[SOLVED] Musical Fidelity M6SCD & M6SI Ordered (and collected)(then returned)sheesh!!

[bigfish786]

I finally made my mind up, i was going to wait till the new year, but got a call from Fanthorpes asking if i still wanted to order them, as they would hope to get them to me before the end of the week. so, i've paid the deposit, and gone for it.
looking forward to getting them home and enjoying a few days off trying them out. 🙂
i think the marantz turntable will go next year, and put a Gyro SE in there to finish it off.

 

[matthewpianist]

thanks for the recommendation. i was looking at the Roksan Blak while in the shop.. that stuff looks like battleship build quality, so i may just give that a go at some point.

Just one warning on the Roksan CD players... I had a K3 CDDi, and it was a lovely player, BUT it was hopeless with any derivation from red book standards. Quite a lot of CDs now go beyond the time limit of the standard and I had problems playing those discs. I did consult the dealer and Roksan, who said it was because unlike most other manufacturers they use their own dedicated CD audio transport which sounds better. Funny that, because I've heard other players sound just as good!

On the amplifier side, the K3 amp is more refined than the K2, but loses some of that drive that made the K2 special.

 

[bigfish786]

Did the musical fidelity amp get burn in time ?

Did you let the amp get warm before using it or crital listening ?

Have you tried a power full tube amp ?

Nad M33 is that out of your budget ?

i gave the amp and cd player around 30+ hours of listening. i left them switched on the whole time i had them. so, they were both warmed up.
as i have mentioned before, in some ways they were great, and others, not so much.
for the price, i expected better, more refined, more detailed sound, and expected the amp to control my speakers better. unfortunately, in the limited time i had them, i just could not get them to sound right. and having concerns about not being able to return them should i have hung onto them, i had to return them. it was a real disappointment for me, as i'd hoped they would have worked better for me.
i know its not the be-all, end-all but the remote control is a pile of junk. the cheapest feeling remote i've ever had. its just unforgivable when spending 5k on 2 components to be given a remote that would feel cheap bundled with a 20 quid dvd player.
My Marantz pair came with Aluminium faced remote controls, more befitting of the price range.

i've thought about tubes, but that just seems like a financial rabbit hole waiting to be fallen into.

i've looked at the nad masters gear, and its definitely of interest, but so is rotel michi, and luxman too.

 

[Al ears]

i gave the amp and cd player around 30+ hours of listening. i left them switched on the whole time i had them. so, they were both warmed up.
as i have mentioned before, in some ways they were great, and others, not so much.
for the price, i expected better, more refined, more detailed sound, and expected the amp to control my speakers better. unfortunately, in the limited time i had them, i just could not get them to sound right. and having concerns about not being able to return them should i have hung onto them, i had to return them. it was a real disappointment for me, as i'd hoped they would have worked better for me.
i know its not the be-all, end-all but the remote control is a pile of junk. the cheapest feeling remote i've ever had. its just unforgivable when spending 5k on 2 components to be given a remote that would feel cheap bundled with a 20 quid dvd player.
My Marantz pair came with Aluminium faced remote controls, more befitting of the price range.

i've thought about tubes, but that just seems like a financial rabbit hole waiting to be fallen into.

i've looked at the nad masters gear, and its definitely of interest, but so is rotel michi, and luxman too.

Someone mention Luxman?? 🙂

 

[Gray]

Did the musical fidelity amp get burn in time ?

🙂
Faith in the burn-in.....it's like a religion (and about as believable to me).

 

[bigfish786]

🙂
Faith in the burn-in.....it's like a religion (and about as believable to me).

i was assured by the shop i bought from that it hadn't had time to burn in! if that was truly the case, they should have given me a few more weeks to listen to it, with a return possible if after a further two weeks or so, i had still not managed to burn them in.

 

[Gray]

i was assured by the shop i bought from that it hadn't had time to burn in!

I wouldn't place any relevance on that if I were you 👍

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

i was assured by the shop i bought from that it hadn't had time to burn in! if that was truly the case, they should have given me a few more weeks to listen to it, with a return possible if after a further two weeks or so, i had still not managed to burn them in.

The cynic in me can't help but feel that was a ruse to see whether you would just acclimatise.

 

[Gray]

The cynic in me can't help but feel that was a ruse to see whether you would just acclimatise.

The cynic in me would like that dealer (or anybody else) to tell me which of two identical amps had been 'burned in' by listening to them.

 

[plastic penguin]

Just one warning on the Roksan CD players... I had a K3 CDDi, and it was a lovely player, BUT it was hopeless with any derivation from red book standards. Quite a lot of CDs now go beyond the time limit of the standard and I had problems playing those discs. I did consult the dealer and Roksan, who said it was because unlike most other manufacturers they use their own dedicated CD audio transport which sounds better. Funny that, because I've heard other players sound just as good!

On the amplifier side, the K3 amp is more refined than the K2, but loses some of that drive that made the K2 special.

I've always been a fan of Roksans, from the Kandy MK3 to the L3 and K2, incl. the Caspian M1 & M2. Never tried their CDPs.

Think I did recommend the Blak amp to Bigfish earlier in the thread, before he purchased the MFs.

 

[bigfish786]

I’m still looking around at all my options. There’s no rush as my temporary setup sounds good enough. So I’ll investigate all recommendations.
😊

 

[plastic penguin]

I’m still looking around at all my options. There’s no rush as my temporary setup sounds good enough. So I’ll investigate all recommendations.
😊

Yeah, obviously keep all your options open. I still say as you really like the A70, the A49 is the natural upgrade. I know it's a big mother, but if Arcam tugs your rug the big'un would be on the list.

 

[bigfish786]

I would like to try the matching Meridian amp to this cd player too. As that could possibly be an option.

 

[plastic penguin]

I’m still looking around at all my options. There’s no rush as my temporary setup sounds good enough. So I’ll investigate all recommendations.
😊

Hope you don't mind me saying, but looking at too many options can be a negative -- sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees. I've been there looking for the A65 replacement. In the end it took me 2 years.

That's why now I tend to have no more than 4-5 items on the list to demo.

 

[bigfish786]

Another trip to Hull is on the cards this weekend.
Watch this space. 😊

 

[Gray]

Another trip to Hull is on the cards this weekend.
Watch this space. 😊

Oldest electrical retailer in Hull and long may they continue.
I recently bought my amp from them.

 

[Al ears]

Another trip to Hull is on the cards this weekend.
Watch this space. 😊

Aha, off to Hull and back eh?

 

[busb]

I for one think that neutrality and absence of character in an amplifier is important. Stand out traits can get annoying quickly, neutrality does not plus speakers usually add plenty of their own signature.

An amplifier that can drive anything without impacting its own sound is so much more scalable too.

Absolutely agree! If people want excitement or emotion, that should come from the music itself & not the equipment. My preference is for balance in a system where one piece in a chain should not need to compensate for another such as a “bright” amp being paired with “dull“ speakers.

 

[WayneKerr]

Another trip to Hull is on the cards this weekend.
Watch this space. 😊

There was a strong rumour that someone was off to Hull last weekend... wonder if it happened 🤔🙂

 

[Al ears]

There was a strong rumour that someone was off to Hull last weekend... wonder if it happened 🤔🙂

possibly still trying to find the way out? 🙂

 

[plastic penguin]

There was a strong rumour that someone was off to Hull last weekend... wonder if it happened 🤔🙂

Probably got delayed in Grimsby -- all sounds a bit fishy 😋😁

 

[bigfish786]

Unfortunately for me, the plan fell apart at the first hurdle. id organised to go see some stuff and the seller told me he wasn’t available Saturday or Sunday but didn’t give me any alternative days, since then I’ve not had a response which is a shame. So, my search continues

 

[bigfish786]

managed to get in touch with the seller today. hopefully this weekend will be a bit more successful. fingers crossed.

 

[Al ears]

managed to get in touch with the seller today. hopefully this weekend will be a bit more successful. fingers crossed.

who is the seller? A dealer?

 

[bigfish786]

who is the seller? A dealer?

no, not this time. private seller.

 

[Al ears]

no, not this time. private seller.

Tread carefully I feel....