Magico A5?

rau

Well-Known Member
Aug 6, 2015
588
657
345
Wisconsin
What I noticed last night .The sound stage and image quality improved, also cleaned up the bottom end " Bass " not as muddy sounding. Overall I feel it a worthwhile investment. Another plus is they can be used on other speakers if needed vs bring limited with Apods.
 
  • Like
Reactions: avian

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,219
13,682
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
also cleaned up the bottom end " Bass " not as muddy sounding.

Hello rau,

Before the installation of the footers you found the bass of the A5 to be "muddy sounding"?
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,219
13,682
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA

Soundrulz

Member
Aug 28, 2022
39
44
23
53
Thank you.
Muddy bass would be the last thing I would describe about the A5’s. I’m only using the provided spikes into carpet. So my experience might be very different.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GSOphile

avian

Well-Known Member
Oct 17, 2020
10
3
68
46
Muddy bass would be the last thing I would describe about the A5’s. I’m only using the provided spikes into carpet. So my experience might be very different.
I have found it easy to get muddy bass out of an A5. Depending the amp I pair it with or the cabling I use. Still have a slight amount of muddiness left, but I am also not using the spikes yet (on a floating wood floor), and am very curious regarding the isoacoustics - which would be less hassle for me than going apods or included spikes.
 

b345t

Well-Known Member
May 10, 2020
143
64
93
44
I have found it easy to get muddy bass out of an A5. Depending the amp I pair it with or the cabling I use. Still have a slight amount of muddiness left, but I am also not using the spikes yet (on a floating wood floor), and am very curious regarding the isoacoustics - which would be less hassle for me than going apods or included spikes.
Don't forget to include the Townshend Platform as well. Might outperform all the above-mentioned.
 
  • Like
Reactions: avian

mxk116

Well-Known Member
Mar 24, 2022
106
150
50
70
...no muddy bass here. In fact, very tight, articulate bass. IsoAcoustic Gaias on engineered wood over concrete.
Same floor structure as in my room; definitely need to try the Gaia with the A5's. Currently using the Apods and all things considered I'm pleased with the bottom octaves but it couldn't hurt to experiment.

MarkusB- were you using the Apods before the move to the Isoacoustic Gaia?
 

WDW

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2011
94
49
925
BC, Canada
Are they the Gaia Titan Rhea or Theis? I've been eyeing the same solution, purely because spiked speakers are a pain to move on hardwood floors.
Just a head's up...have used GAIA under a pair of Wilsons on hardwood (now have A5's with Magico Pods) and the "rubber cups" at the base have a very strong suction and adheres to the floor like a MF.....I did pull out the lower rubber portion of one GAIA trying to slide the speaker along the floor. Suggest you'd seek out a silicone slider underside the GAIA to move easily...IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: avian and mxk116

ecwl

Well-Known Member
Mar 20, 2021
216
182
113
Winnipeg, Canada
Having listened to A3, A5, M2 at my dealer, I wouldn’t say Magico speaker bass is ever muddy (once the speakers are broken in). However, whether they are on wheels vs spikes vs APod/Mpod definitely make a difference. So if we say that A3/A5/M2 on APod/MPod offer extremely clean bass, then I guess the comparison would be A3/A5/M2 on wheels/spikes offers less clean bass which I guess some people can call it “muddier” bass.

My listening room has awful room acoustics which I compensate with DSP to make sure the bass is not too muddy. The downside to measuring to create the DSP myself is that I can actually see where all the bass resonances are. And without a doubt, now that I added more targeted bass traps to my room, I’m getting more clarity to the bass with bass traps+DSP compared to no bass traps and DSP alone.

And I have definitely seen how some speakers would trigger bass resonance more compared to other speakers (e.g. ported vs not ported), even if their anechoic frequency response are similar. And since this is very room dependent, my take is always measure. But then you might not like what you find out, especially if there is not much you can do about it. Muddy bass can come from anywhere and it’s not always the speakers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MarkusBarkus

MarkusBarkus

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2021
1,012
1,669
258
66
Same floor structure as in my room; definitely need to try the Gaia with the A5's. Currently using the Apods and all things considered I'm pleased with the bottom octaves but it couldn't hurt to experiment.

MarkusB- were you using the Apods before the move to the Isoacoustic Gaia?
I initially tried the included spikes, adding small dimpled steel discs, which were good. As I had previous experience with Gaias, I decided to try them on the A5s, and have stuck with them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mxk116

drakestorm

New Member
Jul 5, 2023
2
0
3
52
First post on this site after reading through this thread, and hoping for some advice.

I'm thinking about upgrading my Magico A1 speakers to A3 or A5 in an open room, but a general listening area of about about 4m x 4m w/ 3m ceilings.

The speakers would sit about 2.5m apart from each other, with the front of the tweeter about 70cm from the wall, and listening spot about 3m away from the front of the speakers, and about 50cm from the rear wall.

Would an A5 be unsuited for a room of this size? (i.e. too big? I am not looking for volume)

I am happy with a Devialet Expert Pro 440 powering the A1. Would it be a suitable amp for the A5?

If I've missed any info that would help, feel free to ask.
 

ecwl

Well-Known Member
Mar 20, 2021
216
182
113
Winnipeg, Canada
I'm thinking about upgrading my Magico A1 speakers to A3 or A5 in an open room, but a general listening area of about about 4m x 4m w/ 3m ceilings.

The speakers would sit about 2.5m apart from each other, with the front of the tweeter about 70cm from the wall, and listening spot about 3m away from the front of the speakers, and about 50cm from the rear wall.

Would an A5 be unsuited for a room of this size? (i.e. too big? I am not looking for volume)

I am happy with a Devialet Expert Pro 440 powering the A1. Would it be a suitable amp for the A5?

To me, an A3 and A5 can work because the problem is not really the speaker but the room. Devialet Expert Pro 440 allows you to have parametric EQ so as long as you don’t have a major dip in frequency at your listening position, you should be able to compensate most of the room effect by using the parametric EQ function.
You’re going to run into this problem regardless of which floorstanding speaker (Magico or not) you choose.
Are you already running SAM with your Devialet to extend the low end of the A1?
Before leaping into a new pair of speakers, one thing you can try is to measure your current listening position’s frequency response. It’s possible that you’ll find out if you just move your seat front or back slightly, you’ll get a smoother bass response and you won’t need a new pair of speakers. It’s also possible that you’ll find out you’re truly lacking in the lowest end but there are bass peaks you need to EQ so you’ll want the A5 to fill in the low bass while EQ’ing the room effects. Of course you might just want to upgrade to A5 for the more articulate bass and midrange but I think it’s likely you’ll need to apply some EQ given your room size.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drakestorm

WDW

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2011
94
49
925
BC, Canada
First post on this site after reading through this thread, and hoping for some advice.

I'm thinking about upgrading my Magico A1 speakers to A3 or A5 in an open room, but a general listening area of about about 4m x 4m w/ 3m ceilings.

The speakers would sit about 2.5m apart from each other, with the front of the tweeter about 70cm from the wall, and listening spot about 3m away from the front of the speakers, and about 50cm from the rear wall.

Would an A5 be unsuited for a room of this size? (i.e. too big? I am not looking for volume)

I am happy with a Devialet Expert Pro 440 powering the A1. Would it be a suitable amp for the A5?

If I've missed any info that would help, feel free to ask.
A data point
Had the 440’s driving Magico Q3s and the system sounded wonderful….assume the Q3 would present as difficult, or more difficult load, as the A5 (my current speaker)
 
  • Like
Reactions: drakestorm

mxk116

Well-Known Member
Mar 24, 2022
106
150
50
70
First post on this site after reading through this thread, and hoping for some advice.

I'm thinking about upgrading my Magico A1 speakers to A3 or A5 in an open room, but a general listening area of about about 4m x 4m w/ 3m ceilings.

The speakers would sit about 2.5m apart from each other, with the front of the tweeter about 70cm from the wall, and listening spot about 3m away from the front of the speakers, and about 50cm from the rear wall.

Would an A5 be unsuited for a room of this size? (i.e. too big? I am not looking for volume)

I am happy with a Devialet Expert Pro 440 powering the A1. Would it be a suitable amp for the A5?

If I've missed any info that would help, feel free to ask.
My room is approximately 8.5m L x 6.2m W with a maximum ceiling height of 3.5m. In this room the Magico A5 has no problem achieving satisfying listening volumes. For reference, from the listening position, my "normal" listening levels measure 78-82 dB. Achieving 88-90+ dB is no problem except for the rest of my family.
 
Last edited:

CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,063
3,201
1,410
Hong Kong

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing