Musical Fidelity M6i or Rotel RC-1580/RB-1582 or TEAC IA-3000?

[baltun]

Hi,

I'm currently choosing between MF M6i, Rotel RC-1580/RB-1582, and TEAC IA-3000 amplifiers to feed my Heco The New Statement.

The space is quite large (almost 50m2), and I like to play music quite loud.

My choice between these three models is partly due to their power (200 Watt/8Ohm), which is adequate, yet not ideal to drive the Heco's.

The speakers reproduce ideally all soft genres (Jazz, Pop, Blues, acoustic instruments), yet I need more drive (in-your face sound) and instruments' separation for Rock and Metal.

If you had any experience listening to Rock/Metal through the above MF, Rotel and TEAC models, which ones do you think have a more 'forward', punchy and detailed sound character?

PS

If I had the chance to listen to them, I wouldn't be posting this...

 

[Frank Harvey]

I wouldn't say that the Rotel is "agressive" sounding, but it is certainly the more 'forward' sounding of the two. I use an RMB1575 multi-channel amp for AV, which I prefer over many other amplifiers because I like the same thing you're asking for - I like my movies to be energetic and forceful, I suppose you could say. I find the Rotel very tight and more neutral than many Class A/B amplifiers too. The MF has a warmer presentation in comparison.

I can't say how either would marry up with your speakers as I have never heard them.

 

[baltun]

Thank you very much, David@FrankHarvey. It was of help.

Would you then say it's a matter of 'Japanese' vs "British' sound? I'm asking this because the third candidate is TEAC IA-3000, yet the from the little information I got on it so far it seems it's not particularly 'forward' sounding.

 

[Macspur]

Toyota Man loves his rock music and he has a MF6I paired with ATC speakers and extremely happy with the combo, vut like David, I'm not familiar with your speakers, so not sure what the match would be like.

Mac

 

[ISAC69]

Hi

I had the same dilemma , heard both I was very disappointed from the MF M6i : medicore soundstage not enough power for amp of 200W .

Heard the the Rotel combo at a freind house very powerful , neutral and natrual sound . A huge sound stage . I am buying the Rotels next month .

Maybe you should consider the Audiolab 8200MB monblocks and 8200Q pre at the same level price .the Rotel is moere punchy and the Audiolab

is very good too with more laid-back soundstage than the Rotel .

 

[baltun]

Thank you, ISAC69.

Anyone else on these amps?

 

[CnoEvil]

I prefer MF's presentation to that of Rotel (which David described).....but it's too personal to make the call for somebody else.

 

[toyota man]

Thank you, ISAC69.

Anyone else on these amps?

Hi baltun I have the M6i driving some ATC SCM 40s and I love my rock AC/DC Led Zepplin Black Sabbath and the M6i puts the music

into a 3D soundatage the Bass is punchy and quick the Drums hit you like you are standing right in front of them the M6i can do loud and you can still enjoy your music even at low levels the M6i can play acoustic music pop music blues in fact I haven't found anything that it cannot play. Something very special about this amp it makes you keep listening once its powered up all I want to do is keep the music comming if you want a bit more power you could try the M6 pre and the M6 power 260w per channel into 8ohms .I would recommend that you have a listento the M6i with you speakers at home if possible :rockout: :rockout: I am sure you will love this amp

 

[baltun]

Thank you, toyota man.

Well, as far as I know, the ATCs are quite 'forward' sounding speakers, and excellent for Rock music.

Heco the New Statement have an overwhelming sound scale, both in depth and width, sort of "St Peter's Cathedral sound". Yet there's just this need for more agressive drive, which I might probably get with a more powerful amp, yet there's no guarantee that adequate power input (200 Watts) will give me just that. Hence the post...

More opinions would be much appreciated!

 

[Neuphonix]

Could you stretch the budget to the MF6-500i, the M6i 's big brother.

If it's more power you need this has it in spades. I had one at home for a couple of weeks & it made me think I had bought new speakers at the same time. Really was an eye (ear?) opener hearing what a difference a bottomless pitt of power made to the big floorstanders I had at the time

 

[baltun]

Neuphonix, thank you; I totally get your point.

I wish I could stretch my budget to get the MF6-500i, and I am aware it could make a significant difference, yet unfortunately there is no possibility of doing so.

Have you heard the M6i or any of the other amps above playing Rock/Metal?

 

[Neuphonix]

I have heard the M6i playing rock / reggae / blues but not metal. It was paired with a set of B&W speakers (CM8 I think).

Can't remember the rest of the kit that was used & we didn't do any side by side comparisons with other amps.

But to the best of my recollection it had a warmish sound & seemed to handle pretty much everything we threw at it with no issues. Plenty of bass & no loss of control when we turned up the volume.

I always have a hard time trying to separate out the sound of an amp from the speakers, esp when you're hearing them both for the same time. What is giving what sound? Have to think the speakers will have a much greater impact than the amp.

That being said synergy is everything, you should be able to find a dealer willing to lend you an M6i for a home demo surely?

 

[baltun]

Thank you again, Neuphonix.

And again, I totally share your views on the issues you have addressed. I appreciate the input.

I have mentioned this elsewhere, but again.. I would have to take 2 flights of around 4-5 hours total + accommodation just to reach a decent audio dealer and listen to any of these amps. Hence these posts... Yes, I live really very very far from "the world"! :cheers:

 

[Neuphonix]

Sorry, I did read about your delaer / location situation, but didn't quite sink in. Do you mind if I ask where you are?

I can't fault he M6, think that it is a quality built amp with plenty of grunt. If you do have to buy blind it would be a reasonably safe bet.

When I was in possesion of the m6-500i I was in the middle of trying to add a quality hi-fi amp into my AV set-up. The HT bypass option on the M6 range was a big selling point for me.

Things didn't end up staying that way for one reason & another.

Is this something that you think you would make use of?

 

[baltun]

Well, as far as location is concerned, these are very remote and tiny islands 'lost' in the Atlantic.

Yes, integrating the amp into a HT system is part of the plan, hence the bypass is quite useful. The USB input is helpful too. Yet these two points are not THE reasons why I'm considering the M6i. My primary concerns are good stereo sound quality, the ability to drive the Hecos properly, and to balance the speakers' sound with a slightly more forward sound character.

Do you mind saying why exactely you didn't go for the M6i in the end?

 

[Neuphonix]

For me personally it was always going to be a choice between the M6-500i or the AMS-35i.

I took the 500i home first purely because of the HT bypass option, thinking my usage is roughly 50/50 movies/music. I originally started out just wanting to add some extra oompf to my AV set-up.

But in the end I took it back & traded up to the AMS because the sound was so much better.

& then it set my speakers on fire twice.... long storey.

I listened to the M6 in a demo with a friend. He had given me the brief of setting up a similar system to my own with a more musical focus. Unfortunately we were not able to squeeze it into the budget, almost but not quite. But in terms of build quality / features / sound we we sold on it as an amp.

For what it's worth I did go through a few frustrating times with my AMS-35i, but MF were great & came through with a killer deal for me in the end. There were a couple of moments where I wanted to start breaking things, but I'm confident in recommending MF & their customer support.

 

[matthewpiano]

Lots of talk about the MF option, but I wouldn't totally dismiss the Rotels or the TEAC. I would certainly audition all three and suspect the TEAC could be a bit of a silent killer. I heard the Distinction series when it was first launched and thought it excellent - amongst the better sounds at a hi-fi show touting all the usual suspects - so it has to be worth exploring a little further. You never know you might prefer it to the MF yourself.

 

[Singslinger]

I use the M6i fed by a MF Clic and Oppo BDP-95 to drive a pair of Joseph Audio Pulsar speakers. No problem with metal/hard rock (I grew up listening the Sabbath, Zepp, Heep, Purple et al) though most listening through this system is lighter stuff (jazz, new age) with occasional forays into Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, Black Label Society etc. I haven't heard the other amps but I would categorise the MF as being refined and very resolving. It offers greater detail and better soundstaging than the previous amp I was using, the Naim SuperNait, though the latter was a bit more punchy. Hope this helps.

 

[baltun]

Yes, it was of help, Singslinger. Thank you.

Your reference to the difference it made in comparison with the Supernait is very interesting. I heard elsewhere that Naim amps tend to favour Rock/Metal music genres, given the punchier sound character they seem to have. In fact, Naim would be another good alternative, except for their output power, which is too low to properly drive HTNS.

Agree with you, Matthewpiano.

I wish I could have easy access to hifi stores to listen to all these machines for myself...

Re TEAC, that Hi Fi Choice review really made me reluctant, yet I don't trust these magazines anyway. Often I find these forums much more useful.

Rotel is a really tempting alternative. I am now considering getting RA-1570 and RB-1582, totalling 320 Watt/channel/8Ohm.

Since HTNS can be tri-wired, I could use the RA to feed the HF and MF drivers only, and the RB to drive the LF woofers.

Sounds like a good plan?

 

[ISAC69]

Yes, it was of help, Singslinger. Thank you.

Your reference to the difference it made in comparison with the Supernait is very interesting. I heard elsewhere that Naim amps tend to favour Rock/Metal music genres, given the punchier sound character they seem to have. In fact, Naim would be another good alternative, except for their output power, which is too low to properly drive HTNS.

Agree with you, Matthewpiano.

I wish I could have easy access to hifi stores to listen to all these machines for myself...

Re TEAC, that Hi Fi Choice review really made me reluctant, yet I don't trust these magazines anyway. Often I find these forums much more useful.

Rotel is a really tempting alternative. I am now considering getting RA-1570 and RB-1582, totalling 320 Watt/channel/8Ohm.

Since HTNS can be tri-wired, I could use the RA to feed the HF and MF drivers only, and the RB to drive the LF woofers.

Sounds like a good plan?

Not sure about the combo of RA-1570 and RB-1582 to do the job properly I think you are giving less power than needed to the the HF and MF drivers with the RA-1570 (?) . I think it is better to buy the Rotel RC-1580/RB-1582 and in the future when you can afford it to buy

additional RB-1582 power amp (400W in total ! ) and than you'll have a really powerful high end system to your speakers .

In general separate pre and power systems should be better than integrated amps in terms of sound quality .

 

[ErwinC]

Not sure about the combo of RA-1570 and RB-1582 to do the job properly I think you are giving less power than needed to the the HF and MF drivers with the RA-1570 (?) .

The (measured) 150 Watt @ 8 Ohm of the RA-1570 is more than the HF/MF drivers will ever need.

 

[Jambalaya]

Thank you, ISAC69.

Anyone else on these amps?

+1 on toyotaman's comments below. I really love mine. The M6i doesn't seem to have its own sound signature, meaning whatever is on the recording is delivered.....accurately. Good modern recordings come through with quality and dynamics. Older, 1950's+ recordings, well they sound like older recordings, some better than others but always with neutrality. I've had mine about 8 months and its one of my components, along with the speakers, I have not even considered replacing.

Hi baltun I have the M6i driving some ATC SCM 40s and I love my rock AC/DC Led Zepplin Black Sabbath and the M6i puts the music

into a 3D soundatage the Bass is punchy and quick the Drums hit you like you are standing right in front of them the M6i can do loud and you can still enjoy your music even at low levels the M6i can play acoustic music pop music blues in fact I haven't found anything that it cannot play. Something very special about this amp it makes you keep listening once its powered up all I want to do is keep the music comming if you want a bit more power you could try the M6 pre and the M6 power 260w per channel into 8ohms .I would recommend that you have a listento the M6i with you speakers at home if possible :rockout: :rockout: I am sure you will love this amp

 

[baltun]

Hmm.. interesting. Well, the max handling power of the HTNS is 500 Watt/8Ohm.

Since Rotel RA-1570 has 120 Watt/channel at 8 Ohm, I thought it would be adequate to drive the MF/HF only... :?

And if it wouln't be enough, then I could drive the HF only with the RA and the mids and bass with RB. Does it make sense?

 

[baltun]

Not sure about the combo of RA-1570 and RB-1582 to do the job properly I think you are giving less power than needed to the the HF and MF drivers with the RA-1570 (?) .

The (measured) 150 Watt @ 8 Ohm of the RA-1570 is more than the HF/MF drivers will ever need.

Do you mean it's excessive power which might damage the speakers?

(HTNS max handilng power is 500 Watt/8Ohm and Rotel RA-1570 is said to have 120 Watt/8Ohm.)

 

[ErwinC]

Do you mean it's excessive power which might damage the speakers?

(HTNS max handilng power is 500 Watt/8Ohm and Rotel RA-1570 is said to have 120 Watt/8Ohm.)

No, your ears will give up long before that.

What i wanted to say is that 150 Watt is sufficient for the HF and MF drivers. It are the LF drivers that normally consume the most Watts.