Speakers: Anything really new under the sun?

Hi Jaybird. I had the MA Gold Ref60s in the past. They were excellent for the money. Their sound was clear and engaging. Fairly balanced.

Compare the MA Gold R60 with a Magico S3 or an Evolution Acoustics Micro One, and it becomes clear the MA is not capable of the resolution and balance of those mentioned. Both the above are more open in the midrange especially, and much more resolved across all frequencies. It doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but from someone very familiar with your MAs, believe me, it is a case of ‘night and day’. The Evolution Acoustic Micro one is a small narrow-baffle standmount with two ceramic drivers flanking the centrally mounted tweeter. It is extraordinary for its size. The soundstage and presence for a smaller speaker is breath-taking.  The Micro One has slighty less low bass presence than the MA, but is more dynamic, resolving, timbrally and tonally accurate. The Micro One presents a more real-life scale visceral sonic picture, which is is shocking for casual non-audio ‘normies’ because the MA is a ‘full-range’ floorstander. The Micro One cabinets are constructed of baltic birch hardwood. The MA cabinets are constructed of plywood (if I remember correctly) with a veneer. The layered baltic  birchwood cabinet of the Micro One is much stiffer and more inert. My son’s Magico S3 V1 are in my humble opinion, a masterpiece of audio engineering. The S3 constructed of ultrastiff and well-damped extruded aluminium monocoque cabinet enclosure with carbon midrange drivers, beryllium tweeters and ultra stiff aluminum cones. The eliptical crossovers, made from the finest components, are also highly innovative.

If you are looking for a speaker to really rock your world, and you have a budget of say 50 Benjamin Franklins give or take one or two kay, look at used pair of Magico S1 or perhaps the new A3. The advancements and execution of those speakers will bring you much closer to audio nirvana than your MA Silvers.plus this will get you state of the art speaker tech.

Shearer designs were the 1st time and phase matching designs they also featured pattern control. The W bin many of the early Shearer designs used is still current in pro audio and in theaters. Shearer horns have a near realistic sound quality I have had people walking to my house ask me if I had a band playing. I have never had anyone think a conventional audiophile system sounded like the real thing. To this day I incorporate what they learned during the Shearer horn into modern and up-purposed designs that can do what Shearer does but also what a good audiophile loudspeaker does.

I have found that a lot of speakers are difficult to

listen to for more than it takes for the crystal sound and v deep bass takes to dissipate. At first many Of the high end speakers will dazzle the listener but for extended listening time it falls short .

try Elac or Epos bookshelf and a fraction of the expense but listenable!

 

I work with Vandersteen Audio. In the last 25 years Vandersteen has created a line of speakers with powered bass and 11 bands of analog EQ, so they fit int most any room. They have furthered driver technology using a unique sandwich of balsa and carbon fiber that carries a USA patent. They have created an inert carbon fiber box-in-a-box cabinet construction that measure as good as any other box invention to date. Vandersteen extended their "perfect piston" patented technology to tweeters incorporating this into four levels of speakers starting at $10K per pair. Meanwhile, they maintain the original product that put them onto the audio map, the notable Model 2 speaker. This Model 2 is now in its 8th generation of refinement. This is a part of the developments and the constant pursuit of materials and ideas that enhance your emotional involvement with your system. If you want to know more, pick up the phone and call Vandersteen. Richard Vandersteen is on the phone at sharing his enthusiasm for audio, and his over 50 years of knowldege, or come see him on April 7th in San Diego at Stereo Unlimited, and check out the Vandersteen Amplifiers that power the upper part of the speakers. Now that is unique, a high pass amplifier that does not have to power big woofers and is free to run with zero feedback.

They are not real new but ten years ago there was a company called some phase that made an inverted dome speaker where the theater was in the center I have a set they are tonally beautiful. As a point of reference I also have a pair of harbeth slh5 and a set of equation 25 had a pair of maggie 3.3 and a set of kef reference 3 so that may help you know what I like. I have no plans to chance the dome phase speakers nor the other two that I currently own. Regards