A thoughtful reflection on Musical Fidelity past and present.

[Vond]

I am writing as a long-time admirer and owner of several iconic Musical
Fidelity amplifiers, including the classic A1000, the A220, the A2, and the more recent M3SI. I have a deep appreciation for the brand's legacy, particularly its commitment during the early years to high-current, no-compromise amplifier design — an ethos that is still admired across the global audiophile community.

That said, I feel compelled to share a technical and emotional observation that speaks not only to brand evolution but to a broader shift in hi-fi design philosophy.

While the A1000, weighing in at over 25 kg, effortlessly drives my Dynaudio Audience 70 (a known 4-ohm load with dips below that), the M3SI, which on paper offers similar power output, fails under the same conditions. Specifically, at the 12 o’clock or “5-past-noon” volume position, the M3SI blows its internal fuse when tasked with this demanding speaker load. This behavior is consistent and repeatable. In contrast, the A1000 has never once faltered, regardless of the dynamic peaks or sustained volume.

The A1000’s resilience is due in no small part to its oversized toroidal transformer, high-quality capacitors, discrete MOSFET output stage, and its true Class A/AB design — all of which justify its formidable weight and cost. It was not merely designed to meet specifications — it was built to dominate speaker loads, with headroom and thermal stability to spare.

My concern is not a personal grievance, but a reflection on a deeper issue: that modern amplifiers, including the newer generations under the Pro-Ject umbrella, may be designed with an emphasis on efficiency, price-point, and market reach — rather than on uncompromised performance and long-term durability, which once defined the brand.

To be clear: I hold Pro-Ject Audio Systems in high regard. Their work in the turntable and analog audio space is exceptional. But there is a cautionary tale here — one that has echoed in other industries as well. Consider De La Rue Security Printing, whose core strength was in banknote production. After diversifying into ID authentication and biometric technologies, the company eventually refocused on its roots, reaffirming its leadership in high-grade currency printing. Sometimes, diversification risks diluting the very excellence that built the brand.

Likewise, I sincerely hope that Musical Fidelity — under Pro-Ject's stewardship — will continue to honor the engineering-first, performance-driven philosophy that gave rise to legendary products like the A1000. That amplifier, even today, sets a benchmark not only in sound but in build integrity, design courage, and audiophile credibility.

With the deepest respect to both legacy and current leadership, I encourage a renewed focus on this heritage — not only to satisfy nostalgia, but to inspire confidence in the future of true high-fidelity engineering.

Respectfully,
Reginald Mintoff
Malta
Proud Owner of the A1000, A220, A2, and M3SI.
If you come across as A1000 just GRAB IT, you won't be disappointed.

 

[matthewpianist]

That's an interesting appraisal.

The only Musical Fidelity products I have owned are the M2SCD and M2Si. They were very impressive, and offered more at their price point than most of the competition, focusing on sound and build ahead of features. I would, and have seriously considered, having them again. Exposure did something similar with the 1010 series CD and amp a few years ago, and they too offered a lot of performance for the money. In both cases, the anufacturer has tried to maintain the core elements of their philosophy, whilst having to make some concessions to commercial viability.

I think the challenge these days is that there isn't the volume of sales, or the profit margins, at the entry-level segment of the market, and so demand is dying out. This is partly due to the changes in music consumption and formats, but also mainstream priorities for space in the home. A lot of people who might have purchased entry-level seperates or multi-format midi or mini systems in the past, are now perfectly happy buying bluetooth speakers of one type or another, without apportioning special priority in their home to a properly set up system of seperates. This is reflected in the stagnant entry-level product ranges of traditionally fast-moving brands like Denon and Marantz, and the exit (a long time ago) of Sony, Pioneer etc. The latter two saw the writing on the wall, and Denon and Marantz have ceased to see the commercial viability of constantly evolving their budget offerings. Rotel and Rega seem to be holding out with genuinely good products, but it would be interesting to see the numbers behind the products.

Higher-end brands like MF have needed to try to offer more affordable lines as hooks into their larger portfolio, to attract the interest of those who may be sitting on the fence and to demonstrate that there is quality to be had. Exposure did it (as above), Cyrus did it with the ONE amps... It's about cultivating a future customer base in the hope that over time those customers will become buyers of the more over-engineered, higher-end models which are still very much part of their offering. My perception (and it is only that) is that this hasn't worked as well as might have been expected, and that this is the reason why the Exposure 1010 and Cyrus ONE products were withdrawn without replacements. The current pricing and availability of the M2 series suggests Musical Fidelity are doing the same. There's also the Roksan Attessa range, which is seeing some quite deep discounting... The biggest question in my head is whether these series have proved to be commercially viable, and I wonder whether this might also be part of the thinking behind NAIM discontinuing the Naits. There's so much competition from the likes of WiiM, Bluesound and now Eversolo (the forthcoming Play streamer/amp), that offer the performance most people are looking for, that the traditional brands are unable to compete with commercial viability and maintain their high standards.

Anyway, this is mostly conjecture, but it's an interesting conversation.

 

[Gray]

A magazine lab review of my old heavyweight Harman Kardon PM650 amp measured a peak output current of 39A.
Fast forward a few decades and I saw Audiolab boasting higher peak current than their rivals.
They quoted a figure of 9A.

That's progress 🤔