Magico vs the world

Happy owner of an A5. Best speakers I ever had. I had a ~$40K budget for a speaker, couldn't find anything better. YMMV.  

@henry201 Some questions regarding your A5s:

1. Do you use them with subwoofers?

2. Please clarify what feet and flooring you have them on. For instance, spikes and pads on hard wood floor, or Isoacoustics feet, etc?

3. Did you A-B them against the A3s? If so, what were your impressions?

 Thanks. K

1. No

2. Hardwood floor, supplied spikes and floor savers.

3. I did. The A5 is better across the board. It's a safe upgrade.  
 

There is no one best manufacturer or best speaker, it's completely subjective. Also, so much depends on the amp(s), preamp and source when demoing. 

All that said, a few years back when looking for my next speaker the top of my list included Magico S3, Evolution Acoustics MM3, Vandersteen 7 and Vivid Audio Giya G2. After extensive listening I purchased the Vivids. I could have likely lived happily with the Vandersteens also. Some months later I had the opportunity to hear the Magico M3s and they are very, very good. They might just be my next speaker.

I have never heard a loudspeaker. What I have heard is loudspeakers as a vital component of a system. Over the past few years, I have heard two systems that stood out. One had Sonus Faber Aria IIs with top-tier Audio Research amplification and dCS Vivaldi stack as the source. The other was the Magico M2 with top-tier Luxman amplification and Aurender digital sourcing; I should mention that it also used more than $30k of Shunyata conditioning and power cords, and similarly expensive cabling, too, I am sure. Let me add that the “Magico” experience was jaw-droppingly superb. However, I also heard M2s at another dealer with a totally different setup. There, what I heard was essentially mediocre.

Obviously, in my estimation, the M2s have outstanding potential. Whether that potential can result in one hearing a revelatory audio experience is another matter altogether.