Magico A5
Stereophile|July 2021
It’s rare for a Stereophile reviewer to review two loud-speakers in a row from the same manufacturer, but then these are unusual times. Because of the pandemic, Magico’s M2s got stuck here for a year (I know: poor me). By the time they were packed up and shipped out, it was time for a long-scheduled review of the less-expensive, more-massive Magico A5 ($24,800/pair).
JIM AUSTIN
Magico A5

LOUDSPEAKER

At $63,600/pair equipped with the no-longer-optional M-Pod footers,1 the now-departed M2 costs roughly 2.5 times what the newly arrived A5 costs. (The A5 comes with mere spikes.) Like all current Magico speakers, both are sealed-box, acoustic suspension designs, which means that at the bottom end, the response falls off at 12dB/octave—slow enough to have useful output a full octave below where the low bass starts trending down. That’s a much slower rolloff than with the more common bass-reflex (ported) designs.

The A5 is the bigger speaker of the two, with significantly more cabinet volume, which should translate into more and deeper bass—as should the A5’s three 9 woofers, which, doing the math, have about 2.5 times more woofer surface area than the M2’s two 7 bass drivers.

Magico is a company that measures and that practices physics-based design based on established psychoacoustic knowledge. But it is also a company that listens; sure, Magico owns a Klippel Near Field Scanner and a laser interferometer, but it also has the second-nicest listening room I’ve visited. Science and listening need not be opposed concepts, even if, regrettably, some people seem to see it that way. Where Magico parts ways with some of the more subjectivist loudspeaker makers is in their belief that a product that measures well should also sound good. But that doesn’t keep them from listening.

Bu hikaye Stereophile dergisinin July 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Stereophile dergisinin July 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

STEREOPHILE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Louis in London
Stereophile

Louis in London

No jazz-centric visit to New York City is complete without a trek out to Queens. At 46th Street in Sunnyside stands the apartment building where famed cornetist Leon Bismark \"Bix\" Beiderbecke's alcoholism finally killed him in 1931.

time-read
3 dak  |
October 2024
Believing in bricks and mortar
Stereophile

Believing in bricks and mortar

North Carolina hi-fi dealer Audio Advice has been busy lately.

time-read
4 dak  |
October 2024
Musical Fidelity AI
Stereophile

Musical Fidelity AI

In 1989, I bought my second pair of Rogers LS3/5a's from a guy on Staten Island who had them hooked up to a Musical Fidelity AI integrated amplifier.

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024
Burmester 218
Stereophile

Burmester 218

As much as I tinkered with a little crystal radio as a child and started reading stereo magazines in high school, it wasn't until my early 30s that I half-stumbled into the higher end of the hi-fi sphere.

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024
Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature
Stereophile

Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature

The \"Bowers\" in the name of British manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) refers to founder John Bowers, whom I got to know fairly well before he passed in 1987.

time-read
9 dak  |
October 2024
Hegel H400
Stereophile

Hegel H400

STREAMING INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024
SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle
Stereophile

SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle

How many times have you been told by parents and teachers that everything successful must be built on a strong foundation?

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024
RECOMMENDED RC2024 COMPONENTS
Stereophile

RECOMMENDED RC2024 COMPONENTS

Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable.

time-read
4 dak  |
October 2024
Paging Dr. Löfgren
Stereophile

Paging Dr. Löfgren

It started one evening when I was killing time watching YouTube videos and stumbled across a 2017 talk given by Jonathan Carr, Lyra's brilliant cartridge designer.'

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024
Music among the Fairchildren
Stereophile

Music among the Fairchildren

Pull down the shades, find a comfortable seat, and come with me on an imaginary journey to the year 1956. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket wins reelection, the United Methodist Church begins to ordain women, and a can of Campbell's tomato soup costs 10 cents.

time-read
10+ dak  |
October 2024