We present a comparison between calculated densities of states of the Laves phase MgZn 2 and hexagonal Mg 28 Zn 65 Y 7 and experimental results obtained using both X-ray emission and photoabsorption spectroscopy techniques. We show that there is a general agreement between both sets of data for both alloys. We also point out the two samples retain a metallic character yet, the hexagonal approximant of the Mg-Zn-Y quasicrystals family is less metallic than the Laves phase.