Love the small monitors as well my friend.

Mini 2 is great speaker with the sandwiched layers of Birched plywood and aluminum baffel. Closed enclosure I don't have a lot of listening experience. Being a wood worker, I just love the design of the enclosure and understand it in great detail.

Rosso Fiesole is around 6K. The super tweeter (murata) IMO is a great design to increase the mids and lows clarity as well as further enhancement of nature sound of persussion or instrument decay. Thinking cymbals as this seems to be a hot topic recently in GON forums.

The dampening system used with the Nomex 6 1/2 woofer allows for authoritative and controlled low frequencies-for small monitors. I think it's rated at 50Hz but I read some measurements where 40Hz and below. Notice the front aluminum baffel--simiar to Mini 2.

If your willing you can let me borrow the Mini's in North Florida for me to trully experience the Magico closed enclosure.

lapierre May 29, 2012 18:27

Hello Lapierre, I love small monitor speakers and given my room size and decor, I'm extremely pleased with the Magico Mini 2. The Mini 2 is gorgeous IMO and it sounds excellent, so I'm not interested in trying something different right now. I still have not heard the Q1, but given the roughly $10K cost to upgrade, I think I'd do better addressing other parts of the system first. It is sounding so good now, that I think I will do very little to change anything for a while. Perhaps cables and more music on vinyl.

I know nothing about the Rosso Fiesole. I noticed it has a port. I prefer sealed designs based on my experience with the Mini, other Magicos and some speakers I've heard at shows. How much do they cost, and where can one hear them?

peterayer May 29, 2012 05:56

Hey Pete have you research Rosso Fiesole montor:

http://www.rossofiorentino.com/en/collections-fiesole.asp

How's the Magico Mini sounding these days?

Still prefer the Mini II over the Q1?

lapierre May 28, 2012 20:23

Albert, Wake up, I think you are dreaming. You'll have to pry it out from my cold, dead....

Seriously, I've never heard the 312S so I don't know how the V-12 compares to your reference. I've only directly compared it to the standard SME V and the improvement was not subtle. The V-12 counterweight is designed to be all the way in close to the pivot point with a cartridge weighing 11.5 grams. The Supreme is 12 grams, so it is almost the ideal weight for minimum inertia for the arm. The 312S with the removable and thus heavier head shell should move the counterweight a bit further from the pivot point. I think bearings and wiring are the same, so one just loses easy azimuth adjustability, cartridge swapping ability, but gains dynamic tracking force and a more rigid headshell.

peterayer May 28, 2012 09:34

Peter,

I know you're tired of the V12 by now, you are free to ship it to my home whenever you have a chance. :^).

albertporter May 27, 2012 19:28

System edited: System update: Major upgrade to the SME 30/12A table with V-12 arm and Air Tight Supreme cartridge. New system and component photos and descriptions.

peterayer May 27, 2012 13:45

Wonderful system great set-up must sound wonderful as well.Enjoy!

ebm March 03, 2012 18:56

Pettyfeversk and Rugyboogie,

Thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate the advice and support I have gotten from this forum. The system just gives me a lot of joy. What a fun hobby.

peterayer January 14, 2012 21:56

Hi Peter
Very beautiful system that you have put together.
Love the Magicos, heard them at the Audio Gallery in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Very impressive.
Take care,

rugyboogie January 03, 2012 22:52

Peter,

You have a really nice system and I can only imagine how wonderful it sounds. I have read about the Magicos but have not had the chance to hear them. I hope to at some point. It must have been an experience to tap into the knowledge of Jim Smith and have him analyze your system set up. Thanks again for your assistance. Stephen

pettyfeversk January 03, 2012 21:09

Jim Smith who voiced my system tried to integrate a pair of JL F110 subs with the Minis. He went to some lengths but in the end we both preferred the sound slightly without them. The protruding fireplace causes problems in the four front corners, so the subs did increase LF extension, but the overall sound was less coherent. I have not read of anyone successfully mating subs to the Mini except JV at TAS with the Torus sub.

Thanks for the comment about the aesthetics. Of course I agree they just look classic in a more formal living room, though there are some images of the Mini in a modern concrete room, and they look pretty good there too. I just love the wood and aluminum combination.

I have seen the S5 images on the net. It makes me wonder why Magico did not create an all aluminum curved replacement for the Mini. They basically could have made a speaker shaped just like the Mini and replaced all the wood with aluminum using the Q1 drivers and crossover. And it could have been called the M1 or Q1.

peterayer December 24, 2011 08:38

Imagine with subs Mini IIs would give full range speaker great challenge.

BTW...the MIni IIs just look right in your listening room.

Did you see the S5 Magico posted on the web site? Wonder if this is a new series and if there will be a S1.

lapierre December 23, 2011 22:11

Hi Lapierre,

No I have not heard the Raidho, though I have read about them. I also have not yet heard the Magico Q1, though I would like to. I'm very pleased with my Mini IIs. If I ever change them, it would likely be for more full range speakers like the Q3 in a bigger dedicated listening room. One never knows, I could also try high efficiency with tubes for a more dynamic nuanced sound.

I imagine the C1 are less expensive than the Q1 at $25K. 50Hz is not low enough for me and I'm not sure about trying to integrate 2-ways with subs. I just love the coherence and extension of the Mini II. I also like the sealed enclosures of Magicos. The bass sounds more real to me.

peterayer December 23, 2011 19:04

Pete have you researched Raidho Acoustics C1.1 speakers?

Raidho C1.1

Sealed ribbon tweeter with small (5") mid/bass driver with frequency of 50 Hz to 50 Hz. Vented enclosure.

Q1 or C1? That would be a great audition. Q1 has larger driver and much larger enclosure with measured lower frequency of 32 Hz.

lapierre December 23, 2011 15:49

System edited: Added new images of steel ballast under SME. See turntable and Vibraplane photos.

peterayer November 22, 2011 15:35

Beautiful set up, tastefully done! Simplicity, and sublime sound is what I would call it.
Once again, well done.

toudou November 10, 2011 17:13

Lapierre,

I'm afraid to speculate. Perhaps a new turntable. I've been researching arms and tables. Cables could also change. But overall, the system has never sounded better, and I'm very satisfied. I continue to buy LPs and explore classical music.

peterayer November 08, 2011 05:44

Thanks Pete for the detailed information.

Happy listening. And what's next on your HiFi roadmap?

lapierre November 08, 2011 00:02

Hello Lapeirre,

Thanks for the kind words. The listening distance from right tweeter to right ear had been 9'-8" and is now 10'-0". Jim moved my speakers out from the front wall an additional 3" and my listening seat back toward the back wall 7" for a net increase of 4". This smoothed out and increased the bass. The speakers are 4'-0" from each side wall, 4'-10" out from the front wall and they are 7'-9" apart. All measurements taken from the tweeters.

He also moved the left speaker toward the center 1" and adjusted toe-in very slightly. FWIW, he commented that I had them very close to correct and much closer than most of his clients. I did read his book carefully and spent a couple of months adjusting.

He also raised the listening seat about 3" and dampened the resonance from my piano off to the left. Those two changes were significant. He also rotated the tubetraps in the front corners. Everything was done precisely with a laser for distances and level.

The movements seemed small but the result was surprisingly effective. He has a very good ear and knows how movements will effect the sound. It is a very worthwhile service.

peterayer November 07, 2011 11:10

Hey Pete,
Continue reading your post on changes made to your great system.

Can you tell me your listening distance before and after the Jim Smith changes?

lapierre November 06, 2011 21:38

HI Peter,

I just replied to your post on my system page about the Vibraplane and different materials to load it properly. Have you tried anything yet? Your system looks great btw!

Matt

mab33 November 06, 2011 18:26

I meant to write "New photos..."

peterayer November 04, 2011 16:08

System edited: No photos and descriptions of the Vibraplane and Townshend Seismic Sinks. The added isolation has made a significant improvement.

peterayer November 04, 2011 16:06

System edited: Updated photos of rack and Seismic Sink

peterayer September 21, 2011 14:24

Peterayer,
Thank you for you kind words that are a major help in guiding me further along this (manic?) path. Having someone with at least some similar equipment is a tremendous help in getting some idea of which avenue to advance towards rather than trying a scatter gun approach and seeing how it pans out.
Thank you especially for the Fremer/Stereophile reference. I can look that up and find it in my collection somewhere.
As always, enjoy the music.

Michael

uru975 September 09, 2011 11:46