Californian hi-fi firm Magico – maker of some of the world's most expensive loudspeakers – has reengineered its much-loved S3 Mk II speaker. The new and improved S3 three-way floorstander boasts some of the technical wizardry found on the company's flagship M9 speakers (which cost £1 million, around $1.2m / AU$1.9m).
This includes a newly engineered enclosure made from four separate aluminium panels that are up to 2 inches thick. Each panel is inspected using Magico's ultra-precise "3D laser interferometry system", which allows the company to tailor the internal damping to perfection. As a result, the new S3 enclosure is apparently "30% quieter than its predecessor".
Magico relied on the state-of-the-art M9 floorstanders to improve the S3's drivers, too, and both models now feature 28mm diamond-coated beryllium diaphragms in the tweeter. Magico has also combined the S3's tweeter with a new "acoustically improved back chamber" that promises to declare war on distortion.
The 5-inch (12.7cm) pure midrange driver cone is formed of a honeycomb aluminium core sandwiched with layers of graphene and carbon fibre, while the 9-inch (23cm) bass driver boasts the latest-gen Magico Graphene Nano-Tec cone.
Fun fact: Graphene has 50 times the tensile strength of high-carbon steel, giving it an insanely-high stiffness-to-weight ratio. That should further enhance the damping.
The new 2023 edition of the Magico S3 speakers begin shipping in Q1 2023. There are two different finishes to choose from: M-Cast, a textured powder coat finish and M-Coat, a high-gloss paint finish.
The UK price for a pair of new Magico S3 speakers in an M-Cast finish is £56,998 (around $70,000 / $104,000). M-Coat ups that to £66,000 (around $80,000 / AU$120,000). As ever, Absolute Sounds is exclusive UK distributor.
Oh, and you might want to hit the gym before you throw down any cash – each 1.2m-high S3 floorstanding speaker weighs 100kg.
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