Thoughts about the Magico A3, Revel Salon2/ Studio2


Just curious to find out what are the thoughts of the Magico A3 ? I do not have the opportunity of listening to the pair as the dealer is in another state but it maybe worth heading upstate to audition them.

So far, I have listened to the Revel Salon 2s that I really like. The Revel sounded very extremely neutral, detailed and are easy to position. As much as they are good, they seemed pretty dated judging that they are over 10 years old but that being said, there are not many speakers like it these days.

Just wanted to find out what the overall characteristics of the A3 are, pros and cons. 
bob82
I own the Magico A3's and become happier and happier with my purchase as time goes by. My dealer told me they take about 200 hrs. to break in, and he was right. The earlier hyper-detail and too forceful bass have given way to magical realism (no pun intended) and very tight, strong bass. For floorstanders, their soundstaging and "disappearing act" are magnificent, nearly equaling monitors. With the right components and cables, these are breathtaking, eminently "livable" speakers. And for the price, they are an absolute steal.
Neal
Inviticus you are clueless about revels testing procedures, why the giant grudge against them? 
seasdiamond wrote:

Rubinson's high frequency hearing must be pretty limited at this point. I don't see how anyone could think the Salon 2 or F228BE are indistinguishable. The F228BE is a more forward speaker and clearly has more energy above 7k in the off-axis measurements.

I cannot deny that my HF hearing is no longer that of a younger man. 

The issue, however, is that I found them "nearly" indistinguishable under the conditions at Harman where the listener is offered a single seat in front of a single speaker.  The off-axis differences (and other issues) make the differences between the speakers distinct when using a pair of them in stereo.  Yes, the f228Be is more forward and some may prefer that. 
IMO the Revel Salon's treble is magnificent, and even with my hearing now limited to <18khz they sound more extended than most of the competition. If there's a weak point with the Salon's (2's) it's the low sensitivity, and they seem to lack the dynamics of others including B&W and Wilson. 


BUMP, Shopping in the $10k range and found this thread. As to the Harman listening test. I would put more stock in it if I listened in mono. Recent events might have someone skeptical like myself think KR is on the HK staff what with the glowing reviews and recent conversion to the studios in his own home, but it really shows how impressive revel is in their science and results. I don't put any stock on single speaker evaluating because stereo soundstage and imaging is very high on my priorities and I can't evaluate that with a single speaker.
Having heard the salon 2 and f228 be in the same room with the same gear and the salon 2's being demos and only $1500 more thea the f228 be I picked the salon 2. The most notable differences being the salon 2's top end and the way the speakers disappear while the f228be seemed to be working to keep up at higher spl's. Still haven't got to hear the A3, but did get a little time with the contour 60 and the Dan D' gear driving them was impressive, makes me wonder how they would sound with more affordable gear.