Krell 400xi ? Arcam FMJ 32? Musical Fidelity A5?

I have heard the Krell, Arcam, and several MF amps but not the A5. General impressions - the Krell is more dynamic, solid bass and capable of driving about any speakers. Arcam is a more transparent and refined sound but not as strong in the lower registers. Musical Fidelity is a more fluid sound, without any glare or harshness. It is warmer than the Arcam and much warmer than the Krell. A lot depends on the type of music you listen to and the speakers it will be driving. For a low efficiency speaker, I'd probably opt for the Krell. The most musical sounding is probably the MF.

Look at the Sim Moon i-5. In my opinion, it blows away both these integrateds when it comes to sonics, the build quality is far better than the MF, which is partly made in China, has a 10 year warranty and the people there are really nice too.

I don't mean to start an argument but I have found the customer service with Simaudio to be terrible.

I agree with Amywoods, I wanted to have my i-5080 serviced and they did everything they could to try and not service it. Eventually they told me I could open up the cover and check for myself, the standby button spring was pushed in, and I simply sprung it back out. Everything was ok afterall. Dealing with SimAudio was a much harder experience then I had orginally thought it would be.

They do make some great sounding stuff though. I prefer this intergrated to the Bryston B-60 and MF stuff out there.

Agree totally with Audio4ever's criticism of Simaudio service.
All talk and no action was my lasting impression of those people.

I have not heard the Arcam, but I have compared the Krell with the A5, using B&W 805s speakers, Musical Fidelity A5 CD player and Nordost Red Dawn cables.

That setup might not be very fair on the Krell because the A5 is paired with its sister-model CD player while the Krell is auditioned with a different manufacturer's source. And the cables, while being a great match with the warmer-sounding Musical Fidelity equipment, are perhaps a little too lean for the Krell's starker textures.

But even with those excuses made for the Krell, I was surprised that the A5 won the day so easily. For this listener, it was a no-contest. Whether listening to classical or rock, single instruments or bands, acoustic or electronic, the setup using the A5 amp always sounded the more refined, musical and enjoyable. With the Krell in place (and despite the presence of tubes in the CD source), the sound could be relatively brittle, especially with female vocals.

Obviously, my vote went to the A5.

I just went through the get a new amp adventure.
Ended up with a Blue Circle NSCS integrated.
I could not be happier.

I too looked at the Krell and Arcam along with a Mac 6500 and Marantz Reference Series, both much more expensive. I bought the Arcam and really enjoy it. I'm driving NHT 2.9s which are pretty power hungry but the Arcam could care less. Sound is alive, tuneful, dynamic and authoritative.

One great alternative, for the price if you can get one used is the Chord 2600. A fantasic integrated amp.

I have the MF A5 paired with the MF A5 cd player with a pair of the Krell Resolution 3 speakers. It's in a spare room and doesn't see much action. If you decide on the Musical Fidelity and you're interested in purchasing a used one, shoot me an email. I purchased them earlier this year and they have seen very little use. David

Hello. I've auditioned the Krell, but not with my speakers, and a friend owns a recent Musical Fidelity integrated - the latter, for mine, is more musical. Having said that, I purchased a Jadis Orchestra Reference, swapping this for some 90's Audio Reseach separates which would have cost close to $8K new in the USA - and the Jadis is a definite improvement. There really is no bad feedback about this amp...and with it new in the house today I can now see why. Rob.

I can recommend the Musical Fidelity amp.. I have one and it sounds so lovely with my B&W speakers.

I've never heard MF or Krell but did have an A90 once and although it is somewhat musical, I find the A90 a bit cold and compress compare to a good tube amp. The bass is slightly lean without good body.