How hard are M2's to drive?

Bartolo

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There's an opportunity for a used pair of M2's and I'm actively shopping for new, 'bigger' speakers. We've loved the A3's but have moved to a bigger home/bigger room and want just a bit more. (New room is 30' x 18' combined kitchen/family room "great room" with the speakers firing the long way down at the fireplace end of the room.) Strongly considering A5's. And listened to Avalon so far and Rockport next week too, with an in-home demo of the Avalons probably happening.

Will the M2's be harder to drive than the A3's or A5's? I use a Naim NAP 500 and no complaints with the A3's other than we'd like a little more bass in that big space.

And for those who've heard them am I likely to get 'as much bass' from the M2's as I would from the A5's? A little gut punch or close thereto is fun sometimes when it's in the music. The Avalon PM3's definitely gave that to me in the shop. I recognize that the M2's will provide a lot of other 'betters' vs the A series, but a few more db from the lower octave is on our wants list.
 

Al M.

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Have you considered adding subs? Maybe a stereo pair of subs.

Good suggestion. Very few "full range" speakers will have the bass that a sub can provide. I most certainly wouldn't expect that from an M2 . . . nice speaker as it may be. If you want subs that can match the speed of Magico without having to resort to expensive Magico subs, JL Audio subs are worth considering. I sure love mine, and the (to me necessary) rare flexibility of adjustment they provide. Stereo pair indeed.
 

Bartolo

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I did have a single JL sub some years ago and ended up trading it and the speakers towards the A3's. I found myself wanting to adjust it too often and was not a fan of the big black cube in the room. I'm thinking I can find what I want w/out going in that direction. I know it can be a valid approach and even spoke with Alan about it a little, but it'd be a last resort. Mostly because I don't really want the 2 black cubes in the room.
 

MadFloyd

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There's an opportunity for a used pair of M2's and I'm actively shopping for new, 'bigger' speakers. We've loved the A3's but have moved to a bigger home/bigger room and want just a bit more. (New room is 30' x 18' combined kitchen/family room "great room" with the speakers firing the long way down at the fireplace end of the room.) Strongly considering A5's. And listened to Avalon so far and Rockport next week too, with an in-home demo of the Avalons probably happening.

Will the M2's be harder to drive than the A3's or A5's? I use a Naim NAP 500 and no complaints with the A3's other than we'd like a little more bass in that big space.

And for those who've heard them am I likely to get 'as much bass' from the M2's as I would from the A5's? A little gut punch or close thereto is fun sometimes when it's in the music. The Avalon PM3's definitely gave that to me in the shop. I recognize that the M2's will provide a lot of other 'betters' vs the A series, but a few more db from the lower octave is on our wants list.
Have you considered asking Alan Goodwin?

Some things to consider:
The A3s are darker (and more forgiving) than the A3s and probably anything from the M line.

I've also heard the PM3s are euphonic sounding as well and vastly different from the Magico M3s (this from a friend who heard both at Goodwins recently).
 

KeithR

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I wouldnt use less than 400 watts into 4 ohms based on my YG, sealed box experience. Also the stereophile measurements confirm a difficult to drive speaker.
 
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Mdp632

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Have you considered asking Alan Goodwin?

Some things to consider:
The A3s are darker (and more forgiving) than the A3s and probably anything from the M line.

I've also heard the PM3s are euphonic sounding as well and vastly different from the Magico M3s (this from a friend who heard both at Goodwins recently).

Also note that if all important to @Bartolo

I'm guessing that Magico A5 or M2 will have much higher resale value against any Avalon speaker.

Of course there are many factors outside of this but, at new PM3 MSRP I'm guessing (based on comments) that it is priced very similar to the Magico S5Mk2?

Speaking of what a new S5 Mk2? Are Avalons and PM3s and an acoustic suspension (Sealed cabinet) design like Magico?
 

Bartolo

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Jan 31, 2019
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Also note that if all important to @Bartolo

I'm guessing that Magico A5 or M2 will have much higher resale value against any Avalon speaker.

Of course there are many factors outside of this but, at new PM3 MSRP I'm guessing (based on comments) that it is priced very similar to the Magico S5Mk2?

Speaking of what a new S5 Mk2? Are Avalons and PM3s and an acoustic suspension (Sealed cabinet) design like Magico?
The PM3's are more like S5mkii price. The Avalons are sealed cabinet design but I'm told a fair bit easier to drive. Rated at 90db sensitivity and I'm told that the impedance curve is quite favorable, by design.
 

Nataraja

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Bart, the Avalons are NOT sealed :)
Here is some review of PM3 - with pictures of the base.

I have listened to Ascendant, Eidolon Diamond and Isis - and while the Isis are one of my favourite speakers Ever, it is not easy to make them sing - they are quite picky regarding the amp, positioning etc.
 
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bonzo75

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Bart, the Avalons are NOT sealed :)
Here is some review of PM3 - with pictures of the base.

I have listened to Ascendant, Eidolon Diamond and Isis - and while the Isis are one of my favourite speakers Ever, it is not easy to make them sing - they are quite picky regarding the amp, positioning etc.
Yep very small toe changes or distances to walls also change sound dramatically
 

Al M.

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Bart, the Avalons are NOT sealed :)
Here is some review of PM3 - with pictures of the base.

I have listened to Ascendant, Eidolon Diamond and Isis - and while the Isis are one of my favourite speakers Ever, it is not easy to make them sing - they are quite picky regarding the amp, positioning etc.

(Emphasis added)

Same with Magico.
 

bonzo75

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Al M.

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ecwl

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It sounds like A5 would be a better match for your 30x18 room and NAP 500.
My local dealer has an A3 and his M2 just arrived and is being broken in. I don’t think M2 offers that much extra bass extension, probably only a few dB (although we haven’t measured it, yet?). But the listening room is much smaller than yours.
The bigger issue I suspect is that if you look at the Hi-Fi Critic magazine review of the M2, the reviewer has a 30x16 room and he found that NAP500 has problems driving the M2 even though it drove the S5 Mk II fine. Not sure why. He ended up mostly driving the M2 with Constellation Performance Centaur II 500 Stereo Power. It’s a bit strange since M2’s maximum recommended power is 200W. Maybe it has to do with load invariance as the M2’s impedance dips down to 2.3 ohms, whereas S5 is 3.1 ohms and A5 is 2.5 ohms. That said, I got a sense that the Hi-Fi Critic reviewer doesn’t like Magico speakers in general and he listens fairly loud.
On the other hand, I’m looking at Stereophile’s measurements and it seems the measurements for A5 and M2 are about the same. So I really don’t know since my dealer doesn’t actually have an A5 on demo.
 

Bartolo

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Jan 31, 2019
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Bart, the Avalons are NOT sealed :)
Here is some review of PM3 - with pictures of the base.

I have listened to Ascendant, Eidolon Diamond and Isis - and while the Isis are one of my favourite speakers Ever, it is not easy to make them sing - they are quite picky regarding the amp, positioning etc.
Ahh the ole 'port hidden below' trick! ty
 

Bartolo

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2019
93
56
98
64
Bart, the Avalons are NOT sealed :)
Here is some review of PM3 - with pictures of the base.

I have listened to Ascendant, Eidolon Diamond and Isis - and while the Isis are one of my favourite speakers Ever, it is not easy to make them sing - they are quite picky regarding the amp, positioning etc.

While I dont have any history with Avalon, Alan did emphasize that the new PM series is a significant departure for them. If I do a home demo I can see for myself what pushing them around the floor does.
 

TDX

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Jan 14, 2020
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M2 is very very nice speaker, get ready for some really good amplifiers to let it shine.
 

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