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Auditioned Magico A3 - VERY DARK...

So today after waiting for months to try and listen to the Magico A3, I went to Scott Walker audio at Anaheim and listened to the Magico A3, connected to some VAC Tube amp, being fed from a Sony audio streamer, here are my impressions:

- They look fantastic, I wish they made them in silver too, but they are just great in brush black aluminum
- They're quite small and could fit everywhere
- Fit and finish is impecable
- The bass they generated was nothing but amazing for such a small cabinet, you could hear the drums, the down beats and incredible depth of bass at an amazing level
- Imaging was INSANE, you could literally place everyone and everything...
- Sound was VERY VERY DARK!!! This was a bit of a surprise, the top end lacked for my taste to a quite a degree
- I felt like the combo of the Tube amp and Magico lacked resolution, while bass and mid was great, the top end absolutely lacked resolution
- The sound was extremely laid back, again dark
- It does NEED POWER, like he had to crank the volume up, to get good sound out of this, so be aware of that

Overall, I "personally" did NOT like the sound, it lacked details and resolution at the top end, while it was great at the bottom end.  Now, the rep and I think this is mostly due to Tube amp, and connecting it to a solid state amp would bring back resolution, but we simply didn't have time to do that today.  I look forward to listen to these at another time with some decent solid-state amp, but as-is, I was NOT as impressed as I expected and wouldn't have purchased one and I strongly believe Tube and Magico A3 do NOT go well together! 

Anyone else with similar impressions?! Curious to know what others may think, or maybe there was something else in play?

Thoughts?
alexb76
jhills
615 posts
 
@satbox Others have said the same, regarding the Hegel H360 with the A3s.
Happy listening...Jim
melbguyone
294 posts
 
@jhills, I don’t thing you need to throw $35-$50k worth of amplification at the A3’s to make them sing. However $10k worth of cables given even a simple system is not over the top imho. Re: amplification, I could name three integrated amps which would have good synergy with the A3’s & would not break the bank.

- Audio Analogue Maestro Anniversary which would retail in the US circa $9k
- Audia Flight FLS-10 which would retail circa $11k
- Accuphase E-470 which is $12kUS

The Audio Analogue amp in particular is a peach & punches well above it’s price point. Though in a larger room, the AF amp would be the better choice. Another integrated I recently reviewed, the Vitus RI-101 would also be an excellent choice, though that amp would be on the high side of $15kUS. And as you pointed out, there are probably several tube integrateds which would have good synergy with the A3’s incl: Vac and Octave Audio.
dimora's avatar
dimora
61 posts
 
I heard Magico’s in two separate demo rooms at Axpona this year.  One room was “meh” and the other sounded quite nice.  There are so many variables here...every component in the chain as well as the room and most importantly the source /recording quality of the music.

To pass judgment, you probably need to go back with source material you know well and listen with the speakers in various positions with different amps.  If the speakers are too new the driver suspensions may also not be broken in.

i heard those Egglestons a previous poster mentioned as well and they were very nice.  I liked them better than Magico’s, but a quick listen at a big show with a single song is hardly enough to pass a fair judgment.  

My favorites at Axpona were Sonus Faber, GoldenEar, Wilson Audio, Ryan, Eggleston and Daedalus.  The Ryan’s are the best bookshelf size speaker I’ve heard, the sonus were the best cost-no-object, and the GoldenEar T-Refs were amazing - especially for their price.  They bested all but the Sonus and Wilson’s in my opinion.  
melbguyone
294 posts
 
@dimora, those Magico speakers must not have been setup optimally. If I were setting up a room at a show with the A3’s, I would use the Vitus RI-101 integrated, Alluxity Media One, Gold Note Mediterraneo tt w/ B-7 ceramic arm + PH-10 phono stage, Taoc CSR series racks, Gigawatt PC-3 SE Evo+ conditioner & PAD Neptune series cables. For room acoustics, I would use Stillpoints Aperture II panels. I promise you that room would have lines out the door.
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