Stereophile claims about Magico

Asked to hear a really good tube system at SBS in NYC this past weekend. Magico Mini II with DCS Puccini CD, VTL TL G15 pre, VAC 300 PHI amp were auditioned and caught my ear.

Also read the recent Stereophile article.

"Revolutionary" is perhaps a bit overstated. Extremely well designed and executed would be more accurate. Innovative would also most certainly not be an overstatement given the unique combination of design elements incorporated. CAD design tools certainly enable precision designs when properly applied, but these tools have been around and in common use for well over 20 years at least now, right?

Having said this, the system I heard was certainly "magic" in its smooth, clean, transparent and effortless rendering (with just a touch of warmth) of the Saint-Saens Organ symphony on DG CD, particularly with the massed strings. Low end extension and dynamics were not all there with the smaller Magicos, but otherwise , this was a $100000 or so system that I could surely live with!

Its not fair to single out audio mags either. Most media outlets are marketing, not service driven. The goal is to get people to buy more new things. Audio is no different. Just face this reality and think before you believe anything someone tells you.

Isn't that part of what makes this country great?

Dhaan,

I think you stated the reason why people need so much affirmation. Its because it IS hard to know for sure exactly what something will sound like once you take it home, and, perhaps even more importantly, it is costly to make poorly informed decisions whenever purchasing products based on technology, especially when investing large sums on new equipment that will generally depreciate in value over time.