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speaker upgrade from Magico A3

I'm hoping for some opinions and recommendations on a speaker upgrade. Thanks  in advance for any helpful, non judgmental advice or recommendations.

Current system is :  Aurender N200, T+A 200 DAC, T+A PA 3100 HV integrated, Magico A3 speakers, Pair REL S/510.

System is in a large room ( 30x35ft with 20 ft high pitched ceiling). Speakers 8ft apart 24" from front wall, subs next to speakers on outside. Very little to no opportunity for alternate positioning or room treatment.

Music prefs are 80% classical, 20% rock and techno.

I initially found the A3s to be lacking in base, so I added the subs which helped a lot.  At times the A3s boarder on bright sounding to me, but not to my wife whose ears are better. I do fit into the category of "old man whose hearing is deteriorating."  Just the same I would like to upgrade the speakers to something that would be an SQ upgrade and perhaps a better match to the room size. I can still appreciate musical nuances and although I may not have the ear I had 10 years ago, I am certain I could appreciate the upgraded SQ from a big jump in speakers.   My ideal budget is roughly $20K but have the means to go higher if it meant amazing SQ.

 If possible, I prefer to buy pre-owned, but have never purchased speakers out of state or had them shipped.  I now have an opportunity for out of state pre-owned SF Amati Traditions for $19K or out of state dealer demo Magico A5s for $19.5K.

Local dealer has demo SF Serafino G2s for $23K which I could home demo if wanted or Amati G5s for $34K, also available for home demo.

I know Magico and SF are totally different. I have heard SFs several times at dealers (never at home) but my only Magico experience is current A3s. Is it weird to say I like both and not certain about which I prefer?  

Intuition is telling me to go towards warmer and more musical which is why I've started to look at SFs.  I live very close to The Music Room, but am not seeing any current speaker offerings that are calling to me, They have a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 50s for $20K, but it would cost me a 5% restocking fee and a PIA to home demo them. I can't seem to find much online info regarding them.

 

In case its relevant:

My previous system in this room (sold to finance something else) consisted of B&W 802 D3 with Macintosh MC462 ,Simaudio Moon 740P preamp and MSB discrete dac..  I found I was missing hifi music and started again with a small system, consisting of pre-owned Hegel H390 and the A3 speakers. I eventually added the Aurender and T+A Dac. A few weeks ago I had a local opportunity to trade the H390 for the T+A PA 3100 (plus cash), so I took it. 

mintakax
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,574 posts
 

A few years ago, after reading a few glowing reviews, I was set on buying the Magico A3’s. But when I went to the dealer for a demo, I found them to sound sort of sterile sounding. The dealer happened to have also the Focal Sopra 3. Comparing those two speakers was a revelation to me. I bought the Focal’s.

Just be aware if you buy them new, they do take some time for the tweeters to blend.

ozzy

willyht
67 posts
 

Given your satisfaction with Magico, I would look at the A5's, or, there is a pair of YG Hailey 1.2's for sale right now on Audiogon. I have owned a pair of these for less than a year and they are amazing speakers with peerless build quality. 

soix
9,974 posts
 

Sonus Faber would seem to be a good choice given what you’re looking for.  I think you might love the Joseph Audio Pearls, but they’re not available used very often and new are likely out of your price range.  The Perspective 2 is in your price range, and with the subs they may well be worth considering as they offer a goodly amount of what the Pearls do — definitely worth an audition if you can find them somewhere.  Best of luck in finding what you’re looking for. 

rsf507
2,383 posts
 

IMO the A5s are similar to your A3s just a bit more bass but only with an amp that has the current to bring them to life. Still a more sterile sounding speaker that does not suit many listeners including me. The Joseph speakers or SF or even Franco Serblin speakers are more musical to my ears than Magico. 

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