The Musical Fidelity AMS 35i thread

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I do like the look of those Luxman integrateds. Often toyed with the idea of bringing one in as even after shipping and duties they're cheaper than the Sugdens and are supposed to have more of an accurate sound.
 
CnoEvil said:
JMac said:
It would be interesting for someone to do a back to back with other class A's e.g. a sugden masterclass, just to see how they compare.

The other thing is, if its so great, and I'm not doubting it is, 1) why did MF stop making it and 2) why havent they reintroduced it since?

The AMS35i is step up from the IA-4 ie. in terms of power, bass slam/depth and is even more glorious in the mid range. I think you need to be looking at the Masterclass pre/power to match it.

I suspect that they stopped making it because people are put off paying so much money for something that is "only" 35W, runs hot enough to fry an egg on and draws so much power from the mains.

IMO. In order to match its performance within Class A, you need to be looking at the top offerings from Luxman, Accuphase, Audio Analogue and Pathos.

Its "replacement" is the Nu-Vista 800, which costs £2k more and has 300W / 8 Ohm and 580W / 4 Ohm.

And is massively over priced in my opinion. Even had I the full asking price of £8k there are much better value options out there. It wasn't noticeably better than the significantly cheaper SAI250 when I heard it driving some ProAcs

Cno, you know the solution to prevent it getting hot, just turn the volume up, and then some!
 
JMac said:
It would be interesting for someone to do a back to back with other class A's e.g. a sugden masterclass, just to see how they compare.

The other thing is, if its so great, and I'm not doubting it is, 1) why did MF stop making it and 2) why havent they reintroduced it since?

When I still had the Masterclass I did home demo the AMS35i and whilst sonically not a massive difference, it was certainly more powerful. However, esthetically I prefer the Sugden and for sucha quality amp, quite reasonably priced.

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
 
I was listening again to Paul Simon (songbook) album. As PS can reach me and lend me a hand! No f..k gimmick here.. I just want to hug invisible..
regular_smile.gif
 
Pure Class A depth is so remarkable as in natural depth which could'nt find in in many. Yes there are some which are clean, detailed I mean soo clean.. but lack the emotion and fluidity..
 
SteveR750 said:
And is massively over priced in my opinion. Even had I the full asking price of £8k there are much better value options out there. It wasn't noticeably better than the significantly cheaper SAI250 when I heard it driving some ProAcs

Cno, you know the solution to prevent it getting hot, just turn the volume up, and then some!

Sometimes a quick listen tells you all you need to know about a product....and sometimes it doesn't.

I haven't heard this new amp, but I suspect that to see what it can really do, you would need to have it in a pretty hi-end system eg. Klimax DS + Nu-Vista + Kef Blades.
 
CnoEvil said:
SteveR750 said:
And is massively over priced in my opinion. Even had I the full asking price of £8k there are much better value options out there. It wasn't noticeably better than the significantly cheaper SAI250 when I heard it driving some ProAcs

Cno, you know the solution to prevent it getting hot, just turn the volume up, and then some!

Sometimes a quick listen tells you all you need to know about a product....and sometimes it doesn't.

I haven't heard this new amp, but I suspect that to see what it can really do, you would need to have it in a pretty hi-end system eg. Klimax DS + Nu-Vista + Kef Blades.

Aren't all Amplifiers supposed to sound the same?*diablo*
 
CnoEvil said:
SteveR750 said:
And is massively over priced in my opinion. Even had I the full asking price of £8k there are much better value options out there. It wasn't noticeably better than the significantly cheaper SAI250 when I heard it driving some ProAcs

Cno, you know the solution to prevent it getting hot, just turn the volume up, and then some!

Sometimes a quick listen tells you all you need to know about a product....and sometimes it doesn't.

I haven't heard this new amp, but I suspect that to see what it can really do, you would need to have it in a pretty hi-end system eg. Klimax DS + Nu-Vista + Kef Blades.

Agreed the proacs are not the most difficult or revealing speaker, and the room was small with terrible acoustics. It's got some big transformers in it!
 
Hi Cno..I've just bought a Synergistic research SR20 fuses 13a to try with my Chord powerchord connected to the AMS. I think its one of the best low cost upgrade I've made. Listened to very familiar cd tracks and I can't believe for a small outlay it does really improved the sound coming from the speakers! It just sounds more of everything( better) the stock fuse and recently HiFi tuning gold fuse. I also stuck one in my cdp and again I would say it gets much even better..I have tried the HiFi tuning supreme in my cdp but I did'nt like it, sounds too bright and harsh in the HF so Ive sold them. Prior to the SR20 are the AMR gold fuses which sound more relaxed, laid back and not as detailed as the others I tried. The SR20 have a 30 days money back return but I'll be keeping them! I paid £27 each plus delivery which rrp is £39.95. Other may say placebo or expectation bias but I don't care. I really like them and I'll be ordering for more
devil_smile.gif
.
 
iceman16 said:
Hi Cno..I've just bought a Synergistic research SR20 fuses 13a to try with my Chord powerchord connected to the AMS. I think its one of the best low cost upgrade I've made. Listened to very familiar cd tracks and I can't believe for a small outlay it does really improved the sound coming from the speakers! It just sounds more of everything( better) the stock fuse and recently HiFi tuning gold fuse. I also stuck one in my cdp and again I would say it gets much even better..I have tried the HiFi tuning supreme in my cdp but I did'nt like it, sounds too bright and harsh in the HF so Ive sold them. Prior to the SR20 are the AMR gold fuses which sound more relaxed, laid back and not as detailed as the others I tried. The SR20 have a 30 days money back return but I'll be keeping them! I paid £27 each plus delivery which rrp is £39.95. Other may say placebo or expectation bias but I don't care. I really like them and I'll be ordering for more.
Good man!
 
CnoEvil said:
iceman16 said:
Hi Cno..I've just bought a Synergistic research SR20 fuses 13a to try with my Chord powerchord connected to the AMS. I think its one of the best low cost upgrade I've made. Listened to very familiar cd tracks and I can't believe for a small outlay it does really improved the sound coming from the speakers! It just sounds more of everything( better) the stock fuse and recently HiFi tuning gold fuse. I also stuck one in my cdp and again I would say it gets much even better..I have tried the HiFi tuning supreme in my cdp but I did'nt like it, sounds too bright and harsh in the HF so Ive sold them. Prior to the SR20 are the AMR gold fuses which sound more relaxed, laid back and not as detailed as the others I tried. The SR20 have a 30 days money back return but I'll be keeping them! I paid £27 each plus delivery which rrp is £39.95. Other may say placebo or expectation bias but I don't care. I really like them and I'll be ordering for more.
Good man!

I can send you a piece(SR20) for you to try, you might be surprised!
 
iceman16 said:
I can send you a piece(SR20) for you to try, you might be surprised!
That is remarkably generous of you and I may well take you up on your offer at a later date.

Cheers my friend.
 
CnoEvil said:
iceman16 said:
I can send you a piece(SR20) for you to try, you might be surprised!
That is remarkably generous of you and I may well take you up on your offer at a later date.

Cheers my friend.

I may be not as vocal as you due to my language .but our ears dont differ.in some ways.. others dont
 
Hi Guys, this is my first post here, but I've been reading your wise assessments for a while here. I've been researching about systems since I am trying to build one from scratch (it will be my first one). It caught my attention that you are all happy users of the AMS35i. I've been offered this amplifier but since it carries some very peculiar carachteristics (heat, size, consumption) I've been trying to gather as much information as I can before taking the plunge. I will probably get a KEF Reference 1 and my vendor told me that with that speaker I should get at least a Class AB, if not an A and he offered me the AMS35i. Since I knew nothing about amp classes I've been researching about it a lot and have been quite intrigued about what people say about the AMS35i, I've only heard marvelous things in terms of sounds, including the assesments from fellow reviewers CnoEvil and iceman. What do you think people, after a few years, now in 2015/2016 would you buy that amp again? or would you opt for a newer technology. Right now I won't be able to get a Devialet, so I must choose a simpler tech so to say. My other choices are Parasound or other Musical Fidelity amps. Just as a side info, my room is an L, the short part of the L is the kitchen and the long part measures 8 x 4 meters, that's where I want to put my system; and I live in South America where it's very hot, dont know if that's an issue with that amp. As a side question, do you guys think the Ref 1 could be a bit overwhelming on that 32 m^2 room? I will really appreciate your feedback on this to see if I'm worthy of belonging to the prestigious AMS35 club. Cheers,

Policarpus
 
Hi there and welcome to the forum.

Hear are my initial thoughts.

- This amp sounds "right"....it's so natural that you stop trying to analyse what you are hearing. It is this characteristic that has people like myself and Iceman overlooking its weaknesses (heat, weight, power consumption and ultimate power).

- It has a very powerful, dynamic sound...but has its limits. It likes speakers with high Sensitivity and plummeting Impedance.

- You would certainly need to try it with the Ref 1s, as their low Sensitivity could be a problem, especially if you like to turn the wick up.

- The Ref 1s sound huge (for a Standmount) and would need to be tried in your room.

- If you have access to Arcam, you should try the A49, which has many of the traits of the 35i.

- The MF Primo + AMS 50 would do the job, but is a fair bit more expensive...and like the 35i, is discontinued.

- If in budget, you should try the MF Nu Vista 800, which is the "replacement" for the 35i and should sound stunning.
 
The AMS35i's remote control is a nightmare. When I trialled it, I found it was either too loud or too quiet.

very nice amp though. *dirol*
 
"If in budget, you should try the MF Nu Vista 800, which is the "replacement" for the 35i and should sound stunning."

It does.... And you should get a healthy discount.
 
matt49 said:
The AMS35i's remote control is a nightmare. When I trialled it, I found it was either too loud or too quiet.

very nice amp though. *dirol*
It is...and if you have a Sub connected to the Pre-Out, it will send a thump through it when switched on/off (so Sub needs to be on standby, while switching). I still wouldn't swap it for a "sensible" Amp, though...
 
There's something about the AMS 35i sound that I could'nt hear with other amps I've tried regardless of power output and price. These are some combinations of great dynamics, detail without being harsh but smooth and silky like presentation. And yes it's like a valve amp with ss power
 

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