Magico A5s arrive at Rhapsody....color me confused;)

Magico A5's arrive at Rhapsody.Audio - With 8 hours of playing time out of the box and a price of $21,800, they are the most resolving speaker that I have ever heard. I am still trying to comprehend what I am hearing from a speaker at this price.....color me happily confused.

Hi Peter,

I have not done a side by side to the M2 and honestly I don't want to be the one to say that the A5 is more resolving than the M2, but........

I will say that when these new drivers are inserted into the M series enclosures, strap on your seatbelts. Of course only imho.

I think Alon has an issue now It will be interesting to see his forward offerings whatever they might be. I believe that these new drivers in the A5 are going to be seen as an inflection point for Magico as time moves on.

Dimfer said:

View attachment 66661these boxes in my vehicle right now

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Congrats!!!! Would love to hear you opinions once set up. At 180lbs each they are manageable, but stout.

I will say that when the M9 announcement was made and all the usual "too expensive" comments appear I was "on the fence". I was thinking a bigger M6 and not sure if the $750K price point was a good thing or not.

I humbly ask anyone that is in the camp that questions what Alon/Magico are doing with respect to the M9 and it's price point, have a listen to a pair of well set up A5's and then let's have a conversation.

After hearing the A5s with the new driver technology I can't even imagine what the M9s will sound like.

I am now in the process of trying to figure out how to have M9's available in NYC as Rhapsody M9 demos.

ack said:

Any word on a new M3? It has consistently left me unmoved, and I had high expectations.

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Nothing that I have heard......

PeterA said:

The challenge it seems to me for Magico going forward is to offer enough increased value in the higher lines to justify their higher prices when the A series is getting such good early impressions.

I remember the wood M5 when the new Q5 was released, sounding better at lower cost. Such an achievement should be welcomed and celebrated by customers but might make it difficult to sell the other current models. It must be both exciting and challenging for the designer and dealer.

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From this dealer's perspective who has sold several M3s and M2s and the customers are all happy campers and enjoying their music, I look at the "new buyers". What product do I have NOW and in the future for them?

Honestly, even though impressed with the A3's and having sold something like 20 pairs, I was not gobsmacked. I was highly impressed at the $10K price point.

I am now gobsmacked after hearing the A5s, not necessarily just for the A5 performance but now realizing that any new models that will be released in the next few years will even perform at a higher sonic level than the A5s.

I would much rather wait and have meaningful conversations AFTER people have had a chance to hear the A5s. I know what people are thinking, another dealer raving about his new speakers. That's fine, but stay tuned....I believe this is going to be a paradigm shift for Magico. I feel very fortunate to be representing Magico at this time. VERY proud.

PeterA said:

I would love to hear them at some point. What gear are you using in the rest of the system?

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The funniest part to me is that when I initially was SHOCKED was yesterday. I connected the Extreme server, with my "optimized network"#394 feeding the Extreme, into an Aqua Formula xHD DAC and then I was feeding a Devialet Ex Pro 1000, because I am able to run the Devialet 24/7 for a few weeks to break in the A5's.

All electronics are sitting on CMS Center Stage 1.5's. The CS 1.5's are sitting on Taiko Audio Diaza platforms. The Extreme Server and AF DAC are sitting on double stacked Diaza platforms.

All network gear (Waversa W Router, two JCAT M12 Switches and two JCAT Optimo 3 Duo LPSs) are sitting on CMS CS .8s, which are sitting on Diaza platforms.

There is also a dedicated Verizon Fios line with nothing connected to it but the network and one wifi device for Roon control.

I wasn't even going to listen to the A5's for a week.

Then even at moderate volume levels I kept hearing details popping in out on the soundstage and rather than working on my computer or other things I was drawn in to the music.

Then last night I started to listen, against my better judgement, as the A5's only had about 8 hours of playing time. That is when I was SHOCKED. I went through 20 different tracks that I know. I heard words in songs that I never could exactly make out and they were crystal clear.

The splash of the highs on certain cymbal hits, made my jaw drop. The bass goes way down, very full bodied, but retains that sealed cabinet clarity in the bass as well. I know the bass will improve drastically over a few hundred hours, but there was not a hint to me of not being broken in.

Then this morning I switched over to the Constellation pre/Centaur II. It was instantly a big difference, clarity, more transparency, more weight, BUT I know that I could live with the A5's and the Devialet and enjoy the heck out of music without thinking about the system.

All that being said my reference electronics are the Pilium gear from Greece. Unfortunately every time I get a piece in I sell it. I recently sold the $40K Leonidas integrated and the Alexander dual chassis preamp/Achilles 275lb stereo amp.

I have a new Leonidas, Alexander and Hercules mono amps on order now, all in black. I also have the new Pilium DAC coming in within the next two weeks.

KPC said:

@ Rhapsody
Thanks for your quick review. It moves the A5 on the top of my next speaker purchase list. While demoing speakers, I consistently loved the Magico sound (S5mk2, M3, M6) but their products were generally priced above my range. When the A3 was introduced at $10k ($12.3k today), it had a lot of the Magico sound magic but was somewhat lighter/thinner sounding. Per Magico’s Peter Mackay, new A5 will easily surpass the original S3 loudspeakers.

The A5 seems like one of the best high-end audio price/performance components available today. Perhaps I’d better pick one up before any price increase.

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My opinion is that there are SO MANY great speakers out there. I rarely ever hear a speaker that I don't think sounds good.

The A5 imho as times passes will be known as a great value for those that gravitate to it's overall sound.

tima said:

I get that you're talking your book, but it's interesting that high resolution is what stood out.

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Yes, and actually Magicos along with several other speakers have had "high resolution" for many years now, many times, not just Magico, but high res type speakers, gave up other attributes ie, warmth, naturalness, musicality etc. in trade for the high resolution and usually could be analytical, bright or thin sounding.

The A5 is very musical, kick-ass bass, I would call it neutral, not warm and not hot, BUT it was the clarity and resolution that for me, went beyond what I have heard before, BUT also not analytical at all. Very full bodied sounding. As I said words that previously were masked to me on every other speaker I have ever evaluated were just "there". Clear and easy to hear.

Time will tell if what I am hearing registers with others in a similar fashion, I'm sure many will love, others won't, it's just the way it is and nothing wrong with that.

EDIT- What I am hearing that is different is the resolution through the entire frequency spectrum, very noticeable in the mid-bass and the midrange vs the top frequencies. I usually equate high res with tweeters and high frequencies at least to some degree. This is different and I firmly believe it has to do with the new drivers/rubber surrounds. They perform differently that what I have heard prior and it's most noticeable in the midrange and the mid-bass.

knghifi said:

Wait another week, new A3MK2 will blow away A5 at lower MSRP.

This is all great news for new buyers but not so good resale value for existing owners.

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The driver compliment and size/weight of the A3 vs the A5 regardless of updates would never allow the A3, no matter what version, to outperform the A5. That of course imho.

Not so sure about it. I have a pair of A3's trade ins on M2s that sold for $9900 originally and now they are selling for $8K, just because how good they sound for $8K and that is with the A5 being available for demo and delivery.

Would you expect any company to produce products with a concern for resale value of their previously produced products? Make their new products poorer performers so that their older products resale value is better?