Integrated Amp to match with Magico A3

Jafant, If you click on the link above to my review of the Vitus RI-101, my system is displayed in my signature. Cheers.

audiotroy979 posts07-04-2018 11:41pmSinewaveron, we both agree and disagree, we were former Hegel dealers and their products were excellent.

Whether an amp is class A or Class A/B is just one of the factors in determining sound quality, amounts of feedback, feed forward, type of feedback, circuit design, circuit implimentation and parts selection, and circuit voicing is just as important.

When we had the Hegel line we also had the Luxman line and we did prefer the 20 watt Class A Luxman, but we sold more Unision Research Unico 50 which were a class A/B solid state amp with a tube preamp stage then both of thoese products.

As per Pass, Gryphon or Vitus being better that may be much more to do with the design and implimentation of the product

By the way we also sell T+A gear which is class A/B there have been a few people here who had Pass gear which was outperformed by the T+A and T+A is also in the uber class of high end and their products are consistantly rated among the best of the best.

The point is you must evaluate a product for the way it sounds and not just its technology or class of operation.

Hegel’s designs are fast, open, clean with good dynamics, and excellent bass control, as per Alon Wolf raving about the Hegel H360, why wouldn’t he it would give many of his speakers a tighter bass and the amp is less expensive to allow for more expensive Magico speaker pairings.

Personally I would think the combo would not be that good, as the Magico line tends to be a bit on the more reservered, cleaner with less midrange bloom which is how the Hegel sounds, we would most likely use a warmer richer puncher amplifier to bring out a bit more midrange magic and liquidity to the Magicos which is how we like to voice our systems.

As per Vitus being great stuff that is not in debate and your $25k Vitus should squash a $5k Hegel. Whether of not their new super integrated is that good will all depend on how Hegel has implimented the design and of course how it sounds, to make such statements that because a Hegel is a class A/B product and therefore not as good as a Vitus shows you have an inate bias and are not open to what we all must do in audio which is to go out and listen and then do exact comparisons on the same equipment.

Hegel’s new super integrated might be fantastic or only a bit better than their previous offerings.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

This is the most helpful response thus far in this thread. Kudos Dave and Troy. The Magico A3’s are a similarly moderate load to my S5 Mk2’s, being 88db @4ohms. I drive my speakers with a Vitus SIA-025 which is a good match overall in my medium size room. Though obviously that amp would be over-kill on the A3’s. Fyi I recently reviewed the new Vitus RI-101 for Stereonet NZ site & was impressed - https://www.stereonet.co.nz/forums/topic/16208-my-impressions-of-the-vitus-ri-101-integrated/

The RI-101 is powerful, well balanced, natural sounding & has a nice musical flow. Although it is essentially neutral sounding, there is a touch of warmth which the A3’s will need, The RI-101 also sounds a bit tube-like - not as much as the SIA-025, but it sounds closer to the SIA than its predecessor. I auditioned the amp with Magico S3 Mk2’s and thought that was a good match for synergy. So the A3’s should also pair well. Though as David Ten noted, there is no substitute for a home audition, or atleast an audition in a Dealer’s showroom.

Re: Luxman. I recently A-B compared the Luxman M-900U/C-900U against the Accuphase A70/C2850 and Pass XA-250/XP-20 with Harbeth M40.2 Anniversary speakers. Re-reading my listening notes, I preferred Accuphase to both Luxman and Pass in that order. Lux sounded more neutral, has less ’life’, less dynamic constrast/shading, bass was more ’polite’ and sounded less intimate on Jazz vocals than Accuphase. The Pass amps sounded the most tube-like, but I preferred both Lux and Accuphase to Pass overall. Luxman are beautifully built and would suit certain speakers like Sonus Faber well. But with Magico, I think the Lux L-509x suggested by another member would be a bit lean sounding and under-powered driving the A3’s. An Accuphase E-470 would do better, but the new Vitus RI-101 would be a better choice for synergy.

Other integrated amps I could recommend which are potentially within your budget would be the Audio Analogue Maestro Anniversary which would be delivering 300 watts @4 ohms, or the Audia Flight FLS10. Both are terrific integrateds & would pair well with Magico, though personally I prefer the sound of the Audio Analogue which is beautifully built and sounds musical. If you couldn’t access or quite afford the RI-100, that would be my pick. However if you have a large size room, the FLS10 might be the better option as it has a bit more power. Good luck with your auditions!

Ps: A long-awaited welcome back to me (’Melbguy1’). I had to re-join after a blanket ban it seems, though I am still trying to get that sorted out. Hi to my old friends here.

Cheers @jafant . It’s good to be back. Hopefully I can contribute & help answer questions based on my 30 years experience in this hobby.

Thanks very much @bobheinatz 🙂.

@eldonfung What you need to do now is go out & audition as many of the (many) amp/speaker combo’s suggested, then report back your findings. That will be of more value than spending all your time reading threads. Listen listen listen as HP would say!

Congratulations Jake, you’ve chosen two components which offer great cost/performance and should be a safe investment. You should get many hours enjoyment from them. I didn’t own a system that good until I was pushing 40yo. Enjoy them in good health!

Btw, be patient with your A3’s. Magico speakers take about 300-400hrs to be mostly run in. Up to that point they will continue to open up and improve, though most of the improvement should occur in the first 250hrs (along with your new amp).

YW Jake. FYI my S5 Mk2’s also didn’t come with a manual, but I contacted Magico who sent me a PDF copy via email. A bit late to read the instructions re: removing  the speakers from the crates, but  helpful & appreciated none the less. Just email Peter Mackay (VP Global sales & Marketing) & he’ll email you the manual. Will PM you his email address.