ringradiator tweeter. The top model of that time, the Magico M5, also featured these units.
Magico built very rigid and heavily damped cabinets from birch plywood, with fronts routed from a thick aluminum plate. That front was so free from resonance that Magico wanted to use aluminum for the entire cabinet, not just the front. This was first applied in the Magico Q5, and later the Q3, Q7, and the smaller Q1. The Q series was revolutionary. The Magico Q speakers are made of solid thick aluminum plates. The Magico Q speakers cost tens of thousands of euros, and for a set of Magico Q7 you had to spend almost €200,000.
The Magico Q series speakers were revolutionary and extremely expensive. Brands like Avalon and Wilson suddenly fell behind technologically. Magico decided to also make aluminum speakers at a more affordable price. These became the S1, S2, S5, and later the S7. This series of speakers was not screwed together from aluminum plates, but the enclosure was cast as one piece. As further development continued (M-Project, M3, and M6), Magico discovered that using somewhat different materials could achieve even better sound, and so the current series of speakers came to market. The Magico S series MK2 is now one of the most sold high-end speakers in the world and in every way worth more than its price.
S Series MK2
The Magico S1 MK2 and S3 MK2 are among the most acclaimed and award-winning speakers in the world. The Magico S3 MK2 is even the largest monocoque aluminum speaker in the world. The entire body of the S1 MK2 and S3 MK2 is cast from one piece of aluminum. The Magico S5 MK2 has a separate front. The top and bottom of the S Series MK2 consist of an aluminum plate, which is shaped by a CNC milling machine. Curved on the outside and hollow on the inside. This is to break up the internal air column. The units in this series are also new and completely unique. The bass and midrange drivers are now made of graphene composite. Graphene is an advanced development of nanotech, and even lighter and stiffer. Ten years ago this material didn't even exist. The tweeter of the Magico S1 MK2, S3 MK2, and S5 MK2 is now a beryllium dome with a diamond coating. Beryllium is a wonderful material, but has a fairly strong resonance peak. With the diamond coating, which is applied in the Netherlands, the resonance peak is virtually eliminated. The result is, in our opinion, the best dome tweeter in the world—extremely fast, but without peaks. Excellent technology and outstanding sound quality. For us, the best Magico in terms of sound and price-to-quality ratio. The Magico S1 MK2 is a 50kg heavy compact column, a 2-way system, but with astounding qualities. The Magico S3 MK2 can also perform in very large rooms, can play loud, and overall is perhaps one of the best Magicos period. Ohm-Audio BV has the Magico S1 MK2 and S3 MK2 in stock as standard for demonstration.
A Series
In 2018, Magico decides to appeal to a broader audience. They have developed an entirely new speaker series, the A class. The first Magico speaker in the lineup is the new Magico A3. The Magico A3 is a compact column speaker with all Magico qualities and at an astounding price. While the Magico S3 MK2 is in the price range above €35,000.00, the new Magico A3 comes in at €16,900.00. Even cheaper than the Magico S1 MK2. Remarkable. The Magico S1 MK2 continues to excel in several areas, but as an overall universal speaker, the Magico A3 is unbeatable. Ohm-Audio BV has the new Magico A3 speaker on standard demonstration (Q3 2018) and in stock.
Ohm-Audio BV 2018-09
