Magico S7's, Focal Stella Utopia EM's, or Wilson Alexia's Or ??

radioactive

radioactive

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So I'm getting tired of my Alexia's (already) -- I think it's just the Wilson sound altogether. I find there's a soundstage and phase issue that seems to make them very one-dimensional. To be honest, the best soundstage I've ever had in my room was from a pair of B&W 800D's (yes, I said it so there).

My Wilson journey started with Sasha's, for a brief time Maxx3's were everpresent, then now I've had the Alexia's. I grew tired of the titanium tweeter of the former, and I find the silk-dome tweeter of the latter to be too soft -- there's a goldilocks situation here and frankly I'm thinking of two other speakers and wanted the group's thoughts. So here they are along with a short description / issues.

I'm keeping my Boulder 2000 series gear and DCS DAC and Nordost cables. I'm just looking to change loudspeakers.

1. Magico S7's -- yes they're not the Q's, but the Q5 is done (according to the dealers I've spoken with) and the Q3 isn't enough -- and I can't afford the Q7. I hear the new S7 is supposed to be great. The finish options seem a bit confusing for an extra $6K. The dealer I'm talking with plans to have them setup soon but uses Spectral gear which I'm not sure how it compares to Boulder.
2. Focal Stella Utopia EM's - they're incredibly difficult to find to listen to. I can't seem to find anyone on the east cost that has them in their showroom to listen to. I can't afford the Grande Utopia EM's at $200K+ but the Stella's are the sweet spot for an upgrade for me yet no one seems to want to put them on their showroom. I keep hearing - "Once you hear the lower end line you'll get the idea of what the speaker sounds like and can easily make your decision at that point." Frankly, I wouldn't buy a Porshe that way, so why would I buy my loudspeakers that way? I find it irksome to hear that -- what I'm paying for is that extra "oomph" and if they can't produce it then I'm not interested.

Speakers I've ruled out (let the flame wars begin --- sorry everyone who owns these brands, it's not personal -- this is just my opinion which doesn't affect the bottom line of any of these companies so please take it with a grain of salt)
1. Raidho - don't ask, they're just out.
2. YG Acoustics -- don't care for their sound, I found them as trendy as KEF
3. Rockport - Heard them, not my cup of tea either, either they're awesome or they're terrible.

If you've heard the Magico's or the Focal's, I'd love to know your thoughts and insights. I'll of course listen to them myself before deciding on anything, but I'm always looking for other's opinions so I can listen to them with an ear towards other's praise/complaints -- if it's a good thing then great, if it's a bad thing it will be an opportunity to decide if it's bad for me or not. In audio, what you don't like might be exactly what I like.

Finally, there is an option to just stick with my Alexia's. They're the best of what I've owned.

Bryan
 
Bryan - how big is your room? How loud do you listen? What kind of music do you listen to? What do you want your next speaker to do (that your current speakers don't do now)?

You have amazing gear - so you've got that part covered!


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Byran ,

Take a look also at the Vapor Audio Speakers , http://www.vaporsound.com/speakers/perfect-storm/ are you interested in only Box speakers and if not Look at King Sound ESL 's the large panels are pretty good ...

I myself do find the Wilson sound to be fatiguing, they seem to be very amp sensitive to not do so , the last time was on D'agostino's amplifiers and it was too much for me ..

Regards...
 
Good luck with the search, Bryan. I've had the Alexias/Dag combo. If I had the sound that I heard at the recent RMAF, I'd probably still have them, they were that good. But it just didn't integrate into my room well. So onto my current S5s. They are very different than the Alexias, and many people love them or they don't. I happen to love them. So much so I'd love to buy the S7s.

I've heard the S7 at Magico's dedicated listening and then again at RMAF. I've also heard the Stella, but only at shows. The S7 is an amazing speaker, and easily bests my S5s. Better mids, smoother top end, and a more generous bass, but not bloated either. The Stellas didn't show well in the room I heard them in last year, but think it's more a room issue than speaker issue. I think the Focals in general are musically involving and have nice rich mids, especially with Vac gear.

Kharma is another brand I heard at shows and showrooms. Beautiful build and sound. A contender in my book to take me off the Magico reservation...

Good luck!
 
Bryan,
That's easy for you.
Just take a flight to DR and come see and hear them personally
The beach house is included on the journey
:)
I have VAC and Soulution installed with the Stella's
 
socfan12 said:
Good luck with the search, Bryan. I've had the Alexias/Dag combo. If I had the sound that I heard at the recent RMAF, I'd probably still have them, they were that good. But it just didn't integrate into my room well. So onto my current S5s. They are very different than the Alexias, and many people love them or they don't. I happen to love them. So much so I'd love to buy the S7s.

I've heard the S7 at Magico's dedicated listening and then again at RMAF. I've also heard the Stella, but only at shows. The S7 is an amazing speaker, and easily bests my S5s. Better mids, smoother top end, and a more generous bass, but not bloated either. The Stellas didn't show well in the room I heard them in last year, but think it's more a room issue than speaker issue. I think the Focals in general are musically involving and have nice rich mids, especially with Vac gear.

Kharma is another brand I heard at shows and showrooms. Beautiful build and sound. A contender in my book to take me off the Magico reservation...

Good luck!
Click to expand...


Agree, the Alexia/DAG combo at RMAF was fantastic. The S7s are also quite a speaker. YG is not my cup of tea but their new models are evolving and getting better. The Focals with VAC sounded terrific at RMAF.

Good luck with your search!
 
I'd also look at Wilson Benesch Cardinal or the new ACT One Evo.
Dynaudio Evidence range too.
 
a80ebad4d7f2f0fc1486315a6345ce8a.jpg


That's Bob Hodas setting up my room
:)


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Bryan, maybe you can throw a SF Lilium in the mix. I had the Alexias for a little over a year but I've moved to a different brand since then. Good luck with your search...
 
@highEndguy: Beautiful Room. What's involved in the setup process? Is this something Focal does or demands that dealers do? Looks like they're measuring room interaction(s), what kind of tuning can be done to correct issues (bad acoustic humps/gain issues) via the speaker itself (or is this being done with some kind of active room EQ system you have)?

Thanks,

Bryan
 
Hi Allen. Thanks for the info. Couple of questions if you don't mind RE the Magico's:

1. Would you describe the differences between the S5's and the Alexia's that you hear?
2. Do you love them after listening for an hour? I've heard anecdotals about sounding great "at first", but once you listen for an extended period the "lusture tends to wear off" so to speak. All of course anecdotal / conversational talk matters, nothing in a printed report.

Thanks,

Bryan


socfan12 said:
Good luck with the search, Bryan. I've had the Alexias/Dag combo. If I had the sound that I heard at the recent RMAF, I'd probably still have them, they were that good. But it just didn't integrate into my room well. So onto my current S5s. They are very different than the Alexias, and many people love them or they don't. I happen to love them. So much so I'd love to buy the S7s.

I've heard the S7 at Magico's dedicated listening and then again at RMAF. I've also heard the Stella, but only at shows. The S7 is an amazing speaker, and easily bests my S5s. Better mids, smoother top end, and a more generous bass, but not bloated either. The Stellas didn't show well in the room I heard them in last year, but think it's more a room issue than speaker issue. I think the Focals in general are musically involving and have nice rich mids, especially with Vac gear.

Kharma is another brand I heard at shows and showrooms. Beautiful build and sound. A contender in my book to take me off the Magico reservation...

Good luck!
Click to expand...
 
radioactive said:
Hi Allen. Thanks for the info. Couple of questions if you don't mind RE the Magico's:

1. Would you describe the differences between the S5's and the Alexia's that you hear?
2. Do you love them after listening for an hour? I've heard anecdotals about sounding great "at first", but once you listen for an extended period the "lusture tends to wear off" so to speak. All of course anecdotal / conversational talk matters, nothing in a printed report.

Thanks,

Bryan
Click to expand...

Hi Bryan,

If you're in the area I think you're in, feel free to come up one Saturday and bring your amp. You can hear them for yourself. I've driven down to CAF and visited the JS Audio while down there.

I can listen for hours on my system, but bad recordings will sound, well, bad. But great recordings are truly magical.

PM me if interested in a visit.

Allen
 
radioactive said:
@highEndguy: Beautiful Room. What's involved in the setup process? Is this something Focal does or demands that dealers do? Looks like they're measuring room interaction(s), what kind of tuning can be done to correct issues (bad acoustic humps/gain issues) via the speaker itself (or is this being done with some kind of active room EQ system you have)?

Thanks,

Bryan
Click to expand...

No Bryan,
Just doing room analysis to fix the acoustics
with panels and where to put it .

Is not Focal recommendation is what Bob does and He is very good at it ( maybe the best )

He is not cheap but worth every penny invested in his knowledge.

http://www.bobhodas.com

:)



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I have heard the Magicos and Wilsons (not my cup of tea), owned Focal Utopia and B&W (for 1 week). I would recommend any Venture Reference speaker and the new incredible Thrax line-their electronics and speaker. A 15" subwoofer will be soon offfered for the Thrax Lyra.
 
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