If you could..what would you......??

Uk Paul

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Sep 27, 2012
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+1.

Thank you Paul.

Maybe I should start a new thread...that one would be titled----what huge speaker system have you crammed into your room and kludged up the rest of the system to make it sound acceptable?

Meanwhile, I would like to get back to my OP.

BTW, I have heard the original B&W Nautilus, it is a heck of a great speaker! In some ways, it is very reminiscent of the current top-of-the-line Vivids, as it should be- since the designer is one and the same. Up until a few years back, I would say it was the best speaker I had heard. Would have been my choice in a mid size plus room if price be no object.

Lol Davey..

It's funny, you have heard the speaker that I have coveted since about 1992/3 when I went to B&W for a job opportunity interview having been trying to design a speaker based on a tapered conical rear chamber principle, then 6 months later I saw that the Steyning R&D lab headed by Laurence had done it already, and they did it properly ;) Mine never got built as I had no money to throw at it then, our mortgage interest rate was heading towards 15% then..! and I didn't get the job! :( But I am still excited to hear that you rate them, and I'm sure that when my day comes, I will too..
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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One of the things that impressed me about the Lyra's, is that they are not that large a speaker...and yet can apparently compete with some of the much larger systems out there. Nonetheless, if they were NOT a good match for your room...and the Avior's were better, would this in fact be a wise move???

interesting...when you heard them...did you get the sense they could compete with speakers like the XLFs, Focal Grandes? I have heard the Estelon Extremes, Altair 2s which I acknowledge are different...and i have heard the XLF, Focal Grande EMs, as well as Genesis 1s and Arrakis in different rooms...but somehow the sense of more effortless scale could not escape me with these in comparison with the slightly smaller speakers of Estelons and Altairs...and to be fair, the Genesis 1s and Arrakis were both of a scale i sense was also greater than that of the XLF of Focals. If size has anything to do with it, they are much bigger speakers as well. Arrakis is probably closer in size to the WAMM, let alone Genesis 1s.
 

LL21

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If we're going to think big...Arrakis or WAMM. Sadly, Genesis 1s are just too big.
 

BMCG

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I take max speaker height as ~60% of ceiling height....or in my current room ~55".....

So unless i can get a room move..(or barn build :)) approval from the key stakeholder...that's a hard constraint.

leads to: YG Acoustics 2.2, Wilson Alexia v2, Magico M3, Verity Audio Sarastro IIs, Avalon PM4/Time....Tidal Akira/Contriva G2....Rockport Lyra
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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Living Voice Vox Palladian System with some kick ass SE Tube amps.

This is one of just a few speaker systems I'd take over what I've already built. Others involve drivers with 5-figure price tags like Goto and Feastrex.
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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interesting...when you heard them...did you get the sense they could compete with speakers like the XLFs, Focal Grandes? I have heard the Estelon Extremes, Altair 2s which I acknowledge are different...and i have heard the XLF, Focal Grande EMs, as well as Genesis 1s and Arrakis in different rooms...but somehow the sense of more effortless scale could not escape me with these in comparison with the slightly smaller speakers of Estelons and Altairs...and to be fair, the Genesis 1s and Arrakis were both of a scale i sense was also greater than that of the XLF of Focals. If size has anything to do with it, they are much bigger speakers as well. Arrakis is probably closer in size to the WAMM, let alone Genesis 1s.

Lloyd, at the time when I heard the Nautilus, I don't think the XLF's were out, or for that matter the Focal Grandes. However, having heard the Focal's and the XLF's since, I would say that the Nautilus is a superior sounding speaker to the Focal's ( which to be honest do very little for me) and in some ways better than the XLF's. ( although the sense of scale from the XLF's is better). I thought that the Nautilus was exemplary in its imaging abilities and in overall tonal reproduction ( and in this way superior to the XLF's!). Now remember, I heard these speakers with very different ancillary gear and in very different rooms etc., Therefore, saying one is better than the other is not really fair. Although, I have heard the Focals on several occasions , they did not impress me that much; whereas when I heard the Nautilus it was extremely impressive. Today, there are a few speakers that i would take over it, but not too many.
If you ever get a chance to hear the original Nautilus, it's certainly very well worth while to do so.
 

BMCG

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Although, I have heard the Focals on several occasions , they did not impress me that much;.

Echo that....perhaps dial in insufficient...but felt they struggled to act as a coherent speaker....certainly for the price tag...thought there were better options.
 

microstrip

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Lloyd, at the time when I heard the Nautilus, I don't think the XLF's were out, or for that matter the Focal Grandes. However, having heard the Focal's and the XLF's since, I would say that the Nautilus is a superior sounding speaker to the Focal's ( which to be honest do very little for me) and in some ways better than the XLF's. ( although the sense of scale from the XLF's is better). I thought that the Nautilus was exemplary in its imaging abilities and in overall tonal reproduction ( and in this way superior to the XLF's!). Now remember, I heard these speakers with very different ancillary gear and in very different rooms etc., Therefore, saying one is better than the other is not really fair. Although, I have heard the Focals on several occasions , they did not impress me that much; whereas when I heard the Nautilus it was extremely impressive. Today, there are a few speakers that i would take over it, but not too many.
If you ever get a chance to hear the original Nautilus, it's certainly very well worth while to do so.

I have written several times in WBF about my great experiences with the Nautilus - with several amplifier/crossover systems in fantastic rooms. But IMHO in overall tonal reproduction the XLFs are winners by a large margin, particularly in human voice. Surely YMMV.

Although I had great enthusiasm about them - yes, they really sound impressive with some styles of music, particularly with the B&W demo discs - a more recent audition confirmed my beliefs - it does not stand to more recent speakers of similar scale. Probably also because of the electronic crossovers - they are active speakers.
 

gian60

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Apr 17, 2016
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I would like a horn speaker 4/5 way with ALE DEP serie and Ale Basshorn
I listen many time in Italy a 6 way,more than amazing
 

christoph

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Dec 11, 2015
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Living Voice Vox Palladian System with some kick ass SE Tube amps.
https://www.livingvoice.co.uk/#anchor2

Why not the Vox Olympian?
I found the Olympian sounded better than the Palladian.
Optically I don't like both those speakers at all.
They look too much Jules Verne for my taste :rolleyes:
But soundwise they are still my wet dream :b
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Lloyd, at the time when I heard the Nautilus, I don't think the XLF's were out, or for that matter the Focal Grandes. However, having heard the Focal's and the XLF's since, I would say that the Nautilus is a superior sounding speaker to the Focal's ( which to be honest do very little for me) and in some ways better than the XLF's. ( although the sense of scale from the XLF's is better). I thought that the Nautilus was exemplary in its imaging abilities and in overall tonal reproduction ( and in this way superior to the XLF's!). Now remember, I heard these speakers with very different ancillary gear and in very different rooms etc., Therefore, saying one is better than the other is not really fair. Although, I have heard the Focals on several occasions , they did not impress me that much; whereas when I heard the Nautilus it was extremely impressive. Today, there are a few speakers that i would take over it, but not too many.
If you ever get a chance to hear the original Nautilus, it's certainly very well worth while to do so.

I have written several times in WBF about my great experiences with the Nautilus - with several amplifier/crossover systems in fantastic rooms. But IMHO in overall tonal reproduction the XLFs are winners by a large margin, particularly in human voice. Surely YMMV.

Although I had great enthusiasm about them - yes, they really sound impressive with some styles of music, particularly with the B&W demo discs - a more recent audition confirmed my beliefs - it does not stand to more recent speakers of similar scale. Probably also because of the electronic crossovers - they are active speakers.

Most interesting, gents. Thank you.
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
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Why not the Vox Olympian?
I found the Olympian sounded better than the Palladian.
Optically I don't like both those speakers at all.
They look too much Jules Verne for my taste :rolleyes:
But soundwise they are still my wet dream :b

Not sure I would spend 1,000,000 USD on speakers...Olympian...;)
I love the steampunk look.
 

Uk Paul

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Sep 27, 2012
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If price were no object, I would replace my Magico Mini II with either the M3 or the unannounced Magico M Mini. Same room and amps.

Peter this shows that you are very happy with your current choice (brand wise)..
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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Peter this shows that you are very happy with your current choice (brand wise)..

Indeed I am. I have owned these for about eight years. They are low in distortion and seem very transparent, though they are a difficult load to drive.

I really like my friend's M Pro, but they are much too large for my small room, so even though I have not yet heard the M3, I think it would be excellent. I have no idea if Magico will ever release another statement two way speaker on a stand, but it they did, and I could afford it, I would be very interested. If they incorporated the technology of the M6 in an M Mini, it might get me to upgrade.
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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Indeed I am. I have owned these for about eight years. They are low in distortion and seem very transparent, though they are a difficult load to drive.

I really like my friend's M Pro, but they are much too large for my small room, so even though I have not yet heard the M3, I think it would be excellent. I have no idea if Magico will ever release another statement two way speaker on a stand, but it they did, and I could afford it, I would be very interested. If they incorporated the technology of the M6 in an M Mini, it might get me to upgrade.

Peter, I noticed that you did not 'upgrade' to the Q1's. AW told me that in his opinion the Q1 was a major step up over the Mini 2...of course, he would say that. What do you think of the Q1's.
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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Peter, I noticed that you did not 'upgrade' to the Q1's. AW told me that in his opinion the Q1 was a major step up over the Mini 2...of course, he would say that. What do you think of the Q1's.

Davey, I enjoyed the Q1s when I heard them. They are extremely resolving and low in distortion. I have not directly compared them in the same system, so I can't say if I prefer one to the other. They did replace the Mini II and AW and JV certainly stated that the Q1 is much better. I spoke to an employee at a dealer who has directly compared them, and he preferred the low frequencies of the Mini II and told me that he does not think the Q1 is clearly superior. He bought the Mini II as it was being discontinued. I would someday like to compare them.

I much prefer the looks of the Mini II. I also think the Q1 was less expensive to manufacture and that may be another reason Magico replaced the Mini II. I don't see many used samples of either up for sale. I don't know how many Q1s they sold. Perhaps people think they get more speaker with the S3.

One reason that I never upgraded to the Q1 is because a new Q1 was $25K while I could only get about $10K for my used Mini II. I put that $15K towards other changes in my system which I thought would bring me greater improvements in sound quality. I never saw a used Q1 for sale. It would be interesting to see the value compared to the value of a used Mini II. Probably not that different, but I really don't know.
 

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