Goosebumps.. heart beating fast..

[Anonymous]

jtein:
Thanks SnS for the invitation! It would indeed be wonderful to make a trip there and be able to actually listen to all the equipment in one place. What a pity I couldn't listen to the V3 as the dealer told me it was already sold and he has only the V2. It's pretty much a husband and wife business and they are in their 50s. I wonder how he transports and sets up those speakers!

I guess the problem with me is that I haven't really established what kind of sound I really want. I love holographic 3D sound but I also want a "I'm there" immediate kind of sound! I find that I'm adverse to harsh trebles and upper mids. I want to be able to "hear/see through" the timbre of instruments. Hard and opaque timbre puts me off which which was what I heard from the V2 + Soulution combo. I like vocals (especially female) to have lots of body. Thin and shrill vocals again switches me off (which again was what I heard through the V2). I want bass to be have lots of weight yet be articulate and punchy.

I guess the only way to really be sure of what I want is to listen to more equipment for longer hours but this is made inconvenient for me because no one dealer stocks all my shortlisted speakers and electronics. Visiting your dealer is indeed a very tempting prospect!

Consider the fact that I'm also half malay half Singaporian and the offer becomes more tempting LOL.

On a seriuous note, the sound you're describing sounds exactly like the Magico V3! V2 has it also when you set it up properly with no homemade cables lol, but not the bass reach you're talking about, the V3 HAS. I listen to a lot of female vocals too. The V3 with Spectral gear made it sound full of body and alive. My dealer also treats his room with Daads (sound diffusers) though as any high-end room should have some sort of that.

 

[Anonymous]

You're pulling my leg right when you said you're half Malaysian half Singaporean?!?

I'll need to fly down to S'pore to listen to the V3 because the Magico dealer in Malaysia only has the V2. I guess it's only fair to compare the V3 with the Avantgarde, Sasha and SF Amati Anniversario since they are in the same price range. You said in your earlier post that it was the first time you heard that V2 was described as sounding terrible. But that was exactly what I heard. I was totally caught by surprise that it sounded that way. Wish you were there with me to listen to them for yourself. I'm reluctant to go back there again because I found that the dealer was trying to hardsell the V2 to me and was not trying to find a solution to my audio needs. And if I do get the V3 from him, I wonder how he's gonna transport them over 250km to my home considering it's a just a husband and wife team in their 50s.

 

[Anonymous]

jtein:
You're pulling my leg right when you said you're half Malaysian half Singaporean?!?

I'll need to fly down to S'pore to listen to the V3 because the Magico dealer in Malaysia only has the V2. I guess it's only fair to compare the V3 with the Avantgarde, Sasha and SF Amati Anniversario since they are in the same price range. You said in your earlier post that it was the first time you heard that V2 was described as sounding terrible. But that was exactly what I heard. I was totally caught by surprise that it sounded that way. Wish you were there with me to listen to them for yourself. I'm reluctant to go back there again because I found that the dealer was trying to hardsell the V2 to me and was not trying to find a solution to my audio needs. And if I do get the V3 from him, I wonder how he's gonna transport them over 250km to my home considering it's a just a husband and wife team in their 50s.

No, I'm not pulling your leg actually! I was going to visit my family in Malaysia and Singapore this summer but I've been spending too much on my system! So no holidays for me I guess LOL.

Yeah I understand how a dealer can put you off to buy something. Some dealers are terrible! Still I'd have a listen to the V3 before deciding. And imo when you're buying something THAT expensive the dealer should hire some people to get it to you! That's something THEY have go to worry about, not you when your spending 20k+.

I still think the setup was broken.

 

[Anonymous]

SlickenSmooth

Which dealer in the Netherlands do you use?

Groeten

 

[IJ]

Jtein

When you fly down to Singapore, if you can find the time to pull yourself away from the endless hifi shops in the Adelphi, you should also make a visit to X-Audio at Bukit Timah Plaza, for another listen.

 

[Anonymous]

SlickenSmooth:No, I'm not pulling your leg actually! I was going to visit my family in Malaysia and Singapore this summer but I've been spending too much on my system! So no holidays for me I guess LOL.

Yeah I understand how a dealer can put you off to buy something. Some dealers are terrible! Still I'd have a listen to the V3 before deciding. And imo when you're buying something THAT expensive the dealer should hire some people to get it to you! That's something THEY have go to worry about, not you when your spending 20k+.

I still think the setup was broken.

There's a high possibility that something was wrong with the setup. I've heard the Spendor A5 before and liked what I heard which means your and my taste may mre or less be the same.

Ho! Really? When are you going to visit then? We can go hifi-ing together! Anyway, how do I shoot you an email? I clicked on your username but no profile is available. I don't feel comfortable mentioning my email address here either.

 

[Anonymous]

jtein:SlickenSmooth:No, I'm not pulling your leg actually! I was going to visit my family in Malaysia and Singapore this summer but I've been spending too much on my system! So no holidays for me I guess LOL.

Yeah I understand how a dealer can put you off to buy something. Some dealers are terrible! Still I'd have a listen to the V3 before deciding. And imo when you're buying something THAT expensive the dealer should hire some people to get it to you! That's something THEY have go to worry about, not you when your spending 20k+.

I still think the setup was broken.

There's a high possibility that something was wrong with the setup. I've heard the Spendor A5 before and liked what I heard which means your and my taste may mre or less be the same.

Ho! Really? When are you going to visit then? We can go hifi-ing together! Anyway, how do I shoot you an email? I clicked on your username but no profile is available. I don't feel comfortable mentioning my email address here either.

You've got mail through AVguide!

 

[RCduck7]

Hi Silkensmooth, you speak dutch right? Have you been to the Audio Show in Antwerp Belgium this weekend? I have been there, the Magico mini V2 was playing there, certainly nice speakers. In this price category you might as well listen to a pair of Adam Tensor Beta speakers that were on that show to.

There is a topic of the show going on at HT forum, i posted a reaction of my findings there to at post #38...

http://www.htforum.nl/yabbse/index.php?topic=97018.0

 

[RCduck7]

I came across a few videos from the show i went to. In the first video the Magico's are shown, sadly no video of the Audio Adam Tensor.

http://glennblog.wordpress.com//2010/03/07/beeld-en-geluid-antwerpen-6-7-maart-2010-audiovideo2day-be-events/

 

[Anonymous]

Hey RCduck7.

Yes I speak dutch. Thanks for the vids and the info.

Glad you liked the Magico. Never heard the Adams but I'm not really a fan of their design (also have a wife acceptance factor LOL). The Magico V2 is really nice. But like I said imo the true magic starts at the V3, almost everyone thinks that the magic DOES start at the V2 though. The V2 is more of an attentiongrabber in comparison to the V3. The V3 has a nicer midrange (1 more 6 inch driver)and goes lower. The V2 has the same tweeter as the M5 though. That being said I'm going to buy the V2 soon and maybe the V3 next year or one of the Magico Q series. All the magico's have that same seamless performance, as if you're listening to one transducer. Most importantly you don't hear the box at all!! It's dead quiet. With equal amplification and electricy treatment you get the blackest blackground you can dream of! That's why I'm so crazy about the Magico's!

 

[RCduck7]

Well the Spendors A6 were playing on that show to and the Magico's were defnitly a big step up. But like you mentioned in your first post, i have to keep in mind to try out Audio Research gear on my current speakers and see what gives.

 

[Babur72]

jtein:SlickenSmooth:Funny that you're talking about transparency of electrostats with the dynamics of a full range speaker. Magico is considered as an electrostat with cones. Like I said my A5's are still nice speakers but I can't even start comparing them with say like a V2.

I listened the V3's on an all Spectral setting. Then my dealer switched the pre to a Pass Labs XP10 and the soundstage shrunk from a big cube into a small cube. The XP20 was better but not on the same level as the Spectral pre. The ARC Ref 5 preamp I heard was on the new Pass Labs XA260.5 monoblocks to some Avalon Indra's. Beautiful presentation, real music. The ARC 5 is definitely a step up from the XP20. Still I prefered the Avalon's on a Spectral set as the band got much closer. Not as close as with Magico's though as Avalon's are voiced to have that magical distant presentation. Like you're in a cathedral or something.

I'm still enjoying my set btw!

Hey Slickensmooth, I'm so glad for you! You're definitely on the way to sonic promised-land. As for me, I'm still wandering in circles in my sonic wilderness!

Hmm....what is it about the V2 that I missed? It really sounded terrible with the Soulution 720 pre / 710 power. I envy you in the sense that the V2 is your cup of tea. I wanted it so much to be my cup of tea too but somehow I just couldn't get into the music when I auditioned them. Could be due to the dealer's homemade brew of speaker cables though.

Next month, I'll be auditioning the SF Amati Anniversarios vs. Wilson Sasha. Both will be driven by ARC Ref 3 pre / 210 power. Hey, is the ARC Ref 5 much better than the Ref 3? I will also audition the Thiel CS3.7 but they wil be driven by Parasound Halo JC2 pre / JC1 monoblocs because it'll be at a different dealer.

Afterwhich, I plan to take a flight down south to Singapore to audition the Avalon Indra together with Spectral DMC-30SS and DMA-360 monoblocs. Will also listen to Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation and Rockport Techonologies Mira / Ankaa. Yummy!

All the above will be auditioned against my benchmark of the Avantgarde Uno G2 / Audio Note Meishu SET amp because they have made the biggest impression on me thus far.

By the way, why did you choose the V2 over the Indra?

Hi Jtein,

Be interested to know what you think about the Parsifal Ovations,when you get a chance to hear them.Especially after my own very positive experiences with the Sarastros yesterday.I'm sure you won't be disappointed - provided they've been set-up correctly.

Although i'm sure that the high quality of the components(Solution 740 CD player,FM - Acoustics & Lamm pre./power-amp's) hooked-up to the Sarastros on the audition yesterday went a long way to maximising their evident capabilities.

I understand that most Verity 'speakers can be fussy about placement.Mainly due to their rear-firing,rear-ported woofers.I was also advised that they sound & image best when placed close enough to the rear wall to provide a small proportion of room-reinforcement to augment their mid-bass to lower mid-range performance but,at the same time,sited far enough away from side & rear walls to avoid incongruous reflections,timing errors or over-exagerated bass notes.And a minimal amount of toe-in(no further inward than ones shoulders & preferably pointed more straight-on),so as not to compromise imaging & soundstaging.

This would equate to them being placed at least 3ft(more preferably 4ft) into a 22ft x 16ft room.And roughly the same distance away from either side wall.

Look forward to knowing your thoughts.

Regards.

BABUR.

 

[Babur72]

Hi SlickenSmooth,

If you like the sound of Esoteric CD/SACD players - which i do mostly too - here could be your next upgrade path.

The new Esoteric K-01 & K-03 32-Bit CD/SACD players.Capable of PCM upsampling,PCM>DSD upconversion & sporting an Asynchronous USB digital input,allowing upsamplling of data up to 24-Bit/192kHz:

http://www.avcat.jp/avnews/2010/esoterick01k03m1.jpg

http://www.avcat.jp/avnews/2010/esoterick01k03.jpg

I understand that they'll sound a touch richer & tonally warmer than the current X-01D2 or X-03SE.

Due to be released around the turn of the year.

Can't wait to hear them.

BABUR.

 

[hifikrazy]

Slightly off topic but wanted to tell you about the ASI Liveline cables. My latest upgrade and although they look a bit too DIY for the price, they outperformed cables costing many many times more in a cable shootout both at the dealer and at home. In my opinion, they have high end performance at not so high end prices. You can find a lot of rave reviews on the Internet - Would be interesting if What Hi-Fi could review them as well.