MAGICO M3 INSTALLATION

Our friend shares his excitement and insights about the Magico M3 speakers installation. “Earlier today, Peter Mackay (the sonic magician of Magico) and Jason Tavares (the Boss at Adirondack Audio) came over to put the Magico M3s on the M-Pods and to voice my current listening room. This is also readying things for the insertion of a pair of Magico Q15 sub-woofers in about 8 weeks from now. Peter’s pride in Magico and the obsession with his craft is obvious to see – the maniacal accuracy in measuring things with a laser and then getting aural feedback on those measurements is a sight to behold. And doing it again in ever so tiny increments again and again!” 

Peter’s and Jason’s many, many hours here today and their dedication to having a happy audiophile at the other end takes this all to a completely new level. I am truly at a loss for words as I have never experienced music like this at my own home or any audio show I’ve been to. My prior shock when I got the Magico M3 speakers pale in comparison to what I’m experiencing now. The MPods basically couple the speakers to the floor unifying all of the musical structure. I hear everything. I mean unequivocally, EVERYTHING! It is taking on a new meaning: On certain tracks (Yelo, Electrified II as an example) I feel like somebody instructed the electronic bass to aim and hit me at my knees. Hearing Karajan conducting Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 makes me feel like I’m back at my favorite seat at Carnegie Hall. And…Kat Edmondson…well, she’s right here signing “What a Wonderful World”….and if I move about the room, Kat’s right there at her mic! She does not move just because I am! Imaging and behavior of it is exactly as you would experience it if you sat at the sweet spot at a concert. So ON! Shakti’s “La Danse du Bonheur” is a track I’ve been listening to since 1988 but this integration of John McLaughlin, Vikoo Vinayakram, L. Shankar, and Zakir Hussein makes me feel like I’ve never heard ‘em together before. 

And many similar superlatives can be written about my sonic experiences while being voluntarily and gleefully drowned by Brendel’s work with James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing “Emperor’s Concerto, Piano Concerto, Op 110” and Mahler’s 5th played by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska. Just grand with these pieces whispering confidently that they are superlative in every way. The resolution, Depth, Mid-Range purity, full-on holographic Imaging, Transparency, Dynamics, Impact, Bass definition, and the sustained teasing ephemerality of notes are all there — in spades!! I’m in Sonic Nirvana…and all this without completion of the system with the Boulder pre-amp and Magico Q15 sub-woofers. 

Today has been my day of Sonic Baptism, courtesy of Jason Tavares of Adirondack Audio & Peter Mackay of Magico.  

Enclosed below are pictures I took of the setup process and the state of things at the end of this day… 

Signal Path : 

innuos statement ~ (nordost valhalla2 xlr balanced) ~ dcs rossini ~ (vh audio clock cables) ~ dcs rossini clock ~ (nordost valhalla2 xlr balanced) ~ boulder 1110 pre amp (nordost valhalla2 xlr balanced) ~ boulder 1110 pre-amp – (nordost valhalla2 speaker cables) ~ magico m3 speakers 

Power Path :

furutech outlet ~ furutech ncf ~ nordost odin power cable ~ nordost qx4 ~ [nordost qbase8 mark ii ~ nordost qv2 + nordost qv2] ~ nordost tyr2 ~ [innuos statement, rossini clock, rossini dac, boulder 2160] AND nordost valhalla2 ~ boulder 1110 preamp

Sitting on 2×2 HRS SXR racks and Boulder 2160 on a custom Modulum amp stand