Musical Fidelity amp for Paradigm Studio 100


Hi guys

I have a chance to buy a demo Musical Fidelity HT600 5 channel amp for $1600 US. I will be listening to it this weekend. I hear the sound is detailed and warm which will work well with the Paradigms. Just wondering whether this is a good price or not. I would really like to stick under $1500 for a good 5 channel amp. I believe this would be a step above Rotel, Parasound, Anthem. Can anyone give me any opinions and has anyone have this combo.

Thanks
merlocpm2227
I would not consider any of the Musical Fidelity gear "warm" sounding. If anything, i would say that it is a relatively "smooth yet detailed" sound that was "quick and lean" i.e. lacking in warmth or "fullness". Others might agree or disagree.

As to recommending another amp, that might be tough. None of the five channel amps that i've heard would mate real well with metal domes. I would definitely avoid the Rotel and Parasound amps for that reason. Then again, i've never really heard the Anthem under ideal conditions. It MIGHT be a good candidate, or at least a better match than the others that you mentioned.

Some of this will be cable dependent, but i would work on getting the basic sound "right" first and then playing with cables later. Sean
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I have a pair of Studio 60's run from a Musical Fidelity A300 integrated amp. I love thisw combo! I find the sound full, robust, and sweet sounding at the same time. In fact, I find the highs put out by the A300 seem to soften the fowardness of the tweeter section of the speakers. I am, however, speaking in generalities. It depends sometimes on the musical materal you're into.
FWIW I am running my 100's on an Anthem MCA-20 amp and am not displeased with it. For what I payed it's pretty good indeed - very black background! To be sure, there are better amps and perhaps one day I may even purchase one but these amps start at twice the price I paid for my Anthem. Good luck on your search.
I found the A3cr to be slightly warm in the midrange, but could have been my associated gear seeing through as well. Anyway, the A3cr is very revealing and extended up top, and though smooth I suspect that it could expose the Paradigms brightness and could be create a bit of fatigue with long music sessions. I found the A3cr to be very hollow in the lower registers and it clipped easily and compressed at anything above moderate listening levels on my full range 87dB speakers, but the 5ch amp may be different. Overall, I found the A3cr too polite for my tastes, nothing terribly wrong at all, nothing that sticks out, very easy to live with, just got bored with it quickly. For the price it's a good deal, no doubt, but not fitting to everyones tastes, but what amp is....