Club Musical Fidelity

[alebonau]

Thanks Alebonau,I have bought the Trivista,and am delighted with it,sound is effortless power and depth,and at the same time a lot smoother than my Linn stuff...
Looking for a cd player to match.The A5 i like a lot,if i could get the KW SACD within budget,bearing in mind i have few sacds,is it worth the extra for playing "normal" cds?

great to hear you got the trivista and like the sounds of it !

Depends how many SACDs you have vs CDs. For me only have very few CDs and couldnt warrnat the extra for soemthign like the KWSACD.

If you like the MF sound then perhaps somethign to lookout for is a s/h trivista SACD player ?, looks well built and supposed to be good for CD & SACD, and second hand go for about half the price of the kw sacd player.

[Cambs12]

Hi Alebonau,

On my way today to pick up an A5 cd player,found i couldn't justify the extra on the KW SACD,the A5 is a fabulous machine,far smoother and deep than the Linn Karik 3 i used to have(til it packed up and the manufacturer no longer supports,which has done me a favour pushed me towards MF!).
Besides,with the money saved,perhaps i can persuade "her who must be obeyed" that i should be allowed to put it towards upgrading my B&W CDM9nts...!

[alebonau]

Hi Alebonau,

On my way today to pick up an A5 cd player,found i couldn't justify the extra on the KW SACD,the A5 is a fabulous machine,far smoother and deep than the Linn Karik 3 i used to have(til it packed up and the manufacturer no longer supports,which has done me a favour pushed me towards MF!).
Besides,with the money saved,perhaps i can persuade "her who must be obeyed" that i should be allowed to put it towards upgrading my B&W CDM9nts...!

You'll love it cambs12,

I too couldnt justify the cost of the KW SACD, it retails at 3 times the cost of the A5 CD here in Oz and really dont have enough sacds for the extra. If its any consolation, after buyign the A5cd the musical fidelity dealer told me it was as good on CD as the KW !.

Great to hear you got A5. Do post back once you have it in your system and how you find it. The valves do like a few hours on them, its very nice from day one but give it 100-200 hours and its just delightfull. I sped up the break in process as suggested by havign the player on its own with a disc on repeat over a weekend and then left it powered up 24/7 for the first week after.

Happy listening !

[gwak]

AC3CR Power Pre Amp Recommendations

Hello All,

I currently own a MF A3CR power amplifier with a Squeezebox v3 directly connected to it and Epos 12.2 Speakers. I find the current sound lacking to say the least (lack of bass, detail, and lack of yah).

I am looking for recommendations for a pre-amplifier for my A3CR in a price range from 500->1500 euros.
The cheaper side of myself is also considering selling my power amp and purchasing a MF X-150 integrated.

Any advise for a good match for my power amp or firsthand accounts of the MF X-150 would be greatly appreciated!

thanks in advanced
-gwak

[alebonau]

Hello All,

I currently own a MF A3CR power amplifier with a Squeezebox v3 directly connected to it and Epos 12.2 Speakers. I find the current sound lacking to say the least (lack of bass, detail, and lack of yah).

I am looking for recommendations for a pre-amplifier for my A3CR in a price range from 500->1500 euros.
The cheaper side of myself is also considering selling my power amp and purchasing a MF X-150 integrated.

Any advise for a good match for my power amp or firsthand accounts of the MF X-150 would be greatly appreciated!

thanks in advanced
-gwak

check out the s/h scene. for yor money you should be able to pick up either a a3cr pre which is very nice. or alternatively maybe even a A3.2 or A300 2ch integrated which were alos very nice indeed as well.

maybe too consider a cd player while your at it or using a standalone dac (mf xdac or benchmark dac1)with the squeeze box, which I understand peopel have also found to be of some benefit.

[norpus]

check out the s/h scene. for yor money you should be able to pick up either a a3cr pre which is very nice. or alternatively maybe even a A3.2 or A300 2ch integrated which were alos very nice indeed as well.

maybe too consider a cd player while your at it or using a standalone dac (mf xdac or benchmark dac1)with the squeeze box, which I understand peopel have also found to be of some benefit.

Now who would have thought you'd be found in the MF club Al? So this is where the umbilical cord can get a new fix? hehehe (Says as he slinks back to club B&W) :P

[alebonau]

Now who would have thought you'd be found in the MF club Al? So this is where the umbilical cord can get a new fix? hehehe (Says as he slinks back to club B&W) :P

hehe ofcourse norpus any club that serves cocktails with a slice of MF is where you'll find me hanging out once the sun goes down :T

[rnoble]

hehe ofcourse norpus any club that serves cocktails with a slice of MF is where you'll find me hanging out once the sun goes down :T

The same names keep popping up everywhere it's like dejavu......

[norpus]

The same names keep popping up everywhere it's like dejavu......

Its just a glitch in the matrix nobby..I mean rnoble (brilliant disguise btw, never even thought it was you hehe)

[alebonau]

on the MF mailing list and got some info on a couple of interesting new products.

can be seen on the front page of the mf website

A new x series 2ch integrated and a CD player both iwth separate power supplies.

http://www.musicalfidelity.com/index3.html

but a bit more info in the email...

Advanced Information! X-RAYv8, X-T100 & TRIPLE-X.
X-RAYv8

Overview: The X-RAYv8 has extremely high technical performance, equal to that of almost any extremely expensive CD player. It might be worth your while to check the technical specifications of the X-RAYv8 compared to players at, say, three to five times its price. You'll see that most of them are not as technically accomplished as the X-RAYv8. We believe that CD players can largely be summed up by their technical performance and almost everything else is snake oil. Because the X-RAYv8 has an external power supply (shared with the X-T100) it has that same extraordinary grain-free sweet sound quality.

Features & Benefits :

Feature
Benefit

Very low jitter.
Clear sweet ungrainy sound.

Outstanding technical performance, low distortion very low noise.
Completely clear sound from a black velvet background.

Free-standing external power supply.
No magnetic interference with the delicate digital processing electronics.


X-T100

Overview: The X-T100 is based around exactly the same concepts as used in our super-integrated series (Nu-Vista M3, Tri-Vista 300, kW500 and kW550). Not surprisingly, even though it has much less power, the sound quality is almost indistinguishable from its illustrious siblings. The X-T100 is true budget esoterica. Pair it with the right sort of loudspeakers and you really can get a true high end sound. It's not surprising really because all the concepts behind the X-T100 and the circuitry employed are exactly the same as on our most expensive amplifiers. This puppy has to be heard to be believed.

Features & Benefits:

Feature
Benefit

Tube preamp stage.
Sweet accurate sound quality.

High quality phono stage.
Makes your vinyl discs sound great.

High quality high current low distortion power amp
Drives most speakers easily and has a remarkable seamless ungrainy sound quality.

Free-standing external PSU.
No nasty magnetic hysteresis effects near the delicate circuitry.

plus a nice internal pic showing the insides of the XT100 integrated..

[DM3000 Owner]

Now who would have thought you'd be found in the MF club Al? So this is where the umbilical cord can get a new fix? hehehe (Says as he slinks back to club B&W) :P

Do you guys use MF with your B&W's?

I just went from a tube preamp to a MF A308CR driving Bryston 7B ST's and N801's. I couldn't be happier with the Musical Fidelity pre. I feel like I have not given up anything going from tubes. Nice top end without fatigue and all of the imaging and other qualities are there.

Very nice!

Chris

[alebonau]

Do you guys use MF with your B&W's?

I just went from a tube preamp to a MF A308CR driving Bryston 7B ST's and N801's. I couldn't be happier with the Musical Fidelity pre. I feel like I have not given up anything going from tubes. Nice top end without fatigue and all of the imaging and other qualities are there.

Very nice!

Chris

great to hear your very happy with the results with your MF pre chris,

norpus with his B&W 802D is using an australian made power amp the elektra theatre 7, very well made extremely competant unit with 2ch.

I myself am using my MF A5 pre-pwr with some mission speakers.

Have demoed my MF stuff at a friends place with his 703 floorstander and think it did a great job there too. Think the two brands go pretty well together.

[AptosJeff]

Question for you MF experts.

I like the A5 cdp a lot, but can't spend that much. The A3.5 is similar to what I have now, so that is no help. But I've read good things about the Lavry Eng DA10 DAC. Have any of you heard this DAC with a decent transport and compared it to an A5?

Thanks,
Jeff

[alebonau]

I like the A5 cdp a lot, but can't spend that much. The A3.5 is similar to what I have now, so that is no help. But I've read good things about the Lavry Eng DA10 DAC. Have any of you heard this DAC with a decent transport and compared it to an A5?

Thanks,
Jeff

havent compared with the lavry, but can tell you, own the A5 cdp and it is indeed very nice !

[Cambs12]

A5 Cd player

I thought i would write and let you know how i am getting on with my new A5 cd player.This is playing into a Trivista 300 integrated,with B&W CDM9 nts on the end.
When i first set it up,i liked the sound,but thought it a bit light in the bass dept in comparison with the Linn Ikemi i was borrowing(after my Linn Karik gave up for good..).
I remembered some of the Alebonau's advice,which was to give the player time to run in.
What a difference!! Bass is exceptional,deep and with great definition,the soundstage is fabulous,the whole system just seems well-suited.

One question,if anyone has considered this,what interconnects do you guys use with Musical Fidelity(i am new to the brand,both the Trivista and A5 are recent purchases) I am using Van den hul at the moment,bought inexpensively from a hi-fi show a few years ago.

Also,mains conditioning.Do the conditioners,such as Isotek etc,really make a big difference? I know listening late at night makes a big difference to my system,smoother etc,but some of this is down to warming up properly.The M/F gear seems to get better all day,like the Linn setup i had before,not just the initial half hour or so..

[alebonau]

I thought i would write and let you know how i am getting on with my new A5 cd player.This is playing into a Trivista 300 integrated,with B&W CDM9 nts on the end.
When i first set it up,i liked the sound,but thought it a bit light in the bass dept in comparison with the Linn Ikemi i was borrowing(after my Linn Karik gave up for good..).
I remembered some of the Alebonau's advice,which was to give the player time to run in.
What a difference!! Bass is exceptional,deep and with great definition,the soundstage is fabulous,the whole system just seems well-suited.

One question,if anyone has considered this,what interconnects do you guys use with Musical Fidelity(i am new to the brand,both the Trivista and A5 are recent purchases) I am using Van den hul at the moment,bought inexpensively from a hi-fi show a few years ago.

Also,mains conditioning.Do the conditioners,such as Isotek etc,really make a big difference? I know listening late at night makes a big difference to my system,smoother etc,but some of this is down to warming up properly.The M/F gear seems to get better all day,like the Linn setup i had before,not just the initial half hour or so..

great to read your update cambs and that the A5CD really has turned into a treat !

re interconnects would you believe vandenhull is what I'm using. D102 of old and a one newer version in the mix. pretty happy with the quality and overall result.

re power conditioning. my A5cr pre-pwr has choke regulation built in so any additional power conditioning will not help in the least and not required. I would be sure the trivista given the quality amp it is in the mf range woudl have choke regulation as well.

in regards warm up, I've noticed my pre-pwr takes a good 1/2 hr to come up to speed. actually have been leaving it on 24/7 now days. the A5cd I switch on and off given its valves. Dont seem to notice any sort of warm up period with that, pretty much sounds great from switch on.

again great to hear the excellent resutl your getting with the A5cd and your other mf gear !

[Guy]

I thought i would write and let you know how i am getting on with my new A5 cd player.This is playing into a Trivista 300 integrated,with B&W CDM9 nts on the end.
When i first set it up,i liked the sound,but thought it a bit light in the bass dept in comparison with the Linn Ikemi i was borrowing(after my Linn Karik gave up for good..).
I remembered some of the Alebonau's advice,which was to give the player time to run in.
What a difference!! Bass is exceptional,deep and with great definition,the soundstage is fabulous,the whole system just seems well-suited.

One question,if anyone has considered this,what interconnects do you guys use with Musical Fidelity(i am new to the brand,both the Trivista and A5 are recent purchases) I am using Van den hul at the moment,bought inexpensively from a hi-fi show a few years ago.

Also,mains conditioning.Do the conditioners,such as Isotek etc,really make a big difference? I know listening late at night makes a big difference to my system,smoother etc,but some of this is down to warming up properly.The M/F gear seems to get better all day,like the Linn setup i had before,not just the initial half hour or so..

I use Kimber Silver Streak for interconects & Kimber 8TC for speakers. I find the balance just right for me.

Here in Australia there is a new product out called the smart power station made by Thor Technologies which I use to provide a clean 240V Sine wave to all my devices. Does it help the sound quality? Yes & no. Dependes on the time of the day. In other peoples cases where they live and the quality of the electricity they get will determine the effectiveness of this device or any other power conditioner.

My system consists of:

MF A5CDP
MF A5 Power Amp
MF A300 Integrated Amp
B&W 802D Speakers

The A5 CD Player is superb aside from an annoying glitch that it has. I've tried two of them and exactly the same glitch.

Try playing a CD with the display switched completely off then stop the CD with the display still off. Now switch the display on and you will find that the information displayed about the CD status is incorrect.

This of course does not affect sound quality or functionality but is just an annoying fault which I ahve not been able to fix even with updating the firmware to ver 2.2

[alebonau]

~

My system consists of:

MF A5CDP
MF A5 Power Amp
MF A300 Integrated Amp
B&W 802D Speakers

The A5 CD Player is superb aside from an annoying glitch that it has. I've tried two of them and exactly the same glitch.

Try playing a CD with the display switched completely off then stop the CD with the display still off. Now switch the display on and you will find that the information displayed about the CD status is incorrect.

This of course does not affect sound quality or functionality but is just an annoying fault which I ahve not been able to fix even with updating the firmware to ver 2.2

An A5 owner and runnign with some 802Ds very nice !

havent noticed the oddity you mention with your A5CD there guy to be honest. do also run with the display off as like to listen without the distraction of the display. Perhaps just havent operated it in the sequence as you have ?.

My firmware by the way is v2.4, it says that when switching on. Anyway I'll confirm if this is somethign that happens on my player as well. presume the firmware is upgradeable via cd ?

love the soudn of the A5cd as well as with the other A5 components I have.

[Cambs12]

Thanks for the info re mains conditioning.

I love the 802ds,having heard them and 803ds against each other.I love both,preferring the effortless scale of the 802ds,but "she who must be obeyed",prefers the look of the 803ds,so that might be the future when funds allow...

My Trivista does have choke regulation,so i will speak to someone at M/F to see what they recommend.

[Guy]

An A5 owner and runnign with some 802Ds very nice !

havent noticed the oddity you mention with your A5CD there guy to be honest. do also run with the display off as like to listen without the distraction of the display. Perhaps just havent operated it in the sequence as you have ?.

My firmware by the way is v2.4, it says that when switching on. Anyway I'll confirm if this is somethign that happens on my player as well. presume the firmware is upgradeable via cd ?

love the soudn of the A5cd as well as with the other A5 components I have.

The firmware is upgradable by changing the firmware chip installed on a socket on the main PCB. I'll see if I can get ver 2.4 from the distributor

Cheers, Guy.

[alebonau]

The firmware is upgradable by changing the firmware chip installed on a socket on the main PCB. I'll see if I can get ver 2.4 from the distributor

Cheers, Guy.

hi guy I checked this out for you earlier...

"Try playing a CD with the display switched completely off then stop the CD with the display still off. Now switch the display on and you will find that the information displayed about the CD status is incorrect. "

switching the display on shows it in the stop position as it should.

if you cant get the firmware swapped perhaps jsut get it swapped for another player. mines only a few months old so imagine its these later release/current player with the latest firmware doesnt have this particualr issue.

[Guy]

hi guy I checked this out for you earlier...

"Try playing a CD with the display switched completely off then stop the CD with the display still off. Now switch the display on and you will find that the information displayed about the CD status is incorrect. "

switching the display on shows it in the stop position as it should.

if you cant get the firmware swapped perhaps jsut get it swapped for another player. mines only a few months old so imagine its these later release/current player with the latest firmware doesnt have this particualr issue.

My mistake. Wrong sequence of instructions.

It definately happens when I do the following:

1)start palying a CD with the display on
2) Switch the display off while still playing the CD
3) Press stop with the display still off.
4) Now switch the display on and see what it says

I am sure you will see an incorrect reading on the display.

Thanks for the info. I contacted the distributor and they will send me firmware version 2.5. Hopefully this will fix the problem if not then I will just use it as is and enjoy. I have no problems with sound quality of this palyer.

Cheers, Guy.

[alebonau]

My mistake. Wrong sequence of instructions.

It definately happens when I do the following:

1)start palying a CD with the display on
2) Switch the display off while still playing the CD
3) Press stop with the display still off.
4) Now switch the display on and see what it says

I am sure you will see an incorrect reading on the display.

Thanks for the info. I contacted the distributor and they will send me firmware version 2.5. Hopefully this will fix the problem if not then I will just use it as is and enjoy. I have no problems with sound quality of this palyer.

Cheers, Guy.

gave this a shot guy, ah ok it When you switch the display back on it displays where it let off for me. . Not sure what v2.5 is like. Yeah not somethign I've noticed before. Notice as soon as you hit play or select a track it does as required so not a biggee for me. but do post back how you go and if there is anythign particualrly different on v2.5 worth upgrading to.

[Guy]

gave this a shot guy, ah ok it When you switch the display back on it displays where it let off for me. . Not sure what v2.5 is like. Yeah not somethign I've noticed before. Notice as soon as you hit play or select a track it does as required so not a biggee for me. but do post back how you go and if there is anythign particualrly different on v2.5 worth upgrading to.

So it's not just my machine. Like you said its no big deal since the machine operates as required. I don't know what ver 2.5 fixes but I assume that since it is an update it must fix something that was wrong with the previous version.

[KrisKeen]

Hi Guys

Hoping picking up my MF A5 Intergrated and Focal 1007 BE's soon

Will post some thoughts when its run in...

[alebonau]

Hi Guys

Hoping picking up my MF A5 Intergrated and Focal 1007 BE's soon

Will post some thoughts when its run in...

excellent ! yes do post back how you find it. Have noticed a few people running MF & focal, must be a popular combination.

[Yasvanth]

I have the Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated Amp and A5 CD player. The combination driving my 804s is splendid. You close your eyes and the musicians are in front of you. If you have specific questions....email.

Hello

Have you got the chance to listen to the MF A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers? How would you compare the A5 Integrated up against these monsters ?

Yasvanth

[Yasvanth]

Hi

About 6 months ago, I purchased the MF A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers on Ebay and the moment I connected them to my speakers the sound that came out was huge, you don't have to strain to hear what the musicians are saying and when the drums come in oh boy! These amps are cetainly very special, far far better than what I used to have which was a Arcam A85 & P85 amps which were crap. They were just too lean sounding for my liking, they just didn't produce that big poweful enveloping sound that I liked. I was using VDH D102 mk111 interconnects with the A5 Pre & Pwr amps, but it just made the music slow, smooth, and lumpy so I purchased 2 pairs of Nordost Red Dawn interconnects. One pair to be connected between my Pre and Pwr, and the other between my Arcam Cd72T and A5cr Pre.
That certainly tightened up the midrange and made the sound much faster in the bass.
I am still using VDH Cleartrack Biamped spk cable and it still does sound a touch boomy in the midrange on some smooth recordings. Can somebody advise me on which Nordost speaker cables would best suit this pair, I would prefer Blue Heaven as it is much cheaper, or some other brands of cables. Has anyone tried Nordost Spk cables with the A5cr Pre and Pwr amplifiers, and what is there own opinion?

All The Best

Yasvanth

[alebonau]

Hello

Have got the chance to listen to the MF A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers? How would you compare the A5 Integrated up against these monsters ?

Yasvanth I've done this comparison. The mf A5 integrated is very good. plenty of power, very good detail delicacy, soundstage detail etc.

The pre-pwr is a good step up from that what you get still good delicay and detail but also a bit more slam, dynamics, grip and more explicit in the detail putting right in front of you.

[alebonau]

Hi

About 6 months ago, I purchased the MF A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers on Ebay and the moment I connected them to my speakers the sound that came out was huge, you don't have to strain to hear what the musicians are saying and when the drums come in oh boy! These amps are cetainly very special, far far better than what I used to have which was a Arcam A85 & P85 amps which just didn't produce that big enveloping sound that I liked. I was using VDH D102 mk111 interconnects but it just made the music slow, smooth, and lumpy so I purchased 2 pairs of Nordost Red Dawn interconnects. One pair to be connected between my Pre and Pwr, and the other between my Arcam Cd72T and A5cr Pre.
That certainly tightened up the midrange and made the sound much faster in the bass.
I am still using VDH Cleartrack spk cable and it still does sound a touch boomy in the midrange on some recordings. Can somebody advise on which Nordost spk cables I should go for Blue Heaven Biamped or Red Dawn Biamped.? I would prefer Blue Heaven as it is much cheaper. Has anyone tried Nordost Spk cables with the A5cr Pre and Pwr amplifiers, and what is there own opinion?

All The Best

Yasvanth

great to hear of your MF A5cr pre-pwr experience yasvanth. and how lucky to find those on ebay ! I'm very happy wiht this combination as well and just in the manner you describe as well with their detail and enveloping sound.

sorry havent experimented with cable jsut using my old vdh 102III and cs122 hybrid as have for a while.

what speakers & source are you runnign out of curiosity ?

[Yasvanth]

Mf A5cr Pre & Pwr Amplifier Monsters

Hi Alebonau,

You won't believe this, but I am using a Arcam CD 72T, Michell Gyrodec/QC Power supply. My speakers are the Kef Ref 1:2, and the sound is just fantastic. I must say when I owned the Arcam A85 & P85 amplifiers I was pretty disappointed with its sound quality, its just lacked the big powerful exciting sound, but it was very good with R'n'B music. That's why I decided to go for the MF A5cr Pre and Pwr after it received fantastic reviews in Hifi World and Hifi News, and I must say it is worth every penny that I paid for on Ebay. There something else that I didn't tell you was, that the person who sold it to me was Mr David Allcock who works for Hifi News so this is the exact pair which was reviewed in the magazine, how lucky I am, so they were only used either for a couple of hours or days.

Yasvanth

[alebonau]

wow you really did well there vasvanth in picking up these being literally new ! nice sources in the arcam and wow a gyrodec ! . the kef reference certainly good speakers and great to read your enjoying the setup.

[Yasvanth]

Hello

The only tiny niggle is a very small amount of hum when I place my ear to the speaker.
But there is no humming sound when I place my ear near the Pre or the Pwr amp.
So I decided to send both the Pre and the Pwr amps to MF.They said the Pwr amp was fine, so it was definetly the Pre that was causing the hum. They decided to move the transformer further up, hoping that this would rectify the problem.
When it arrived back home I was hoping everything would be ok, but low and behold that humming sound was still there. But I must say it is not annoying, but when a person spends this kind of money you expect top class design and build quality.
Quite recently I spoke to the previous owner and he told me that he never had that problem when he owned them, and told me it is quite possible it is a ground loop which is causing the hum. Can somebody please explain to me what a ground loop exactly is?

I do not find it annoying at all,only if I place my ear right next to the speaker cone, but otherwise they just sound fantastic, and I will never sell them.
Have any other members heard these monsters, and what is there own opinion on its sound quality ?
Can they play smooth R'n'B music?

Yasvanth

[alebonau]

yeah I posted about that further up in this thread. if you place your ear next to the speaker there is a slight audible hum. I believe its due to the R frame transformers that are used as chokes that are known for hum that they use on top of the toroidals for power supplies. Anyway as soon as you move your ear away from the apeaker its not something I can hear. Certainly not audible from my listening position so not somethign thats an issue to me.

Smooth R&B ? love Eric bib - where the green grass grows, or BB king blues on the bayou...sensational. Also somethign very nice come across lately 'Hey Kandi' by Kandi on SACD bit more pop on top of R&B but boy sounds great as an sacd ! I think thats whats great about these amps that you can listen to them full tilt with their slam and dynamics but yet theyre very good also with small detail, delicacy and dont need to crank them up to enjoy the sound.

[Yasvanth]

HI

What sort of speaker cables and interconnects are you using on the A5 Amplifier?
What is your overall opinion of the A5 amp when playing R'n'B music eg Beyonce, Usher, R kelly, Alicia Keys etc?

Thanks
Yas 8)

[Yasvanth]

MF A5cr Pre and Pwr

Hello Guy

What does your A5 amp and A5cd player sound like when playing R'n'B music?
Because my A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers do sound a bit smooth in the midrange, or even slow?
I am using Nordost Red Dawn interconnects and VDH Cleartrack Biamped spk cable, and I think the problem is the speaker cable, which could be strangling the sound of the amplifiers. So any ideas?
Thanks Yas

[Guy]

Hello Guy

What does your A5 amp and A5cd player sound like when playing R'n'B music?
Because my A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers do sound a bit smooth in the midrange, or even slow?
I am using Nordost Red Dawn interconnects and VDH Cleartrack Biamped spk cable, and I think the problem is the speaker cable, which could be strangling the sound of the amplifiers. So any ideas?
Thanks Yas

Yas,

I definately have not experienced smooth/ slow midrange with any music. in fact I find the A5 combo fast with great attack.

May be your interconnects or speaker cable only way to find out is to try others. Many dealers will let you try before you buy so you won't waste alot of money like I did :T

I find silver interconnects really speed things up and & provide more detail compared to copper.

I use Kimber Silver Streak for interconnects and Kimber 8TC for speaker cable.

[alebonau]

Yas,

I definately have not experienced smooth/ slow midrange with any music. in fact I find the A5 combo fast with great attack.

May be your interconnects or speaker cable only way to find out is to try others. Many dealers will let you try before you buy so you won't waste alot of money like I did :T

I find silver interconnects really speed things up and & provide more detail compared to copper.

I use Kimber Silver Streak for interconnects and Kimber 8TC for speaker cable.

kandi would be along the line of beyonce, usher and certainly sounds like guy describes. AS per Guys advice I'd borrow the cables too if considering, that way can try out to see if helps any rahter than have to shell out for the priveldge.

perhaps a speaker charecteristic too Yas ? maybe worth tryign with another pair speakers to check. Anyways this kind of thing in realation to sound charecter is such a pers pref thing I think. Some will like somethign whereas some might not. REally only you can make judgement calls on yourself.

[Angioguy]

Sacd

New to this forum, but I've heard great things about MF, and I'm planning on demoing some of their CD players over the next few days and I'm curious about a few things....

How do the MF Tri Vista and kW-SACD players compare to those from other high end companies?

Are MF products considered to be reliable or has servicing been an issue for these two particular units?

And finally-- Anybody know if MF has plans to replace/update the current kW SACD anytime soon?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[alebonau]

New to this forum, but I've heard great things about MF, and I'm planning on demoing some of their CD players over the next few days and I'm curious about a few things....

How do the MF Tri Vista and kW-SACD players compare to those from other high end companies?

Are MF products considered to be reliable or has servicing been an issue for these two particular units?

And finally-- Anybody know if MF has plans to replace/update the current kW SACD anytime soon?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

not sure on the mf kw sacd or the trivista not items I've demoed. But can say the MF A3.5 and A5CD sure do compare well with the similar priced other brand equipment I've compared with in store. As with anythign its best yourself doing your own comparisons with the other brand equipment you have in mind to come to your own conclusions.

Never had an issue with reliability on my mf gear apart from a decade plus old 2ch pre that on checking needed new caps with age. Got fixed locally fuss free. Might depend on where yoru located and the service there.

If considering sacd players MF kw and trivista. I'd well suggest checkign out as mentioned in this thread

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=20554

some other brands too. I have the sony 9000es dedicated sacd player and think it makes a very good sacd player and cd player as well. Also heard a marantz sa-15 that does a very good job, theres also the pricier sa-11 that would be worth having a listen as well. Other brands that I havent checked out but get good mentions are the linn unidisk, there the Ayre player plus htere is also a krell that along with the others would be well worth checkign out I think.

happy listnign and do post back perhaps in that other thread if get a chance to demo.

[peter clarke]

kW SACD

I had this player for 6 months then it wouldn't read SACD. It was returned and a new replacement had same problem after 1 day!!!!! I got a refund and am about to replace with T&A D-10 SACD. I need reliability. Dealer in Sydney said " a transport problem". The tray always seemed very flimsy. I have a kW500 with B&W 800D. Hope my new system is OK.

[Guy]

kandi would be along the line of beyonce, usher and certainly sounds like guy describes. AS per Guys advice I'd borrow the cables too if considering, that way can try out to see if helps any rahter than have to shell out for the priveldge.

perhaps a speaker charecteristic too Yas ? maybe worth tryign with another pair speakers to check. Anyways this kind of thing in realation to sound charecter is such a pers pref thing I think. Some will like somethign whereas some might not. REally only you can make judgement calls on yourself.

I forgot to mention to try and reposition speakers. This can have a big effect to the sound characterisitics. If your system sounds slow perhaps the speakers are too close to the back wall. Also room treatments may also have a tremendous benefit.

[tonych31]

A3.5

Anybody in this forum who can vouch about the A3.5 integrated amp musical prowess.
I want to hook it up with my Rotel 1068 pre.
I have read about its home theater bypass mode which I think will suit my needs of having a good 2 channel as well as home theater package as well.

[alebonau]

A3.5

Anybody in this forum who can vouch about the A3.5 integrated amp musical prowess.
I want to hook it up with my Rotel 1068 pre.
I have read about its home theater bypass mode which I think will suit my needs of having a good 2 channel as well as home theater package as well.

know someone using the a3.5 sucessfully for 2ch with the bypass working jsut fine. you might want to demo some alternatives to find whats best for you.

[Yasvanth]

Hello all members,

Can somebody please advise me on the best biwire speaker cable that will be most suitable for my MF A5cr Pre & Pwr amplifiers. The speaker cable that I am using at the moment is the VDH Cleartrack Biwire Cable which was fine with Arcam A85 & P85 amps which were extremely detailed and exciting, but with my new amplifiers the midrange in particular is just slightly smooth and sometimes a touch boomy. So really, I am looking out for a cable with fantastic detail and speed in the midrange with no bass overhang or boom.
Your advise would be very grateful.

Thanks
Yas