New speakers: Magico M3 v Rockport Cygnus v YG Sonja 2.2 v Gryphon Pantheon

AJR

AJR

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Singapore
My goal is to upgrade my wonderful Magico S3 Mk2 speakers to do justice to the rest of my system. Next 6-12 months.

Have settled on the above options as preferences. Would appreciate thoughts. From what I have learned, all these speakers are equivalent (roughly speaking). Unless you think I am completely missing something, please do not suggest alternatives. For example, am not interested in Focal or Wilson (for various reasons).

Key info:
- my room is 19 feet deep, very wide and very high ceiling
- music preferences: eclectic. Everything. Classical, jazz, Aftrobeat, Bossanova, Hard rock, electronica etc (except country and western 🤪)
- my bias is towards percussion and bass
 
Also, although I know the merits of subwoofer(s) I have no space for them, so subs are out.
 
Whenever I've heard the Magico M series - 2, 3 or 6 they have sounded pretty dang good. The Rockports and YG are hit and miss when Ive listened to them, sometimes good and sometimes bad. I no experience with the Gryphon.
 
All four will be great speakers, the Gryphon is the "odd" one in this group (ported and an AMT tweeter), personally I like closed enclosure designs. Chosing the Magico M3 or YG Acoustics Sonja is a matter of taste, I like the Kick bass in the Magico designs, but the YG acoustics designs go down lower in my experience.
 
AJR, with your bias toward bass, I'm surprised that Wilson, probably the Alexia II, isn't on your candidate list along with Rockport.
 
AJR, you can see writeups of most of the brands you're hearing on my huge speaker thread "elsewhere" as I went through the same search. I haven't had a chance to hear the Pantheon, though owe Philip O'Hanlon a visit - pandemic got in the way unfortunately.

If you have some criteria that you look for most in a speaker, that would be helpful for recommendations.
 
AJR, as we have a similar taste in speakers, tomorrow I’m going to listen to the Vimberg Minos and Tondas, to get a feel for what Jeff Fritz is so fussed up about.

I’ll let you know how it goes [emoji3]. The matte black ones look the part.


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GSOphile said:
AJR, with your bias toward bass, I'm surprised that Wilson, probably the Alexia II, isn't on your candidate list along with Rockport.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your message. I have no doubt Wilsons deserve to be on the list. But the aesthetic is a deal breaker for me. Same reason that Vivid Giya isn’t on the list.
 
Kuoppis said:
AJR, as we have a similar taste in speakers, tomorrow I’m going to listen to the Vimberg Minos and Tondas, to get a feel for what Jeff Fritz is so fussed up about.

I’ll let you know how it goes [emoji3]. The matte black ones look the part.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

If I can find a Lansche dealer in Singapore (haven’t tried yet) I will give them a try
 
Fair enough. I like Kuoppis' suggestion. In addition to Fritz' plug for the Tondas, Stereophile (JA) published a very favorable review of the Minos.
 
In my listens to Magico and Yg, I personally liked the Magico better. I never had a same room/equipment comparison. From reviews and comments seems Yg can be a challenge to set up correctly in a room.

I only heard Gryphon with their speakers once, the sound was very good with excellent imaging.

I only heard Vimberg once and I loved it, very much the Tidal sound.

I believe synergy will be a factor, I'm sure your Gryphon could drive anything, it's just will it sound good with each of the brands, will they compliment one another.
 
Would I be wrong asking why as already having Gryphon electronics looking further then Pantheons as they I assume would be a perfect match?
 
certainly 4 excellent speaker.
gryphon will match gryphon,
yg might be right for your room hight,
rockport the greatest bass,
the m3 is the m3, the best looking by far
however, since all those 4 speakers are on the market for a couple of years and mk2 does always come, for me it would all depend on the dramatic deal you can get.
and, while you are not buying to sell them....that day will come as well in a couple of years and my guess is that the m3 will hold value the best and also the easiest to sell. (old monsters = very low cash)
 
brodricj said:
...or he could buy my Q3 for a bargain.
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Wow, you still have the Q3's, saw them on ebay for quite some time. Great speaker but although "probably" a bargain, still a considerable amount for many.

Have you tried exchanging them with the M3's after they were run in ? just interested in the difference between them.

Sorry for the off topic :blush:
 
KeithR said:
AJR, you can see writeups of most of the brands you're hearing on my huge speaker thread "elsewhere" as I went through the same search. I haven't had a chance to hear the Pantheon, though owe Philip O'Hanlon a visit - pandemic got in the way unfortunately.

If you have some criteria that you look for most in a speaker, that would be helpful for recommendations.
Click to expand...

Keith, thank you I tried to articulate my requirements. Let me try again:
- must be neutral (Gryphon amps are slightly coloured as they are “rich”, so I want speakers that delivers deliver that richness)
- mid range must be musical
- must go deeper than the S3 Mk2 bass (which I appreciate and love)
- this is probably the most important point: my room is medium size (doubles up as TV room) and so footprint is an issue. Am currently considering the physical dimensions of these speakers.
 
And of course, with this budget at stake, I will listen to all these amps in due course. The purpose of this thread is to stress test this forum’s views at a general level
 
So AJR, I gave the Vimberg Mino a listen.

- pros: very good resolution, had a lots of bass, very good imaging, they love all the audiophile stuff: Stimela drum layers, Diana Krall etc.
- cons: I found that the treble sticked out even of the center image quite a bit, bass was there in abundance but I felt it was a bit bloated (three small bass drivers tuned to do the whole shebang resulted in a bit strained sound), rock was missing cohones a bit, old jazz sounded like old jazz (bad recordings)

I would say they are excellent for analyzing stuff, but might not be idea for listening to all varieties of music. I will try to audition the larger Tondas in due course.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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