Fyne 704 to replace A5s?

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bandrews

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I have had Magico A5s now for a couple years. I like them very much but frankly just want more, something bigger. I initially ran them with Luxman 900 power amp and various pre sources and then moved to Diablo 333 thinking the additional power would make the Magicos louder and more impactful. The A5s start flagging at about 95 dbs. Looking at selling the A5s and getting the Fyne 704s (don't think I can afford 704sp). These seem to be about biggest sounding speakers around for the money. If I were to lose a little detail or something else by making the switch i am ok with that if the 704s are much more likely to make my living room sound like a concert hall. Any thoughts and experiences appreciated. Are there other speakers around this range that could also be considered to achieve what I am looking for?
 
For more or bigger, have you considered adding a couple of subs. I went from the A3's with two SVS subs and moved up to the S3's and still found that adding the two SVS bring just more to the soundstage and music.
 
bandrews said:
I have had Magico A5s now for a couple years. I like them very much but frankly just want more, something bigger. I initially ran them with Luxman 900 power amp and various pre sources and then moved to Diablo 333 thinking the additional power would make the Magicos louder and more impactful. The A5s start flagging at about 95 dbs. Looking at selling the A5s and getting the Fyne 704s (don't think I can afford 704sp). These seem to be about biggest sounding speakers around for the money. If I were to lose a little detail or something else by making the switch i am ok with that if the 704s are much more likely to make my living room sound like a concert hall. Any thoughts and experiences appreciated. Are there other speakers around this range that could also be considered to achieve what I am looking for?
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Having owned 704's, and many speakers since then, my vote is wait for the coming Lockwood speakers.

A much longer history than Fyne, bigger sounding, and more musical. Fyne to me was nice indeed, but definitely more of a hifi analytical sound.
 
Just going from your comments I'd suggest listening to a horn speaker. I'm partial to JBL there are other options though. You want loud and clear without fatigue, immediate dynamics that's your ticket. Notice I'm using 250x2 into 8 ohms into my JBL. Bass is deeper than I hear with most other horn speakers and the highs are crisp and clean with no fatigue. Much of that will also depend on room acoustics and source. I would imagine with Luxman you'd be alright.

Fyne or a horn speaker will be quite different than the Magico. I've only heard Fyne with PrimaLune and I thought they sounded great, more of what people tend to call a "musical" presentntation.

I don't normally push my brand I use in your case it sounds like JBL may just be what you are looking for. Too bad we aren't close we could trade for awhile. :) I only say that because sometimes I wonder what going back to a tower would be like. I'm pretty sure I'd miss my speakers. I listen to a wide variety of music through my JBL.

A sub is a good idea it isn't going to help with dynamics. Another option get another amp capable of delivering the A5's a ton of current. I still like Pass amps which I had before moving to ML. What caused my move I learned I preferred the quicker response, transients from the ML. The Pass was a bit too relaxed for some of the more complex music I listen to. This could be the issue with Luxman and you.
 
Having owned A5s, then Kef Blade Meta and now Vivid Giyas, I can concur with the OP. They're all exceptional on paper but very low in sensitivity. They need 300 wpc to come alive, and they all compress dynamics when pushed. I'm still waiting for the perfect compromise, a speaker sensitively above 90db/watt that is full range, has a comparable amplitude response to the above and priced at or under 50k.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. I really thought once I made the jump to the Gryphon Diablo at the devilish wattage of 666 in 4 ohms that the A5s would just explode with sound. The performance definitely improved but not as much as I hoped. Also, glad to know my experience is not unique.
 
I'm a bit surprised the combo of Gryphon and Magico doesn't raise to level of your expectations. I can only compare your system to mine. The A5's are clearly a step up from the A3's I used with the Diablo 300. But, the musicality of the combo is unmatched from other option I considered. But, different room, expectations and ears can play a huge factor. Good luck.
 
If expensive towers don't do it for you then it's time to try a new technology or suck it up and keep the audiophile clout.

It's a shame JBL's marketing is screwed up and there isn't more Synthesis product in showrooms for people to hear. Their compression drivers are pristine. Response is dynamic and flat with no compression at high volume. If you wanted to spend $50k+ there is the new Summit series. If you listen to pipe organ you would probably need a sub. My speakers play deep, a 15" tends to do that, not low to the bottom octave though. I personally don't use a sub for 2-channel. FWIW the 4367 was reviewed in Stereophile. I don't think that model is available anymore there is a new model that took it's place.

The 4367 is like my sound. I heard them with the Salon 2 at one of the shows where they could A/B and I preferred the 4367. I could have moved into Salons a few times at a good deal. Tempted by reputation that demo stuck in my mind though. I was bitten by the bug decades ago when we used to sell Electro Voice Pro. That sound was so much better to me than conventional speakers. More lively and clear. Speakers like Klipsch never did it for me. Two different things all together, not even close.
 
Mr Peabody said:
It's a shame JBL's marketing is screwed up and there isn't more Synthesis product in showrooms for people to hear.
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1000% agree.

They have some really great products that seems to have little-to-no support in the US market.

I wish their marketing department would realize this mistake.
 
bandrews said:
Thanks everyone for the input. I really thought once I made the jump to the Gryphon Diablo at the devilish wattage of 666 in 4 ohms that the A5s would just explode with sound. The performance definitely improved but not as much as I hoped. Also, glad to know my experience is not unique.
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Utter nonsense. Everyone knows amplifiers are the "bedrock" of a system. You need to keep trying new amplifiers until you find the right one. ;)

How is your speaker placement? Because of limited placement options, I chose sealed A3s. Then I upgraded to A5s. I had a buyer coming for the A3s and he wanted an audition. I placed the A3s in front of the A5s further from the wall than when they were in use. They sounded like different speakers. I was shocked! The sound in the new position was much better and more open than their original placement. Amplification was (still is) a Boulder 866.

Sadly the A5s must stay in the less than optimal position. That is OK with me. It is a 2-channel video system. My serious music is in another, dedicated room.

Be careful trading sealed speakers for ported ones. I liked Focal at shows and considered them until I read the owner's manual regarding placement. Then I remembered how far from walls all the speakers were placed at shows.
 
bandrews said:
Thanks. What is the utter nonsense though? I am unfortunately stuck with speakers that have to be placed close to the wall.
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My point was changing amplifiers is probably not going to get you the performance you want. There is a serious and not so serious discussion about the importance of amplifiers on another thread.

My personal experience is A5s need space to open up. The same amplifier gave different performance when A3 speakers were moved.

Tube amplification or a tube preamp might help. I have no experience with tubes and Magico. I use a VAC pre and VAC amps in my dedicated music system. I gave up on solid state for that system.
 
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The Fynes are 'down-ported' hitting a tractrix (Hershey Kiss shape) for the bass to radiate 360'. Probably still not great to put them very close to a wall, but they should be more forgiving than rear ported.
I have a pair of the 501SPs. The amount of bass surprised me. Of course I eventually got a pair of RELs for that last octave, but I bet the 704s would have monstrous bass.
 
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After reading your first post again I see you are using the 333 which should have plenty of power and current for the A5. How large is your room and what source do you use? I'm not sure what you mean by "flagging" but your amp shouldn't be running out of power.

I suspect the A5 is just not your taste. Magico is very low distortion with pretty much no cabinet noise, it will sound very accurate. Any adjustments you can make in position might help, toe in, moving up or back even if only small room to do so.

If it's immediacy you are looking for I think my suggestion of trying a speaker more known for dynamics could be in order. A sub could help pressurize your room but it won't change the character of the A5.

When you say sound like a music hall do you mean as in imaging or more the physical aspect? Magico I've heard image very well. If you mean physical and live I stand by my JBL recommendation. You feel it in your chest and cymbals are life like without being fatiguing as long as you have good upstream gear. Most of their home speakers are Pro drivers utilized in home cabinets so that's about as live as you will probably get in your home with a hi fi system. I have not had a chance to hear them have a look at the Summit series. If not in your budget the Synthesis line still has excellent options.

We also have to consider your music taste as well. A great deal of Rock and Pop is compressed and just not recorded well. When turned up loud it's just not going to sound that good no matter the system. The issue you don't like does it happen on alltypes of music?
 
Mr Peabody said:
After reading your first post again I see you are using the 333 which should have plenty of power and current for the A5. How large is your room and what source do you use? I'm not sure what you mean by "flagging" but your amp shouldn't be running out of power.

I suspect the A5 is just not your taste. Magico is very low distortion with pretty much no cabinet noise, it will sound very accurate. Any adjustments you can make in position might help, toe in, moving up or back even if only small room to do so.

If it's immediacy you are looking for I think my suggestion of trying a speaker more known for dynamics could be in order. A sub could help pressurize your room but it won't change the character of the A5.

When you say sound like a music hall do you mean as in imaging or more the physical aspect? Magico I've heard image very well. If you mean physical and live I stand by my JBL recommendation. You feel it in your chest and cymbals are life like without being fatiguing as long as you have good upstream gear. Most of their home speakers are Pro drivers utilized in home cabinets so that's about as live as you will probably get in your home with a hi fi system. I have not had a chance to hear them have a look at the Summit series. If not in your budget the Synthesis line still has excellent options.

We also have to consider your music taste as well. A great deal of Rock and Pop is compressed and just not recorded well. When turned up loud it's just not going to sound that good no matter the system. The issue you don't like does it happen on alltypes of music?
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You brought up a great question and not sure if the OP answered this already: is he looking for an analytical/super accurate sound or a more musical speaker?
 
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