Loudspeaker of the Year
Magico M2 ($56,000/pair plus $7500 for MPod bases; reviewed by John Atkinson, February 2020, Vol.43 No.2 Review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Vimberg Mino ($31,000/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, April 2020, Vol.43 No.4 Review)
Vivid Kaya 45 ($18,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, February 2020, Vol.43 No.2 Review)
Volti Audio Razz ($5999/pair, reviewed by Tom Gibbs, August 2020, Vol.43 No.8 Review)
Von Schweikert Ultra 55 ($100,000/pair, reviewed by Michael Fremer, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)
Wilson Audio Sasha DAW ($37,900/pair; reviewed by Sasha Matson, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review) With its diamond-coated beryllium-dome tweeter, carbon-fiber/graphene midrange driver and woofers, and a carbon-fiber enclosure with a thick aluminum baffle and sophisticated metal bracing—they come with a special wrench that lets you tighten tension rods inside the shell—the acoustic-suspension M2 is nothing if not high-tech, but their sound is emotional and engaging. The MPod footers are pricey—$7500 for enough of them for two speakers—but an A/B during installation made the improvement they bring quite clear. The M2s are all-around great, but imaging may be the star of the show. "Each piano note at the hushed start of the concerto's second movement was precisely and unambiguously positioned in space," JA wrote. "What was unusual about the M2's imaging was that it was preserved even when I was sitting at my desk to the left of my listening seat." In the Sibelius Symphony No.5, the M2s resolved a discordant half-step bass note that bass-reflex speakers typically present as undifferentiated sour-sounding bass. The Magico M2s, JA concluded, join the "exclusive club" of loudspeakers JA would be happy to live with if he could afford them. They're promiscuous: Jim is living with them now.
About the Vote
It was a close contest between the Magico and the Wilson Audio Sasha DAW, but in the end the Magico won by several votes, a clear margin. The margin between the second-place Wilson and the third-place speaker was wide.
Finalists (in alphabetical order)Vimberg Mino ($31,000/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, April 2020, Vol.43 No.4 Review)
Vivid Kaya 45 ($18,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, February 2020, Vol.43 No.2 Review)
Volti Audio Razz ($5999/pair, reviewed by Tom Gibbs, August 2020, Vol.43 No.8 Review)
Von Schweikert Ultra 55 ($100,000/pair, reviewed by Michael Fremer, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)
Wilson Audio Sasha DAW ($37,900/pair; reviewed by Sasha Matson, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review) With its diamond-coated beryllium-dome tweeter, carbon-fiber/graphene midrange driver and woofers, and a carbon-fiber enclosure with a thick aluminum baffle and sophisticated metal bracing—they come with a special wrench that lets you tighten tension rods inside the shell—the acoustic-suspension M2 is nothing if not high-tech, but their sound is emotional and engaging. The MPod footers are pricey—$7500 for enough of them for two speakers—but an A/B during installation made the improvement they bring quite clear. The M2s are all-around great, but imaging may be the star of the show. "Each piano note at the hushed start of the concerto's second movement was precisely and unambiguously positioned in space," JA wrote. "What was unusual about the M2's imaging was that it was preserved even when I was sitting at my desk to the left of my listening seat." In the Sibelius Symphony No.5, the M2s resolved a discordant half-step bass note that bass-reflex speakers typically present as undifferentiated sour-sounding bass. The Magico M2s, JA concluded, join the "exclusive club" of loudspeakers JA would be happy to live with if he could afford them. They're promiscuous: Jim is living with them now.
It was a close contest between the Magico and the Wilson Audio Sasha DAW, but in the end the Magico won by several votes, a clear margin. The margin between the second-place Wilson and the third-place speaker was wide.
