Magico A3 to A5

From what I have read, the A 5 speakers are really quite special.  Best of luck with your new toys. 

Thanks @stereo5 

I’ve owned the S5’s for several years now. I think they are fantastic. When I demoed them at the dealer I also got to hear the S3 and to me the S5 was clearly better. From what I understand the S5 mk2 is even better. I think they are a great choice but I’m biased. I drive mine with a Luxman M900U amp. 

I purchased my Magico A5 speakers nearly 2 years ago and could not be happier with them. To put it simply, they reproduce music that can sound amazingly like live music. Everyone who has heard these speakers is impressed. Build quality is second to none, also, they look great. I have no plans to ever replace/upgrade these speakers, I am there.

Thanks @mgattmch!! I love Magico, and the A3s they match perfectly with the Luxman C900/M10 combo. So when I added the T+A 3100HV I got a demo of the unit with the A5s at the dealer and it sounded such a perfect match with wonderful soundstage. I got my own T+A now and although they sound good with the A3s I still wasn't getting that same sense I got at the dealer. Hence the push to move to A5.. Thanks again for your feedback. I am nervously waiting for the A5s.. It should be here in about ten days..

Probably getting them paired with the right amp and cabling is the ticket. Based on early reviews I was ready to buy the A3 until I heard it. It was being used with Ayre equipment. I did not like the sound, it sounded too sterile to me.

Hopefully, the A5 is better, and since you have already heard them with the T&A amps that you own you should know what to expect.

ozzy

Always a crapshoot when we can't get a home demo. If your dealer has ANY open box amp/pre/int's you can bring home to compare after the A5's are broke in  it'll really help squash any doubt. 

If I could afford them, I would buy the A 5’s in a heartbeat.  They probably  wouldn’t match well with McIntosh though.  

I respectfully disagree stereo5, my A5s are driven by a McIntosh C52 preamp into a MC312 power amp. I have some 15ips 2T tapes that literally sound like live music in my home, that good. After nearly 55 years as an audiophile, rarely have I heard a 2c system this good!

What’s a 2C system? 

Maybe 2 channel….;0)

Ahh 😃… got it

Damn, these interesting, relevant to me, threads always seem to end prematurely 

@rman9 --  How did things turn out for you? I have a  T+A PA3100HV and A3s and am seriously considering A5s. 

I own a pair of A5s. They are very good speakers but accompanied by a couple of caveats. First, despite employing three 9” woofers (and driven by 600 watt mono amps), they are really bass deficient. One, or better, two subwoofers are a necessity. The two SVS SB17 I use are good complements. Second, you are only getting what you are paying pay for. These are not $50K/pair speakers. I recently compared the A5s recently (same equipment essentially and same playlist) with Wilson Sasha Vs. The A5s lack of sonic refinement and absence of deeper bass is immediately apparent. 

I disagree with jmeyers.

I have owned A5's for three years, and I also own Wilson Watt/Puppy's, Devore Fidelity 096's, and Joseph Audio Pulsar 2's.

I have good friends who own Magico M3's, TAD Reference, Wilson Audio Alexia V's, and Marten Coltane's.  I recently auditioned Rockport Orion's.  So I have a fair bit of experience with various high end speakers.

Bottom line: the A5's are excellent and punch above their weight.  Are they perfect?  No.  No speaker is perfect at any cost.

Bass deficiency is more typically a room or set up issue; the A5's go down to the mid 30's in my room. 

Yes, the other much more expensive speakers I've listed above can outshine the A5 in a few particular ways, but in no way is the A5 outclassed in this company.

Cost does not equal quality.

Just IMHO.

@jmeyers

This is factually incorrect; the A5 bass profile is similar to that of the Sasha (actually goes slightly lower). You can check SP measurements on both. What the A5 does not have is the typical boost around 80Hz a ported design gives, which some can confuse with “more bass”. It is simply a less linear design than the A5, which may not be to your liking. Also, the Sasha distortion measurements are substantially higher than the A5 (check hifi news for that - all available online), which questions your assertion that the Sasha is more refined (certainly not to my ears).