Agreed; I’m a little worried about the bass extension from these. Don’t want to have to add subs.
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crikey indeed
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Magico are expensive, but I am of the mind that there really IS true engineering in them, and they are seeking a certain level of performance and attaining it. And their use of materials seems guided by the engineering, and not like some designed just to be able to market ‘exotic materials.’ People may well prefer a different sound, and some Magicos just are not a great match for Naim (better for Class A amplification) – although I see them moving with new speakers to a less-high-current-hungry design.
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Magico speakers are highly engineered products. That’s what makes them so special.
My S3 MkII are exactly what I was looking for. Unexpectedly good in fact 
And, in my opinion, quite a great value comparing to other speakers in the same price range.
Considering how well they blend with Naim electronics, it is surprising not to find more Naim users buying Magico speakers.
Not sure I would agree with that. I heard a pair of Magico M6 driven by a Soulution 511 (140 W @ 8 Ω) with stunning results 
My 500DR drives the S3 MkII effortlessly.
As for Naim + Magico, well that’s down to personal taste.
I very much prefer the M2 or S3 MkII comparing to Proac K6, others may think the exact opposite.
The S series and M series tweeters are amongst the very best. They’re wicked fast, providing a lot of details in a silky/liquid way (not easy to describe). Suits marvellously acoustic acoustic/classical music.
I was thinking more of the older Q’s. There are now plenty of Magico options for us, other than that little issue of the price . . .
That’s right. But I suppose the Naim Statement could drive those big Q7 
And I think the Q series production is reaching its end. The M series replaces it.
Here is the (very long) press release (links removed):
June 12, 2020
Hayward, CA, June 2020 – A summation of our no-holds-barred assault on the limits of dynamic loudspeaker design, the new Magico M9 establishes new benchmarks in musicality, transparency and fidelity. This four-way, six-driver floor standing system features the world’s first loudspeaker enclosure to combine inner and outer skins of carbon fiber with a revolutionary aluminum honeycomb core. Included with the M9 is a state-of-the-art analog outboard active crossover, the MXO. Designed in-house, this carefully crafted unit handles bass/midbass frequency separation. In addition, the M9 benefits from our latest generation of Nano-Tec speaker cones, featuring Aluminum honeycomb cores. The result is a revelation, a loudspeaker that can present intense crescendos with unconstrained power, yet reproduce the most delicate musical passages with transparency and stunning microdynamic detail.
From the very outset, we’ve known that the loudspeaker enclosure must enable sound to pass through completely, without “singing along” with the music. Controlling cabinet vibration without storing energy remains one of the greatest challenges in loudspeaker design. Our quest for the ultimate in enclosures has driven us to pursue the latest in materials science, computerized modeling and meticulous assembly. The M9 represents a new milestone in that journey: the world’s first loudspeaker enclosure with carbon fiber inner and outer skins over an aluminum honeycomb core. This technology reduces overall weight yet doubles the structural stiffness.
The enclosure also incorporates our latest application of constrained layer damping using aerospace composites, plus familiar features of Magico construction including a baffle board of 6061 T6 aircraft aluminum and front-to-back tensioning rods. Through many rounds of Finite Element Analysis modeling, we fine-tuned the enclosure design to suppress resonances and any possibility of stored energy. We also calibrated the organic shape of the enclosure and machined the front baffle to reduce diffraction effects to near zero. Sound waves from the drivers propagate without obstruction. You can hear the difference. The resulting soundfield replicates that of the recording space. Even though the M9 has a commanding physical presence, in sonic terms, it completely vanishes.
New beryllium-diamond dome tweeter
Magico has long recognized that the bending and flexing of non-pistonic motion in a soft dome tweeter leads to large-scale distortion. That’s why we chose the high strength and light weight of Beryllium. And we went even further, enhancing Beryllium with the incredible stiffness of diamond, carefully applied by chemical vapor deposition. This enabled us to go larger, building the world’s first 28 mm. Beryllium dome and improving performance without the weight penalty that diamond normally incurs. Now the M9 raises the stakes with an even more refined 28 mm Beryllium-diamond dome tweeter. The new drive unit delivers high-frequency reproduction of extraordinary accuracy, confirmed by Laser Interferometry testing and by careful listening. You’ll hear microdynamics of even greater subtlety, revealing musical detail with even greater clarity.
Eighth generation Nano-Tec cones with Aluminum honeycomb core
Our insistence on diaphragm rigidity and pistonic motion also drove us to offer the world’s first loudspeaker cones with incredibly strong Graphene nanotubes. Every cone in the M9 incorporates our eighth generation Nano-Tec design. With this design, Magico became the world’s first to feature an Aluminum honeycomb core sandwiched between Graphene/carbon fiber skins. In previous Nano-Tec cones, the skins provided all the stiffness and the core provided damping. The Aluminum honeycomb changes everything, providing a core material so stiff that we need to apply 26,500 pounds (12,000 kg) of pressure to shape our 15-inch cones. This added stiffness pushes resonant frequencies far beyond audibility, requiring hardly any damping at all.
Graphene, the hallmark of the Nano-Tec cones, is a hexagonal lattice of carbon just one atom thick. Graphene combines incredible stiffness with the highest tensile strength of any material known to science – some 40 times that of carbon steel. The resulting cone is so rigid that, inverted on the ground, it will not deform after being run over by a sedan. With our eighth generation refinements, this unprecedented strength results in the closest ever approach to pure pistonic motion.
3, 4 and 5-inch voice coils on vented pure Titanium formers
As a cone driver plays intense musical peaks, voice coil temperatures can climb over 100° F (40° C) in a single second. Heating can double the voice coil’s DC resistance, alter the frequency response curve and compress the music as much as 3 dB – a substantial nonlinearity. Magico drivers overcome these distortions. The M9 cone voice coils are huge – 3, 4 and 5 inches in diameter – for much faster dissipation of heat and greater control over the cone. Vents in the voice coil formers provide another level of heat dissipation. We chose formers of pure Titanium for its ideal combination of stiffness and resistance to eddy currents.
Underhung voice coil and oversized Neodymium magnets
The force that the magnetic circuit applies to the voice coil can drop as much as 50% as the voice coil moves away from the central, rest position. This drop-off can be asymmetrical. Motion does not faithfully track the input signal, generating substantial harmonic and intermodulation distortion. Magico Nano-Tec drivers exercise absolute control over voice coil movement by providing underhung voice coils in a magnetic circuit of tremendous power. We use Neodymium magnets with 16 times the magnetic energy per unit volume of Ferrite. In preference to an array of small Neodymium magnets, we select uncommonly large Neodymium ring magnets. As an extra measure against asymmetry, these drivers deploy a matching magnet on top. The result is prodigious flux density, up to 1.7 Tesla (17,000 Gauss), maintained across uncommonly long air gaps, up to 36 mm. This enables distortion-free output up to 120 dB SPL at 1 meter.
6-inch midrange driver (x1). The new midrange features a remarkable 4-inch voice coil to help maintain linear output all the way to 120 dB SPL at 1 meter. This results in unmeasurably low distortion throughout the driver’s operating range.
11-inch mid bass drivers (x2). This entirely new driver incorporates an N48H grade Neodymium ring magnet of unusual size: 120 mm diameter x 8 mm height, plus a second matching magnet on top for complete control of voice coil movement. It is a new benchmark in linearity.
15-inch bass drivers (x2). The new bass driver features a cone molded by 26,500 pounds of pressure. An uncommonly long 36 mm air gap facilitates tremendous linear excursion, ±15 mm, at high sensitivity. You hear the lowest three octaves of bass with full extension and no mid-bass exaggeration.
From cone materials to voice coils to magnetic circuits, each one of these features improves linearity and reduces audible distortion. Taken together, they represent the literal state of the art. These are the most advanced dynamic drivers ever made.
As always, we simulate, optimize, test and re-test every driver design with the latest Finite Element Analysis tools. Computer testing enables us to simultaneously evaluate acoustical, mechanical, electromagnetic and thermal behaviors. As the driver designs near completion, we conduct the same testing and optimization process on the entire loudspeaker system.
The main module of our new analog crossover, the Magico MXO performs bass/midbass bandpass filtering. The power supply occupies a separate chassis, not shown.
The main module of our new analog crossover, the Magico MXO performs bass/midbass bandpass filtering. The power supply occupies a separate chassis, not shown.
Magico Analog Crossover (MXO)
The 120 Hz crossover frequency between the bass and mid-bass drivers poses a special challenge. At such a low frequency, a passive crossover would require huge inductors and capacitors. Even if the very best parts were auditioned and selected with care, such large circuit elements would incur unavoidable, substantial losses. To overcome this issue, we created an analog, active 2-way crossover, the Magico Analog Crossover or MXO. This substantial component provides steep filter slopes without any sacrifice in signal quality.
The crossover’s meticulous design features Linkwitz-Riley filters to deliver 24 dB per octave slopes at the crossover frequency of 120 Hz. Designed in-house from our own platform, the analog crossover is fully balanced with completely discrete circuitry from input to output. Open architecture accommodates additional filter topologies. Precision step attenuators provide 0.5 dB/step control of each output, using a proprietary technique to ensure purity in the signal path. The external power supply chassis regenerates AC and applies active regulation to every part of the circuitry.
A pair of M9 loudspeakers requires two stereo or four monaural amplifiers.
The M9 tweeter, midrange and mid-bass drivers are controlled by a three-way passive crossover with acoustical target 24 dB-per-octave Linkwitz-Riley filters. Magico’s elliptical symmetry crossover design preserves maximum frequency bandwidth with minimal IM distortion.
SPECIFICATIONS
Driver complement:
1.10-inch diamond coated Beryllium tweeter (x1)
6-inch Gen 8 Magico Nano-Tec cone with Aluminum honeycomb core (x1)
11-inch Gen 8 Magico Nano-Tec cones with Aluminum honeycomb core (x2)
15-inch Gen 8 Magico Nano-Tec cones with Aluminum honeycomb core (x2)
Sensitivity: 94 dB
Impedance: 4 ohms
Frequency response: 18 Hz – 50 kHz
Power handling: 20 W (min) to 2000 W (max)
Dimensions:Loudspeaker: 80” H x 40” D x 20” W (203 x 102 x 51 cm)
Crossover: 8” H x 18” D x 20” W (20 x 46 x 51 cm)
Crossover power supply: 8” H x 18” D x 20” W (20 x 46 x 51 cm)
Weight:
Loudspeaker: 1000 pounds (454 kg) each
Crossover: 40 lbs. (18 kg)
Crossover power supply: 60 lbs. (27 kg)
Suggested US Retail Price: $750,000/pair
Ship date: Q4 2020
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As I wrote in an earlier post, I heard Q5s driven by Naim Statement. I didn’t think that attaining that level of audio perfection was possible
Claude
I can sell my A3’s for what I paid for them. And there are 3 pairs of S3Mk2’s on Audiogon now 
I had a similar experience with a pair of Q7 driven by Soulution 701 monoblocks.
The problem was obvious: room interactions.
Those monsters push a lot of air and therefore need at least 100 m2 and some room treatment.
I spent nearly 2 years learning and applying acoustic treatment to my own listening room.
One thing I indirectly learnt is to hear/notice room interactions: comb filtering is a common issue and has a very specific sound signature, so to speak.
My best experiences with Magico speakers were the M2 and the S3 MkII.
These two were the only speakers I auditioned that passed the piano test , which is torture for electronics and speakers.
A good choice in terms of torture is Rachmaninoff’s piano sonata No. 2 Op. 36/5 , the first movement 
The following album is pretty well recorded (which is a performance on its own) and the interpretation is brilliant (in my opinion).
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Well, if you have the means, can sell your A3 and have a nice opportunity, then go for it
You mentioned having enjoyed the M2. The S3 MkII are pretty close…
Adding SPODs provides a real improvement, unfortunately… 
The Q5s are the hardest to drive speaker Magico has made. I know, I have a pair. The ARC 610T that I used to drive them for years was not enough 
I am now driving them with Constellation Centaur II mono blocks and they sound absolutely fantastic.
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I would love to audition S3 Mk2 along with Wilson Yvette. The Wilsons are much easier to arrange an audition in my location but the Magicos have piqued my interest…
I’ve heard both Wilson Yvette and S3mk2 and ended up buying… the S3 mk2.
Totally different sound signature, both delivered great musical experience. Yvette has a great soundstage very lively with a punchy bottom end when S3 mk2 are faster, cleaner and neutral. I would say that S3 mk2 are more demanding with front end (I have NDS+552/500) whereas the sound was great out of NDX/252/300 with the Yvette.
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Welcome to the forum! I’m resisting hearing the S3Mk2 in my home I don’t feel that the A3’s are ‘too little’ speaker for a 500 level system.
Fmouil, did you find the 300DR adequate for the S3mk2? Sure the 500Dr is better, but still?
I had Nap250 with Magico V2 and it worked well, then moved to Nap300 with stronger drive. I connected once a 250DR which was sounding to me almost as good as the Nap300.
S3 mk2 are easier to drive than V2 (and easier than S3 mk1) so I guess Nap300 would be totally fine with S3mk2.
Whether it is a NAP300DR or a NAP500DR the Magico S3 MkII blends perfectly with Naim amps.
I just listened to Mahler’s Resurrection .
The symphony is replayed with scale, body, richness and an amazing amount of details while keeping it as coherent whole.
The exact opposite of an analytical presentation and, similarly, the exact opposite of the punchy-blurry presentation of some other speakers (even some well-known and expensive ones).
Magico speakers, and especially the S and M series are brilliantly engineered speakers.
It would be nice to hear the Magico M2 or M6 with the Naim Statement
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Greetings Thomas. I scheduled some time today at my local dealer. Going to listen to M2 and A5…not sure if I’ll have time to listen to S3MkII. They are a Naim dealer, but have almost nothing to demo, so I won’t listen with Naim amplification. So it will be a listening session with some limitations.