Yes Iāve heard each of those three speakers several times. The beryllium tweeters donāt do it for me, but Magico obviously has huge following so certainly not intending to throw shade. The SabrinaX is not quite enough Wilson magic for the price imo, but again thatās just my opinion. I absolutely love the DAWās
I think itās important to get aware, that the problem of sub bass capability within the main speaker is not necessarily the bass performance of those chassis, but the speaker position usually optimized for imaging and upper bass. At this place the lower bass is often either not present or too much in the sweet spot. The reason why imo a very bass potent speaker can rather be a problem, than a blessing, unless youāre extremely flexible with placement and room tuning.
The advantage of a sub, besides its even better low end performance, is the option to place it where it performs best for the low end in the sweet spot. This certainly means, the main speaker itself should rather have two little level in the low end than too much in order to integrate wellā¦which questions the meaning of a bass potent main speaker again (in many smaller rooms).
I think we are having very similar reactions to them. Not really familiar with the sound of beryllium tweeters per se, but at least from what i heard, they seemed to lack sparkle and clarity (at least compared to my current speakers). How would you describe the sound of the Magico speakers. As has been pointed out to me, i am sensitive to time and phase as that is something the Thielās excel at. but yep, the DAWās were pretty damn good and really were much better than their baby sister.
This is why I donāt think a bigger āfull rangeā speaker is always better or means that you can forego subs - unless the room is large enough/designed for all that bass coming from that particular spot where you put the mains.
I do get the sense some folks prefer what I might call āthe PA effectā of being hit in the chest with a coherent wavefront produced by a big speaker.
My son is that way. He likes the music to āhit him in the chestā. Heās a certified bass nut.
I have a friend who uses those same words. There is a coherence coming from a single cabinet that is different from typical two or three ways plus sub arrangements, Iāll admit. But if the subsā sound is sorted so it is all arriving at the same time as the mains, you forget where it is coming from, and it can be very satisfying.
Yes. I am more of a āfull rangeā / natural presentation listener myself now but back in the day . . . thump, thump, thump.
Thatās simply bad integration/non-flat FR. When I got started with subs, it was for home theater, and most people got used to bloated, overloud explosions and so on - then thought that was cool for music as well. NOT!
That was when I started trying out DSP solutionsā¦long road.
Interesting, well if that is the sound you like then you should give Magico another shot, because that is one of the things they, and Be tweeters in general, are known for. Maybe the setup that you heard them in wasnāt ideal with the electronics or cables or room or whatever, but Magico tweeters are known for being very detailed and definitely not lacking āsparkle,ā as you say.
For me, itās almost too much of a good thing, but again thatās just my personal preference. I prefer generally soft dome tweeters by and large, and I think Wilson does them well, among others. Now would I kick an A5 out of bed? Definitely not, but Iād have to exercise some caution with the electronics pairing but thatās me ā everything is subjective.
Good luck. Shopping for speakers is the best because by far they impart the biggest sonic delta on the presentation.
I was one of those peeps that you hated to hear driving by your house at night. (directed to 'Beef)
Exactly this is why I found the initial strategy of presenting the FR30 as extremely bass potent speakers, keeping up with the IRSV and needing no sub, counterproductive and misleading regarding the importance of this in an overall quality perspective and compatibility with most rooms. Later the benefit of subs was reintegrated in the argumentation. On the other hand, they had to be IRS killers 
As a bass fan (I think everything builds on a well integrated and coherent bass) and former planar listener, my first priority is a main speaker with coherent performance and a perfect integration of a sub, that cares for ānot hearing, just experiencing itā. I donāt repeat how I personally achieved this, but related to this post, with a non bass adjustable speaker, Iād definitely care for a main speaker that for sure doesnāt produce too much bass in any regionā¦ if anything, then rather too little deep down.
Hit in the chest to oneās personal taste is fine for me and really fun, but only if itās seamless and as flat and controlled as possible. Only if this can be achieved Iād prefer a full range speaker to a Harbeth-like or little bigger.
I agree with all of this completely.
Yeah - talk about "boom box"
thanks for your input and advice. the fact that the Magicos seem a bit dull and lifeless is such a puzzle based on what i have read and heard from others. they are hooked up to some serious gear, T+A, Constellation, etc. so i am pretty sure the room is the issue as they are very close to the side walls and not that far from the rear wall. The Thiel speakers excel in openness and spaciousness with great detail and continue to get better as the electronics improve.
I know these being discussed are the current darlings of the speaker world, but as Jazznut mentions - and Iād add, given youāve been a Theil guy - you may want to listen to Harby 40.2 or 40.3XDās. They may be more like what you are used to than these other speakers. Then compare with a trial of the FR20 or 30.
So, what did you think of the FR20?
I was thinking the same thingā¦
I like them a lot. I think if I was looking for speakers in that price range, Iād do a trial for sure.
There are variables I canāt speak to at this point (associated components), but I think we may do some swapping of gear over the holidays that will help refine my picture of them. Iād love to get a pair over here at some point. They were good to begin with - and Darren has refined the crossovers a couple of times to where theyāre singing in concert with the 20ās bottom cabs.
Excellent! Please share your further thoughts after the holidays.