Magico A3

I listened to them recently for about an hour at Rhapsody in NYC with an experienced audiophile friend who also does online reviews. Neither of us noted any harshness or edginess in the least. In fact we thought it to be one the smoothest, most transparent speakers we've heard in a long time. What makes them special is that they are able to impart an amazing amount of detail and clarity and sound smooth and extended. A very sophisticated sound.  I'm very seriously considering them for my next speaker.

It didn’t help that I listened to the S1 MKII’s after the A3’s and there was no comparison. Even the store owner who sat with me for almost 2 hours agreed the S1’s were much more refined. Granted the S1’s cost more, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. It was hard to go back to the A3’s after that. I wish they had something between the S1 and S3. Knowing myself, I would have bought the A3 and then been looking to upgrade to the the S series in the not so distance future, so probably best I didn’t buy.

Seems like the main difference is the diamond coated beryllium tweeter vs the non coated beryllium tweeter. Hard to believe it would that much difference.

Funny you should mention the tweeter. That’s exactly what the store owner pointed out. He also reminded me the S series uses an extruded aluminum cabinet and the A3 does not.  I'm sure the crossovers are using different components as well.

Dont know about that, but from what I heard with the A3 I could find no fault at all but of course in this game there is always something better.  Best of luck with the S1mk2 if you decide to go that route.