Magico compared to Tannoy

gammaman, not to mention the JC 1+ is a better sounding amp than the Boulder. Boulder wastes a lot of money in fancy CNCed chassis and building them in America. The parts used in the JC 1+ are just as good if not better. It has a basic chassis and face plate that Parasound uses in several units saving money. Parasound is a brilliant company expert at making fantastic products at a reasonable price. The JC 3 phono stage is another prime example. You will not believe the difference when you fire up the JC 1s for the first time. 

ebm
You are so right. Not nice at all. The owners have so much invested, they don't want to hear it. Same for both speakers. Perhaps I should retract that and proclaim my undying love for both. 

I’m probably one of the few who have moved from tannoy to magico so I thought I should respond to this.  I had the Kensington’s (SE) with primaluna dialogue premium preamp and HP amp.  I went to Magico A3.  The tube amps were not a good match for the A3, so thinking it was a power issue I got another PL amp to use as mono blocks at 150 w/ch with KT120s.  It was a bit sluggish still, did not sound right, so I moved to Luxman 509x, which was a great match, much more detail, clarity, and speed.  Anyway, my comparison will be the Tannoy with the tubes vs the Magico with the Luxman.  Overall, the Tannoy had the better midrange, very nice.  The Magico had a more even frequency response however from top to bottom.  Highs were much more revealing while not being harsh in any way, and bass was significantly better, going lower with better pitch definition and impact.  For my tastes I enjoyed the Magico more, which is why I switched of course, but I still hold the Tannoy in high regard.  The midrange is just excellent.  I wish I could have heard the Tannoy with the Luxman, I think it would have been an even closer race.  I did at one time have the Turnberrys with the Luxman 550ax, and this was a fantastic combination.  Ultimately these are different speakers and a lot comes down to what music you listen to and tastes, for example whether you want to hear a Beautiful voice with accompanying instruments (Tannoy) or the same music with more Soundstage precision and background details in the recording venue, tighter bass, but not quite as beautiful (Magico).  And I’m not even saying which one is more ‘correct’.  That is, by beautiful don’t think I mean ‘colored’.  This is more about overall presentation. Also, I think the Tannoy are probably a lot easier to match with electronics and will sound good with a lot of things whereas the Magico needs a lot of current and may be fussier with “lesser” amplifiers in quality.  The Magico are more precise and coherent whereas tannoy is very pleasant to listen to and in many ways does things that many other loudspeakers can’t do.  As always best if they can be auditioned.  

Great post....

Thanks from a past  happy Tannoy user....

@jimmy2615 I am happy to hear that you like your Magico A3s. I preordered them when they were announced. I would like to say that my experience with their need for current or watts is different than yours. I don’t know how loud you play your music. I play mainly jazz. But not exclusively so. However, I have driven my 88dB 4 ohm A3s very well with First Watt SIT-3 and a M2. Also with an F5 I used to own. No issues. Good SQ and volume. They are also driven well with the 3 tube amps I own: PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP with stock preamp tubes and stock EL34s. Also with a Boyuurange A50 Mk3 300B tube amp that has only 7-8 WPC. Also driven well by a Raven Blackhawk Mk3 I recently acquired. All of these amp drive the A3 with authority. I never get the volume knob to 12 o’clock. Also tube watts are greater than SS watts, so to speak. Are your A3s rated at 88dB and 4 ohms? Do you use stock cables or upgraded cables? Do you take your power straight from the wall outlet or do you use power conditioning or regeneration? Also what size room do you have? Mine is a medium to small room. Also have you optimized your speaker positioning? Just curious as to why your experience differs. Thanks.