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

[Rhapsody]

Magico A5 with Pilium Elektra Dac and Leonidas integrated streaming with Taiko Extreme server​

 

[tobiasrankin]

Sadly, due to all of this Covid mess, I could only find one dealer who had the A5s in and would audition them. It was a few hours away but also in a house. So I didn't feel comfortable going into that environment and so I passed on A5s without even being able to hear them. I know they would have been fantastic speakers with their tech, enclosures and awesome drivers. But alas, I ended up going the safe route and bought new Legacy Focus SEs in Curly Maple. They sound awesome but I'll always wonder how much better the A5s would have sounded. Maybe in the next year or two after this mess has been cleaned up (hopefully for good), I'll have another opportunity.

Hrm guessing A5 is a big step up but don't worry you can always sell the focus. Also since its not insanely pricey should be easy to sell.

 

[Bretson]

Just traded in some A5's on a set of S5 Mkii's. I wasn't sure i made the right choice but it is a very clear improvement to me.

I would say however that the treble of the S5's seems somewhat forward by comparison to the a5's at first. It takes about one evening of listening to realize that this is actually improved clarity offered by the s series tweeter.

Bass reproduction is heavier with the a5's in my space and the s5's seem to require more power to produce fulsome bass than the a series.

Regardless, their is some more information entering my room than previously before.

Some other advantages:

- The rounded enclosure makes the toe in of the speaker less obvious and allows for more accurate tweaking without sacrificing aesthetic, imo.

- The outrigger feet make leveling and adjusting the speakers much more manageable. you can place your hand under each foot with greater ease. Even though the speaker is heavier and larger, it is easier to set up.

- The binding posts are far better

- Speaker Grilles have eight magnets instead of four and are standard. They do not come off as easily.

- Mine are in the titanium grey m-coat. If you enjoy ambient lighting, light play from the high quality finish is very enjoyable. Light play from the a series is also excellent. I have also owned M-cast s series speakers and I believe that the a series anodized finish is far superior to the m-coat in terms of light play.

The M Coat however is a very different animal.

Is this worth the price Delta? Well, When i owned the A5's I thought no way. Having the S5's landed i do understand where the extra money has went. It is most obvious in the noise floor and dynamics of the speakers.

Regardless of my new purchase, I highly endorse the A5's as a be all end all speaker. I could have happily lived with mine till kingdom come but i had a chance to consolidate my system and move within the magico realm and i chose to do so. Any way you choose, you can't lose.

Let me know if you want any more impressions, all of this is just imo obviously.

 

[tobiasrankin]

Just traded in some A5's on a set of S5 Mkii's. I wasn't sure i made the right choice but it is a very clear improvement to me.

I would say however that the treble of the S5's seems somewhat forward by comparison to the a5's at first. It takes about one evening of listening to realize that this is actually improved clarity offered by the s series tweeter.

Bass reproduction is heavier with the a5's in my space and the s5's seem to require more power to produce fulsome bass than the a series.

Regardless, their is some more information entering my room than previously before.

Some other advantages:

- The rounded enclosure makes the toe in of the speaker less obvious and allows for more accurate tweaking without sacrificing aesthetic, imo.

- The outrigger feet make leveling and adjusting the speakers much more manageable. you can place your hand under each foot with greater ease. Even though the speaker is heavier and larger, it is easier to set up.

- The binding posts are far better

- Speaker Grilles have eight magnets instead of four and are standard. They do not come off as easily.

- Mine are in the titanium grey m-coat. If you enjoy ambient lighting, light play from the high quality finish is very enjoyable. Light play from the a series is also excellent. I have also owned M-cast s series speakers and I believe that the a series anodized finish is far superior to the m-coat in terms of light play.

The M Coat however is a very different animal.

Is this worth the price Delta? Well, When i owned the A5's I thought no way. Having the S5's landed i do understand where the extra money has went. It is most obvious in the noise floor and dynamics of the speakers.

Regardless of my new purchase, I highly endorse the A5's as a be all end all speaker. I could have happily lived with mine till kingdom come but i had a chance to consolidate my system and move within the magico realm and i chose to do so. Any way you choose, you can't lose.

Let me know if you want any more impressions, all of this is just imo obviously.

I think this is a pretty good endorsement for the value of the A5 !

 

[dcathro]

Just traded in some A5's on a set of S5 Mkii's. I wasn't sure i made the right choice but it is a very clear improvement to me.

I would say however that the treble of the S5's seems somewhat forward by comparison to the a5's at first. It takes about one evening of listening to realize that this is actually improved clarity offered by the s series tweeter.

Bass reproduction is heavier with the a5's in my space and the s5's seem to require more power to produce fulsome bass than the a series.

Regardless, their is some more information entering my room than previously before.

Some other advantages:

- The rounded enclosure makes the toe in of the speaker less obvious and allows for more accurate tweaking without sacrificing aesthetic, imo.

- The outrigger feet make leveling and adjusting the speakers much more manageable. you can place your hand under each foot with greater ease. Even though the speaker is heavier and larger, it is easier to set up.

- The binding posts are far better

- Speaker Grilles have eight magnets instead of four and are standard. They do not come off as easily.

- Mine are in the titanium grey m-coat. If you enjoy ambient lighting, light play from the high quality finish is very enjoyable. Light play from the a series is also excellent. I have also owned M-cast s series speakers and I believe that the a series anodized finish is far superior to the m-coat in terms of light play.

The M Coat however is a very different animal.

Is this worth the price Delta? Well, When i owned the A5's I thought no way. Having the S5's landed i do understand where the extra money has went. It is most obvious in the noise floor and dynamics of the speakers.

Regardless of my new purchase, I highly endorse the A5's as a be all end all speaker. I could have happily lived with mine till kingdom come but i had a chance to consolidate my system and move within the magico realm and i chose to do so. Any way you choose, you can't lose.

Let me know if you want any more impressions, all of this is just imo obviously.

Congratulations!

It sounds like the changes are mainly improved aesthetics and pride of ownership!?

 

[MadFloyd]

Interesting. I own the A5s and have thought about making the switch to S5MkII. My first pair of Magicos were the Mk1 S5s and I've heard the MkIIs and thought they were great.

I find the treble on my A5s very forward so interesting that you say you found the S5s more forward.

 

[Mdp632]

Is there any truth to the Beryllium bite ? With regards to Tweeter design , even on the A5.

You get that extra treble resolution but, beryllium rings and thus causes issues.

Which makes amplifier and system selection harder with these tweeters?

That’s why some prefer soft domes and other tweeter designs.

Of course stepping up to the SmK2 or an M line you get the diamond coating which solves that problem.

 

[gds7368]

Interesting. I own the A5s and have thought about making the switch to S5MkII. My first pair of Magicos were the Mk1 S5s and I've heard the MkIIs and thought they were great.

I find the treble on my A5s very forward so interesting that you say you found the S5s more forward.

MayFloyd,
Are you listening to the A5s as an alternative to your M Pros? Or in a secondary system? I’m listening this weekend to A5s at a friend’s house for interests sake. He has similar electronics to mine so should be enlightening on their new drivers (though smaller enclosure).

 

[Bretson]

Congratulations!

It sounds like the changes are mainly improved aesthetics and pride of ownership!?

There is certainly more to it than that. I do find the S5's more resolving, however I'm still trying to figure out whether or not i prefer that.

The S5's seem to do what only big speakers have been able to do in my home. This is that they provides a more realistic soundstage. Admittedly, I had trouble parsing what reviewers had meant when they spoke of this. I do get more of that "effect" now than i have had before. It's an something I experienced when i owned the Salon 2's. It seems to me at least partially to do with the physical size of the speaker.

I do believe i have reached a satisfactory level of performance that i can now focus on things to fine tune my system, including room treatments, cabling, etc.

If your room can accommodate a speaker the size of the S5 and you have the budget for them, I do believe them to be a superior offering. If you are in the market for an A5 however, don't sleep on the opportunity to get out and experience it for yourself. I think the entire A series range is a steal ate their MSRP's. They are a top notch offering from what has quickly become my favorite company in the HiFi realm.... well, Burmester isn't too shabby either.

 

[MadFloyd]

MayFloyd,
Are you listening to the A5s as an alternative to your M Pros? Or in a secondary system? I’m listening this weekend to A5s at a friend’s house for interests sake. He has similar electronics to mine so should be enlightening on their new drivers (though smaller enclosure).

Secondary system - Florida home (vs Massachusetts). I am using different electronics (integrated Luxman) which could be partly to blame (I did hear it on my MPros briefly to get a feel for it). I'd be very interested in your observations since your M6s are basically a sibling of my MPros.

 

[MadFloyd]

Is there any truth to the Beryllium bite ? With regards to Tweeter design , even on the A5.

You get that extra treble resolution but, beryllium rings and thus causes issues.

Which makes amplifier and system selection harder with these tweeters?

That’s why some prefer soft domes and other tweeter designs.

Of course stepping up to the SmK2 or an M line you get the diamond coating which solves that problem.

Interesting... The treble has a metallic character. Electronics could be playing a role as well.

 

[HenryD]

I don’t find the A5 to sound fwd, maybe more 'presence', which I like (perhaps it does compare to the MPro). I moved from a silk dome, and to my surprise, I find the silk to be ‘harsher’ sounding, especially at high volume.

 

[gds7368]

Secondary system - Florida home (vs Massachusetts). I am using different electronics (integrated Luxman) which could be partly to blame (I did hear it on my MPros briefly to get a feel for it). I'd be very interested in your observations since your M6s are basically a sibling of my MPros.

Just finished listening for 4 hours to A5s on an MSB system similar to mine except sources are MSB Select 2 transport and a recently completely refurbished Otari R2R deck. B&W 800D and A5 speakers were swapped in and out of the main speaker position, shunning the other speaker sideways against the back wall with woofers facing out. 90% of listening was on R2R, 30ips, 1/2” including entire albums of America “America,” Doors “Greatest Hits,” and ELP “Emerson Lake and Palmer.“ We compared many of the same tracks back and forth to CD/SACD in real time.

The A5s benefited from slightly wider placement (about 4 inches per speaker) than the 800Ds, and were 114 inches from ear to tweeter per Bosch GLM 20 laser distance meter. More toe-in than the 800Ds improved the sound significantly. Speakers are very new, maybe 50 hours on them, so all observations require that grain of salt. Room is a dedicated listening area in a large open basement.

The A5s do some things extremely well. Voices are beautiful, not forward or metallic whatsoever, including male (above) and female (Rosemary Clooney “Show Tunes” on CD). Strings and piano were clear, accurate, and realistic. However, when the rest of the band kicks in the speakers just do not pressurize the lower octaves of that large room like a larger speaker can. I suspect this is due to cabinet volume (they are smaller than they appear in pictures, at least to me) since they do have three 9-inch woofers.

More break-in will bring out the A5‘s strengths even more. Overall an enjoyable speaker that could shine in the right room, either with subwoofers for a larger room or solo for a more intimate system in a smaller room. What they do well they do very well. I’ll bet they will catch lots of ears walking past them in an audio show, whenever we have those again. All IMHO.

BTW I have M6s for my main floor system and MPros for my basement system, and heard the MPros (with MPods) in my main floor system for a few months.

 

[ack]

Your avatar picture looks so much like this pair of MPros for sale in an almost identical room and carpet https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa3agh-magico-m-project-speakers-full-range

 

[gds7368]

Your avatar picture looks so much like this pair of MPros for sale in an almost identical room and carpet https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa3agh-magico-m-project-speakers-full-range

I don’t want to derail the A5 thread. Yes I decided to use the M Pros in my basement theater instead, which I previously used for both audio and video before starting a dedicated listening room on the first floor.

 

[HenryD]

Just finished listening for 4 hours to A5s on an MSB system similar to mine except sources are MSB Select 2 transport and a recently completely refurbished Otari R2R deck. B&W 800D and A5 speakers were swapped in and out of the main speaker position, shunning the other speaker sideways against the back wall with woofers facing out. 90% of listening was on R2R, 30ips, 1/2” including entire albums of America “America,” Doors “Greatest Hits,” and ELP “Emerson Lake and Palmer.“ We compared many of the same tracks back and forth to CD/SACD in real time.

The A5s benefited from slightly wider placement (about 4 inches per speaker) than the 800Ds, and were 114 inches from ear to tweeter per Bosch GLM 20 laser distance meter. More toe-in than the 800Ds improved the sound significantly. Speakers are very new, maybe 50 hours on them, so all observations require that grain of salt. Room is a dedicated listening area in a large open basement.

The A5s do some things extremely well. Voices are beautiful, not forward or metallic whatsoever, including male (above) and female (Rosemary Clooney “Show Tunes” on CD). Strings and piano were clear, accurate, and realistic. However, when the rest of the band kicks in the speakers just do not pressurize the lower octaves of that large room like a larger speaker can. I suspect this is due to cabinet volume (they are smaller than they appear in pictures, at least to me) since they do have three 9-inch woofers.

More break-in will bring out the A5‘s strengths even more. Overall an enjoyable speaker that could shine in the right room, either with subwoofers for a larger room or solo for a more intimate system in a smaller room. What they do well they do very well. I’ll bet they will catch lots of ears walking past them in an audio show, whenever we have those again. All IMHO.

BTW I have M6s for my main floor system and MPros for my basement system, and heard the MPros (with MPods) in my main floor system for a few months.

+1
Bass comes in around the 300 hours mark. Keep playing.

 

[Gregadd]

Resolves better than the M9?

 

[MadFloyd]

+1
Bass comes in around the 300 hours mark. Keep playing.

Whaaaaaaat????

 

[Bretson]

Whaaaaaaat????

That's consistent with my experience. I had mine in my main system from May until October. I played music, tv, movies, etc every day. I had considered parting with them sooner as the bass hadn't showed up until well into September. When it did, it was like a light switch.

 

[MadFloyd]

Well OK, then. I guess I have to get more hours on mine!