Road trip to demo $10,000 speakers

@ozzy I also did a recent road trip and decided to buy the A3. I did not order it, I will order in early 2019. I doubt a full payment is required. My dealer had none in stock.

I was going to get Mark Levinson 585 to power it but now will switch to the Lynngdorf 3400 because I will need room correction. Never heard the Lyngdorf but the ML 585 is great with the A3.

Please post your opinions on the demo and the amplification used.

In my demo I heard the following with the A3:

1) Mark Levinson 523/536 - Fantastic sound
3) Mark Levinson 585 - Really good sound
3) Benchmark AHB2 + DAC3L - Very good but not at 585 level

Ozzy, I was informed they should be in February when I got them a couple of weeks ago. Apparently they’re selling quite well which is a good sign I suppose. I paid one half down on them.

Where will you be going to hear them? I was fortunate that the dealer I went to had the optional grills so I could see them. They look nicer with them if you can afford the $600 up charge. I bet you’ll like the A’3’s. I honestly liked them more than some other more expensive speakers I’ve heard. Very revealing, exacting sound with a tight punch that sets them apart. I’m no reviewer, but you’ll see when you listen to them. Only my uneducated taste though. Have fun.

Mike

skyscraper, yyzsantabarbara,

Thanks for the reply. I agree that the grills look quite nice. 
First I need to hear the speakers, I also want to hear the Focal Sopra 3's,  the dealer I'm going to has both on display.

If both speakers are impressive, then the following weekend I will bring my Bob Carver Raven 350 tube amps to try with them. 
I am a bit concerned with both of these speakers impedance and whether they will work well with tube amps.

ozzy

Ozzy, when researching tubes versus solid state amp for the Magico A3's I've  found opinions all over the place. I've read where people point out the Magico A3's perform well, and may even have been designed utilizing solid state amps. Alon Wolf does recommend the solid state Hegel H360 to go with them.

On the other hand, I've read that the A3's are not "warm" sounding and would definitely benefit from pairing with a tube amp. I'd be interested in hearing what your opinion is if you demo your Carver Raven 350 tube amp with them. I ended up purchasing a Luxman 507ux Mark II solid state integrated amp to go with them since Mr. Wolf had recommended the solid state Hegel integrated. But I did not demo a tube amp with them and would have liked to have in retrospect. (I didn't get the higher output Hegels themselves because I mistrust Chinese manufacturing practices.)

I looked up your Ravens and they were listed as providing 400 watts into 4 ohms which is well above the 50-300 watts into 4 ohms impedance that Magico recommends for the A3's, and exactly the maximum output of the Hegel H360's. (My Luxmans max out at 210 watts into 4 ohms) So you would think they'd have enough juice to power the Magicos, but maybe other factors are just as important.  I really don't know. 

I'll bet your Raven 350's will last forever. My Carver designed Phase Linear equipment is still running strong after forty years and my sisters all-Carver outfit the same. Good luck and happy hunting. Keep us posted.

Mike

Mike, in the mean time one thing you could do is to clean your records. The best value with excellent results is Okki Nokki $500 cleaning machine with Audio Intelligent fluids. You will want solution #15 - precleaner followed by three step cleaning solutions - enzyme, archivist formulation and pure water. Also get MA Recordings inner sleeves directly from them and four Disc Doctor brushes - one for each fluid. Ultrasonic machines could get you a little further but they are not necessary and expensive.
The key to really clean records is soaking them with #15, then enzyme, then archivist solution. And the last step is double water rinse, yes double or triple. Soak for 5-7 minutes with each fluid except water, vacuum off. Repeat if the records were very dirty to begin with. Last step is always water rinse, this is very important. When spreading fluids do five revolutions clockwise, then five revolution counterclockwise, then again five revolutions clockwise. Not too much fluids but not too little, you'll figure it out.
Also get Japanese mylar outer sleeves. I also treat all my records with LAST record preservative, after cleaning. You can do it on the machine too - three revolutions counterclockwise.
It sounds very labor intensive but it is not that bad, and you don't have to do it often. I personally clean records with three steps after 10-15 plays, I use #15 precleaner only once. In addition get Lyra stylus cleaner, great stuff. Clean the stylus before playing each side or at least before playing each record. Besides good sound it will significantly prolong the life of both stylus and records. Be careful with stylus cleaning, back to forth gentle motions under adequate lightening conditions. Really clean records is big system upgrade. Pay no attention to how records look, you can't see dirt in the grooves, clean them all equally well.