Musical Fidelity A1 - enough power?
Polkitup2
Posts: 1,622
The new Musical Fidelity A1 is measured at 36 watts 8 ohms and 56 watts 4 ohm. I am wondering if this would be under powered for my Tyler Linbrook monitors? The Tylers are 4 ohm 92 db speakers. Back in the 80s I used a 30 watt Pioneer SX-??? to drive speakers very similar in design to the Tyler Linbrook monitors and it was plenty loud. I currently use a NAD C370 and the volume knob rarely sees pass 8:00. Any thoughts?
Post edited by Polkitup2 on
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I'm running a 40 watt tubed anthem into my 7U's,, same imped/sens as yours,,,,I think that you'll be fine with the MF.Have fun.JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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Thanks George, I submitted an offer for a 1 month old unit on the gon. We'll see what happens. It has HT bypass and an LCD display that I can hopefully see from where I sit.
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Good luck,, I really think that you will be pleased with the MF/Tyler combination,,let us know how it turns out/sounds.JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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I used to own a pair of Tyler monitors, and despite their relatively high sensitivity, I found they sounded best when fed with more power.HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
The new version appears to have near double the power of the original 80's version which was rated at 20 watts of pure Class A .The original sounded excellent but was underpowered for most speakers of the day.We affectionately refered to it as the boot scraper becuase of the unusual top mounted heat sink.Testing
Testing
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Well I got the MF A1 hooked up and have done some listening. All I can say is "Wow". I think I must have been missing about half of the music on CDs when I was using my NAD C370. Compared to the C370, the A1 has better resolution, bigger soundstage, better instrument separation, and highs that are smooth not harsh. While the C370 is a great amp for the price, the A1 is simply in a different class. Power? More than I need. My normal and LOUD listening levels are a breeze for this amp. I don't know why anyone with efficient speakers would ever need more than 30 watts per channel The A1 doesn't have the thumpin mid-bass of the C370 but rather more controlled bass and even seems to dig deeper when asked - my first impression was bass shy but now I think the NAD C370 was bass heavy in certain frequencies. With HT bypass, a readable LCD, and it being a very musical amp, I am quite happy. Much better than the Cambridge 840A V2 I brought home and returned.
One thing I did not like is that the banana connectors have a somewhat loose fit with both audioquest and straight wire bananas. I tried replacing with audioquest spades but the spades almost touched since the binding posts are so close together. I went back to the bananas. They work, just not as tight as I would like. -
Good to hear maybe some synergy between MF and the Tylers, was thinking about an MF integrated. 3.5 or even the 5.5 for my Tyler Monitors.
Enjoy!Analog Source: Rega P3-24 Exact 2 w/GT delrin platter & Neo TT-PSU Digital Source: Lumin T2 w/Roon (NUC) DAC: Denafrips Pontus II Phono Preamp: Rega Aria MK3 Preamp: Rogue RP-7 Amp: Pass X150.8 Speakers: Joseph Audio Perspective 2, Audio Physic Tempo Plus Cables: Morrow M4 ICs & Audio Art SC-5 ePlus, Shunyata PCs Misc: Shunyata Hydra Delta D6, VTI rack, GIK acoustic panels -
I used to own a pair of Tyler monitors, and despite their relatively high sensitivity, I found they sounded best when fed with more power.
Brad nailed that,, the Taylos reference monitors that I have love power,,so I've got them powered with some adcom mono's,, the 7U's however,are powered by a little 40 watt tubed Anthem,,and sounds very sweet,,my plan for the 7U's is to go up in tube power,I'm thinking 75-80 tube watts may be the ticket. In the right room,with adequate power and system synergy,, the little Taylos monitors throw out a tremendous soundstage.YMMV
JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut) -
According to the MF website, the A1 is the first step, step 2 is to add the 550 or 750 supercharger. I wonder how the Tyler's would handle 750 watts per channel?
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I seem to remember the A1 is class A and runs pretty hot, make sure it can breath well. I am so not surprised you like it better than the 370. Enjoy! Oh you mean the new (2008) A-1 - ooopps. It better sound better than the NAD @3X the price! Here is a pic of the old one......note they were British Fidelity then.....
ET
System: MF Trivista SACD > Placette passive> CJ passive horizontal bi-amp> MF 2500A(LF) MF2100(HF) > 1.2TL's
Other: Speltz silver Eichmann IC's & speaker wire, Econotweaks Detail Magnifiers, PS Audio P-300(source), R. Gray 600, Al Sekala's AC R/C filters, R. Gray HT PC's, Oyaide R-1's,WPC-Z , M-1, Herbie's & DIY Isolation
Room: Qty 7 - 4' tall 18" diam. bass traps, Qty 4 - 4' X 2' X 4" panels. All DIY - man my wife is tolerant! -
The new one runs hot also, but not as hot as the old one. I don't think I could fry an egg, maybe heat up a can of soup though. I sent an e-mail to Antony at MF asking if it was ok to leave running all the time. I'm guessing it's a good idea to power it down when not in use since it does run pretty hot.
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The new one runs hot also, but not as hot as the old one. I don't think I could fry an egg, maybe heat up a can of soup though. I sent an e-mail to Antony at MF asking if it was ok to leave running all the time. I'm guessing it's a good idea to power it down when not in use since it does run pretty hot.
to see if they answer your email. I've emailed them about three times and was never answered. As you can see below I own a piece of their hear.
ET
System: MF Trivista SACD > Placette passive> CJ passive horizontal bi-amp> MF 2500A(LF) MF2100(HF) > 1.2TL's
Other: Speltz silver Eichmann IC's & speaker wire, Econotweaks Detail Magnifiers, PS Audio P-300(source), R. Gray 600, Al Sekala's AC R/C filters, R. Gray HT PC's, Oyaide R-1's,WPC-Z , M-1, Herbie's & DIY Isolation
Room: Qty 7 - 4' tall 18" diam. bass traps, Qty 4 - 4' X 2' X 4" panels. All DIY - man my wife is tolerant! -
Actually, here is what I received below. I should mention that I submitted this question through the "ask Antony a question" section on their website which I can no longer find.
Dear Jeff,
Thank you for your question. I leave my A1 on all the time. In fact I still have my original A1 from late 1984 switched on and it still works perfectly! As you probably know Class A amplifiers are my personal passion.
Thanks for your question.
Kind regards,
Antony
