Magico A3 speakers review – first impressions!

A few hours ago the Magico A3 speakers finally arrived. I’m not sure if any of floor-standing speakers created such interest as these three-ways. As always even before hearing them people were instantly opinionated in one way or another and this is where the unbiased evaluation and reviewer’s integrity is of utmost importance in reporting factually. Here’s my take on…

I’ve had a chance to hear A3s in few different installations and like what I’ve could decipher from the unknown setups. It’s one thing to audition speakers in a non-familiar environment, but any reviewer’s real-world objective assessment should only be conducted in his own reference system and listening environment.
I’ve couldn’t keep my excitement bottled and went right away with unpacking and installing. My listening room has a few calculated and re-checked spots and to my biggest surprise, the A3s instantly felt comfortable without getting entangled with the room modes. 
I’ve started to scratch my head. This really shouldn’t work out of the box and so trouble free! Certainly not with the speakers of such size!? Well… The sealed box certainly helps with a bit less problematic installation, but it cannot be the only attribute of such positive impact. 
Wait, there is more… The next big surprise was the A3’s ability to handle the energy. I tend to push speakers quite loud to find the proper gain level and at one point I’ve just walked to the speakers to check how the enclosure is responding to … Almost no inertia and resonances! I’ve attended more than a few controlled presentations and the listening levels that some of the attendees’ demands were beyond ridicules. Each and every system and consequently speakers had a certain optimum gain where they start to works properly. Our inner listening mechanism is designed in such a way that we simply cannot perceive the lower register objectively at the “whispering” levels. Ever wondered why there was there a mandatory loudness knob on the many if not most of the receivers a few decades back? Any audio professional knows this for fact and I was more than happy to hear how well the A3 speakers could lock and load at their needed gain momentum. Clearly, they were designed from the ground up to handle proper gain distribution. Back in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s of the 20th century there was a well know expression “raiding the gain”. Somehow this applies to our niche industry as well, but this is the subject of a separate article. 
The third grand surprise? I’ve could somehow capture the main idea about the A3’s lower octave performance from various events and closed listening sessions and I’ll focus more about it in my final review. What I really want to dig deeper right away was the higher frequency impact. Magico M3 and M6 diamond coated beryllium tweeters already shifted my paradigm about the typical dome (calotte) tweeter driver. Magico A3’s price tag certainly doesn’t allow the diamond coating but the familiar stress-free highs were instantly recognizable and so was the feather-like the lightness of portraying acoustical cues and focal points. This was at once confirmed with the metallic percussions. The usual dome tweeter will go to a certain degree and then start to literally distort. Sadly even some of the seasoned reviewers got accustomed to this phenomena and embraced it as a standard… 
Yours truly could never really settle with this irritation and this is why I generally prefer ribbon tweeters or compression drivers. As written above M6 and M3 were the first speakers that introduce the qualities I’ve to feel home at and in some ways even transcended them. This is no small feat and A3 speakers follow this path exemplary. Perhaps with a bit less sense of refinement as the bigger brothers but nonetheless impressive. Even with the simple test of replaying the hi-hat with increasing loudness exhibit their unique capability easily. Magico A3s are following the real world inner mechanics of aural density where the loudness amplitude is increased and not twisted when the drum stick hits the metal harder. What M3, M6, and A3 can deliver in this regard is more of a breakthrough rather than the simple evolution! 
SUM UP
Make no mistake! These are no ordinary floor standing sealed speakers and calling them an entry level Magicos would probably offend Alon and his team. They might not sport the S series curved design cues or M series carbon panels and other upper echelon paraphernalia, but these are by all means full bloodied Magico loudspeakers. 
Minimalistic aesthetics might not project the complex internal bracing structure and painstakingly well-thought enclosures made from 6061 T6 aircraft grade aluminum. There is so much hidden to the casual eye, but the sonic benefits of Finite Element Analysis simulations and optimized acoustical, mechanical, electromagnetic, and thermal behaviors deliver the aural impact that could be easily associated with the double the price. 
The minimization of unwanted accumulated resonances and the absence unwanted energy dispersion shows just how well the calibrated sub-enclosure handles the mid-range drive behavior and in absence of multi crossing with the back wave pressure of the bass drivers. This translates into the stressless music rendition that removes the thick layers of typical enclosure’s unwanted interactions that not only fatigue the atmospheric perception but also considerably slows down the music. 
Yes, this is quite an enthusiastic first impression write up.  Magico A3 speakers managed to entrapped me with their character free nature into the instant and unplanned prolonged initial listening. 
There are loudspeakers and there are THE  high-end audio loudspeakers. Magico A3’s laboratory-like precision and stand out potent nature allows an extraordinary music voyage. Literary out of the box they were capable of painting the sonic canvas with what a grander portion reality than expected!
Stay tuned for more in due time…

Matej Isak


magico.net

SPECIFICATIONS

  • Driver Complement: 1 X 1.1” (2.79cm) Beryllium Dome Tweeter, 1 X 6” (15.24cm) Graphene Nano-Tec Midrange, 2 X 7” (17.78cm) Graphene Nano-Tec Bass
  • Sensitivity: 88dB
  • Impedance: 4 Ohms
  • Frequency Response: 22 Hz – 50 KHz
  • Recommended Power: 50 watt RMS (min) / 300 watts (max)
  • Dimensions: 44”H x 11”D x 9.25”W (112cm x 27cm x 23cm)
  • Weight: 110 lbs. (49.89 kg)