In our Audio Society, I am know as Mr. Detail / Neutrality ... I attend live classical concerts every other week thru the winter (...the best reality check there is ).
IMHO I consider the Magico Mini the best two way I have ever heard ...... as a long time user of Spendor, Harbeth, Quad and Apogee this is saying a lot.
I first became aware of the Magico Mini at the 2005 CES when
several of my audio society colleagues brought them to my attention...
What I heard here with the an unknown digital front end and Jeff Roland switching amplifiers was good but not stellar.
I later benchmarked the Roland switching amps to my Dartzeel NHB 108 and Resolution Audio / DNM amps and found the Swithcing amps to be nowhere near the transparacny of either of my benchmarks....
This further increased my curiosity and expectations of the Mini.... how would the Magico Mini sound when partnered with the best Digital front end and power amps I know of ?
To find out I hauled my minimalist sytem up to Oakland in Novemeber:
CD------- Resolution Audio OPUS 21
--------- Modified by Great Northern Sound.
PRE------ PLACETTE PASSIVE
PWR AMP - DartZeel NHB 108 - 100 w SS amp /
----------Resolution Audio/DNM 30 watt SS amp.
SPEAKERS- GAMUT L3 Two way monitors
----------88 db efficient
----------(-3db 42 hz - 60khz) ca. $6k Retail.
In a matter of seconds listening to the MINI using a large Mahler work and some weeL recorded Dire Straits,it was obvious this speaker was in another league to my Gamut / Scanspeak L3 two way.
The HF was similar to the outstanding Gamut L3 speakers ( completley expected as both speakers use the same outstanding Scanspeak Ring Radiator tweeter ) but the bass / midrange coherence was in another league to that from the ported Gamut .... with outstanding timbral accuracy and very precise immaging.
Based on hearing this Mahler piece piece live in the concert hall and hearing it on several speakers in my own system, I can confidently say the MINI surpasses the following speakers ( some of them 3 way designs ) :
Avalon OPUS
JMlab Diva - $ 11.5 K
Kharma 3.1
Kharma 3.2 - over $20 K
I later mesured the speakers ( 1 meter on-axis using a Phonic PAA3 ) as +/- 3db from 40 hz to beyond 20 khz....
Of particular note was the bass which measured:
+0.9 db at 40 hz
-7.7 db at 31.5 hz
Note : There is very little musical information below 40 hz and all rooms under 25 ft significantly add to in-room bass !!
This is a staggering achievement without resorting to porting / transmission lines / passive ratiators or many of the usual sins committed toward achieving increased percieved bass....
I am a great fan of John Dunlavys huge sealed enclosure Speakers ( Model 4A and upward ) and spoke to this legend several time at CES......
The Magico Mini has managed to retain the outstanding bass accuracy and coherence of these larger Dunlavys in a modest and much more attractive package.
The achilles heel of all two ways is that when driven hard ( with large bass excursions ) the mid/bass driver can no longer track the smaller midrange modulations ... consequently the midrange and sound stage collapses....
I learned this the hard way as my two way JMlab Micro Bes with Rel Stadium failed hopelessly compared to the three
JMlab Diva at high listening levels.... the issue was not bass but midrange / soundstage coherence.
The Minis handle this situation better than any two way I have heard and question the need for a third driver....
So what it boils down to this :
1. If you are an audio phile who beleives in the numerous benifits of nearfiled listening ( listening 7-10 ft.) then this is the best speaker I know...irrespective of cost.
2. The Magico Mini is the best speaker I have heard under $ 30k for rooms up to 400 sq ft. ... that is ca. 25 x 16 ft. If your room is bigger or you like to listen over 15 feet away at high levels then a three way (which can move more air) may be a better choice.
3. The build quality of the speakers (and matching stands) is stunning and I dont doubt for an instant that the parts cost to retail is WAY higher than typical hi end speakers ... The cabinets are hugely expensive and time
consuming to build ( made from numerous sheets of expensive birch play ... the same wood as used in many mucial instruments... another intriguing feature).
I am waiting the upcoming CES (Jan 5-8) to finalize my purchase decision but with over 25 years experience with references such as the Classic BBC monitors (Spendor SP100,SP2/1, LS3/5a and Harbeth M30) and the more recent Kharma 3.1/3.2 and JMlab Utopia Altos, I am pretty confident my next speakers will be Magico Minis....
I take my hat off to Alon for percevering with such a purist and no compromise design knowing that it will be a hard sell to the majority of audiophiles who beleive
in quantity ( of drivers ) over quality.
Audiogon member : Ceol
P.S. Regarding sensitivity and ease of drive ...
I consider the Minis an easy load...efficiency is 88 db... My 30 watt Resolution Audio / DNM amp drove them with ease
as did the 845 based De haviland Tube Monoblocs.
IMHO I consider the Magico Mini the best two way I have ever heard ...... as a long time user of Spendor, Harbeth, Quad and Apogee this is saying a lot.
I first became aware of the Magico Mini at the 2005 CES when
several of my audio society colleagues brought them to my attention...
What I heard here with the an unknown digital front end and Jeff Roland switching amplifiers was good but not stellar.
I later benchmarked the Roland switching amps to my Dartzeel NHB 108 and Resolution Audio / DNM amps and found the Swithcing amps to be nowhere near the transparacny of either of my benchmarks....
This further increased my curiosity and expectations of the Mini.... how would the Magico Mini sound when partnered with the best Digital front end and power amps I know of ?
To find out I hauled my minimalist sytem up to Oakland in Novemeber:
CD------- Resolution Audio OPUS 21
--------- Modified by Great Northern Sound.
PRE------ PLACETTE PASSIVE
PWR AMP - DartZeel NHB 108 - 100 w SS amp /
----------Resolution Audio/DNM 30 watt SS amp.
SPEAKERS- GAMUT L3 Two way monitors
----------88 db efficient
----------(-3db 42 hz - 60khz) ca. $6k Retail.
In a matter of seconds listening to the MINI using a large Mahler work and some weeL recorded Dire Straits,it was obvious this speaker was in another league to my Gamut / Scanspeak L3 two way.
The HF was similar to the outstanding Gamut L3 speakers ( completley expected as both speakers use the same outstanding Scanspeak Ring Radiator tweeter ) but the bass / midrange coherence was in another league to that from the ported Gamut .... with outstanding timbral accuracy and very precise immaging.
Based on hearing this Mahler piece piece live in the concert hall and hearing it on several speakers in my own system, I can confidently say the MINI surpasses the following speakers ( some of them 3 way designs ) :
Avalon OPUS
JMlab Diva - $ 11.5 K
Kharma 3.1
Kharma 3.2 - over $20 K
I later mesured the speakers ( 1 meter on-axis using a Phonic PAA3 ) as +/- 3db from 40 hz to beyond 20 khz....
Of particular note was the bass which measured:
+0.9 db at 40 hz
-7.7 db at 31.5 hz
Note : There is very little musical information below 40 hz and all rooms under 25 ft significantly add to in-room bass !!
This is a staggering achievement without resorting to porting / transmission lines / passive ratiators or many of the usual sins committed toward achieving increased percieved bass....
I am a great fan of John Dunlavys huge sealed enclosure Speakers ( Model 4A and upward ) and spoke to this legend several time at CES......
The Magico Mini has managed to retain the outstanding bass accuracy and coherence of these larger Dunlavys in a modest and much more attractive package.
The achilles heel of all two ways is that when driven hard ( with large bass excursions ) the mid/bass driver can no longer track the smaller midrange modulations ... consequently the midrange and sound stage collapses....
I learned this the hard way as my two way JMlab Micro Bes with Rel Stadium failed hopelessly compared to the three
JMlab Diva at high listening levels.... the issue was not bass but midrange / soundstage coherence.
The Minis handle this situation better than any two way I have heard and question the need for a third driver....
So what it boils down to this :
1. If you are an audio phile who beleives in the numerous benifits of nearfiled listening ( listening 7-10 ft.) then this is the best speaker I know...irrespective of cost.
2. The Magico Mini is the best speaker I have heard under $ 30k for rooms up to 400 sq ft. ... that is ca. 25 x 16 ft. If your room is bigger or you like to listen over 15 feet away at high levels then a three way (which can move more air) may be a better choice.
3. The build quality of the speakers (and matching stands) is stunning and I dont doubt for an instant that the parts cost to retail is WAY higher than typical hi end speakers ... The cabinets are hugely expensive and time
consuming to build ( made from numerous sheets of expensive birch play ... the same wood as used in many mucial instruments... another intriguing feature).
I am waiting the upcoming CES (Jan 5-8) to finalize my purchase decision but with over 25 years experience with references such as the Classic BBC monitors (Spendor SP100,SP2/1, LS3/5a and Harbeth M30) and the more recent Kharma 3.1/3.2 and JMlab Utopia Altos, I am pretty confident my next speakers will be Magico Minis....
I take my hat off to Alon for percevering with such a purist and no compromise design knowing that it will be a hard sell to the majority of audiophiles who beleive
in quantity ( of drivers ) over quality.
Audiogon member : Ceol
P.S. Regarding sensitivity and ease of drive ...
I consider the Minis an easy load...efficiency is 88 db... My 30 watt Resolution Audio / DNM amp drove them with ease
as did the 845 based De haviland Tube Monoblocs.