I recently bought a Musical Fidelity m3si and I’m pleasantly surprised how much I enjoy the sound of it. I wanted a SS amp to use on hot days when my tube amp warms up half the house. I always heard good things about MF, so thought I’d try it, but there are few MF reviews online, so I was a little reluctant. The m3si has 85w/channel @8ohms which is plenty for my high sensitivity Tekton speakers. I’d describe it as sounding smooth and effortless; having good clarity and detail without being bright. The balance between bass, mids and treble is just right. I can listen for hours without fatigue. All in all a very enjoyable and engaging listening experience. A while back I sold my Hegel integrated as I pursued tubes, and regret it, but I’m glad to have the MF.
for fun, i picked up an old a308 integrated... this one was well modded with upgraded ps caps, resistors and wiring... in shipping the volume control was damaged though, just got it fixed, and man this is a very very nice sounding integrated... very refined extended treble, a little lushness in the mids and midbass, excellent low bass power and tone... all in all, exceptional regardless of cost and absolutely ridiculous for the modest price i paid...
too bad i don’t have a stock one to compare, impossible to know how much of the wonderful sound is the basic design vs the mods... 🤷♂️
Can't overstate my surprise at how well M2si worked in my system, this against double the cost Class A ss amp, and far more expensive 300BSET custom monoblocks and Coincident 845SET amps. Wonderful little integrated, hits far above it what it's price would indicate, good built quality as well.
After a long search for a preamp to pair with my Parasound halo JC5 I settled on the Musical Fidelity ms8 preamp and it's a pairing that has me still floored by their musical prowess! I concur with the post above one should take a long hard look at Musical Fidelity as I'm at a complete loss as to why it's not mentioned more for Integrated ,preamps and amps.
I agree. I would love to hear a Luxman class A. I am currently auditioning again a Musical Fidelity A220 and it's becoming my reference. Best bang for the buck, hands down.
I purchased an m6si about a year ago and love it. Great sound and a lot of power. When it's fully warmed up, my thermometer reads 90 degrees above the top vents. I have it on an open rack.
@voodoolounge- I am using an older Tek-Line 10 guage pure silver model. Experimented with quite a few and it seemed to bring the music to life with just the right combination of midrange purity, deep bass, and top end sparkle. I think the company went out of business long ago, but I'm sure current technology silver cords would work just as well.
musical fidelity has had quite a history, kinda all over the map, high and low points, do things their way, their own path to achieve excellent (nuvista, tube buffers, etc etc) ... their high points are very high e.g. (their tri vista dac is still wonderful), true giant killer performance, but other items are just ok... company has changed hands, new leadership, hope they make a comeback
yes designed in europe and made in taiwan (not that that is a bad thing)
The Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amplifier looks interesting. Thoughts?
“Internally, the M6si is configured as 2 independent monobloc power amps with a separate pre amp. It is, in fact, a pre amp with 2 monobloc power amps that just happen to share the same casework”.
I need to give it a listen and check on its delivery time. TAS says “All in all the M6si offers true high-end sound quality, an extensive range of useful inputs, a compact package, reliability and a fair price”.
Where are they made? Are there service facilities in the USA? Thanks
I listen daily to a Musical Fidelity A220 integrated out to Kef ls50's. It takes about an hour to warm up to class A goodness. I think it was made in England 20 years ago. It's a keeper.
I also have the KW500 and it is fantastic. I am running it with Aerial Acoustic Model 6 speakers (wow!)
I do think the MM input can easily be bettered, my Liberty Audio B2B-1 runs rings around it, but it should for it’s price.
I have also had an A308 (full sounding even when turned down) that was great and other brands/models I have had are Audiolab 8000S (years ago!), Krell KAV300 (thin at lower volumes) and a Pathos Logos. Only the Pathos did I like more, but after a finicky operation and a failure (I got it fixed) I got rid of it. The MFs are bombproof, you can’t go wrong.
My best buddy has had MF A1, B200, F series and currently has a Nuvistor Integrated. I’ve listened to them all and think they are all fine sounding and great value, but I think the KW500 is special.
I had the M6si for a while and really liked it. Very easy to listen to - no solid state harshness. Big, open soundstage and effortless power. Build like a tank. If I were to go back to solid state at that price range, it would be my first choice.
I am a fan but they are less popular than you would think. Really nice amps but I sell very few of them. The M6 and M8s are unreal in terms of specs and quality.
I have a KW 500 as well since 2015. It’s a beast of an amp and sounds really good. Never had any issues with it and way more power than I would ever need.
I bought the M2si when Upscale Audio had it for $599. I was looking for an integrated with more power at 4 ohms for small Magnepan MMGW speakers. It was a very lively amp, solidly built and had good sound, but in the end just a little too bright for my taste. I listed it on Craigslist and it quickly sold to a drummer who liked its energy. I think they make good stuff. My first standalone DAC was the MF V-90, which was just outstanding at $299. I auditioned it against other DACs and didn’t replace it until I sprang for a PS Audio DirectStream.
I have tried the MF5si and absolutely loved it. The sonics were exactly as you described. I ended up buying the marantz pm ki ruby, considerably more expensive. In my setup, it ended up a bit bright every now and then on some recordings. So I needed a warmer setup and the marantz absolutely nailed it for me. If you like warm sound signature, you could try auditioning the marantz pm 8006, cheaper than the MF3si. Pure analogue though. At any rate, the dac in MF isn’t the best. Marantz phono is highly regarded and the 800x series is built in Japan like a tank.
anyway, I’m glad you’re enjoying your system. That’s the key, a system that sounds good to your ears is all that matters. Doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. Happy listening!
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