Hello Audio Aficionado's

[imprezap2]

Hi David,

Don't let me put you off the S5's, as I only heared them at show conditions.
I listened to the Q7/Q5/Q3/Q1/S5 at a nice dealer in Holland, everytime with different equipment in front of it, sometimes I left a show with the hairs on my arm standing straight, and sometimes I was a bit dissappointed.
(The Q7 and Q1 I heared on the same day, and here I preffered the Q1 which was playing in a smaller room on less exotic equipment)

After listening to the S5's at this dealer, I bought the same cd that they were playing (Nik Bartsch's - Ronin Live from the ECM label) and listened to it on my own system. To my ears it was better with the V3's. (but maybe I would change my mind if I tried the S5 at home)

If you can, try both S5 and Q1 (pricing is close), if your room is large enough the S5 might be suited best, but I think you might be surprised with what the Q1 can do.

Olaf

Thanks for your f/back Olaf. What is interesting is, I have listened to the Q1's & preferred my Marten Coltrane Alto's which I thought sounded more pure, seemed to be more resolving & also more dynamic (being a 3 way design). That gives me pause to think..

[imprezap2]

Hi David,

Had a look on the Marten site, I don't see the altos anymore, but I found some pictures on te net. I see that there is a down firing woofer in the speaker bottom and mid woofer and tweeter on the front.

The only Marten's I have listened to are the Django XL's, although I liked the option to be able to finetune the low frequencies, it was not completely my taste.

But your Altos are in the top series of Marten, so probably much better enclosure materials and crossover. If you prefer them over the Q1's, I doubt the S5 will do much better. The way the Q1 sets a soundstage and dissappears, I don't think the S5 will match that. (V3's not also)

Only way to find out is to listen to them in your own system, too much money involved to gamble.

Olaf

Hi Olaf,

Yes Leif Olofsson himself (Designer for Marten) felt the Alto's were close in character to the original floor standing Coltrane, and actually in the midrange was slightly better and a bit warmer. But the thing Alto really excelled in is the disappearing act (like the Q1's). The molded carbon fiber cabinet is really the best and in that way it’s better than the original Coltrane.

I've heard the original Django's, and they're quite good, but the Alto's are really on another level. The Django's has better dynamics (bigger cabinet and larger cone area), but the Alto's had greater detail and nuance in the bass. Actually the original Django's sounded a little bit muddy in the bass, though that could have been the amp.

Another more radical option would be to send my Alto's to Marten and have the tweeter upgraded to the latest Accuton Diamond tweeter, upgrade internal wiring to Jorma Prime (the factory wire is Jorma No1) & upgrade the x-over to higher grade bits tuned for the new configuration. Let me know your thoughts?

[imprezap2]

Hi David,

If you have a Magico dealer close by, willing to give a demo at your own home, I would go for that first. (maybe you can agree with him, to compensate for his time if you do not buy)

Or get your speakers and amplifier to a dealer who carries Magico and do the listening at his shop, your room will be out of the test, but at least you can compare the speakers.

That way you can really tell the difference between the alto and the Magico's and make a sound decision. If you stil prefer the Alto, then you can consider to do the upgrade. (or leave the Altos stock till the next upgrade virus hits)

I had Focal Electra 1037 be speakers before, and had the crossovers upgraded by a specialist in Holland, I ended up with better crossover components then the Utopia series.
(also twice the size!!!). I was really happy with the result.
Only downfall was that when it came to selling, not many people wanted to buy modified speakers, and I had to sell them for less. (even though they sounded better)

But you probably won't have the same problem if you decide to upgrade your speakers as it will be done by the manufacturer.

Olaf

Thanks for your f/back Olaf. I wouldn't ask my Dealer to bring over some S5's for home demo as they're too big and heavy really, and the pairs he brings in are usually on approval for a customer. I'm also not too keen on hauling my 63kg Boulder in there either

Anyway this has all resolved itself now. I did some numbers & it was going to cost me about $21-$22k to upgrade my Alto's, and I certainly would never get that money back if I sold them as they are not a well known speaker. So decision made. Selling my Coltrane Alto's instead will make my speaker upgrade a lot cheaper.

My decision is to go for the S5's after hearing them a few times in my Dealer's showroom. I just have to be patient now until my Alto's find a new home..

Cheers,