Musical Fidelity A1008 - Opinions?

[gregvet]

I currently listen to Apple Lossless music through my apple TV and Sony AV amp/Kef 2005 speaker combo. This setup is fine for movies, but I am geting increasingly frustrated with music listening, not surprising really as thats not what its intended for!

So, my grand plan was to upgrade the front speakers to something like Lektor2 or MA RS6, and get a mid priced stereo amp to run the front speakers (using the pre outs on the AV amp to drive these speakers for AV use). I cannot afford to do it all at once, so had intende to start with the front and centre speakers, then stereo amp, then DAC, then surround speakers.

However, my cousin is moving abroad, and has offered me his 1YO Musical Fidelity A1008 amp for £1100. I have heard the amp once in his high(er) end system, but was not really listening to it from a critical point of view. If I want it he will leave it out of storage with his parents, but then I will not be able to test it before making this decision.

So, my questions are:

1) How does this amp compare to the Roksan Kandy/ CA 840/Cyrus 8 series amps that I was considering?

2) How would the speakers above go with this amp, and would I really not be happy with such relatively cheap speakers paired with a higher end amp?

3) What is the built in DAC like on the A1008? DACmagic level or better?

4) If the above speakers really are going to hold the MF back, does anyone know how Musical Fidelity pairs with PMC speakers, as they have always apealed, and I could start with the PMC DB1i and build a system of speakers from there, at least starting within budget!

Thanks for any input guys. I know the easy answer would be to take it and sell it if I dont like it, but I think my cousing is trying to help me up the 'Hifi ladder' as it were, and is not making the offer so I can make a quick buck by reselling it!

Why isnt Musical Fidelity stuff reviewed on WHF !?!

 

[Ajani]

Summarized answer: Buy the A1008

Detailed Answer:

1) How does this amp compare to the Roksan Kandy/ CA 840/Cyrus 8 series amps that I was considering? The A1008 is on a totally different level to the Roksan Kandy/ CA 840/Cyrus 8 series amps. I would take the A1008 (without and audition) over them anyday...

2) How would the speakers above go with this amp, and would I really
not be happy with such relatively cheap speakers paired with a higher
end amp? Monitor Audio and Musical Fidelity are a pretty standard combo, so the RS6 would go well with the A1008... But yes, the speakers would hold back the full potential of the amp... But I would still buy the amp at that price.... You can always upgrade speakers eventually...

3) What is the built in DAC like on the A1008? DACmagic level or better? Much Better... Same DAC as the XDac V8....

4) If the above speakers really are going to hold the MF back, does
anyone know how Musical Fidelity pairs with PMC speakers, as they have
always apealed, and I could start with the PMC DB1i and build a system
of speakers from there, at least starting within budget! No Idea.... If you want to spend more money on speakers, I'd suggest checking out the Monitor Audio GS20....

 

[Anonymous]

B U Y I T !!!!!

This is a very high quality machine that can be considered high end HI-FI. It can not be compared with the amplifiers you are suggesting. They are day and night.

And with the built in DAC... it perfectly suits your need for processing the digital signal from your AppleTV via its digital audio outputs.

The only cons I'd say is that it deserves higher quality speaker to shine. As Ajani said, MA Gold Series, better than Silver range and that implies more money to spend.