B&W and Musical Fidelity....

[SHAXOS]

Having sold my belcanto i can now look forward to a spending spree (in about 2 months) when im a bit more financially stable. Im keeping my 805S as i really love them. Basically, im looking to shortlist some amplification. Im interested in pairing the 805s with either MF superchargers or one of the monster integrateds they do. Has any one heard a B&W musical fidelity pairing? How would you describe their tonal balance? Thanks in advance!

 

[Anonymous]

I've got the MF A308 Integrated amp. Is a dual mono design giving at least 150w @ 8Ohm.

I've it paired with a MF A3.5 cd player and driving a pair of MA RS8.

The sound it delivers it's wonderful for me. Punchy bass always under control, superb mids and detailed higher frequencies... Sometimes a little bit bright depending on the recording, but with such speakers and speaker cables it's not a surprise.

Haven't heard any MF with B&W, but for sure they'll sound great.

 

[Anonymous]

SHAXOS:Having sold my belcanto i can now look forward to a spending spree (in about 2 months) when im a bit more financially stable. Im keeping my 805S as i really love them. Basically, im looking to shortlist some amplification. Im interested in pairing the 805s with either MF superchargers or one of the monster integrateds they do. Has any one heard a B&W musical fidelity pairing? How would you describe their tonal balance? Thanks in advance!

bump for Shaxos.

 

[SHAXOS]

Cheers,
Im surprised that not many have tried this combination. I remember a group test in what hi fi where one make systems were put up against each other and the musical fidelity amp and cd were paired with B&W?

 

[Anonymous]

SHAXOS:Cheers,
Im surprised that not many have tried this combination. I remember a group test in what hi fi where one make systems were put up against each other and the musical fidelity amp and cd were paired with B&W?

Calling Clare, Andrew or Andy on this one..........

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Graham,

Nice to see you've paired your MF amp with Monitor Audio speakers... I find them to be a good combination...

Shaxos, my amp sounded very nice with a pair of Focal Profile 918 as well. But like the sound of my speakers with it more than with the Focals.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

I have the review of the MF XT100, X170 PSU and XRay 8 with B&W 683s. The conclusion was that the MF kit was excellent, as was the B&Ws, but they didn't work together. The timing and cohesion was at fault. Now in my opinion this could be down to the fact that the amp only had about 80W with a valve preamp stage, but I don't really know. I suspect that the higher end stuff might be a better match but try it to be sure.

Conclusion - "Refinement and warmth in abundance, but attack could be improved with different speakers"

[What Hifi Sound and Vision, Jan 2008, p93]

 

[Anonymous]

smo:
Hey Graham,

Nice to see you've paired your MF amp with Monitor Audio speakers... I find them to be a good combination...

Shaxos, my amp sounded very nice with a pair of Focal Profile 918 as well. But like the sound of my speakers with it more than with the Focals.

ÿ

Ty sir, I do too. Love my MF amps after previously owning an XA200R but wanted a bit more power in reserve.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I've owned my B&W CDM1 speakers and have used a Micromega Stage 4 CD player with them for 12 years. In that time I have used 3 integrated amps for about 4 years each - I only changed the amps due to moving abroad and back again.

Audiolab 8000s -- this is a classic pairing with the CDM1s - especially with the Micromegas, very nineties. This combination was great when loud to very loud, but was very thin sounding at lower volumes - so I was disappointed in that.

MF A300 (precursor to A308 ?) integrated 150w per side - this sounded fantastic at lower to mid volumes, but sounded a bit too warm and a little bloated at loud-very loud volumes - still this was my favorite pairing by far.

Now I have a Krell KAV-300i and sits between the 2 but ultimately is not as musically satisfying as the MF - thus I totally recommend going A308 route with the 805s.

Finally I'd say the best sounds I've heard at these prices but not heard with B&W speakers are Naim amplification - I'd love the SuperNait myself, espescially as with the MF 1008 it also has digital imputs