New Magico A1 Bookshelf Speakers!

I heard the Kaiser Chiara's in a shop in NYC side-by-side with the Magico S1s and Scansonics top of the line and they delivered as much detail as the Magico's with soundstage that was jaw-droppingly wide and deep.  It is a special speaker.  

IMO, what makes them the "Ultimate" is strictly sound.  They look nice though I did not love the integrated stand.  Could be the shop I was in and the way they had them setup.  Could be the VAC gear that was driving them.  They were also 8-10' from the back wall which is not terribly practical.   They were phenomenal sounding with the above caveats and I say this as someone who makes a $7000 stand-mount speaker that competes with the A1s.  They are better than mine (though they are 3x the price).  

I am not sure how they are making such a great sounding speaker using such mundane components.  I am definitely not convinced advanced drivers are critical.  Listen to Wilson.  Regarding the tweeter, not even a tiny bit of shrillness but it was driven by VAC gear which maybe tamed it a hair.  I hate MDF and make my cabinets out of composites (and I am working on "solid bamboo" products that will be less expensive).  I have no idea how Kaiser isolates the drivers enough so that resonance from the MDF is not impacting the sound.  I would love to get my hands on a pair and take them apart. 

Regarding the demo, the dealer did a side by side hot swap Magico for Kaiser mid song.  It was as clean a swap where memory, dealer suggestion, bias, price, etc.. would have the smallest possible impact.  They are magnificent.  

On paper, you are right.  The A1 should win.  In practice, the Kaisers beat the S1s.  

I have not heard Kaisers side-by-side with the Duette IIs.   I have heard the Tune Tots separately and although lovely, the soundstage was lacking compared to Kaiser, Raidho and IMHO, my Blackthorns.  Though, I heard the Tune Tots driven by a Naim integrated rather than VAC mono-blocks.  

Both the A1 and Tune Tot seem to be optimized to near wall placement which is cool.  Mine are rear ported and the bass gets a little boomy with near wall placement.  A bung works wonderfully but you are going to lose 10hz in bass response where I will bet the opposite is the case with the Magico's and the Tune Tots.  

I know for a fact (having owned a pair) the Raidho's need 9' in spacing between them and 3' of space from rear wall.  Without that spacing, they are rather mundane.  I would be the Kaiser's need as much if not a little more with that passive radiator to be at their best.  

feel free to look at mine at verdantaudio.com. My carbon fiber cabinets are the Blackthorns and I use magnesium composite drivers and magnesium & ceramic tweeter. The Nightshades are fiberglass cabinets and use paper cones and a silk dome. All drivers are from Eton.  

Was it the S1, or the S1 Mk2? Big difference. 
Also, to the unsuspected ear, the AMT tweeter will always win on a/b testing. Try long terms listening, and the craze of changing amps/cables etc. start in the hope of taming the highs (plastic coloration stays). There is a reason they always play these with AN, Kondo or, in your case,  VAC amps. Not my idea of fun, YMMV. 

Thanks for the input so far ... very appreciated.

Back to the point on the A1s, I'm guessing it's too early for any of the sites and rags to have reviewed them?  

Guess we'll have to wait a few more months.  

I'm encouraged but also have a feeling the A1s are going to need a good deal of (clean) power to run them well.

If you are LA area, Brooks Berdan has them on display. I get emails from them.

Since it is Magico, I would expect reviews within a couple months of launch.  Should see something in Q1, 2020.  Regarding power, it would not shock me if the impedance is lower on those speakers and they will require a bit more oomph to do their best.  I said before, I expect them to be very good.

My demo vs. Kaiser was the S1s not S1 MK2.  That being said, I almost bought the S1s and I really find Magico to be one of the only beryllium tweeter implementations I really like.  This was a few years ago right as the MK II was coming out.    

Also, I thought it was MDF.  Just looked and the cabinet is made of "Tankwood / rubber / glass fibre high pressure sandwich cabinet without parallel surfaces."  That explains why they can use a paper cone and get such good results.  

I have not spent an extended period with an AMT.  Might need to make a pair of speakers with one of the mundorf AMT used here and an Eton driver given the high impedance values of both.  .    

I personally like tube amps a lot and am the importer for Art Audio so I am sure I will be able to find amps that will make them shine.  .