RMAF 2013: Magico S1 and Krell

[I hear that JV has his show report up, so I better get a move on here. I write my impressions before I read anybody else’s impressions; otherwise, if I see an impression with which I happen to agree, then I just lose momentum and incentive to write anything at all. ].

First, I am partial to the Magico S1 speaker. In fact, I like all the Magico speakers [don’t listen to Alon, he doesn’t understand me :-)], I just think the systems they usually show them with are deeply flawed. I liked the S5 speakers on the Luxman amps. And we have both liked what we have heard of the S1 speaker.

The S1 is well-priced, and is capable of good timbre and reasonable dynamics, is not incredibly difficult to drive [apparently], and is able to handle complex material.

And I liked this modest Krell system.

I heard well-rounded, well-separated notes with a good, accurate timbre. Fairly dynamic. Fairly open sounding.

At this show, this year, a sound like this is a home run.

Given the relatively low price of both the S1 and Krell gear and the strength of the brands, this is a system that I hope lots of audiophiles paid attention to.