vander 5A, Revelsalon2, sf elipsa or magico v3?

I have owned Sophia 2s and listened extensively to the Vandersteen 5As...between those two I selected the Wilson speaker...for the small difference get the Sophia 2 over the 1 version. As an aside I would suggest that you look at some of the Rockport speakers. As a further aside any of those speakers would benefit from an upgrade of your electronics/source players.

when you refer to upgrading my source..which is my weaker link, the Cal audio lab or th eVPI Scout...I assume the CAL.....I am looking at a Mac SACD or Esoteric SACD...I like the Esoteric better but with my Mac electronics, I assume the Mac SACD will fit better...

Cal for sure is the weaker link. A great unit in its day. Personally, I don't think that matching brands btwn a digital player with your amp/pre makes any difference and would go for the player you "like" better, whichever criteria you use.

With your current gears I would vote for SF Elipsa. However, if you have plans of gearing towards the more current and neutral crop of components in the not too distant future, go Magico.

thank you Bvdiman. Can you please elaborate on this? Also, I just heard the Revels again and was impressed. They are also a lot less $$.