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Magico A3

I auditioned a pair of Magico A3's this week to replace my long-term, beloved speakers (Von Schweikert VR5 HSE) that are just too big for the apartment I moved into, and are sounding (but not looking) a bit dated (ca. 2001). I am emotionally attached to my speakers and changing is like divorcing and re-marrying -- they may look and sound good and seem compatible, but one doesn't know until one has lived with them for some time whether the relationship will last.

In brief: If someone would have told me the A3's were $15K - $20K I would not have been surprised. First, they are much more handsome in the flesh (or in the aluminum, to be literal) than in photos. They have a clean, bold, post-industrial look. They also are Goldilocks-size: not too big, not too small for a 22x12x8 living room. And the sound, especially the vocals, is eerily natural and realistic. The bass is astonishingly deep and tight, the highs crisp but not sizzling and the mid stellar. They just sounded fresh and clean without being antiseptic. And, they can rock with the best (check out Maybe the People on Love's legendary album Forever Changes) but be delicate when the music is (e.g., Wilco's Jesus etc., or Natalie Prass's Bird of Prey). So, I ordered a pair on the spot. Delivery will not be until August as the early production run apparently has sold out.

I predict this speaker will go down as one of the greatest values in audio history, and I cannot imagine the price remaining at $9,800/pr for long, especially when the formal reviews come out. BUT, we will see how we get along when I bring them home and we have lived together for some time. That will be the true test of whether it is love, or just respect and admiration.

Neal
nglazer
mtrot
804 posts
 
Heard them at AXPONA last weekend, but there were so many people in the room and I couldn't get into a prime seating position.  From where I was, they didn't sound better than the other new entries at the ~$10K price mark, i.e., Paradigm Persona 3F, Focal Kanta No.2, Revel F228 Be.  I got a better listen to these others and really liked the F228 and Persona 3F. 

But I definitely want to hear the A3 in a better listening environment, as well as the others.
rlb61
789 posts
 
Just wondering what compromises they made to get the A3 down to that price point.
csmgolf
887 posts
 
They had an A3 there that had the side removed so as to be able to see how it was built. They are built very solidly,  with extensive, all aluminum, internal bracing. They are significantly smaller than many of the Magico speakers I have seen, so that may be where some of the price difference comes in. I agree that they sounded very, very good. 
siddh
345 posts
 
From the Absolute Sound
Magico A3
Without a doubt, the product creating the greatest buzz at AXPONA 2018 was Magico’s three-way, four-driver A3 that will be selling at the very un-Magico-like price of $9800. The aluminum enclosure is built in the fashion of Magico’s pricier Q series speakers, with an elaborate system of internal supports; the drivers include a beryllium tweeter based on the one in the M series speakers (without the diamond coating) and the newly designed midrange and woofer cones have graphene diaphragms. Alon Wolf explained that considerable savings were realized by building the A3s in much larger batches than other Magico models and by offering just one finish/color option. These cost-saving measures notwithstanding, sonically, the A3 was immediately identifiable as a Magico when driven by either a Hegel or D’Agostino stereo amplifier, with characteristic clarity and seamlessness from top to bottom. I’ll want to see how the A3s stack up against S1 Mk2s, which I own and cost $6000 more. Stay tuned.
erik_squires
16,059 posts
 
For the money I MUCH prefer the A3 to the S1 Mk II.

I think it is a much easier speaker to live with in several ways, while giving up nothing.

Best,

E
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