Sophia 2/Magico V2 versus Sasha/Magico V3

Excellent comments, Hce4!

That's a great post Hce4. Thanks for describing is such detail your experience with Magico and Wilson. I'm going to join Madfloyd on his Sasha audition. It will be most interesting because a rep from Wilson whose name I have forgotten is setting up both the Sophia II and the Sasha at a dealership for a seminar. I don't know what electronics we will be hearing.

I have recently bought a pair of Magico Mini II's to replace my Egglestons. The Egglestons are known to be a great match for Pass class A amps and I found this to be the case. However, I also find my Pass XA160.5 sounds great with the Mini II. I do not hear what you describe as wooly bass, attenuated highs or midrange lacking definition. My combo is still fairly new and I'm still playing with speaker positioning, but male and female voice is incredibly present and involving which I don't think would be the case if it lacked definition. One of the LPs I have been using for set up is Ray Brown and Duke Ellington's "This One's for Blanton" at 45rpm. The bass and piano have great definition, extension and explosive transients. The timbre and scale also seem quite natural. There is also plenty of inner detail. I think this is partly a result of the Mini II's being very appropriate for my small room. The speaker/room interface is better than it was with my Eggelstons.

I did upgrade from the XA100.5 because I felt it did not quite have the power to control/drive the Magicos which are very demanding. It's interesting because I do not see many Magico/Pass pairings in systems, but to my ears, the combination is very good. Magico is a demanding load and perhaps the Pass amps have not had appropriate power ratings.

I'm sorry to go on a tangent to this thread, but I thought I would share my experience with Magico. I have also heard the Sophia II's with Pass amps and the V3 with Simaudio did not sound good. The V2 with Spectral was excellent and the M5 with Solution was the best I've heard. The Magicos have sounded great in some demoes and terrible in others, depending on electronics and set-up. I agree that the V2 has great potential. It also has a slightly warmer midrange as you mention which I did not realize until I heard the Mini II.

I think Madfloyd would do well to compare the V3 to the Sasha in his own system if possible. Set up, though, will be very important.

Congrats Peterayer, update the system photos!

I knew I might be stepping on some toes with the Pass comment. In all fairness, I used the XA30.5 with the Magico V3 and V2s at the dealer with an Ayre K1xe pre and a VAC Sig II pre. We played the XA30.5 within it's limits, then cranked it. I heard the same results at both SPLs, that's how I came to the deduction that perhaps Magico and Pass are not the best match. I played with the XA100.5s for about 6 weeks in my system at home, and lived happily with the XA30.5 for about 6 months on the Sophia IIs. Of course, the XA160.5 and XA30.5 are different animals, and it's more than just power, wattage and control. The XA160.5s are better amps, period. Glad you moved to the XA160.5s, the Mini IIs are the most demanding of clean and powerful current.

Hcc4,
Another excellent comparative post! Awaiting your sneak thoughts on Q5 should you be able to get to them sooner. I will be auditioning a pair when they arrive in my country--hopefully by May. A friend who has heard, actually preferred them over the M5, so seems Magico is on to something quite special here--we'll see.

Peterayer,
Congrates again on your new speakers and amp! Hope they bring you countless hours of blissful listening.. By now you should have found that perfect spot for them--or at least close to its thereabout? In your smallish room, with ample current and control from new amp, my guess is that you should also be getting a linear and satisfyingly close to full range bass response from them? Work them till they truly disappear! And oh yes, do update your system with some new pics. Enjoy!

Hce4, thank you so much for contributing to the thread. Your post was very helpful.

I think bass & palpability are the weak spots of the V2s. When I switch back to the Sophia 2's, the first thing that hits me is the character of the bass and the dynamics. The V2 *is* wooly by comparison, but not enough to keep me from enjoying it, especially with its overall coherence.

It took me a while to warm up to the V2s as I normally do prefer a more forward presentation. I like the Wilson house sound in this regard, and really prefer the dynamics on the Wilsons, but that being said, if I had to choose between the Sophia 2 and the V2 I now think I would prefer the V2. I can listen without fatigue - at any volume level, and feel I'm hearing more information - even though they are colored (I agree with you on this). Pop recordings that are etched and painful on the Wilsons are enjoyable on the Magicos. I really think the Wilsons have a upper mid 'hump' that, while exciting, hurts.

I am also curious about trying different amps. TAS' review of the V2s claimed they needed 250-300 watts to sing and my XA 100.5's aren't less than this.

I had ruled out the V3s because my dealer doesn't have a pair that I could audition in my room and I don't want to take a chance (different tweeter, too many 'meh' reviews compared to the V2s). I could easily imagine that the dedicated midrange would outperform the V2 and that the extra bass weight would go a long way, but for all I know there'd be too much bass for my room (14x25x8).

I still have very high hopes for the Sasha. We'll see what happens in the upcoming week. I'm hoping to get a home audition at some point.