Daedalus Athena

@charles1dad , Magico speakers can be tamed by choosing smooth, organic sounding amps & cables such as Vitus Signature series & Jorma Design. Some tube amps like Absolare and Vac IQ series also sound glorious. That’s the thing, those speakers demand the best accompanying gear.

Hello Melbguy1,
I've heard the Magico in  a audio dealer showroom and CES x4, RMAF x1 and Axpona. I've listened to the Q 3, Q 5  and the Q7 as well as the S1, S3  and S5. The S5  driven by the Absolare Passion Signature amplifier was the best sounding Magico demonstration I've heard. I didn't care for the Q models driven by the Soulution amplifiers.  In fact the Q range was better when paired with the Constellation amplifiers. 

I don't doubt what you say and I'll concede that you have more intimate experience with Magico than I.  I can only report on what I've actually heard. I feel the Q series is more analytical in character than their S series.  No question that electronics, cabling and acoustic room treatment can certainly impact the end result to some extent. 
Charles 

How would you compare the sound of Daedalus Athena with the other non high-efficiency speakers (used) in the same price range?

I can’t speak to that in terms of experience with recent models, and I’d be hesitant to do so anyway because it would inevitably come down to the specific models being compared and to personal preference. But as a Daedalus Ulysses owner (since 2010, and with no interest in changing to anything else in the foreseeable future) I will add the following points to what I consider to be the characteristically perceptive and accurate comments Charles stated above:

1) I would expect the Daedalus models and many of the Devore models to be considerably more versatile with respect to amplifier selection than the medium efficiency models you mentioned, and with respect to most others in the medium (or low) efficiency category. While the Daedalus and Devore speakers will certainly be revealing of the amplifier’s intrinsic sonic character, their benign impedance characteristics and relatively high efficiency will eliminate sonic issues that can result with many amp/speaker combinations due to impedance interactions, and will make it easy for most amplifiers to perform at their best.

2)The higher efficiency of the Daedalus models and most of the Devore models, relative to the kinds of alternatives you mentioned, means that a higher percentage of your amplifier dollars can go towards quality rather than watts.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Thank you all for sharing your experience. That helps a lot!! I was guessing Magico would be classified as the more analytical speaker when I posted my question. And I think I am confirming my assumption now. Has anybody paired Daedalus speakers with solid state amps? I'm thinking about getting a pair of Daedalus but would like to keep my electronics (Hegel H200 integrated, Hegel HD25 DAC). Thoughts?