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Daedalus Athena

Hi I have been shopping for speakers and Daedalus Athena got my attention recently. I've never auditioned Daedalus speakers before and wonder how they sound? I saw quite a few posts on this forum that compared Daedalus and Devore. How would you compare the sound of Daedalus Athena with the other non high-efficiency speakers (used) in the same price range? 

jjue
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
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 
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
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

david12
1,454 posts
 

 As a Daedalus DA-RMA user I second, third, whatever the comments made. My speakers have similar range and cone compliment to the Athena. In fact they are a large Standmount version of the Athena.

 I auditioned a number of efficient speakers before going with Daedalus and the two other makes I could have happily lived with were Devore and Silveline, specifically the Bolero, but over twice the price of mine.


 Devore and Daedalus are on the Musical side of an imaginary Musical, Detailed spectrum and both do well with Tubes. Lou at Daedalus, claims you can run his speakers with 8 SET Watts, but ideally more is better. A 20 Watt Ayon amp I was using at the time worked well, as did a 50 watt Pathos Inpol, but my ARC Ref 75SE is a great match.

 Both would be a great choice, but Daedalus pips Devore to the post, for me, Plus Lou is a great guy to deal with


jjue OP
104 posts
 
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?
melbguy1
1,438 posts
 
charles1dad5,137 posts11-07-2016 11:53pmHello 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
I wasn’t particularly engaged by the Q3 either which was too clean and lacking soul, though I liked the Q1.And atleast Soulution’s old series were absolutely emblematic of the same kind of sound (ie: a poor match with the Q series imho), though the latest 5 & 7 series are supposed to be more musical.

The Magico S5 Mk2 is definitely a big improvement over the Mk1, and a much more complete speaker. Like all Magico speakers, they need some warmth and tube-like liquidity in the chain, and excellent attention to detail from grounding/conditioning to amps, isolation, cables & front end. Everything matters. But the reward should be worth it!
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