My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series NAD M25 PARASOUND HALO PARASOUND CLASSIC KRELL TAS KRELL KAV 500 KRELL CHORUS ROTEL RMB 1095 CLASSE CT 5300 CLASSE CA 2200 CLASSE CA 5200 MCINTOSH MC 205 CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7 OUTLAW AUDIO 755 LEXICON RX7 PASS LABS XA 30.8 BUTLER AUDIO 5150 ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer. My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes) Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp. Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either. Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
techno_dude and WC, Exactly. Also, the general principle is that high frequencies have short wavelengths of 1 inch or so, so the best tweeter is small. The challenge is to get enough power handling from that nice small driver. A large vertical line source can be thought of as a lineup of many small tweeters. Although this is promoted by such speaker companies as providing a uniform wave launch, this creates a mess of multiple rolloffs of highs which is worst at the floor and the top of the speaker. I know this from my study of the response of microphones from plots of frequency vs degrees off axis, and this is equally true of drivers. The large area drivers are that much worse, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE CURVED, since they now add horizontal dispersion effects which cause more rolloffs in the highs. My experience dealing with stats since 1980 have taught me these truths. That's why the huge 4 foot square Dayton Wright stat was one of the worst speakers I have ever heard, especially in the highs. For lower frequencies, this is less critical, but the tonal balance of any large panel stat will be skewed toward the lower frequencies, compared to a smaller panel stat. It is not relevant that anyone might hate highs and like mellow sound, but the issue is distortion in the highs that together with reduced highs, causes smearing of detail and ultimately less information and enjoyment from recordings.
The neoliths absolutely stomp the Magico's WCSS has, also stomps the B+W diamond series (possibly the most overrated series of speakers ever produced). The current Diamonds are the first ones remotely listenable over 90dbs for more than 10 minutes before becoming absolute ear bleeding bright.
As for the Focals... well I feel they are bright.
But, this isn't about my thoughts on the Diamonds or Focals as much as it is the neoliths.
Neoliths, properly powered are easily one of the most impressive speakers I've ever heard. Now, I'm a rock guy mainly but do appreciate other styles of music.
The Neo's do everything well. I don't love electrostats as I feel the smaller panels compress with a lot of rock music when pushed.
The Neo's (And the 15's even..) flat out awesome listening experience.
In addition to MikePaul's excellent recommendation, to put Neoliths through their paces I recommend The Rite Of Spring by Igor Strvinsky, Or any of the incredible symphonies by Gustav Mahler... If these works can't tell the men from the boys, little else will.
And for the lovers of that old black monolyth in the Kubrick movie, try also the works by Georgy Ligeti complementing the same production... Atmospheres, and Requiem.
Here is Myles Astor review of the original S5, he WAS a big Electrostatic guy (ML to be exact):https://positive-feedback.com/Issue74/magico_s5.htm Electrostatic loudspeakers are a thing of the past. With today technologies, an adequately dynamic multiway design will have all the benefit (and then some) and none of the shortcoming.
100% agree with you sciencecop. Add to that ,the signal from the amplifier to electrostatics has to go through more electronics. Less is more and best multiway designs today have minimalistic crossovers with very advanced optimised drivers.
Hey all. Listen, although I own and prefer horns, to say electrostatics are a thing of the past, is, imo, idiotic. I am still waiting to hear a dynamic speaker ( including electrostatics and planars ), with whatever amplifier you would like to use, sound as dynamic, clean, fast, and tight, playing Roger Waters " Amused to Death " through good horns. Let us allow WC to go through his own trials, and tribulations, as we all have. If you want to debate this, let us do it on another thread ( although, I'd rather not, as I’ve done that already ). Enjoy ! MrD.
techno_dude, I don't follow your statement that electrostatics involve more electronics than multi driver dynamics. The latter often has an elaborate crossover network, although admittedly the stat needs a transformer mainly to step-up the small wall voltage to the 1000's of volts to run the panels. Some stats like the original Beveridge of 1980 used tube amps directly coupled to the panel. Even if the crossover in the dynamic speaker is minimalist, that factor is far outweighed by the superiority of the electrostatic driver which is nearly massless and is controlled more precisely by the electric field. The cheapest Martin Logan at around $2k has lower midrange coloration than any dynamic speaker I have heard, at moderate SPL of 85 dB, which is natural SPL for most instruments and singers. Perhaps a $100K highly engineered dynamic can have comparable low levels of coloration to a modestly priced smaller stat. Mrdecibel and science cop, I agree that horn speakers are superior to non horn dynamic speakers for loud dynamics and less distortion. This is due to the high efficiency of horn coupling to air, which enables a small driver in the throat to have a small excursion for the same volume level. It is easier to design small drivers for low distortion if they don't need to push much air by themselves. Small dynamic tweeters can be SOTA, but larger midrange drivers are vastly inferior to electrostatic midrange drivers in freedom from coloration. At lower SPL, a small stat will have less coloration than the horn. The horn has the advantage at loud SPL. But any attempt to make a large stat like the Neo to get loud SPL will create higher coloration and time smearing from the multi pathway effects from the large panel, especially in the highs. To understand this, realize that it is an integral calculus problem for the large panel like the Neo. Take a point facing the wall at the highest outer part of the speaker. This is way above ear level and aimed far away from it due to the curvature, so the highs are rolled off big time. Now take a point on the panel at ear level and directed at the ear. There will be no rolloff and all the information will be revealed from that point. Summing these 2 point sources creates a heterogenous sound, and all the points in-between will create a big mess. So I can understand why a reasonably sized dynamic speaker can be more accurate than a huge electrostatic. WC, To summarize the above, bigness is NOT BETTER, if the goal is pure, least distorted sound. You will get bored with bigness if you realize that clarity suffers.
I do beleive that electrostatic are like plasma TVs a couple years ago. A lot of purists didn’t beleive it was doomed compared to LED and OLED. Simpler, thiner and lighter, less energy consumption, those aspects and others have contributed to the death of plasma. Duhh it was supposed to be so much better they were saying...lol
Same story will be told with electrostatics in the near furture. Mark this post and date. I did the same in the past on AVS forum about plasma panels, and I was right all the way.
techno_dude, Maybe so, but electrostatics have a much longer history than plasma TV’s, and whether or not you or others think they are inferior to the best dynamic designs, they have their fans, and likely always will. I myself favor dynamic speakers.
viber6, You made some excellent points. Bigger isn't always better; unless it's under the hood of a white Camaro SS.
Alright men, lots of information in regards to electrostatics. im personally a fan which is why I’ve owned the ethos, montis,summit, 13a, 15a, clx. Each had their pros and cons but the clx blew me away. They had a midrange that I was never able to get from any other speaker ever. Not even Magico. That said, did you notice my journey above with Panels ? Each model got larger and larger ? If I do the neoliths, I expect them to truly recycle the Magicos, Wilson’s that I’ve owned. They must MUST destroy anything else I’ve owned. There shouldn’t be a single speaker that I’ve owned that close remotely close or else I’ll be extremely disappointed. I will know if the neoliths will happen next week. The deal is almost finalized, but I don’t count on anything until it’s done and on their way to me. On top of that, I am also negotiating my next pair of Monos which I hope to try with Magico before they are gone.
Roxy54, I agree that there will always be a staunch and devoted group of electrostatic speaker owners. High End audio bas many niches that withstand the test if time.i do recall a period where I thought electrostatic speakers offered clear and unmatched qualities.
I no longer believe this to be the case currently. In my opinion based on listening experiences high quality dynamic speakers have caught up to electronics in their former areas of strengths. Overall dynamic speakers occupy a higher performance tier. No doubt opinions will differ on this topi given the inherent subjective nature . Charles
WC, I’m 99% sure you will be disappointed by the Neoliths. Your expectations are just too high, specially after having experienced speakers like Magico S5 mkii or Vivid G1 that have already been compared to electrostatics and nobody found the kind of difference in favor of the latter your are wishing for. Different yes, but leagues better ? Never happening.
Thanks sciencecop for the Astor review. I wonder if the intervening 4 years might show the SL Ultimate series has evolved upward - I don't know. Also, this thread reminds me that WC is not looking for the Ultimate Speaker - a unicorn - he is looking for a right now "ultimate" speaker for his room and his amps. Great thread!- thank you WC and all.
Talking in absolute on 2108 sota hifi is always a warning sigh for me. Electrostatics have their fans. But that kind of cheerleading just has not its place in this kind of thread.
So to the electrostatics fanboys, please stop cheerleading that the Neoliths will be a complete other world compared to S5mkii or Vivid G1. WC has seen numerous electrostatics passed into his room , Neoliths will suffer the same fate....they should come and pass like the other panels he once had. Expectations should be moderate, specially at this level.
getting back to amps, i wish some nice top of the line mono's from ARC were reviewed here. i know WC had the GS stereo amp...but ..just saying..
personally, high power tube amps are a different animal on many levels compared to solid state. resale being one. heat, tube life, roll-off etc.... i don't know if i could ever feel comfortable enough to spend big bucks on one...but i have always been tempted.
they always sound very nice (different?) in the showrooms
My goal if I get the neoliths will be to bring home these: pass labs xa200.8 agostino momentum agostino progression Pass labs xs300 gryphon Mephisto gryphon antileon evo
and if the Stars align then I’ll do the dartzeel 458 Monos. I just don’t think I can get a deal on these. So far the agostino amps have presented a challenge for me to get a deal on. I have to wait until a dealer takes them in on trade or finally someone sells theirs. Pass labs xs300 I can get tomorrow at a great deal but the heat is a cause for concern for me.
Guys, the neoliths could happen but it’s not a done deal. The logistics to bring a speaker of that size are no joke. I pretty much have to take a day off from work just to take delivery and bring them in the house plus hire 3 men to help out. I also think about the time when they need to exit my room someday... it’s one hell of a job to do. I don’t want anymore electrostatics unless it’s the neoliths.
Earlier this week I saw the D'agostino Momentum's being offered (Trade In) for 25K. Trying to remember what dealer it was. Thats what I paid for my Momentum 400's so you can probably knock them down a bit if I can find them again.
WC, I am glad you appreciate the inherent superiority of the midrange from a well-executed stat like the CLX, compared to the near SOTA implementation of dynamic speaker technology in the Magico. To be unbiased, I can say that the Magico may be superior in the highs to either the CLX and certainly the Neo, and superior in the clarity in the bass compared to the Neo. The Neo will be superior to the CLX in the dynamics and huge soundstage, but that is about it. The electrostatic bass of the CLX from 56 Hz up will be superior in clarity to that of the dynamic Neo in the midbass, although of course the bigness of the Neo will give more quantity, but not quality. Re-read all my posts here. I can see already that you may recognize the limitations of the Neo compared to the CLX and the Magico, and you already have an exit plan for the Neo. It will take a long time to move that elephant, and you will take a financial beating. To satisfy your curiosity, just travel to a few ML dealers so you can hear the Neo in various sized rooms--that way you don't have to take a beating physically and financially. A great option would be to keep the Magico and get the comparatively modest priced CLX, to own both. That way you can enjoy the benefits of each, live with them for a good period of time, which would demonstrate the best implementations of dynamic and stat technology, and save plenty of money so you can again play with amps, etc. I knew a few famous old violinists who owned several great old Italian violins, and many bows. They each had something to offer, and there was no one best. One bow was more suited to playing delicate Mozart, and another was best for dynamic Brahms.
WC, I'll add that the CLX is cleverly divided into 2 dedicated stat panels for each frequency range. Brilliant design! Above 360 Hz, the panel is actually the narrowest at 8.6" in line with the cheaper models. The 15A is 15" wide, the 13A 13" wide. So you found the CLX superior in midrange clarity because the higher frequencies (above 360) come from a narrower panel than the 15A or 13A, with less time smearing than the fatter panel. The highs in the CLX will be even more obviously clearer than the highs of the Neo for the same reason. The other advantage of the CLX is that only the CLX does lower frequencies with a larger stat panel instead of a less accurate dynamic driver as in the lower models and the Neo. So with the CLX you get a nearly full range stat, unlike the elephant hybrid of the Neo. Maybe you think you need to add a woofer to the CLX, but in music much of the satisfaction from bass is actually accurate transmission of overtones. For example, the lowest note on the string bass, E, is at a fundamental of 40 Hz. The CLX will put out only a low amount at 40, but it will give full response at the first overtone at 80 Hz. Trust me, the CLX will more accurately reproduce 80 than the Neo, because of the superiority of the electrostatic CLX driver to the dynamic Neo driver, of course within power limitations. Your ear/brain will get more accurate bass overall because of the better accuracy in the mid bass.
Magico: after not hearing them for about 4 days, I fired them up today and I realize many things. 1. Our ears adjust to music and the sound the longer we listen. If we stop listening for a bit and come back a few days later to listen, you are most likely to be blown away by what you own. 2. Magico although it’s very accurate, it needs juice. It can’t be without the right amplification. 3. I have locked in a deal on my next set of monos :)
They are still here. I’m listening to the speakers very differently. I listen for a few days to the same speaker and then switch to the other one. I need to let my ears setttle for a day or two with each speaker so I get used to their sound and this makes it easier for me to pick up the differences.
UPDATE: pass labs xa200.8 will be at my door in about 3 weeks. I remember listening to the 200.5s and I was really floored. That amp was probably the best amp I’ve heard from pass labs. We shall see if the xa200.8 can elevate things that much more. Thr xs150 was great but I made it come out of class A rather easy and it ran too damn hot. I felt like my room was just unbearable to be honest.
just referring to the impedance plot - check out the dip in the mid range. This might explain what WC is hearing in the mids (the amp can’t fully double down into a low impedance load.)
WC, 3 weeks for the Pass 200.8" they coming by Pony Express.
XA 200.8 Momentum Progression XS 300 Mephisto Antileon Evo
These 5 amps Im really interested to hear your thoughts on compared to the rest you have reviewed over the last couple of years and are they worth the extra money.I have mentioned the Gryphons a couple of times so I will be very curious to read your impression.
I hope you hang onto the Magico,s until you get at least one of the gryphons.
WC, good for you that you continue to appreciate the Magico. It deserves to be tried with different amps and then lived with for a long time. But you raised an interesting point about taking time to getting used to a speaker again. This doesn't happen with live umamplified music--it is the truth which we accept right away, although the listener far away in the 20th row should realize that he is missing most of the information that the listener in the first row is getting. It you need time to get used to a speaker again, that implies that it is colored and you are really rationalizing about the virtues of that coloration. I think you and I both agree that the CLX is the least colored of most any speaker commercially available. But I think it would be worthwhile to live with the Magico for a long time to truly appreciate its virtues as one of the least colored dynamic speakers available. If you then decide in 2019 or so that you want to try the CLX again, then you will appreciate the CLX even more for its truth. In my case, if I go away for several days and come back to listen to my Audiostatic 240's again, they are immediately appreciated as old friends because they are the least colored of any speaker I have heard in my lifetime.
WC, look forward to hearing how the Magico responds to the powerful Pass. But be careful--the Magico is inherently a precious jewel, not a sledgehammer. Accept it for what it is. Sure you can make the Magico bang like a rocker with a powerful amp, but you may lose its charm, especially since you realize that listening at 85 dB is the most natural where most of your listening will use only 1 watt. You then might even consider Pass's First Watt low power amps. I've never heard them, but they are noted for tonal purity.
I’m telling you, Magico needs massive power even if listen at low volume. A small amp won’t work even if you listen at 85 dB. Let me put it this way, I tried the gryphon again yesterday and the sound collapsed at 85-90dbs. Basically the size of the stage collapses at low volume. You need huge power even at low volume in order for the speakers to open up at this volume level. You can not get away with baby amps here. Will they work? Sure but I’m telling you that you lose magic. The bass thins out as well with small amps at 85 dB. With big power you will hear the bass thump at low volumes.
eThe Magicos, as well as the Focals might benefit from a revisit of the Rowland M925.... With 450W/8 some 850/4, 45A peak current, and a 2500W supply per side they are bound to feed these speakers without breaking a sweat.
One more top flight device of the Rowland line more than worth considering is the $38.8K Daemon integrated... 1500W/8 going to 2500W/4... No, I have not heard this one yet, but sure would like to.
Another SS brand worth seriously considering is Soulution.
Listening to the sopra 3s right now after 4 days of not listening to them. Here are a few thoughts: Speaker is a great bang for the money. It’s not to difficult to place and just sounds good. You can connect it with just about any component and it sounds great. No drama with this speaker of any kind. I’ve tried 3 amps with them and it sounds good with all of them. I also tend to hear a few things within the music that are not so apparent on the magicos but I also hear certain things on the magico that I don’t hear on the focals. If you want a speaker that will just sound good without giving you headaches or having to buy 10 cables and amps and preamps to get it to sound good, THIS IS YOUR SPEAKER. Easy to deal with it and well in my opinion it’s far more beautiful than the s5 mk2. Ladies and gentleman, if you don’t have the time and don’t want the effort (just like I do each week) and simply want to sit down and enjoy, look Into these sopra 3s. You will remember me. With that said, the magico s5 mk2 have more of an industrial look. There’s nothing really wow about them when you have the sopra 3 next to them in terms of looks. That said, the magico s5 mk2 has more transparency. It almost feels at times as if another curtain lifts up to let you listen with more liquidity. It contains bass which is only there but with the right amplifier. Also, don’t think for one second that the s5 mk2 is the type of speaker you can just throw into the room and then hook up your 100 watt per channel amp. No way Jose. This is not the speaker for the person that wants to just plug and play. This is the speaker that will reward you tremendously by taking your time placing it right, measuring distances, buying the right electronics etc. This does not mean tbey will sound bad if you just throw them In the room and connect your baby amp to them but you aren’t even close to really hearing them at their best. Simply put, and I’m sorry for saying things this way but the magico s5 mk2 IS NOT for broke people. It just makes no sense to have something of this caliber and skimp on the rest. When you own this, you need to immediately think about your front end. You need to think agostino, audio research, monster powerful amps, dcs, cardas, nordost, etc And embark on big journey. Granted, you don’t have to do this if you work with a dealer who knows their stuff. This is WHY you pay them top dollar on a product like this. You earn their expertise and direction so you don’t have to do all of what I do. I simply do it because I enjoy it all. I like hearing my own results and conclusions. I like seeing what changed in the sound when I swap things out. Finaliy, I close this by saying that the magico s5 mk2 makes it much easier for me to pick up the differences in sound when I change anything out. Today I noticed an immediate change but changing cables for example and BECAUSE OF THIS and the fact that I’m a tweaker and love to change amps, preamps, sources, cables, etc constantly, I decided to keep the magico s5 mk2. They are a great instrument for my hobby and my journey. I will part ways with the focal sopra 3s soon. They are an incredible speaker and can make anyone easily happy.
@melbguyone, all good questions. I think I'm considering a power amp. I have some Dynaudio Focus 380s, Benchmark DAC2, Mcintosh MC7270 and A 6SN7 tube preamp from Aric Audio. I listen to all genres, electronic/house, acoustic guitars, modern classical, jazz, old big band music, mostly streamed from Tidal.
My room is small and not ideal. It's only 12' front wall to back wall, but 15' wide, with one side being glass double doors, the other side open to a kitchen area. My couch has its back right against the back wall. I have some treatment coming, but pretty much not conducive to good sound. I've heard 802 D3s and Revel Salons in demo systems that really had incredible sound stage, clarity with musicality, and most of all the emotional (music in the room) connection, and have been looking at different things to chase that. The tube preamp helped A LOT, and now I'm wondering if a different power amp will get me closer...
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
