Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.
01-30-10
Hello michael i would like to say that is a incredible audi ... Jasonparmenter
01-31-10
Thanks jason and great system yourself. have you had older e ... Mihalis
01-31-10
Hi michael, thanks for your positive comments on my audio sy ... Jasonparmenter
02-08-10
Hello mihalis, greetings from california. i have followed t ... Classicjazz
02-10-10
Michael - i will have the chance to try a gryphon diablo int ... Flg2001
02-10-10
Flg2001, please do. i had it here too but it was connected t ... Mihalis
03-22-10
Dear mihalis, thank you for sharing your experiences with u ... C1ferrari
03-23-10
Hi, i read your earlier posts regarding the wavac pr-t1. i k ... Enzo618
03-26-10
C1ferrari, good question. i have considered it but the lack ... Mihalis
03-26-10: Mihalis
MAGICO MINI II, TORUS SUB, GRYPHON DIABLO
So here is an interesting one! I am organizing a second system for another location and I am testing it at home. I purchased the magico minis ii and tried a few integrated amps. I now have the Gryphon Diablo which drives them to great effect. I dont want to repeat the endless writings on these speakers but I will just make some observations for those who might be interested:
-the magico minis are pretty good speakers. They are no where near broken in but I can certainly attest to their detail, soundstaging abilities and solidity (of the stage.) I am not yet as sure of their tonal color. They sound a bit dry to my ear, and sometimes as if the singer has a cup in front of their mouth. I did sort of experience that also at CES once. Dont take this literally, it could be very much a matter of placement in the room and also of acoustic treatments which are currently optimized for the Poseidons. I have found these to make a difference to this "cup in front of mouth" effect. Also, as they are breaking in, this is going away a little. Of course, maybe I am getting used to them. One thing I know is that this is not about the sound being devoid of coloration as the systems I have experienced have very low levels of that too
-HOWEVER, many of these positive observations apply mostly when I include the Torus sub to the mix. Without it, the sound is more flat, less depth, less stage and I would argue, the tone is not as realistic
-SO, the big thing that came out of this for me is that the addition of the sub at below 40hz is adding a very significant component to our effort to fool ourselves that we are listening to the real thing: it is not about something you can identify by trying to isolate the extra bass: I have it on very low volume. It is the stage that opens up and especially depth. The difference is not subtle at all
-that leads me to the conclusion that purchasing a great 2 way without intention of including a sub is not a good idea (especially at this price.) I would guess that a speaker with better full range abilities will beat the 2 way most of the time because any crossover/integration benefits will be trumped by the weakness of not offering to the ear the full spectrum it needs in order to believe the sound is real
-Finally, as most of us know, the magicos are hard to drive. Dont buy the posts about how they are not sensitive but they are easy. They are not. I used my beloved WAVAC 150W amps and they didnt drive them to satisfaction. The little (but 280W) integrated by Gryphon produced a better effect. I got a better low end, tighter and more dynamic. Maybe the woofer is breaking in but i doubt that would make such a big difference. I will report on this if it changes
-As for the Gryphon Diablo, it sounds great. A lot of detail. A bit dry in combination with these speakers but that is a matter of taste and the sub can help with it. But the overall performance of this integrated is outstanding especially considering price. I have not tried the big Solos and Mirage with the Magicos and I assume they will match extremely well, but I can say that the Diablo is up to par and when combined with the Torus, you get a system that is certainly high end
Mihalis (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
03-26-10
Hi mihalis, i wished you lived closer...i'm listening to th ... C1ferrari
03-27-10
Sam, where do you live? you never know where travels take us ... Mihalis
03-27-10
good one, mihalis! i live in san diego, california :-) just ... C1ferrari
03-27-10
Sam, do you know kip peterson who is also in san diego w ... Baranyi
03-27-10
Hey, bob! nice to hear from you ;-). i've exchanged posts w ... C1ferrari
03-28-10
Some more impressions on magico/torus: -as i mentioned earli ... Mihalis
04-07-10
Hi mihalis, you have an incredible setup! i am considering ... Manjy
04-09-10
Hi mihalis regaring power conditioners what do you recomme ... Kops
04-10-10
You are joking aren't you? saying that ''you are just gettin ... Sonicbeauty
04-10-10
Congratulations for the incredible "almost" system ... Hba
04-11-10
Sonicbeauty, the system is now complete, no question. the ti ... Mihalis
04-11-10
Hba, i think moving to the diablo is a great option and you ... Mihalis
04-11-10
Hba, i should have added that the diablo sounds more like th ... Mihalis
04-14-10
Hi michael have you settled on the wavac he 833 v.1.3 now as ... Jasonparmenter
04-14-10
Jason, no, the ones you see are the mkii version which are o ... Mihalis
04-14-10
I also owned the gryphon diablo integrated paired with kharm ... Argyro
04-15-10
mihalis..your statement: 'in the same way that i don’t deri ... Sonicbeauty
04-16-10
Mihalis, i have read and reread your informative and enterta ... Roccoriley
04-17-10
I agree with roccoriley, mihalis is both informative and ent ... Sonicbeauty
04-22-10
I am not sure i understand the deal with the ad hominem atta ... Classicjazz
04-24-10
Classicjazz ''this is a hobby not a debate''...hum, i think ... Sonicbeauty
04-24-10
Hello sonicbeauty, indeed i am not an audio reviewer, have ... Classicjazz
04-25-10
I am also skeptical of professional reviews, to the point wh ... Sonicbeauty
05-02-10
Sonicbeauty, you seem to continue firmly with your belief th ... Mihalis
05-22-10
I'll leave the heavy lifting to wordsmiths like classicjazz ... Vhiner
05-23-10
Mihali try to listen to the tidal sunray speaker, maybe you ... Argyro
05-25-10
Thanks argyro, i am trying to build a smaller system for a s ... Mihalis
05-25-10
That *would* be fun. Vhiner
05-26-10
I second the sponsorship offering for the blog site michael ... Flg2001
07-20-10
Mihalis, i think your investment in and wise choice of comp ... Kevinzoe
07-21-10
Kevin, this will sound less sophisticated than maybe you wer ... Mihalis
09-18-10
Michael - a brief note to let you know i changed my lamm amp ... Flg2001
09-24-10
I havent heard them, no. read good things about them. how do ... Mihalis
09-24-10
The vivas are more musical, fleshed-out and more life-like ( ... Flg2001
09-24-10
Mihalis, what? no reel-to-reel analogue?? ;^) vbr, sam C1ferrari
09-25-10
I can second flg2001 opinion about viva electronics, i am a ... Kops
10-03-10
You gents are pointing out the main reason i tend to focus o ... Mihalis
10-03-10
Mihalis, the initial outlay for a quality r2r deck isn't gr ... C1ferrari
12-07-10
Mihalis: reading this blog very carefully i can fully unders ... Frankpiet
01-02-11
Very interesting frankpiet. i am often suspicious of speaker ... Mihalis
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