Sophia 2/Magico V2 versus Sasha/Magico V3

Thanks Elberoth2,
I though it involved soldering and real alteration. It sounds more like a plug in/replacement. Nice photos on your link.

I heard the V2, V3, and Mini2 at the same dealer, but each speaker was set up with different electronics, so it was very difficult to know what was what. The dealer did'nt want to move stuff around, so I just listened for a while, got some initial impressions and left. If you are serious about learning the differences, call the dealer up ahead of time, explain what you want, and ask him to set up a room similar in size to yours with similar SS or tube electronics to yours and compare each speaker in the same system with your music. A good dealer should be willing to accomodate you. Once you think you understand the differences, take your favorite home for an audition.

I have heard various Magicos at three different dealerships in a variety of systems. For what it is worth, I found the V3 the least coherent of the three, but I only heard it once and it did not seem to be very well set up. The bass was separate from the mid/tweet. I was very impressed with both the Mini2 and the V2. The V2 had more bass weight, but did not seem quite as flat in response as the Mini2. Otherwise, it was remarkable. The Mini seemed the most complete design. Very little distortion, very clean/articluate and beautiful timbre, staging, scale.

I haven't had much time with Wilsons.

That's a great post Hce4. Thanks for describing is such detail your experience with Magico and Wilson. I'm going to join Madfloyd on his Sasha audition. It will be most interesting because a rep from Wilson whose name I have forgotten is setting up both the Sophia II and the Sasha at a dealership for a seminar. I don't know what electronics we will be hearing.

I have recently bought a pair of Magico Mini II's to replace my Egglestons. The Egglestons are known to be a great match for Pass class A amps and I found this to be the case. However, I also find my Pass XA160.5 sounds great with the Mini II. I do not hear what you describe as wooly bass, attenuated highs or midrange lacking definition. My combo is still fairly new and I'm still playing with speaker positioning, but male and female voice is incredibly present and involving which I don't think would be the case if it lacked definition. One of the LPs I have been using for set up is Ray Brown and Duke Ellington's "This One's for Blanton" at 45rpm. The bass and piano have great definition, extension and explosive transients. The timbre and scale also seem quite natural. There is also plenty of inner detail. I think this is partly a result of the Mini II's being very appropriate for my small room. The speaker/room interface is better than it was with my Eggelstons.

I did upgrade from the XA100.5 because I felt it did not quite have the power to control/drive the Magicos which are very demanding. It's interesting because I do not see many Magico/Pass pairings in systems, but to my ears, the combination is very good. Magico is a demanding load and perhaps the Pass amps have not had appropriate power ratings.

I'm sorry to go on a tangent to this thread, but I thought I would share my experience with Magico. I have also heard the Sophia II's with Pass amps and the V3 with Simaudio did not sound good. The V2 with Spectral was excellent and the M5 with Solution was the best I've heard. The Magicos have sounded great in some demoes and terrible in others, depending on electronics and set-up. I agree that the V2 has great potential. It also has a slightly warmer midrange as you mention which I did not realize until I heard the Mini II.

I think Madfloyd would do well to compare the V3 to the Sasha in his own system if possible. Set up, though, will be very important.

Elberoth2,
Do you think this modification to the Sasha would effect resale value? Would it not be better to try to modify the sound through placement and room treatments? Or even cables?