Magico S3 - 200 vs 250 vs 400

[IanG-UK]

I did discuss the differences of the 200 / 250 / 400 with Mathieu at the Oxford Audio event. He confirmed what many have said previously, that the 200 & the 250 are identical electronically. This is only part of the story though. The 250's case is actually quite a sophisticated part of the amplifier, and dramatically improves rapid cooling of components. Because of this, the way the power supply is set up, software wise, is different between the two. This perhaps offers an explanation why the 250 may better with some speakers. Mathieu did make a comment that the 200 is at the limit, whereas the 250 is not, this point was not perused, but it perhaps offers a glimpse as to why two 250's become an 800, rather than two 200 a 400. Mathieu did say that the 400 is nominally superior to a 250, this is due to the dual mono format halving the distortion. So for those starting from scratch today, the choice of the 400 vs the 250 maybe comes down to how strong the desire is to upgrade to the 800 one day. For me, as someone who bought the 240 before the 200 / 400 arrived, obviously I never had this choice. If I did have the choice this decision would needed to be made after an audition, so I may never know. I can't say I'm too unhappy though, it's not like I've been listening to the 250 and thinking that the distortion is a bit too high.

That is an extremely useful post and the first time I have heard a definite explanation as to the 200 v 250 differences which are electrically the same but clearly differ substantially in casework and price.

Mathieu is a very bright guy and always extremely helpful - his visits to OAC have been great.