Magico V3 with tubed amplification, will it work ?


Hello There,
I'm planning to upgrade my old Thiel 3.6 speakers.

I was considering Von Schweikert VR5 Anniversary, really liked then, divine soundstage, great transparency. But I have heard Magico Mini on some audio show, I have never heard anything like this, they sounded different then anything else, so involving, truthful, I was captivated literally... For me they bettered all speaker I have heard so far. (I know that they do not have slam of Wilson speakers). But price $20.000 for mini monitors, that is insane.
But, now I have noticed that V3 can be bought for $12.000, which is about as much I could afford. And V3 will have better dynamics and more bass which is all I would need.
I have talked with former Magico dealer and he told me that Magico will not work with 100W tube amplifier (Supratek Burgundy) or Clayton M100 (class A 100W) which I own.
He basically told me that I need strong 300W of solid state power from Spectral, ML, Krell, Ayre to make them sing. With 100W he claimed they will sound dull uninvolving.
I do not want to change amps so I’m in quandary. He was trying to convince me that Wilson Sasha is better choice and they are easy to drive and 100W will do just fine.
I’m not sure if this is genuine advice or just dealer talk, he is selling Wilson Audio now.
How can Sasha be easy load if it drops to 1.8ohm ? I’m not convinced, so I'm looking for second opinion. I heard on numerous occasions WATT/Puppy in shortcut huge soundstage big bass, but was never captivated by music the way I was with Magico. Hence my question:
Have anybody been using V3 with tube amplification ? Can Magico be successfully driven by 100W tube amp ?
sorlowski
'What does 100% overrated mean? They are always overrated by every person who comments on them? Or, every aspect of every Magico speaker is overrated, or something else? Please explain your comment, Mountain-high.'

Magico is a very expensive speaker and as such an easy target. I personally think they are way overrated compared to some cheaper stuff I know but that is not to say they are a bad speaker, nor that everyone agrees with my assessment (they don't). And besides the issue here is how to drive them, - not what you think of them.

Thanks
Bill
Thanks for comments I’m getting stronger impression that marriage between 100W tube power and Magico may not work.
Magico Mini I heard on CES were driven by Jeff Rowland 300W monoblocks, and most speakers have been driven by some tubed amplifiers it could not have been an accident.

Wilson Audio dealer has given me nice audition of Sasha speakers, (he used ARC REF110 power amps, pre was from ARC too, as CDP he used AudioAero La Source all wired with SR cables. Huge soundstage , great resolution great transparency, what was lacking was dynamics, bass (strange for WA). Sound was spacious like cosmos but flesh out no physicality to it. Neither me not my friend liked it. It was very surprising to me because last time I have heard WA it was WATT/Puppy VII or VIII with Spectral; dynamic bass was humongous so was resolution and transparency. But still I could not get involved with the music. So it seems that ARC may be not a good match for WA. Actually it was first time I have heard WA fleshed out.
So I’m afraid that 100W tube of SS class A power will not make Magico work as it did not worked with Sasha. Dealer’s room was pretty big at least 450sq. feet.
Mine is 20’ by 15’.
Did anybody compared V3 with VS VR-5 which I liked ?
I have read that Magico considers YG as the only real world competitor.
I have never hear any YG speakers, at least I do not recall it. They have great press though, I have just finished reading all reviews I could find on the web. They even claimed to have best Earth speakers period. Bold statement.
It would be nice to own best Earth speakers :) if it is true of course.
Seems that their speakers are like Magico made from Aluminum but do not fall below 5ohms so they may be easier load for tube amplifier. Have anybody compared SR VR5 with Magico V3 or Magico V2/3 with any YG speakers, are that that good, maybe I should consider them ?
What is YG house sound like ?
If heard YG i like Magico better its more musical wooden body Magico will be warmer than Aluminum.Its up to you.
For a few more bucks you should look into Rockports Mira II.

It's a very subjective hobby. I've had a pair of Avalon Eidolons for some time now. Right or wrong almost all other speaker systems just don't sound right to my ears anymore. The same could be said for people used to the sound of horn and panel speaker systems.

For people who have vastly different goals Magico's direction could easily be considered overrated. I spent a little over four hours in a home with a Q5 / all Ayre MX system. The sonic direction and presentation that is Magico makes sense to my way of listening (an understatement).

I'm guessing the original poster has had a taste and like me giving up second order tube amplification is a big leap.
>>>I know plenty of speakers that don't need high current- that idea in the post above is an example of a common audio myth.

Not really, physics is still physics, even in audio. Size/efficiency/extension are entwine. If you wish to extend as low as the Magico do, and be as efficient as Wilson, you will have to have a huge enclosure. If you wish to be efficient (add a port), and not have a huge enclosure, you will have limited bass extension ( i.e. Wilson). Choose your poison. The problem is that in order to gain efficiency, many add a port which by definition limits the bass extension by doubling the bass roll off rate. Ports also introduces group delay and all sorts of other issues… Like I said, no free lunch. BTW, in Europe you see Magico pairing with Nagra and Zanden quite often.