Magico M9

To be frank, I have not yet gone for an audition yet.

I only repeat what that HK dealer friend said at our audiophile gathering on the past Sat.

I trust his comments.
However he said M9 was better in this aspect but NOT that the XVX was a bad performer.
i would love to hear both of these stunning speakers but I doubt I will ever get the opportunity.
 
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To be frank, I have not yet gone for an audition yet.

I only repeat what that HK dealer friend said at our audiophile gathering on the past Sat.

I trust his comments.
However he said M9 was better in this aspect but NOT that the XVX was a bad performer.

I was referring to the coherence point you passed on from him
 
CKKeung confirmed exactly what I wrote a few posts earlier,

I expect a more zesty snarky criticism. You keep repeating yourself. And you talk about models that are over 10 years old. I'm trying to encourage you. :D

To be frank, I have not yet gone for an audition yet.

I only repeat what that HK dealer friend said at our audiophile gathering on the past Sat.

So Bonzo confirmed what the HK Magico dealer said about the Wilson XVX? But Bonzo has not auditioned XVX or Wamm?

It's good that you clarified. I don't think there are any dealers who sell both Magico and Wilson. So it is no surprise.
 
I expect a more zesty snarky criticism. You keep repeating yourself. And you talk about models that are over 10 years old. I'm trying to encourage you. :D



So Bonzo confirmed what the HK Magico dealer said about the Wilson XVX? But Bonzo has not auditioned XVX or Wamm?

It's good that you clarified. I don't think there are any dealers who sell both Magico and Wilson. So it is no surprise.

I confirmed the coherence point. Different data points. People can judge. I can see why you are trying to make noise about this. Btw, ten years is not long for a speaker company that's been around so long. Lol. Plus your comments are misleading as his dealer friend is neither Magico nor Wilson dealer, so stop being defensive
 
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1. There is no best wine for everyone.

It depends on personal taste to choose favorite wine.


2. Law of diminishing return apply to both audio and wine.

100$ wine is not 10 times better than 10$ wine.

1,000$ wine is not 10 times better than 100$ wine.


3. You need experience to acknowledge good audio or wine.

I am not wine connoisseur.

But I could taste some nice wines through one of my rich friend who is willing to treat nice wines in his listening room.

He treated 700$ wine to me last year. It is the best wine I had ever tasted.

I had never bought wine more than 150$ myself, since I do not have confidence in selecting right one.

Some rich guy paid huge price for big audio system.

It plays loud but not in the balanced way or without any nuanced flavor of nice wines.

Money can not buy you nice system.

You need experience to match right components and cables.


4. One keeps looking for different flavor.

Most people do not want to drink same wine everyday.

They wish to taste different flavor.

Audiophile is looking for new flavor in their audio system.

They keep changing components every year or do some tweaks like cable rolling, tube rolling and power isolation.

Sometimes audiophile do sidegrade rather than upgrade.
Actually with audio I have found that many people who get serious about the hobby have an "AH HA" moment where they hear something that they heretofore had never thought was possible. I had a couple of those over the years that took me from one level to the next. I have shocked some people with my setups where they were not at all audiophiles before but then became so afterwards.

IMO, audio is not like wine. Wine is the real thing and as such has an endless level of variety and therefore is pure subjective in terms of what one likes or doesn't like. You can say that there is some level of objectivity in terms of the description of specific taste/smell components...in this regard it is similar to audio. The main difference is that audio is a step (or three) removed from the real thing (the act of making music itself). This means that audio is a reproduction of the real thing as such there is a reference for how it should sound. That doesn't mean it has to be an exact replica (as if that is even possible given the complexity) but it has to evoke the response and the feeling that the sound resonates with live music. Wine doesn't require this because it IS the thing. This makes audio a more abstract experience and perhaps even more demanding on ones imagination.
 
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2. Law of diminishing return apply to both audio and wine.

100$ wine is not 10 times better than 10$ wine.

1,000$ wine is not 10 times better than 100$ wine.

I would say that $1000 wine is not 10 times better than $10 wine! Although there are some very ordinary $10 wines :)
 
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I fully endorse the "brand" name ( Penfolds ) and the "model" ( Bin 389 ). As a "second" system, Bin 128 is equally rewarding!

I think Penfolds is now overpriced. I used to drink Bin28 and Bin128 15 years ago when living in London. I would pay 8 pounds for a bottle. It is now triple the price, and you can get just as good wine here in Australia for a fraction of the price.
 
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Interesting comments about wine and speakers. The glass you place the wine in is also very important. And speaker cabinets (or lack thereof) are important to their overall sound as well. Drink, I mean listen away!
 
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I only repeat what that HK dealer friend said at our audiophile gathering on the past Sat.

I trust his comments.
However he said M9 was better in this aspect but NOT that the XVX was a bad performer.

May I repeat what I have stated clearly on #642 :

That hifi dealer friend of mine who had listened to both XVX and M9 in the HK M9 owner's music room is neither a Magico dealer nor a Wilson dealer.

Therefore I think he is neutral and his comments trustworthy.
 
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Not carrying Goldmund too.
He is merely a good friend of the M9 owner.
 
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I would say that $1000 wine is not 10 times better than $10 wine! Although there are some very ordinary $10 wines :)
It may not be 100 times better than $10 wine but I’m certain it’s easily 10 times better than $10 wine.
 
It may not be 100 times better than $10 wine but I’m certain it’s easily 10 times better than $10 wine.

A good $1000 wine may be given a score of 97 or 98 by judges. It is easy to get a wine that scores in the mid to high 80s for $10 to $12, and a 95 scoring wine can be had for just over $20. Now how much YOU enjoy each of these wines may be a different matter.

By the way, I never drink $10 or $1000 wine. I do drink $20 wine on a regular basis and $100 wine on special occasions.
 
A good $1000 wine may be given a score of 97 or 98 by judges. It is easy to get a wine that scores in the mid to high 80s for $10 to $12, and a 95 scoring wine can be had for just over $20. Now how much YOU enjoy each of these wines may be a different matter.

By the way, I never drink $10 or $1000 wine. I do drink $20 wine on a regular basis and $100 wine on special occasions.

So you normally listen to Bose, but on Special Occasions listen to Wilson. ;)
 
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So you normally listen to Bose, but on Special Occasions listen to Wilson. ;)
nice one :). Are you saying Wilsons only equate to $100 wine.
 
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The one thing I take away from these photos is about a common criticism some have laid at the feet of affluent owners of high end equipment...where its just about bragging rights and not about music or true commitment to great audio reproduction.

I have to say, in this case, I see a lot of very typical audio-obsessiveness that most 'blank check writing people who dont really care' would never do. Look at the audio cables being routed on Furutech cable stands all the way around...symmetrically...the treatment of the room, ceiling and the door, the level of commitment on the isolation racks (CMS Olympus level). The Stromtanks?...really?...who the heck but an audiophile who really is into high end would get 2 Stromtanks? This is not an ultra high net worth who bought a bunch of [nearly] million dollar speakers and then hung a Gaugin in front of the left tweeter.

Whether you like this audiophile's taste in music or equipment or whatever, this person looks every bit the fanatic committed audiophile who CARES about his music system. That he has the means to invest to this level is simply great news for him...and anyone who might be able to purchase something from him/his dealer 2nd hand if he off-loads it!

Keep in mind the richest billionaire audiophiles are buying western electrics, and use $5 cables. Cheung himself (he owned Hyundai and is now part owner of Samsung) spends a 100k or some obscene amount getting his crew and gear to Munich to expose people to the truth every year and does use expensive electronics and carts. Great recordings. The system almost every year is by far the best and plays great music.

Leif, for example, is a highly committed audiophile. Stromtank, audiophile cables are small things for him. He and his friends have spent ages comparing the best drivers, and use their own low priced cables to produce gorgeous sound including renditions of something as complex as Beethoven's 9th to rock and roll. Looking at Stromtank and Transparent vs first pressing of original LPs and combining the right drivers is a matter of perspective. Those looking at Stromtank and Transparent will probably have never though of the latter.

To me, committment comes in the form of research. I find those who order the first expensive good that shows on some front page or marketed list as non discerning. Does not mean that occasionally they won't get it right. Also does not mean that good stuff is not expensive, Western Electrics and first pressings are the costliest things in hifi. But they require research.
 
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