Wow! Is it really the pans? As a hobby baker, I've tried not to invest a lot of money into cake pans (but I do have a lot of them 
). I have mostly Wilton pans (the Performance Series) but have picked up a few Magic Line pans at yard sales and estate sales, namely a 10 x 10 x 2 square, a 12 x 16 x 2 rectangle and recently a 9 x 2 round.
I had occasion to use one of them for the first time. Yesterday I baked 3 layers of the 12 x 16 and noticed that my cakes baked beautifully, nice and level and thought maybe it was due to the 2 flower nails I used as heat cores. Today, I made 3 layers of a different flavor along with 2 6" rounds and a 1/2 ball in Wilton pans. It took longer to bake the small cakes in the Wilton pans than it did the huge rectangle in the Magic Line! For real, the 12 x 16 was done perfectly in 30 minutes and the 6" took 33 while the 1/2 ball took about 38. I also noticed that after 10 minutes, the Wilton pans are touchable but I had to use potholders to take the cake from the Magic Line pan.
I have to say, I really wasn't expecting such a big difference in performance.
This is good info! I'm looking to expand my cake pan selection soon, so it's always good to hear the "this vs. that" stories. 
I'm looking at those today! I can't wait to try them. Thanks for the info!
Well, I'm certainly not ready to replace all my pans at this point (I wish!) but I will continue to keep an eagle eye out for great bargains on them. I actually traded a 14 x 3 round ML that I won as a competition prize because at the time it just felt like too much cake pan for me. I also recently passed on 2 6 x 2 ML rounds at a thrift store because "I already have two 'good' pans that size" 
. No more of THAT attitude! In the meantime, I will be perfectly content with my Wilton . I will...I will...
This post got me curious...
Now just to clarify, are these also called Parish Magic Line or is this a totally different brand? I was just doing a quick search on Amazon and everything is coming up as Parish Magic Line Aluminum. I think I may have to invest in some of these and want to make sure I get the right thing.
Someone gave me a magic line pan and I baked 3 layers, 2 in wilton and one in magic line. I LOVE the magic line pan. it baked so much better. I'm a believer, too bad I can't afford any more!!
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