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Auditioned Magico A3 - VERY DARK...

So today after waiting for months to try and listen to the Magico A3, I went to Scott Walker audio at Anaheim and listened to the Magico A3, connected to some VAC Tube amp, being fed from a Sony audio streamer, here are my impressions:

- They look fantastic, I wish they made them in silver too, but they are just great in brush black aluminum
- They're quite small and could fit everywhere
- Fit and finish is impecable
- The bass they generated was nothing but amazing for such a small cabinet, you could hear the drums, the down beats and incredible depth of bass at an amazing level
- Imaging was INSANE, you could literally place everyone and everything...
- Sound was VERY VERY DARK!!! This was a bit of a surprise, the top end lacked for my taste to a quite a degree
- I felt like the combo of the Tube amp and Magico lacked resolution, while bass and mid was great, the top end absolutely lacked resolution
- The sound was extremely laid back, again dark
- It does NEED POWER, like he had to crank the volume up, to get good sound out of this, so be aware of that

Overall, I "personally" did NOT like the sound, it lacked details and resolution at the top end, while it was great at the bottom end.  Now, the rep and I think this is mostly due to Tube amp, and connecting it to a solid state amp would bring back resolution, but we simply didn't have time to do that today.  I look forward to listen to these at another time with some decent solid-state amp, but as-is, I was NOT as impressed as I expected and wouldn't have purchased one and I strongly believe Tube and Magico A3 do NOT go well together! 

Anyone else with similar impressions?! Curious to know what others may think, or maybe there was something else in play?

Thoughts?
alexb76

Showing 7 responses by jtgofish

jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
Yes the Magicos can sound a bit dark and a bit congested.What they need is a really special sounding preamp.I have heard a Supratek Cabernet 300B preamp inserted into a very expensive  system using Magico S5s and Audia Flight Strumento preamps and power amps and the Supratek completely transformed the sound.Like a completely different system.From a bit dark,cold ,small and dull sounding to huge,open,dynamic and vibrant.I would have never believed a preamp could make so much difference.
jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
Well I think the Strumento #4 power amp is superb but the preamp is simply not in the same league and the power amp deserves something much better.Which is pretty much what Edgar Kramer said [if you read between the lines] when he reviewed them.Of course Edgar Kramer uses a Supratek preamp.I have a  friend with the Strumento pre and power amps.He also owns an Usher preamp which I think sounds much better than the Strumento preamp too-ceratinly much more open and vibrant.
It is probably just one of those freakish synergies that do exist in audio where for some reason a few components just combine fantastically together and in this case the Supratek preamp seems to unlock the potential of the other components.You would have to hear it to believe it .
jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
Well if you like your AF preamp then that is all that is important.I can see why some people would like them because they sound very composed, smooth and refined.We do not all hear or listen the same.I much prefer the more open, 3D.vivid,dynamic and free sound of the Supratek however because to me that is how real music sounds. To me by comparison the Strumento preamp sounds like the sound is really struggling to get free of the boxes.Yes I have owned a Supratek Cabernet preamp for about ten years.A lot of other components including other preamps have come and gone but that has always stayed.

jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
Well yes I agree in absolute terms the Magico S5s do not sound especially dark,cold,small and dull.My brother owns a pair so I know them well.That was a bit unfair.They are very good speakers.
What I meant was that by comparison with  the sound when the Supratek was inserted they sounded dark,cold,small and dull [within the context of that system] So I meant it in relative terms and perhaps the term constricted would have been a better term to use.


jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
Yes I agree with that description of the Magico S5s in general terms.Indeed that is how my brother's sound although he now uses high end Accuphase preamps and power amps which seem to sound more vibrant and open than the Vitus which he previously owned.Not that the Vitus sounded bad.
However the Magicos can sound a bit dull, constricted and box-bound too.Which is how many people seem to hear them.They are speakers that do divide opinions but suspect that is purely due to pre/power amp combinations that do not allow them to reveal their best.
In the AF system I heard that is how they sounded.Indeed the owner was blaming the room for the overall dullness but we tried the Usher preamp and that did not sound dull .So on another occasion we inserted the Supratek and the improvement was not slight -it was massive.Another listener described the difference very well by walking up to the speakers and using his arms to demonstrate the sound struggling to break free from the speaker fronts and sounding small and constricted with the Audio flight and then by stretching them out wide how the Supratek  by comparison completely filled the room with sound.As I said you had to be there to believe how massive the difference was and I was not the only one to hear it.
Just because a preamp and power amp is from the same maker does not guarantee they will synergise well together.You never can really tell what preamp is going to sound best with what power amp.Indeed that Usher preamp we tried does not sound very good with the matching Usher power amp but does with the Audio Fight Strumento power amp.The Audio Flight Strumento preamp could very well sound very good with a totally different power amp .

jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
Just one more thing then I will shut -up.The Supratek Cabernet preamp and the Audio Flight Strumento preamp are really in the same approximate price category.Just that you can buy the Supratek at wholesale price direct from the maker and thereby  avoid having to pay both a distributors mark-up and the typical retail mark-up which for high end products multiplies the final cost by of a factor of 2-3 times so that equates pretty closely to the $22000 Australian retail [the price of the Strumento pre] if it was marketed in the same manner.Of course you would have to be pretty silly to pay the full retail price for the Strumento preamp anyway so the difference in real price is probably more like double than triple.
jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
"Magico’s want very high bandwidth, highly resolving, Transparent devices in front of them. They want it clean and linear with some natural warmth or they will pout and stomp their feet and make a scene."
Well that is exactly how I would describe the Supratek preamp.Indeed you can buy Supratek preamps that are utterly neutral  with no obvious tube character at all.They just sound very clear and open.My 300B one does have some tube character but as you say sometimes you need that bit of warmth. That does not mean it is not extremely transparent.




















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