Audiophilepure

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/magico-a1

As we’d expect from a cabinet of this size, the standmount excels when it comes to reproducing vocals. And not because the midband is anyway emphasised at the expense of the bass and treble. Sure, it can’t quite match the ‘in-you-head’ illusion of demo-quality vocals displayed by the likes of Avantgarde horns, but challenges such as Gregory Porter’s Hey Laura and Richard Burton’s spoken word introduction at the beginning of Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds are deftly handled, revealing a seamless all-of-a-piece integration that is deeply impressive.

Even lower frequencies – so often the Achilles’ heel of even the best standmounts – keep up the good work. Listening to the Volle Dynamik remix of Yello’s Oh Yeah, taken from the 2009 album The Race sees the bass delivered with effortless drive with no sign of artificial bloom or boom. It simply descends very smoothly and then quietly exits so the absence of that missing octave goes by barely noticed. And while a glance at the specs suggests that the Magico isn’t the most sensitive of speakers, the A1 still manages to soak up plenty of power and push out those SPLs as if its very existence depends upon it.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/q-acoustics-concept-50-loudspeaker

A while back I wrote that $7000/pair was becoming the sweet price spot for affordable tower speakers, offering excellent sound quality and measured performance without much in the way of compromise. The Q Acoustics Concept 50 lowers that sweet spot to $3000/pair. Okay, the fact that it’s made in China will contribute to the lowering of the sweet spot price, but this immaculate-looking, -sounding, and -measuring loudspeaker gets a strong recommendation from me for use in moderate-sized rooms like mine. Just make sure you can place it close to the wall behind it.