Magico A3 vs. Wilson SabrinaX

I demoed the following speakers 2 years ago when I was shopping for a speaker:

Vivid Kaya 90 (very fast and similar to the cheaper KEF Reference line)

Magico A3 (drivers are not the most coherent)

Vandersteen Treo CT (too dark for my ears)

TAD ME1 (pretty amazing but $15K for a bookshelf. That price they pulled out of their ___)

Yamaha NS5000 (a beauty to see and hear, most coherent of the bunch)

All of this was with various top end gear. For my ears, I preferred the TAD ME1 (needs warm gear) and the Yamaha NS5000 (likely best with neutral gear).

I was going to buy the NS5000 but I found a Thiel CS3.7 available locally. The Thiel was on my bucket list for a decade so I bought that and used it for 2 years. I sold it last month and now looking to buy likely my final speaker.

It is down to the Yamaha NS5000 and the KEF Blade 2 META. I was sure I was going to get the Blade but I noticed my young son had dinged the up the drivers on my KEF KC62 sub and now I am not sire if it is wise to buy the Blade 2. It has no grills. I may get a free replacement on the KC62 sub for another issue. If I get the Blades I will need something like this.

Kef Blade 2 Meta Speaker Dust Covers | DigitalDeckCovers

The NS5000 (with grills) is not a bad consolation if I decide to not get the Blades. The NS5000 is an incredible coherent speaker. The 12-inch woofer is made with the same material as the tweeter and midrange. You can get a 60 day home demo with 1 of the online sellers of this model. I have a local dealer here who really does not know what a gem of a speaker they have. Long story.

The Blades need a LONG wall placement for best sound while the NS5000 should be good with either type of placement.

BTW - the sub I mentioned is for my office system which is KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub

Jump on the MAGICO ASAP!!!

@kingbarbuda 

I also have a pair of Benchmark AHB2s. Again they drive them well and are highly resolving and quiet. With tubes which is my new revelation they dynamics are great and soundstage is wide.

When I went and demoed the Magico A3 I took my then single AHB2 and it was awful. I figured it was not powerful enough. I have AHB2 monos now and it is good to hear they drive the A3's well. I am considering using the AHB2's with my Livingroom system. They currently drive my office KEF LS50 Metas. I do not have speakers for the Livingroom.

@linndrum808

The Magicos are not capable of low bass extension.

Falses. The A3 extend just as low as the Subrina, and it is doing it in a much more linear way.

If you do this you hear the mids in greater detail.

False again. Learn the difference between elevated bass (Subrina - typical Wilson) and real extension (the A3 - typical Magico).
The A3 is a much better speaker, objectively (See reviews and measurements).
You, of course, can like what you like.

I auditioned the A3s (associated electronics were Lyngdorf integrated and very high end cables) in my search for a new pair of speakers. I found them to sound dark, closed in, lacking air and sense of space, with boomy bass. They lacked life and I just couldn’t get into the music. When pushed hard I could hear the artifacts of that sealed aluminum cabinet. At first they reminded me of the original Sonus Faber Cremona (I remember those sounding warm but seductive) where the A3s just ended up being dark, lacking engagement factor and unnatural. Not much life in their presentation and once you hear the cabinet artifacts you can’t unhear it.

I ended up buying a pair of Wilson Sabrina original not X.
I drive them with a Pass Labs XA30.8 amplifier.

The Sabrinas required weeks of listening and playing with placement. I had them on furniture sliders and listened to them in one particular placement for days before changing their position. They’re by far the most difficult speakers I ever had when it comes to set up and are super sensitive to room acoustics and upstream components. They’re really a clear lens that lets you see all the faults elsewhere in your system and room. But once everything gels they reward all your hard work with a very satisfying listening experience. Plenty of Wilson Audio haters out there but every time I read their comments I wonder if they actually had an opportunity to audition a properly set up pair, had they even owned a pair of Wilsons paired with proper electronics and room? In most cases the answer is probably no.