ARC 610T s with Magico V3
default -- Tue, 12/23/2008 - 07:50
I am going to audition the Magico V3s at home and on some reviews for the V3s i have seen that they have been picky with the amplifier choice. Since Jonathan has the most experience with the ARC 610s (though i have been happily living with them over 2 years now), I want to ask whether I will have any problems in driving the V3s?
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You should be a very happy man! I use 210 and they sound great with them and on occasion they would benefit from a bit more "juice." The 610 has that in spades. Have fun!!!
I wouldn't think you'd have any problems driving the V3 with 610Ts. I certainly adored the way the Minis and Mini IIs sounded with them (though, to be honest, I've never heard the V3s driven by 610Ts).
Judging by shows, Magico tends to go for (excellent and pricey) solid-state amplification with its speakers, I think in part because of the greater "control" and current delivery solid-state has in the bass. For instance, two years ago it showed with solid-state from BALabo, last year with solid-state from Boulder, and this year with solid-state from the Swiss company Soulution.
Today i hooked up the V3s to my ARC 610Ts. Its sounded much better than what i was expecting. however the highs seemed a little harsh and I am suspecting a lot of things...
1- V3s are not broken in
2- My Cd change to Ref8 from fab Ref7 still needs time to burn in though I am over 150 hours by now...
3- and this is really my question...my current speakers are Proac Response 4s and they are 8 ohms...where is the V3s are 4 ohm...could it be that the Ref 610Ts never used 4 ohm outputs need burn in?
all of the above is time consuming but hey its the name of the game..i am aware of it...but curiousity wont kill the cat right?
your feed backs are welcome...thanks
Oz,
Your problem could be all three of the things you mentioned. I, too, recently got a CD8 and it DOES need considerably break-in and settle-in time (ARC says 500 hours). So, for that matter, do Magico speakers. As for 4 ohm loads...I wouldn't pick which taps on the 610T to use solely on the basis of the nominal impedance rating of your speakers. I would try the 8 ohm taps for sure.
Jon
Thanks Jon,
I have tried the V3s on the 8 ohm tap as well. but i found (may be too early to listen critically) that the highs were a little bit forward or the mid bass was a little lean with the 8 ohm taps connected... the piano lost its magical 3 dimensional sound a little and sounded a little thin...therefore switched back to 4 ohm taps where the mid bass flourished...but still its early days. will report back on my findings after some time with the speakers..but i love the overall tone of the magicos since Mini I days and drooling over the upcoming M5s...(though its insane to see the prices at these levels considering whats going on in the world financially)
Oz
Yes, the 8-ohm tap IS leaner in the midbass than the 4-ohm tap (or it was with the Mini I and IIs). I think you're just going to have to wait for the speakers to break in before deciding.
I'm drooling over the M5s, too! It looks like I'm going to get to review them, which is thrilling.
The V3's treble is very sensitive to small changes in toe-in. There's an extremely narrow window through which the treble balance is just right and the soundstaging snaps into focus. Too much toe-in will make the V3 overly bright. Too little and the treble rolls off and the soundstaging lacks specificity.
It definetly sounds like the speakers are not burned in. The ARC CD is not hot on break in but rather closed down.
THe V.3 need a lot of break in . I found that they were much better after 200-300 hours so if you have just gotten thm you have some work to do.
<<The ARC CD is not hot on break in but rather closed down.>>
Exactly so, On the dark side.
Glad we conferred and the diagnosis was the same Doctor. Mine is starting to open up and sound more extended. I think that what's going on in digital is becoming extremely competitive and there are a lot of excellent new players.
Although mine was substantially "pre-cooked" by ARC, it still sounded dark, constrained, and closed-down when I first plugged it in. It is, however, coming around. Frankly, I had a similar problem with the CD7, which took forever to start sounding the way I described it sounding in my review.
You're certainly right about the number of excellent CD players out there. It is a bonanza for 16/44 lovers.
Even some almost affordable ones~!!!!
second day sounded much better than yesterday but I think before i get to the toe in problem i still have a lot to go on the 4ohm taps of the ref610s and the cd8 burn in. having said that i played around a little on the placing and I can now understand what Robert is referring to as a narrow window for the soundstaging. I presume thats why Alan Wolf spent a lot of time on the new tweeter they are going to use on the M5. considering the delay of the launch. ref8 is now on for the last 9 days 24 hours around the clock.... V3 10 hours (same for the 4 ohm taps of 610Ts)....
My Mini 2s improved considerably as I got close to a hundred hours. They still continued improving for quite some time after that. I have no experience with the V3 (except for hearing them at friends/dealers) but since they use same/similar drivers, it might be reasonable to expect a similar break-in time. The main two benefits of the break-in were sweeter highs and deeper bass.
I would wait until you get to around 100 hours to fine tune placement and toe-in.
Wow wow wow....
V3s have been bright and thin on the first week and i blamed the new Cd player (ref8) and the 4 ohm taps of the powers...but I have unplugged my powers from the wall overnight and wow what a difference it made...V3s started to create an amazin soundstage! it was almost spooky...second the grain on the highs dissappeared and now i have the mid bass and warmth of the mid range...I thought that the CD8 was creating the harshness but over 250 hours of non stop spinning seemed to be kicking in with the good results..
I have decided that Magico really has a magic that no other speaker so far in my system created!!!
ref8 is turning to be amazing cd player (initially i nearly wanted my old ref7 back)
V3 so far seems to be a much better fit than the mini to my system (though I only tested Mini I not II in my system)...
as for the initiall worry i had whether the ref 610Ts will be enough to drive the power hungary Magicos?...not only they are enough to drive them but also once again they shine with breath taking performance...control finesse ..u name it...
it seems like i have found the speaker for my system...(though placing will be really hard and M5 creates sleepless nights )
system
Ref610ts
ref3
ref8 cd player
ph7 phono
Sme 30/2 with air tight pc-1 and SME5
shunyata v-ray and anaconda power cables and power conditioner and shunyata dark field cable elevators.
Transparent Cable Opus MM2 speaker and interconnects
finite elemente pagode master ref rack
SRA power amp stands...
and finally magico making it in replacing the long standing Proac response 4s...