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.
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.