Musical Fidelity and Contemporary brands Class A

+A -A
Autor
Beitrag
Dare_Devil
Stammgast
#1 erstellt: 17. Aug 2005, 04:18
Hello Folks,

I am new to this forum and it has been an educational experience reading the postings in the forum.

Couple of questions I have for clarification.

1) Why did Musical Fidelity, being such a recognized brand, stop manufacturing class A amplifiers?
2) How will the Musical Fidelity A5CR (Pre+Power) combo compare with the other contemporary brands' class A products, for example a Plinius Class A pre+Power combo?
2) Secondly, how do the class A amps perform in India with their basic requirement of being provided continuos power (even while not listening) conflicting with the frequent power outages in India?
Prithvi
Stammgast
#2 erstellt: 17. Aug 2005, 05:00
Hi! Dare Devil,
First of all MF stopped making 'PURE CLASS A" amps as they are very expensive to make as well as expensive to buy. There are very few manufacturers that make CLASS A amps today.

Secondly, IMHO the PLINIUS CLASS A amps are in a different league. I say this as I have heard both models extensively. Anyhow this is my opinion and I will stick by it. I will always save up to buy the Ref Plinius amps, as they outbeat many other ones. Till I get lucky with a lottery, I will have to wait.

The MF's are not bad at all. As mentioned earlier listening to music is very subjective and also they type of music you listen to, Hence some may prefer the MF some the Plinius. I have a few clients who prefered the CJ instead of the Plinius, well thats their personal opinion and I respect their opinion. Period.

Thirdly regarding our wonderful pwr supply in India, well beggar's cannot be choosers. Hence we have to live it out. Yes the Class A amps consume a lot of power in CLASS A Mode. You are going to see a huge jump in your current bill.

Even though I no longer sell PLINIUS, they have a nice feature that enables you to switch the amp in CLass A mode when required. Even if you forget to switch to CLASS AB back when in CLass A, the microporcessor senses if there is no signal for 20-30mins and switches the amp back into CLASS AB mode thus saving you a big current bill.

Once of our members SIVA has the PLINIUS SA-102 PURE CLASS A power amp and it does get hot as hell, you can fry an egg on top. Siva can give you more info on why he took a decision to buy this wonderful amp.

Hope I was able to answer ur questions. However pls do listen to both brands and remember "IF IT SOUNDS BETTER IT IS BETTER" trust your own judgement and your own ears.

IMHO, my favourite will always be the PLINIUS. Thats my personal opinion.
Rgds

Prithvi


[Beitrag von Prithvi am 17. Aug 2005, 05:03 bearbeitet]
Arj
Inventar
#3 erstellt: 17. Aug 2005, 11:44

Dare_Devil schrieb:
Hello Folks,


1) Why did Musical Fidelity, being such a recognized brand, stop manufacturing class A amplifiers?


Frankly Musical Fidelity changes its products too often.. they never have a model lasting mlore than 1-2 years!. but Class A is a tricky business and very few folks are into it now. the early MFs were low power as that is what the market was into then

these days the requirement is for higher power( All MF amps are higher power not like its 10-20 W Class A oldies ) and since Class A gives only around 10-20 % efficiency, this is used by very few manufactureres who n^prefer a higher class A bias on a AB amp

Dare_Devil schrieb:

2) How will the Musical Fidelity A5CR (Pre+Power) combo compare with the other contemporary brands' class A products, for example a Plinius Class A pre+Power combo?


arent they in a differen price bracket ? but Plinius is in a different league sonically as well IMHO and I would agree with Prithvi on that..i would trust that brand much much more than MF which is quite bandied about at Audioasylum as well !



Dare_Devil schrieb:

2) Secondly, how do the class A amps perform in India with their basic requirement of being provided continuos power (even while not listening) conflicting with the frequent power outages in India?


Well I am not sure of the meaning of the question. when you are not using it it would be off..they need around 10-15 min of warmup usually.
sivat
Stammgast
#4 erstellt: 17. Aug 2005, 13:24
Among the following three pre/power combos... that i've owned in the past 4 years, my feedback are here..

1) Classe CA-301
2) Bryston 3B ST
3) Musical Fidelity A3 CR

Classe is mid-heavy...but loses out on transparency. Bryston is transparaent and detailed...but sounds thin and non-musical

Where as Musical Fidelity was more balanced...it did not have the mids of classe, but almost had the transparency of Bryston, without sounding thin...and yes it does get the harmonics correct..

Winding up...MF was defintely a better choice amoung the three (Guys these are my opinion...it could change with others)

Where as .. Plinius is a different league all together..you are talking about Ford Ikon and BMW...

A reliable Class A amp do not come cheap...if you want a 100 watts Class A ... prepare to choose between a Hyundai Santro or a "Class A" power amp.

However there are alternatives if you are insistent on Class A .. you get the likes of Sugden ..which are low powered integrated amps...which are well worth the money.

My advice would be... do not go buy an amp based on the technology behind it. Listen to the amp and then decide. For all you know, you might prefer a Krell KAV 3250 over the Plinius SA 102...


Cheers
Siva.
benkenobi
Hat sich gelöscht
#5 erstellt: 17. Aug 2005, 13:27

Arj schrieb:
..i would trust that brand much much more than MF which is quite bandied about at Audioasylum as well !



they are looked down on even in the diyaudio.com forum for their cheap quality parts and supposedly placebo circuits.

Making it clear that this is the general opinion of a forum and not mine.
Benkenobi
sivat
Stammgast
#6 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 04:48
MF is hated amoung DIY guys....the same reason why Software guys hate Microsoft. MF is very agreesive company with respect to sales and it seem to enjoy unfair advantage with the audio press. It's another brand that people "love to hate" !!

I 've had quite a few products from MF..i do not agree they use bad components...i have seen them for myself. I do regret not buying the Trivista DAC. I've also spoken to MF engineers on couple of occasions...and they are quite nice and helpful guys, contrary to the image they have amoung the DIY community.

Guys, i have no stake in MF...i'm just another consumer li ike all of you. All i'm sayin is - don't remove thier products from your shortlist just because of the way - some people perceive the brand. Some of their products are good value for money...ofcourse, a few of thier products are unnecessarily hyped.

Listen and then come to a conclusion. However in the end your opinion might differ.
Arj
Inventar
#7 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 06:20
hi sivat,
your points are very valid..personally I have never thought of their products being poor quality...but it does receive bad press due to their aggressive selling and the sam tellif Anthony M "Nexus" ??

regarding quality, i think from the vibrant 2nd had market with not too bad a resale value, it does mean that quality is not too bad.in fact the A1, A2, X A100 are "Classics"

I think their DACs are very good..even the old XDAC is a very good bargain and is still available used...
Dare_Devil
Stammgast
#8 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 07:33
Great discussion and equally entralling responses. As I had mentioned, this keeps adding to my educational experience. However, I don't quite understand the disclaimer at the end of every response "This is my opinion and may differ from others". In my opinion, this forum is meant to encourage diverse views and opinions, including conflicting ones. That, in no way implies any offence; it is just a matter of priorities and prefereces, like Zen vs Santro, Ikon vs Accent, BMW vs Merc, etc. OK, enough Gyan. Getting back to business.

As I understand from this discussion thread, MF has stopped manufacturing pure class A amps because they are expensive to produce and expensive to buy. However, the MF A5CR pre+power combo comes for around 3000 pounds and the KW pre+power combo comes around 9000 pounds. If anyone is willing to pay that kind of money, s/he might as well go for a pure class A than class A/B. Also the very fact that MF manufactures and sells amps at this price range is an indication of willingness of customers to pay for quality.

The other thing that came out from the thread was Plinius being in different league all together. But what I fail to understand is what would be the difference in the quality, say for example, between MF KW series and a Plinius 102 or reference, considering the similarity in their price range and also MF's claim of their amps operating almost at class A levels.

Am I missing a point that the rest of you can easily see? Please clarify.
Arj
Inventar
#9 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 10:24
Dare_Devil, at this point the best person who can answer it is yourself!

But ideally you need the same setup of speakers/source/ room and only the Amp changed to get the exact difference.

I doubt is either of them would sound Bad. but they would both have different sonics and present the music in a different way due to various reasons.

One way is to ask for a home trial and do a 1/1 Comparison..

What speakers are u planning to drive with them ?
sivat
Stammgast
#10 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 11:27
Fully agree with Arj...

To add...it's also not possible to explain the difference with a few words. The difference has to be heard.

Listening to the amps is the only solution.

Cheers
Siva.
Dare_Devil
Stammgast
#11 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 13:08

Arj schrieb:

What speakers are u planning to drive with them ?


How about the following in the order of priority?

1) JM labs Electra 926
2) Thiel CS 2.4
3) Dynaudio Audience 82
Prithvi
Stammgast
#12 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 13:43
[quote="Dare_Devil"]Great discussion and equally entralling responses. As I had mentioned, this keeps adding to my educational experience. However, I don't quite understand the disclaimer at the end of every response "This is my opinion and may differ from others". In my opinion, this forum is meant to encourage diverse views and opinions, including conflicting ones. That, in no way implies any offence; it is just a matter of priorities and prefereces, like Zen vs Santro, Ikon vs Accent, BMW vs Merc, etc. OK, enough Gyan. Getting back to business.


Sadly DD (dare Devil)
With respect to your above paragraph, this has to be done as seen in all the recent posts by many members,

1. if you dont, then many members just pounce on the poor guy for being honest about his opinion. Honesty does'nt pay!!! Everyboby has to think negative first.
2. Think he is from the so called cartel mentioned by a few members.
3. Or thirdly in hand-in-glove with the manufacturer, or dealer trying to push or promote his products. Really sad! & this is the truth .

Rgds
Prithvi
Arj
Inventar
#13 erstellt: 18. Aug 2005, 14:49

Dare_Devil schrieb:

Arj schrieb:

What speakers are u planning to drive with them ?


How about the following in the order of priority?

1) JM labs Electra 926
2) Thiel CS 2.4
3) Dynaudio Audience 82



OK, this ois getting interesting

JM Labs-.
Good efficiency speakers. Do not need heavy amps. If you want Class A then a Sugden A21SE should be great with this. Another choics may be a Lavardin IS or IT (This is usually the amp of choice for JMLs)

Thiel and Dyns.
you need to try out your choice..both are difficult loads, the Thiels especially so due to a rapidly varying impedance..I think they drop to 2 Ohms as well. (IMHO A warmish amp like Plinius as well as MF should be good with this)

Dyns are much easier to drive that Thiels as apparently the Impedance does not drop suddenly.

Big ears should be able to tell you about the Dyns if he come along..
SUB_BOSS
Gesperrt
#14 erstellt: 23. Aug 2005, 12:01
dare devil wrote :


it is just a matter of priorities and prefereces, like Zen vs Santro, Ikon vs Accent, BMW vs Merc, etc. OK, enough Gyan. Getting back to business.
yes very true just a matter of prefernces but some people will try to alter your prefrences if you are not careful...and Dear Dare devil I think I have spoke to you...or may be not..


[Beitrag von SUB_BOSS am 23. Aug 2005, 12:03 bearbeitet]
Suche:
Das könnte Dich auch interessieren:
Musical Fidelity
SUB_BOSS am 26.04.2005  –  Letzte Antwort am 26.04.2005  –  5 Beiträge
musical fidelity x-10d
Dzigi10 am 09.03.2004  –  Letzte Antwort am 11.03.2004  –  7 Beiträge
Building class A amplifier
Sir_Don am 08.09.2005  –  Letzte Antwort am 08.09.2005  –  2 Beiträge
Interesting survey on Brands
Arj am 15.04.2006  –  Letzte Antwort am 19.04.2006  –  14 Beiträge
MUSICAL FIDELITY now available officially in Bangalore at AP.
Prithvi am 29.04.2005  –  Letzte Antwort am 01.05.2005  –  3 Beiträge
Solid State Vs Tube; Analog Vs Digital; Class A Vs Class A/B
Dare_Devil am 22.08.2005  –  Letzte Antwort am 23.08.2005  –  4 Beiträge
Indian Manufacturers and distributors (all cities)
Arj am 11.10.2006  –  Letzte Antwort am 12.10.2006  –  8 Beiträge
NuForce Class D amps
surrealistix am 05.12.2006  –  Letzte Antwort am 07.12.2006  –  6 Beiträge
Class jargon ?
SDhawan am 31.01.2005  –  Letzte Antwort am 01.02.2005  –  4 Beiträge
Class A Amplifiers For Newbies
ojoi am 28.11.2004  –  Letzte Antwort am 29.11.2004  –  2 Beiträge
Foren Archiv
2005

Anzeige

Aktuelle Aktion

Partner Widget schließen

  • beyerdynamic Logo
  • DALI Logo
  • SAMSUNG Logo
  • TCL Logo

Forumsstatistik Widget schließen

  • Registrierte Mitglieder925.427 ( Heute: 2 )
  • Neuestes MitgliedSonny0034
  • Gesamtzahl an Themen1.550.043
  • Gesamtzahl an Beiträgen21.515.358

Hersteller in diesem Thread Widget schließen