Price: $16,500 per pair

Website: www.magico.net

Hans said: With its immaculately lifelike sound, sterling midrange neutrality, and soaring top end, Magico’s S1 Mk.II revealed an incredible amount of low-level musical detail without sounding clinical, and was engaging without resorting to artifice. Most impressive, it produced a good portion of the tight-fisted, concussive bass you’d expect from a small three-way design, and in that sense is the first two-way speaker I’ve heard that doesn’t sound like a two-way.

Reviewers' Choice

Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.

The gist: The best two-way speaker Hans has heard.