To Jeff Fritz,
I currently own a pair of the B&W 802 speakers with a McIntosh Laboratory amp and preamp as my at-home sound system. I am a seriously passionate music fan and love watching concerts (Coldplay, Eric Clapton, Santana, Adele, Billy Joel, etc.).
I have been advised that it would be a life-altering, valuable investment -- and would make a substantial difference in the sound quality I so enjoy -- if I upgraded my current system to the Magico M6 [loudspeakers] with an MSB DAC and MSB M500 Monos at a cost of around $350,000.
I read your articles on the SoundStage! Network and am looking for advice (mainly on the sound-quality difference) and wondered if you would have time to give me your opinion?
So, with that background and if you were me, would you keep the current system and just buy the MSB DAC, or would you switch out the entire music system, take the plunge, and go for the Magico M6 speakers?
Really appreciate your thoughts,
Rudy
United States
You’re considering a monumental upgrade to your stereo, not to mention a massive investment financially. I obviously can’t advise you on the second point and would never attempt to do that.
I can tell you that you’re contemplating owning one of the highest-resolution audio systems an audiophile is capable of assembling. I’ve listened to Magico/MSB-based systems many times at shows and can attest that the pairing can be pure magic. You’re also looking at the top models from those companies, so there is no question that with expert setup (which obviously you should get with such a purchase), the sound quality you should obtain will be beyond what most audiophiles will ever have a chance to hear. No doubt better than what you have by a substantial margin.
Sound quality is hard to quantify, though. A massive improvement to one guy is a moderate step up to another. So, ultimately, you need to hear what you’re buying to know if the sound quality on offer is “worth it” to you. What I can tell you is that you’ll have arguably one of the finest stereo systems money can buy. The rest is up to you. . . . Jeff Fritz
