Magico Mini 2 vs Kharma Midi Exquisit vs MBL 101s

I am a Mini II owner, so I guess you know what I am going to say as my preference.

I have listened to the Kharma, MBL etc mentioned in the thread. I too would rule Sonus Faber out immediately as they are very colored and are clearly 'voiced' after some specific tastes and preferences.

A few things about the Mini II.

1) The Mini II are essentially new speakers compare to the Mini (Original). Diff crossover, diff woofers.

2) The Mini II are considerably 'warmer' then the original Mini. The minor problem with the original Mini has to do with the breakup frequency of the woofer... which has been rectified by the new nanotec driver (which is really nano-tubes mixed with Rohacell).

3) I am completely addicted to the sound from a properly sealed enclosure. All port speakers now sound 'wrong' to me... when the sound reaches the port tuning frequency in a ported design, it alsmot feels like the speaker is 'giving up' and just sort of puff out sound... kinda disgusting.

4) While I am well aware of the limitations of a 2 way speaker, I have a soft spot in my heart for them. I have yet listened to a >2 way speaker that offers the same kind of 'intimacy' as a properly executed 2 way speaker like the Mini II. I do not mean they sound 'close' by using the word intimacy, but a way the music communicates with the listener.

I hope one day I will find a larger speaker with the finesse and proper execution of the Mini II but in a 'larger scale' version... perhaps the upcoming Magico M5?

Wslam,I've enjoyed your posts,on the Valin discussion site.Though I usually find J.V. to be a bit over the top,he pretty much got this speaker "right" in his opinion piece!

I convinced my friend to be open to the "mini-monitor" approach(that "mini" word scared him originally)and he subsecuently bought the Mini II's.He has a room size around 12 x 20,with 8 foot ceilings.These mate far better than his previous big three way.

The new speaker likes his Rowland 8t incredibly much(300 wpc),and he has a superb sense of scale,and more importantly,a superb tonal range.To hear the superb original pressing Mercury LP's,and a vast array of killer discs in such gorgeous/convincing fashion has altered my way of listening at "his" place.Gotta love it!

In his room,with good program material,the low bass can "easily" shake the walls and retain proper scale,and it is HERE that we know it is a good room match,because he is set against a sub.Not needed here!

Of course there are those,in our club,who cannot bring themselves to accept the "fact" that such a "somewhat" small speaker is doing ALL of this "gorgeous music",and they look for little things to pick on(like not enough overblown bass....yes a port cannot match a correctly designed sealed system....IF THE SEALED DESIGN IS PROPERLY ROOM LOADED).

I myself just have to laugh at the contrarians,because though the speaker is getting a bit too costly,it is STILL superb in almost every way!As you know,you have to hear it well set-up to understand -:)

BTW,I believe there is going to be a goodly amount of high ticket competition in the NEW "mini-market",now that Magico has put this speaker on the audio table....

I am anxious to see/hear from TAD,who is going to release their own monitor design,possibly as soon as the RMAF,but no later than Vegas,from what they have told me.That should be "serious" competition for the Magico Mini,and it will be a coaxial mid/tweet,with an 8 inch woof(yet it IS vented,hmm).....Not cheap,at over thirty grand,but Magico needs the competition....No?

Good luck

More stand mounted monitor competition:

Focal Diablo Utopia

Hi SirSpeedy,

Indeed... it is a common assumption that smaller-sized speakers cannot deliver the deep bass compare to larger speakers. I used to belong to this camp as well, until I listened to the MM II. I guess when a speaker is properly designed and executed to achieve close to its theoretical ideals, even smaller sized speakers can trump much larger speakers that are built to a lower standard.

There are, of course, ported designs that are truly exceptional in having tuneful, meaningful bass. However, Wilson is certainly NOT one of them...neither is VS. They may do well with kick bass drum, but throw them a large orchestral piece with contrapuntal bass lines and it becomes quite a mess.

Having said that, I would love to hear the TAD. They seem to have no distribution whatsoever, at least internationally... I have emailed them several times but they never replied to my emails. Very strange...

WSLAM....TAD replied to my E-mail in one day.

Expect a superb design to be available for the consumer fairly soon.

Btw,one thing I like about the MINI II,is the ability to hold superb resolution at very low volumes.This is a very good attribute,as there will inevitably be times the music will not be played loudly,but you still want a high level of resolution.

My current speaker is a master at this,and is also a sealed design,with separate crossovers.One reason why I just cannot part with them.

Best