The Magico A5 Loudspeaker Review

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Күн бұрын

Tom Martin reviews the Magico A5, it's sleek design, extreme low level resolution, and more... Listen in!
00:00-3:32 The Basics
3:32-11:57 Sound Quality
11:57- Imaging
Interview w/ Magico CEO Alon Wolf: • How Far has the Magico...
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About Tom Martin:
Tom is a long-time audiophile. He began his reviewing career after acquiring the The Absolute Sound magazine in 1997 and then hi-fi+ magazine in 2002. He has worked closely with Harry Pearson and Robert Harley at TAS and with Roy Gregory and Alan Sircom at hi-fi+. Since Tom and his teams expanded the TAS and Plus platforms in the digital domain, he has served as Chief Content Officer.
What Is The Absolute Sound?
The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, KZfaq and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.
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Пікірлер: 88

@kenmcglown6642 10 ай бұрын

I've had the opportunity to hear a pair of Magico A5 speakers as well as some of their higher tier speakers in the S and M Series, and they all sound just magnificent. As great as their higher tier Magico speakers are, I've come to the conclusion that, for me, I wouldn't need to go any further up the Magico line than the A5 speakers. The A5 speakers are all the speaker I (and many audiophiles) will ever need. They're just that good and complete sounding from top to bottom. The A5s are spectacular sounding speakers and also one of the best, full range, floor standing speaker values around. There's so many wonderful sounding speakers out there, at all price points, to choose from these days. I've been madly in love with my Revel Salon 2 speakers for years and will probably be keeping them for the duration.

@josh2011miller80 10 ай бұрын

These Magico A5 speakers are starting to sound like my dream speakers

@2kdesignstudios72 7 ай бұрын

I've been reading TSA since the 90's and just discovered your YT channel. So glad to hear your voice and excellent review!

@robertthurston6858 11 ай бұрын

I like that you’re describing the product in a much more animated way than your first and earlier videos, which you seemed a little more dryer in Your presentations then. Basically, I’m saying you’re stepping it up😅

@glenncurry3041 11 ай бұрын

Yes, he is clearing becoming more comfortable and the timing is getting better.

@davewin1792 10 ай бұрын

@@glenncurry3041 siskel and ebert :)

@glenncurry3041 10 ай бұрын

@@davewin1792 Wait for the DVD.

@davewin1792 10 ай бұрын

All in good fun Sir. @@glenncurry3041

@jeffreypicciolo7706 11 ай бұрын

Beautifully done review! Top tier.

@user-ex9zm7bg3x 10 ай бұрын

Yes quite enjoyable

@AudiophileToday 11 ай бұрын

Very good review of the A5. The first thing I look for in a hi-end loudspeaker is how pure does it sound. I equate "Purity" with your description of "Naturalness." When a speaker gets past that litmus test, it usually deserves a more in depth look. You did a good job here and, of course, Magico is....well Magico.

@bayard1332 11 ай бұрын

In both of my treated rooms I can sculpt the height of the soundstage with room treatment. Seeing all the flat blank wall space and the big window and the angled walls I would bet money your room is the reason for the short height of the sound stage. Cheers.

@thomasmartin2219 10 ай бұрын

Yeah, as I said, supply chain issues led to a delay in my front wall diffusers, so we’ll see, but it seems a reasonable hypothesis.

@willbrink 11 ай бұрын

And that's their entry level line! They'd be on the short list to listen to if I was looking to spend almost 30K on speakers.

@nitraM321 3 ай бұрын

Chief Content Officer, RIDICOULOUS !

@campbellhughes5246 10 ай бұрын

Very relatable review, Thanks. I didn't afford the A5 and stretched to A3. While it is worth nothing, I feel that nearly all of your comments (especially placement and volume) I would apply to the A3 as well. While some of my past favourite music can sound well... Crud recordings now sound crud. They have however opened up my enjoyment of a much broader variety of music in well placed textured detail. Wish I hadn't waited to my late fifties to experience it!

@zogzog1063 7 ай бұрын

Better late than never. I have had the A3s since they first came out. The only improvement I could make was to add a subwoofer. I bought a REL G2 as they are a good match for the Magicos - no port and pretty much the same driver material. They match closely enough in the looks department as well. With well recorded material; woodwind, brass and human voice are convincing facsimiles of the real thing.

@sidvicious3129 11 ай бұрын

Very good review. I like your style. If you haven't already done so, can you review the wharfedale Elysian 4.

@Mark-rw3kw 11 ай бұрын

They don't like to review stuff that they are not going to give rave reviews to. I just don't think that Tom Martin is a Wharfedale kind of guy (neither am I).

@chrisfrank9288 10 ай бұрын

Great review. I really appreciated your impressions of the speakers. The only thing missing for me was your thoughts of component matching (amps and sources).

@thomasmartin2219 10 ай бұрын

I have to follow up on the image height/room treatment issue, so I’ll try to address this as well. Thanks.

@MichaelM-to4sg 10 ай бұрын

Like all A & S series these are low-moderate efficiency, high and relatively unstable load. They are quoted at 4 ohm load but there are 2 dips in audible range below 2 ohms. The M series are much higher efficiency and marginally less load. The M6 I demoed and had a dip in upper bass to 2.4 but otherwise nearly flat 4 ohm. Source devices won’t matter but amps need to be relatively high output and lots of psu storage capacity. Most Magico’s benefit from moderate to high damping factor. VTL MB’s run in triode mode with highest damping is the absolute best sound for Magico’s. If you’re a fan of SS amps, I personally have heard PS Audio class A amps and was not impressed, especially the bass. My guess is damping factor was too low but I honestly don’t know enough about PSA amps. I’d suggest trying something like a Naim or an old Pass Aleph 1.2 would be good.

@elitetrader5468 6 ай бұрын

@@MichaelM-to4sg I wonder if the Parasound JC1 monoblocks would be a good fit. They have the power that's for sure.

@MichaelM-to4sg 6 ай бұрын

@@elitetrader5468 I’m not real familiar with/Parasound products, especially since the ownership changes. That amp however is likely a John Curl design, hence the “JC” model designation. While John is best known for his famous phono preamps, his amp designs for Parasound and Constellation are always very high damping factor and typically have stout psu’s capable of driving difficult loads. To confirm compatibility, check the specs published by Parasound, you’re looking for DF: >800 @8 ohms and output @ 2 ohms double that at 4 ohms.

@kurtbrisch5776 11 ай бұрын

And this is Magico's entry level line. There is also the S and M series speakers and they make a few different subwoofers as well. Amazing speakers.

@elderinmoi1571 11 ай бұрын

Like Wilson audio they know how to make a beautiful speaker 😂. Maybe it sounds good that is something but I have yet to hear a magico speaker that i like. When I listen to the description in this video I think to myself „this must sound very different from other magico speakers“.

@Mark-rw3kw 11 ай бұрын

Wilson speakers sound great, but some of them look butt ugly, and their top of the line speaker looks like the monster from the "Alien" movie. Obviously, a big part of that is because of the ability to time align most of the drivers individually.

@stimpy1226 11 ай бұрын

When your mind is focused on the music that doesn't really say it all to me. When the music flows into your soul I feel that I have arrived.

@justlisten7010 10 ай бұрын

As an owner of A5 I can relate to most things said. Especially interesting is remark about stage height. It does show itself in full glory in well recorded classical music, though. I am becoming more of opinion that many other speakers exagarate this height even when it is not in the recording by presenting higher frequency more upward. In pictures, the speaker is shown without spikes or Apods, so I wonder is this how the tonal balance was found to be better for the reviewer?

@mostirreverent 5 ай бұрын

I didn’t get a sense of how the speaker sound for a different frequencies like how does it have a sibling sibilances or highs. I’d love to see a review of the A3’s as well

@jefftrout7697 11 ай бұрын

a bit off topic but Benaroya Hall in Seattle has a wonderful sound.

@johnruppert5630 11 ай бұрын

I’d love to see production numbers on Magico speakers!

@frankfuller450 10 ай бұрын

My pair of A5 are a few months old and the serial numbers indicate Magico has sold about 500 pairs.

@donpayne1040 11 ай бұрын

great lexicon.

@user-mr6pd1ig3u 5 ай бұрын

Is the Gryphon Diablo 300 able to properly drive these speakers ?

@LS-ti6jo 11 ай бұрын

A5's price is close to Wilson's Sabrina X. Would be interesting to see the two compared.

@frankfuller450 10 ай бұрын

I compared the two on the same day but at different dealers. I preferred the A5 mostly because of the “better” bottom end.

@LS-ti6jo 10 ай бұрын

@@frankfuller450 Thx

@WeeWeeJumbo 11 ай бұрын

by coincidence i only just last night saw the video marketing your coffee table history of high end audio, and that video was my first exposure to Magico. man i'd love to hear one of these someday. but i wish they'd come up with something classier than carbon fiber. pretty sure i never want to see carbon fiber on a loudspeaker again, tbh

@elitetrader5468 6 ай бұрын

They use carbon fiber because that's what their engineers deemed best. This isn't a fashion show.

@gtrguyinaz 11 ай бұрын

Excellent review… did you experience any listener fatiguing events… Your room seems to be small…will these fill a 15x30 room with 12 foot ceilings.. thanks..

@Mark-rw3kw 11 ай бұрын

I don't think there would be any problem with that, based on what other reviews have said. There is one KZfaq reviewer who had them in his converted 2-car garage listening room which is about 20x20. Just supply enough amplifier power and you should be fine. I am assuming that the listening position is not going to be more than 15 feet away from the speaker, and the rest of the space is behind the listener.

@thomasmartin2219 10 ай бұрын

I can’t say for sure about 15 X 30 X 12 (with unspecified seating position), which is 5400 cubic feet. In 3000 cubic feet they were fine (11 feet from speakers to seating).

@gtrguyinaz 10 ай бұрын

@@thomasmartin2219 current dynaudio confidence 5s are 8 feet apart and seating is 9 feet.. the spl. Of my C5s is only 83 db so …. How about listening fatigue.. Thanks again for your time to answer..

@louv4437 6 ай бұрын

These are great speakers and anytime you want an improved sound is just upgrade the amp and they get better

@francisdelacruz6439 11 ай бұрын

Nice review. Just a Note like all Magico and Wilson speakers Not bi wired you can’t use different amps or bi amp this. Can’t blend tubes with solid state on this one. DAppilito configuration appears to give a better vertical imaging placement with box speakers.

@Mark-rw3kw 11 ай бұрын

Correct, but you can use a tube pre-amp and a hybrid tube/solid state amp, like Tom Martin uses. Note that Tom uses a Audio Research tube pre-amp along with hybrid PS Audio BHK600 monoblocs (tube input stage and solid state power output stage) in his listening room. I think that is better than trying to bi-amp the speakers. I suspect that using a tube preamp and completely solid state amp would also do the trick.

@francisdelacruz6439 11 ай бұрын

@@Mark-rw3kw Tubes measure terribly but they do add something to the sound thats just better. Thinking of the Macintosh hybrid amp with built in criossover sounded spectacular with SF speakers but we will never know with this Magico and even Wilson speakers unless someone would break warranty and DIY it.

@TrueAudio 11 ай бұрын

Thank-you sir for mentioning the price $26,800US ($37,000CAD)/pair right off the top as I can quickly get on with my day

@vtkz 10 ай бұрын

@15:00 thats the MAIN point on every Setup. No well planned and correct choosen Room Treatment = no High End Sound

@LiveSound_Geoff 10 ай бұрын

When stereo speakers can produce a sound that is closely equivalent to live and yet not sound harsh, then they definitely deserve to be judged as high end. However, every speaker in that category will have to be extremely revealing and will inevitably produce unpalatable sound if the source material or source equipment is compromised. I personally prefer to endure irritations from poor sources in order to benefit from a close to live presentation from good sources. I doubt whether the slightly warm voicing of the A5 is sufficient to make all music sound great.

@user-pt7mm1so8g 3 ай бұрын

With are ears placed horizontally in the same plain being able to observe vertical placement is almost imposiible. Thats why elevated Horn loaded pa systems and line arrays are so successful in large venues. When you say 85 db I assume you mean A weighted slow response. Where the actual levels with a flat weighting fast response around 40 millisec time constant can be 15 to 20 db higher. A weighting is for determining when the ear can be damaged over a 8 hour period. Its not the actual peak levels the system is producing. Which determines how successful the speaker is and how much power your really need to prevent dynamic compression of the sound if your using recordings that have not been compromised with compression or limiting.

@rickp6303 11 ай бұрын

Has does it compare to the new $11K Borresen Acoustics X3's and $22K Borresen Acoustics X6's for less money ?

@meesmo4 10 ай бұрын

I had the same question, and got the answer after a few hours with the X3. Even a Magico A3 blows the X3 out of the water. Better in every aspect, especially in the articulation of lows. Better transparency in the mids with tonal fullness, and better details in the top end. It made the X3 sound like home theater. Everything sounded rounded and smoothed off on the X3. Strikes on a piano didn't have that immediacy I expected. Bass had a fakeness to it. By fakeness I mean that an inexperienced listener will mistake it as being able to do bass, but an experienced listener will hear a sense of hollowness on the bottom end. Btw this was an appropriately sized, well-treated room. X3 was overall a huge disappointment for me. Obviously an A5 would be even better with an improved midrange. Haven't heard the X6 yet, but I will soon. And i doubt it beats the A5. Dont bother with Borresen's X level speakers. Z series is where it starts to get good. But then you have the Magico S series at that level too.

@ofir5000 11 ай бұрын

Are you going to review the S3 Mk3 too? Thanks

@Mark-rw3kw 11 ай бұрын

Too inexpensive for the Absolute Sound.

@thomasmartin2219 10 ай бұрын

Given the positive reaction of our editors to the S3 at Axpona, that’s a shoe-in. Also see the October issue (out now) for a review of the A1.

@thomasmartin2219 10 ай бұрын

Jonathan Valin received the S3,Mk3 last Monday for review

@meesmo4 10 ай бұрын

Please tell me Tom didn't seriously place these speakers flat on a carpeted floor without at least using some sort of footers.

@tomhirschel8524 11 ай бұрын

What recording studios use Magico loudspeakers?

@meesmo4 10 ай бұрын

Does it matter? Many studios use B&W which we all know sounds like crap.

@tomhirschel8524 10 ай бұрын

Everything matters. We? :)@@meesmo4

@vtkz 10 ай бұрын

@@meesmo4 no thats wrong, B&W or mostly all other ,,High End,, Brands are not really used in studios. Just because Abbey Road is famous, people thought B&W are often used in studio wich is wrong. The Main Brands are still ATC, Neumann, Genelec, PMC, Amphion…

@meesmo4 10 ай бұрын

@@vtkz Abbey road are not the only ones using B&W, Skywalker sound, Sony studios, and many boutique studios around the world use them too. Of course brands like Genelec and Neumann are seen more often, they are comparatively cheaper and easier to integrate with DSP. Doesn't change my point that just because something is used in studios doesnt automatically mean that it sounds good.

@jochen3068 6 ай бұрын

A dream loudspeaker. But unfortunately not affordable.

@SinusPrimus 2 ай бұрын

Where are the measurements?

@beautifulgirl219 11 ай бұрын

Let me know if they begin to include sound clips in these reviews, I'll come back.

@reestyfarts 10 ай бұрын

My wife and I were agreed to buy this model but on the way to the shop we stopped to hear the Yamaha NS-5000. That company's resources from their engine and musical instrument divisions persuaded us with its non beryllium all identical aramid fiber drivers. Nobody else can deliver this at any price. It is a major advantage in integrating all the drivers as Mr. Martin discussed.

@meesmo4 10 ай бұрын

The NS 5000 is good, but it can't do bass. If you listen to just unamplified music, it works fine. Tonality is spot on with the Yamaha. I'd personally pick the A5 over NS 5000 any day.

@reestyfarts 10 ай бұрын

Yes if you eliminate price as a criterion. Size and mass are another. She was at the counter with her credit card out while I was still deciding.@@meesmo4

@SinusPrimus 2 ай бұрын

😄

@mariocassar3117 10 ай бұрын

What, is it $6000? Wow

@VinylPro 10 ай бұрын

what is costs, Sir ?

@carlosgallardoartistavisual 10 ай бұрын

Why don't you ad a couple of minutes of listenig to understand your comments in a better way ? I'd really appreciate that.

@SavageListener 2 ай бұрын

I'm sure they sound nice, but they look so basic in black, like SVS or Arendals.

@mahasidha9 9 ай бұрын

Talking and talking about audio; I simply do not understand why you do not play music in these videos; allowing us to hear what you are describing! This really is no different than sunrise semester when TV first started; talking heads. Sorry I was a subscriber to The Absolute Sound since issue 1 and this might as well be written. No different than reading the transcript of this might as well be in your hard copy or online; no need to be a video; I refer you to Jays Audio Lab where we hear all the various components; he lets the components do the talking. You really are johnny come lately to KZfaq and have missed the point entirely. The best channels play music through the components; geez. Harry would have known how and what to do with a KZfaq channel of TAS.

@saint6563 7 ай бұрын

LOL You don't know about KZfaq compressing audio, he does. Harry wouldn't want compressed audio either.

@mahasidha9 7 ай бұрын

@@saint6563 I am well aware of KZfaq compressing AND it is digital. Nevertheless it is still easy to discern differences notwithstanding all of those factors. Sorry there is no point of his being on this platform the same thing can be said in written form.

@ryanschipp8513 11 ай бұрын

30k speakers....exposed screws around the speakers? Inexcusable as far as I'm concerned.

@QQ-td9id 7 ай бұрын

For speakers of equal SQ, I would pick the one with easy assembly (exposed screws) ones so can make modification easily and that'd fit new modern building style better.

@elitetrader5468 6 ай бұрын

Not a bad thing. Drivers comes loose over time. Easy field fix.

@ryanschipp8513 6 ай бұрын

@@elitetrader5468 what? What kind of speakers are you purchasing where the drivers come loose? I've owned countless pairs of speakers and none have come loose. Screws being shown on a thousand-dollar pair of speakers is shoddy. Do you think they kept them exposed so it's easy access to tighten up the driver? Lol

@stefandenic7144 10 ай бұрын

The sad truth about you hi end audiophiles is that, apart from good speakers, you need to spend a serious amount of money to really appreciate them. I wonder if you would be paying them all those compliments, if they had a lower price tag. After all, it's just a three way speaker with a passive crossover in a well built box.

@elitetrader5468 6 ай бұрын

There are speakers costing way more. Anything under 30K is considered "value" when it comes to the hi end. It is more about the build, it is about R and D as well.