Magico V3

Hi Teeshot,

I have heard:
- Wilson Sasha, Sophia, Watt 8, Maxx1,2 and X1/Grand Slamm and Alexandria x2
- Sonus Faber Elipsa
- V3
- Revel (long time ago...different system)

In general, i would say that alacrity with which the V3 plays is electrifying. Superb and really makes think first and foremost of the incredible speed in the upper range of an electrostatic.

It does have a lightweight feel to the music imho compared to the Sonus Faber Elipsa which may feel more full bodied...but in my opinion did not come across as nearly as transparent, immediate. It felt like the signal was passing instantly thru the speakers with no cone to vibrate and reproduce the musical signal.

Until this, i thought Wilson had demonstrated remarkable things with cones in their X1 and Alexandria speakers...and in terms of full range, i still feel like they have.

which comes to my final point...i do find that the V3 feels voiced to play music back with incredible finesse mid to uppers...bass feels lite to me.

Many might argue it was amp, or room, or something else...but in comparison, right wrong or indifferent, i felt it was 'lite' in those lower registers. perhaps because Alon Wolf did not wish to compromise with full bass that was not up to par with the rest...hence the Q3, etc.

Orchestral is where you might either find the weight is not up to par...or instead, where you find that you end up being focused on different elements of the orchestral suites...but where the higher registers of the orchestra are so well performed by the V3, perhaps you may not care as much that the kettle drums or the basses (or even cellos?) are not as full bodied as you might prefer.

Final thought...i would strongly suggest based on lots of reading that you put a powerful amp behind the Magico...they respond well to very, very high quality current...especially the Mini which can cause many good amps to run out of steam apparently.

You may find with a very, very high quality, high current amp, the speaker responds better in the upper bass and overall extension.

Just one man's opinion. Good luck and pls keep us posted.

Hi Teeshot,

I currently own Visions. I have listened to the Wilson line as well as the Magico's. V3, V2, Q1 Q5 and believe they are great speakers. I think the Q Series are the real deal. With regard to the V series, I feel the Avalon's are better in resolution without ever sounding harsh. With the proper electronics, the Visions are spectacular. I recommend Jeff Rowland. The Wilson line to me has an overwhelming bass that is not true to the music. Sonus Faber is another great speaker. I am not real familiar with the Elipsa. I heard the new models at RMAF and felt they did not sound as good as past models. They had the Elipsa at the show, and I thought they sounded good, but not great.

Good luck

Hi Teeshot,

I have owned early Watt/Puppies, Wilson X-1 series 3, Avalon Eidolon, Magico V3s and now Q3s, and heard many others in ideal (not show) circumstances, including Rockport Altair and Arakkis, Wilson X-2s, Maxx 2s, Avalon Isis and Eidolon Diamonds, and Magico M-6s, etc. I think for the current price in the second hand market, the V3 is the all-time bargain in speakers, provided that you value speed, resolution and musicality over extended but inaccurate bass and dynamic but less transparent mids and highs (all of which you can get from a set of used Watt-puppy 8s for a similar price).

I would echo the comments of others that they want a lot of high quality power and they are not the last word in bass extension (although what is there is as deep as my Eidolons which now reside in the living room, and more accurate). The only speaker that I would move to from the V3 is the Q3 (or Q5, but it really needs a lot of power), which I did, and it is a whole different story, but also more than 2.5 times as expensive. It could be that in the used market for a similar price the Eidolon Vision competes in some areas, but I would have a hard time going back to a ported design for anything other than a home theater or background music application. YMMV

Thanks for the responses. I have Marantz Reference monobloc amps which put out 300 watts per channel into 8 ohms, double that into 4 ohms. So I think I am set for for power... Lloyd, I found that the Mini2 had a reasonable low end for a small speaker; logic would tell me that adding another woofer and a midrange plus a heavy large cabinet, that the bass would improve. If the V3 sounds like a Mini with better bass then I might go for it.

High End Bob: Thanks for the response on the Eidolon Visions. I will definitely audition them.

I own the Mini2 and drive them with Pass XA160.5. These Magicos do need a lot of good, clean power and I think you have that. I have heard the V2 and V3. I did not like the V3 as much as the Mini2 or the V2, but I really think it was the set up at the dealership so they were not demonstrated to their potential.

I found the Mini2 lacking in bass impact and extension at the dealerships, but that was greatly improved in my own room after finding the right spot in my room and also with recent improvements in isolation to my front end. Bass was always very articulate and detailed, but now impact and extension are very good also. Magico does bass very well, IMO. For me it's about quality, not quantity, especially with the kind of music I love (cello, piano). The V3 should be even better in this area if the room/listener/speaker relationship is right.

I did find the V3 less coherent compared to the V2, Mini2 and especially the Q3 and Q5. Perhaps it is because of the physical separation between the mid and bass drivers. I don't know, but this is the weakness of the V3, IMO. I would want to audition a pair in my system for a few days to be sure.

The used prices are very good now on the older wood enclosure Magicos. I think it is a great time to buy. I listen mostly to smaller scale classical and jazz in a small room, and could not be happier with the Mini2.

If you've heard the Mini2, why not consider a pair of those at used prices? If you want bigger, the V3's could be the way to go.