2. speakers
  3. 1355912322

Magico V3 with tubed amplification, will it work ?

Hello There,
I'm planning to upgrade my old Thiel 3.6 speakers.

I was considering Von Schweikert VR5 Anniversary, really liked then, divine soundstage, great transparency. But I have heard Magico Mini on some audio show, I have never heard anything like this, they sounded different then anything else, so involving, truthful, I was captivated literally... For me they bettered all speaker I have heard so far. (I know that they do not have slam of Wilson speakers). But price $20.000 for mini monitors, that is insane.
But, now I have noticed that V3 can be bought for $12.000, which is about as much I could afford. And V3 will have better dynamics and more bass which is all I would need.
I have talked with former Magico dealer and he told me that Magico will not work with 100W tube amplifier (Supratek Burgundy) or Clayton M100 (class A 100W) which I own.
He basically told me that I need strong 300W of solid state power from Spectral, ML, Krell, Ayre to make them sing. With 100W he claimed they will sound dull uninvolving.
I do not want to change amps so I’m in quandary. He was trying to convince me that Wilson Sasha is better choice and they are easy to drive and 100W will do just fine.
I’m not sure if this is genuine advice or just dealer talk, he is selling Wilson Audio now.
How can Sasha be easy load if it drops to 1.8ohm ? I’m not convinced, so I'm looking for second opinion. I heard on numerous occasions WATT/Puppy in shortcut huge soundstage big bass, but was never captivated by music the way I was with Magico. Hence my question:
Have anybody been using V3 with tube amplification ? Can Magico be successfully driven by 100W tube amp ?
sorlowski
vicdamone
850 posts
 
For a few more bucks you should look into Rockports Mira II.

It's a very subjective hobby. I've had a pair of Avalon Eidolons for some time now. Right or wrong almost all other speaker systems just don't sound right to my ears anymore. The same could be said for people used to the sound of horn and panel speaker systems.

For people who have vastly different goals Magico's direction could easily be considered overrated. I spent a little over four hours in a home with a Q5 / all Ayre MX system. The sonic direction and presentation that is Magico makes sense to my way of listening (an understatement).

I'm guessing the original poster has had a taste and like me giving up second order tube amplification is a big leap.
razmika
45 posts
 
>>>I know plenty of speakers that don't need high current- that idea in the post above is an example of a common audio myth.

Not really, physics is still physics, even in audio. Size/efficiency/extension are entwine. If you wish to extend as low as the Magico do, and be as efficient as Wilson, you will have to have a huge enclosure. If you wish to be efficient (add a port), and not have a huge enclosure, you will have limited bass extension ( i.e. Wilson). Choose your poison. The problem is that in order to gain efficiency, many add a port which by definition limits the bass extension by doubling the bass roll off rate. Ports also introduces group delay and all sorts of other issues… Like I said, no free lunch. BTW, in Europe you see Magico pairing with Nagra and Zanden quite often.
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Razmika,Whow your so smart Dude!!
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Don't know what Ebm means, but Razmika's post makes a lot of sense. The Magico V3 is pretty inefficient and I would certainly listen to them with tube amps before I committed to buying them.
madfloyd
411 posts
 
My opinion based on owning the V2s and having heard the V3s a few times is that a very powerful SS is the way to go.

My V2s sounded uninspired with not just tube amps, but even a tube pre in the mix. The midrange on these speakers are very lush and do not need tubes (again, imo).
More to discover