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Magico A3 vs. Joseph Audio Perspective vs. Spendor D9

Hi All,

I have been doing some research over the past while and am currently in the midst of a search for my next floorstanding speaker that costs around ~$10k. My other thread that I posted in this forum gave me a lot to consider. Rather than post there, I figured a most focused thread would be a good idea. Now, I have distilled my choices to these 3 choices... I think.

Power: I will be powering the speakers with a SET amp (48W per channel).
Sources: Most of my sources are digital (Roon/Tidal). I mostly listen to jazz, classical and female vocals. I would appreciate a speaker that provides that good, snappy bass where I don't need a subwoofer.
Room: Large room (will be in the living room that opens up to the kitchen and then the dining room). Aesthetics do matter here.

I have received a ton of help through the forums already during my search and have now narrowed down my speaker choices to (in no particular order):

  • Magico A3 - No issues driving these speakers with my amp. Tested and they sounded wonderful. Very analytical and super clear details. Tight bass as well but maybe more weighted in the clarity/details than warmth, even with my tube amp.
  • Joseph Audio Perspective - No dealers in WA or OR so no way to test these but have heard wonderful things about these speakers. Sounds like imaging/sound stage is a strong suit along with clarity. I wonder how bass performance is though as these have smaller woofers compared to my other choices.
  • Spendor D9 - Have not heard these speakers yet but am trying to find a local dealer that has them in stock.
Another one that I am still thinking about is the Daedalus Argos but I would like to hear some feedback on the top 3 at this time.

Thanks!
freesole
freesole OP
159 posts
 
@shkong78 thanks for the offer, I'm not in the market for the speakers that you have at this time so I will politely decline. 

freesole OP
159 posts
 
@prof I think your impressions are aligned with most of the reviews of the perspectives. I do find the Perspectives to be somewhat polarizing though which is funny. People who enjoy the Perspective's, love them. Those that do not feel strongly against them as they did not perform the way that they expected them to. Very little middle ground. 
otinkyad
23 posts
 
@freesole, Interesting thread! 
I'm in a similar situation to yours (looking for rich, large soundstage, non-fatiguing but detailed sound, that fills a large open-plan room that includes living-dining-kitchen, looking at up to about $10K) -- so your thread was very interesting to me.  As I'm pretty inexperienced with high-end audio, I'm afraid don't have anything to contribute by way of opinions.  But I wondered whether any of the following were on your initial list: Revel F228Be, GoldenEar Triton Reference, Legacy Focus SE, and, as twoleftears asked, ProAc D48r?  If so, would you be willing to share what led you to eliminate them, as well as any listening impressions?  (I ask because they are on my list, along with Magico A3 and Spendor D9, but I'm not far along in the audition process, and so your thoughts would be very helpful, given what seem to be similar desired goals).  Thanks in advance, otinkyad
freesole OP
159 posts
 
@otinkyad Hope you are having as much fun as I am with this search. There are definitely a lot of candidates at this price point. One thing that I have learned is that the question, "which speaker to get" leads to more speakers to add onto the list instead of narrowing down your choices. Enjoyment of sound is such a subjective thing and it really comes down to your system and your ears. 

Revel F228BE doesn't match my decor but I have heard great things about them. Ditto with the GoldenEar but I have some of their speakers before and have not been impressed - granted that was with McIntosh gear which I also am impartial to after a few listening sessions. Legacy Audio is supposed to be fantastic but again, not a good match with the decor of my room. ProAc D48R is one that I have considered previously but have heard from a couple of folks that compared to the Spendor's, they preferred the D9's all around. I do like a good ribbon tweeter though as my current speakers have them and they voice those highs so smoothly and transparently without any harshness. 
prof
3,450 posts
 
@freesole
I do find the Perspectives to be somewhat polarizing though which is funny. People who enjoy the Perspective’s, love them. Those that do not feel strongly against them as they did not perform the way that they expected them to. Very little middle ground.

That’s interesting to hear.

Like many of us here, I go all OCD when researching a speaker I’m very interested in buying. For the last year I’ve scoured the web for show reports, user reports, forum comments, reviews etc on the JA speakers, especially the Perspective, and I have a huge number of bookmarked links to these.

From what I’ve seen, the remarks have been pretty much universally positive on the Perspectives (with the exception of one person in a forum who remarked that they sounded incredible in the store, but had a harder time dialing them in for the same sound at home.)

I’m curious where you are seeing the hate for the Perspectives?


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