Magico A3 vs. Joseph Audio Perspective vs. Spendor D9


Hi All,

I have been doing some research over the past while and am currently in the midst of a search for my next floorstanding speaker that costs around ~$10k. My other thread that I posted in this forum gave me a lot to consider. Rather than post there, I figured a most focused thread would be a good idea. Now, I have distilled my choices to these 3 choices... I think.

Power: I will be powering the speakers with a SET amp (48W per channel).
Sources: Most of my sources are digital (Roon/Tidal). I mostly listen to jazz, classical and female vocals. I would appreciate a speaker that provides that good, snappy bass where I don't need a subwoofer.
Room: Large room (will be in the living room that opens up to the kitchen and then the dining room). Aesthetics do matter here.

I have received a ton of help through the forums already during my search and have now narrowed down my speaker choices to (in no particular order):

  • Magico A3 - No issues driving these speakers with my amp. Tested and they sounded wonderful. Very analytical and super clear details. Tight bass as well but maybe more weighted in the clarity/details than warmth, even with my tube amp.
  • Joseph Audio Perspective - No dealers in WA or OR so no way to test these but have heard wonderful things about these speakers. Sounds like imaging/sound stage is a strong suit along with clarity. I wonder how bass performance is though as these have smaller woofers compared to my other choices.
  • Spendor D9 - Have not heard these speakers yet but am trying to find a local dealer that has them in stock.
Another one that I am still thinking about is the Daedalus Argos but I would like to hear some feedback on the top 3 at this time.

Thanks!
freesole
freesole,

I'm just offering insight on the JA Perspectives mostly because it's hard to find people with much experience listening to them aside from hearing them at shows.  And since you (and others) have heard the Magicos, I don't think giving my own long impression here would be add much.


I don't own the Perspectives. I was taken by them when I auditioned them over a year ago and wondered if they might replace my big Thiel 3.7 speakers, so I had a couple day home audition. They blew me away, but so did my Thiels. I decided I couldn't give up the Thiels and instead I'd just add the Perspectives to my "collection." Saved up for a long time for the Perspectives. Once I just about had enough I figured I'd survey the speaker landscape of other choices to make sure I'd be making the right choice on the Perspectives. Hence my long speaker audition thread.

But that also had me re-auditioning the Perspectives again to compare with all those other speakers. So I have a lot of "audition time" with them. (I don't own them simply because a financial requirement arose suddenly that made my purchase impossible for the time being).

Anyway....

As for lower powered tube amps, I've heard them sound excellent on 100W tubed Mcintosh amps.  People raved about the Perspectives in a recent show, powered by the Doshi tube amps, 65W.

I never got around to testing them on my older Eico HF81 tube integrated (14 side), only on my CJ tube amps, 140W.

As for warmth in the sound:  the JA speakers have a "warmth" in the mids/lower mids/upper bass but it's not necessarily in the sense of "big, round, lush."   It's not that kind of emphasized lower mids warmth, or the Big Fat Midrange sound you get with many wider-baffle speakers like Harbeth, or especially Devore "O" series speakers.   The Devore speakers, for example, give the midrange Big Fat Weighty sound.

The JA speakers sound more linear, and do have something of that "narrow profile speaker" sound, so bigger speakers will present a sax that sounds bigger.  But they nonetheless have a richness right were it needs to be in the warmth area, and a particularly "human timbre" richness where male voices have that richness you want, and female voices sound particularly superb.


The main difference in character I think you'll find in essentially neutral speakers like the Magico, Spendor and Joseph are, to my ears, that smoothness inherent in the Joseph speakers, the lack of grain.  This allows them to have extended highs, crisp transients, like you might expect (to use cliche) from metal drivers (even though they use a soft dome tweeter).  Cymbals sound really "metallic" and with great individual character, rather than bursts of white noise.  But the lack of grain to the sound makes it unfatiguing to listen.  (In fact, the lack of grain/hash can sometimes lead the JA speakers to sort of sound a bit "darker" than some other speakers, even though they are pretty linear and extended through the high frequencies.  Though they can of course sound too bright in the wrong situation too).  It's a subtle difference, but if it grabs you, it grabs you, and it's why I preferred the JA speakers even over the Magicos.

When I listened to the Magico speakers, I heard tons of detail and sonic information, that really made instruments sound individual and holographically rendered.  But they just didn't do for me what I get as soon as I play anything through the JA speakers.  There's almost a hair-raising-on-the-arms sensation of "wow, that is what a piano, a voice etc" actually sounds like!   It's not so much "sonic detail that allows me to differentiate everything" in a sort of intellectual way, but more like the fact that different materials, metal cymbals, horns, wood instruments,  steel strings, gut strings actually SOUND like they are made of those materials, and less like a homogenized timbre.  


I'm a bit of a tonal/timbre nut, so that's why the JA speakers really grab me. 


But...we all tend to focus on different things, and in that way "hear" differently when we are shopping for speakers.  So you could feel different than I do in comparing the three brands.  (Though, I would say, that my own impressions of the JA sound line up with what seems like a constant theme from users and show reports - usually the remarks center on their timbral precision, soundstaging, and dynamics).

Though, again, even though the Perspectives punch well above their small size, I would think if you want an even more authoritative sound, in terms of frequency extension and presentation, the Magicos would likely do that more.  (And maybe the Spendor 9s, though I haven't heard them in a while).





 

Any reason the ProAc D48's didn't make your list?  They are often listed as the D9's close rival.

Thank being said, I auditioned the D7's (not the 9's) against Spendor Classic 100 (effectively, mk III of the SP100) this summer, and preferred the 100's by a significant margin...

@prof

Lack of grain with JA Perspectives?? Out of SEAS magnesium drivers? You got to be kidding? Just look at SP measurements of these speakers, and the nasty midrange breakup at only 5KHz (!!). It is only 15db down in level (we hear down to -60db). You keep feeding this forum with misleading information. I wonder if you actually listened to any of these speakers. Your subjective description of them is in stark contrast to their objective performance.
@sciencecop -- I've also heard several JA speakers at home, in dealers, and at shows (including the Perspectives with my own music), and I've never heard anything indicating breakup or distortion in any of the models I've heard.  Nor have I read any reviews that indicate anything like that as well.  Plus, those highly regarded SEAS magnesium drivers are used in many, many high-end speakers, which I seriously doubt would be the case if they had a serious and audible flaw.  Have YOU heard JA speakers at length in a room and system you're familiar with?  Or are you one of those guys who think you can tell what a component sounds like by looking at measurements alone?
I have to agree with Prof on this one.  The measurements you refer to as their objective performance did not appear in my objective listening of them in the past.  I have listened to all three of freesole’s well researched and thoughtfully chosen selections and each have traits that I love.  The Spendors happened to work for me a little better than the others in my system. Your choice is one between three outstanding choices.