I went the other way, Wilson to Magico. I have a tiny lounge, I listen near-field, there is a lot of glass in the room etc. I went through endless speakers - floorstanders are an absolute nightmare in my room, many bookshelves sounded too bright or were not good enough or sounded too small or too big or or or.
A keeper was the WA Duettes but after about year of constant arguments with my neighbours they had to go.
I then settled, as a last resort, for the TuneTots, ridiculed by many but, in my particular scenario, the perfect fit for the job. Good size, perfect output - never overpowering the room but at the same time never sounding small, great tonal balance, smooth treble, minimal room interaction (they are very directional and one has to be in the sweet spot).
But after about 6 months I started to crave the sound I have had / heard in the past from other speakers. Yes, the treble was sweet and smooth but, as someone said in a thread in the past, it was like there was a veil, a blanket covering the speakers. They were not the most transparent. They were not the most detailed. The magic worked with plenty of recordings but failed with others.
So at this point I read about the A1 and how they were built with more or less the same principles in mind - to work in a room where their bigger speakers wouldn’t.
I have now had my pair for about a month. And while for the first 100 hours or so I regretted my decision, they are growing on me and they now sound quite compelling.
The treble, unmistakably a metal tweeter, is very detailed yet smooth, the voices are very natural (I would say more so than the bigger speakers), they are fast, the soundstage among the best I have heard.
These are not big speakers for a big room, they are quite inefficient, I feel right now that they could do with a bit of reinforcement in the bottom end (something I didn’t experience with the smaller Tots funny enough). So a sub might be in the books. But they sound superb for what they are and at this point I would say "better" is just a matter of different flavour. They also do better at low volume while the Tot’s had to be played fairly loud to deliver the goods.
One could prefer a warmer sound, a more resonant cabinet, a non-metal tweeter but I would argue that these Magico’s are up there with the best. Again, whether your cup of tea or not (and I can certainly see people coming from Sonus Faber or Harbeth or even WA struggling a bit to adjust to this hyper-detailed, hyper-transparent sound), one can not ignore their many talents.
Are they the best? As some of my colleagues have mentioned above, the speakers are only part of the equation and, ultimately, "best" is a matter of personal preference and choice. I think people looking to spend this sort of money on a speaker should certainly have them on their list. Unfortunately there is no perfect speaker, there is no perfect system and there are no perfect recordings. Some things sounded better (as in more fun, more engaging) on the Tots but, overall, in my room, with my electronics, today, I prefer the A1s.
And that’s all I can give you. My choice, today. I am not in love with them, I don’t think they are the alpha and omega, I am pretty sure that in a year or two or three I will start to look for the next best, but right now that’s where my money went.
A keeper was the WA Duettes but after about year of constant arguments with my neighbours they had to go.
I then settled, as a last resort, for the TuneTots, ridiculed by many but, in my particular scenario, the perfect fit for the job. Good size, perfect output - never overpowering the room but at the same time never sounding small, great tonal balance, smooth treble, minimal room interaction (they are very directional and one has to be in the sweet spot).
But after about 6 months I started to crave the sound I have had / heard in the past from other speakers. Yes, the treble was sweet and smooth but, as someone said in a thread in the past, it was like there was a veil, a blanket covering the speakers. They were not the most transparent. They were not the most detailed. The magic worked with plenty of recordings but failed with others.
So at this point I read about the A1 and how they were built with more or less the same principles in mind - to work in a room where their bigger speakers wouldn’t.
I have now had my pair for about a month. And while for the first 100 hours or so I regretted my decision, they are growing on me and they now sound quite compelling.
The treble, unmistakably a metal tweeter, is very detailed yet smooth, the voices are very natural (I would say more so than the bigger speakers), they are fast, the soundstage among the best I have heard.
These are not big speakers for a big room, they are quite inefficient, I feel right now that they could do with a bit of reinforcement in the bottom end (something I didn’t experience with the smaller Tots funny enough). So a sub might be in the books. But they sound superb for what they are and at this point I would say "better" is just a matter of different flavour. They also do better at low volume while the Tot’s had to be played fairly loud to deliver the goods.
One could prefer a warmer sound, a more resonant cabinet, a non-metal tweeter but I would argue that these Magico’s are up there with the best. Again, whether your cup of tea or not (and I can certainly see people coming from Sonus Faber or Harbeth or even WA struggling a bit to adjust to this hyper-detailed, hyper-transparent sound), one can not ignore their many talents.
Are they the best? As some of my colleagues have mentioned above, the speakers are only part of the equation and, ultimately, "best" is a matter of personal preference and choice. I think people looking to spend this sort of money on a speaker should certainly have them on their list. Unfortunately there is no perfect speaker, there is no perfect system and there are no perfect recordings. Some things sounded better (as in more fun, more engaging) on the Tots but, overall, in my room, with my electronics, today, I prefer the A1s.
And that’s all I can give you. My choice, today. I am not in love with them, I don’t think they are the alpha and omega, I am pretty sure that in a year or two or three I will start to look for the next best, but right now that’s where my money went.