Magico V3 impressions
I spent 2 hours listening to the V3 augmented by a JL F113, driven by the Spectral DMA-360 Series II monos, which in turn were driven by the Berkeley Alpha DAC - this is the system RH reviewed (sans the JL) in TAS and was so ecstatic about, and has recently characterized it as "special" on theabsolutesound.com forums...
To make a long story short, and as I told the dealer, I have markedly better sound at home, with a "lesser" Spectral amp driving the Odysseys and the same source material... My impressions can be summarized as follows (source material was some vocal, jazz and mostly large orchestral):
1) The V3's have a more laid back midrange presentation than the Odysseys
2) Wind instruments sound considerably smaller, and un-life-like. Cymbals were not as realistic as through the electrostats; voices were on a par.
3) The Odysseys offer overall more midrange transparency, with a wider soundstage, more resolution, which makes them ultimately much more musical.
4) The dynamic contrasts in my systems are LARGER than what I heard from the V3's, possibly because of the more laid back character and their smallish drivers - they just don't move enough air. The Odysseys in the system, as currently configured, are more lively, more involving and more exciting, if not downright thrilling.
5) The V3's driven by these amps exhibited frighteningly fast bass - just not enough of it, and the deep bass from the JL was definitely tighter than what I am used to. While playing The Right Of Spring on RR, I never felt the gut-wrenching pressure I feel at home on bass drum whacks, that also shake the chair and the walls.
6) The soundstage that the V3's rendered was actually deeper, but that's probably the 360's doing.
A typical example was Capriccio Italien on RR; the winds sound so real in my system with great body, and the finale - where I always find myself throwing my hands up in the air all over like a maestro would - left me wanting more out of the V3's. Their rendering was exciting, but not to the same degree, and I wasn't jumping up from my seat with excitement as I usually do at home.
Overall, with the exception of the more articulate bass, there is absolutely nothing else I could point to the V3's (as set up) that would excel over my electrostats. In my system's main page, I had made some very favorable comments when I first heard the V3's a couple of years ago, considering them back then superior to my system. As it has been proven since then, it was my SDR-2000 DAC which was responsible for the sound not being up to par.
The dealer also admitted that when he had the CLX's briefly in the store, they sounded "spectacular", a word that he has never used with the V3's.
The bottom line is that it's very difficult (or perhaps very expensive) to give up electrostats for dynamic speakers, at least for me. VERY difficult.
Next week I am going to audition the Magico M5's (for fun) driven by the same amps. I intend to then bring those amps home to see if they are worth upgrading to. My gut feeling is that they will be, having seen how they controlled the V3's and the soundstage they threw. The dealer said the M5's have an even more laid back presentation and they still require two F212 JL's to move enough air (but it in a much larger room) - hmmm..... He mentioned this is in sharp contrast to the M6's, which I have heard in the past and they are indeed anything but laid back - in fact, they are nothing short of spectacular and on a par with electrostats. Now THAT'S a speaker I dream of owning, but never will...
