The Musical Fidelity AMS 35i thread

[Roby]

Only negative point for me is that there are some cd's I really liked in the past that I don't listen to anymore cause the recording is bad

That is the fault of the CDP and speakers rather than than the amp, which is reasonably forgiving. The problem should mostly disappear with a decent source and the right speakers.

Trust me I'm working on that one....Only between what I wanted a year ago an what I want now an what I'm prepeared to spend to get it there is a small price tag difference

I'm lucky I start a better payed job soon

 

[CnoEvil]

Hey Cno I don't doubt your calculations

But wasn't the AMS tested i an Austrailian mgazine pulling of more than 400w of the wall?

They even said it where the only numbers MF where a bit shy about :rofl:

Well, so you were paying attention!

That magazine measured it going flat out at 414 Watts which is 8.28p/hr; or £181/year when used for 6 hrs per day.

 

[Roby]

Hey Cno I don't doubt your calculations

But wasn't the AMS tested i an Austrailian mgazine pulling of more than 400w of the wall?

They even said it where the only numbers MF where a bit shy about :rofl:

Well, so you were paying attention!

That magazine measured it going flat out at 414 Watts which is 8.28p/hr; or £181/year when used for 6 hrs per day.

An there you tought I was alwys dreamy ;-)

 

[CnoEvil]

MMM :? I'm courious to know witch one that would be.... oke:

BTW I came in to a oportunity of bying some Avalon Acendent ex demo for half the price....

I porvably go for a demo afther next week as I'm away next week.

If I like it I will prvably strech the money an worst case senario If I ever want to get rit of it I doubt I lose to much money....

Only thing is they are rated 89db at 4ohm not sure this will fully please me. But I wan't to hear it because my very first expiriece with the ams was conected to the Avalon Idea an I loved it....(just tought then it was out of my leak but things change )

Don't tell me you've forgotten already :shifty: .....Kef Ref 205/2 >)

 

[CnoEvil]

BTW I came in to a oportunity of bying some Avalon Acendent ex demo for half the price....

I porvably go for a demo afther next week as I'm away next week.

If I like it I will prvably strech the money an worst case senario If I ever want to get rit of it I doubt I lose to much money....

Only thing is they are rated 89db at 4ohm not sure this will fully please me. But I wan't to hear it because my very first expiriece with the ams was conected to the Avalon Idea an I loved it....(just tought then it was out of my leak but things change )

I think you mentioned these before, and my advice now, is the same as back then, which is to make sure you give them a really long demo, and certainly compare them with the Kef Refs.

 

[Roby]

MMM :? I'm courious to know witch one that would be.... oke:

BTW I came in to a oportunity of bying some Avalon Acendent ex demo for half the price....

I porvably go for a demo afther next week as I'm away next week.

If I like it I will prvably strech the money an worst case senario If I ever want to get rit of it I doubt I lose to much money....

Only thing is they are rated 89db at 4ohm not sure this will fully please me. But I wan't to hear it because my very first expiriece with the ams was conected to the Avalon Idea an I loved it....(just tought then it was out of my leak but things change )

Don't tell me you've forgotten already :shifty: .....Kef Ref 205/2 >)

No of course I didn't

But you know me by now true my replies.

Problem for me with the keff's is that I don'really know the dealer...so I would have to pay full price...an there I follow Alex, I refuse to pay full price on any item in my set up...

But I honetly should have a better listening to theme....I admid.

I know I should be more patient but that's not my strongside as you know....

But now I'm a bit worried the dealer should have called me back for the Avalon demo...I hope they are not sold yet.....

 

[BigColz]

Cno I've posted the spec of my friend of a friends setup on my thread if you were interested in what it is?

 

[CnoEvil]

Cno I've posted the spec of my friend of a friends setup on my thread if you were interested in what it is?

Heading over there now!

 

[iceman16]

Hi cno.. Just a quick question..Are you using the supplied mains cable of the AMS35i or upgraded to something else? I thought the supplied mains cable has a 10amp fuse fitted and I want to try one of my spare Chord powerchords with 13amp fuse fitted. Would it be safe to use a 13amp fused powerchord? All the best Iceman16

 

[acalex]

What it is going on here? :rofl:

I have been away for less than a month and a few things have changed! Neuphonix is taking a great deal on Primo + AMS35P, Roby bought turnatable and is almost taking the Avalon (Rob let's talk before you do anything ), did also Wishtree replaced his gear also? Cno, do you still own the AMS35i? :cheers:

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi cno.. Just a quick question..Are you using the supplied mains cable of the AMS35i or upgraded to something else? I thought the supplied mains cable has a 10amp fuse fitted and I want to try one of my spare Chord powerchords with 13amp fuse fitted. Would it be safe to use a 13amp fused powerchord? All the best Iceman16

Hi IM

I don't use the standard mains cable, but a 13 amp Cardas one....the fuse is there to protect the cable itself, so you should be OK, but if you do this, it has to be your decision.

I prefer the Clearer Audio products (good trial period) - something like the Silver-Line or Copper-Line. I also rate Furutech, Nordost, Atlas and TCI.

Gary at Analogue seduction is a good guy, has a great selection and may well allow you to try one:
http://www.analogueseduction.net/mains-cables.html

 

[CnoEvil]

What it is going on here? :rofl:

I have been away for less than a month and a few things have changed! Neuphonix is taking a great deal on Primo + AMS35P, Roby bought turnatable and is almost taking the Avalon (Rob let's talk before you do anything ), did also Wishtree replaced his gear also? Cno, do you still own the AMS35i? :cheers:

YES

(It looks as if I'm going to have to talk 50 people into buying them, before they will make another run!}

What's up with you?

 

[michael hoy]

Hi cno.. Just a quick question..Are you using the supplied mains cable of the AMS35i or upgraded to something else? I thought the supplied mains cable has a 10amp fuse fitted and I want to try one of my spare Chord powerchords with 13amp fuse fitted. Would it be safe to use a 13amp fused powerchord? All the best Iceman16

Why not just swap the fuse over?

 

[iceman16]

Hi cno.. Just a quick question..Are you using the supplied mains cable of the AMS35i or upgraded to something else? I thought the supplied mains cable has a 10amp fuse fitted and I want to try one of my spare Chord powerchords with 13amp fuse fitted. Would it be safe to use a 13amp fused powerchord? All the best Iceman16

Hi IM I don't use the standard mains cable, but a 13 amp Cardas one....the fuse is there to protect the cable itself, so you should be OK, but if you do this, it has to be your decision. I prefer the Clearer Audio products (good trial period) - something like the Silver-Line or Copper-Line. I also rate Furutech, Nordost, Atlas and TCI. Gary at Analogue seduction is a good guy, has a great selection and may well allow you to try one: http://www.analogueseduction.net/mains-cables.html

Thanks for the reply..I've just read the owner's manual and it states there "If connecting to a BS1363 plug,a 13 amp fuse must be used." BTW..I've tried a Clearer audio sometime ago from my local dealer and I found the Chord powerchord works better with lower background noise.

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks for the reply..I've just read the owner's manual and it states there "If connecting to a BS1363 plug,a 13 amp fuse must be used." BTW..I've tried a Clearer audio sometime ago from my local dealer and I found the Chord powerchord works better with lower background noise.

Fair enough......report back with how you get on.

Edit. FWIW. I think the connectors/plugs are vital to get the most out of a mains cable.

One of the best plugs I've come across: Furutech Fl-UK 1363 G; and IEC connectors: Furutech Fl-25G or Fl-11 Ag

 

[iceman16]

Thanks for the reply..I've just read the owner's manual and it states there "If connecting to a BS1363 plug,a 13 amp fuse must be used." BTW..I've tried a Clearer audio sometime ago from my local dealer and I found the Chord powerchord works better with lower background noise.

Fair enough......report back with how you get on. Edit. FWIW. I think the connectors/plugs are vital to get the most out of a mains cable. One of the best plugs I've come across: Furutech Fl-UK 1363 G; and IEC connectors: Furutech Fl-25G or Fl-11 Ag

Just plugged in the powerchord and Yes! It sounded absolutely fantastic.

Listened to Jazz Bossa(Jazz Piano Essential). It's like listening to a valve amp on steroids!:rockout:

 

[CnoEvil]

Just plugged in the powerchord and Yes! It sounded absolutely fantastic.

Listened to Jazz Bossa(Jazz Piano Essential). It's like listening to a valve amp on steroids!:rockout:

That is what I hoped would happen........and I suspect, the better the power cable, the greater the improvement you should get (just something to bear in mind). That amp draws such large surges of current, that any restriction has its effect.

 

[Neuphonix]

Hi All,

just wanted to give everyone an update on how things had turned out with my self combusting 35i.

After much patience (& a bit of yelling! :wall: ) my new set-up arrived last Friday along with the repaired Diablos. Spent a fair bit of time putting it all together, checking & re-checking everything. Had to modify the AV rack again to make way for an extra component.

So now the black AV section (yammy, oppo, satelite & PS3) occupy the left hand side of my rack & the silver music section (primo, 35p & akurateDS) occupy the right. Nice & symetrical

I ended up having to settle for silver Primo & 35p, which annoyed me at first, but is really starting grow on me. It also has the added benefit of matching the colour of my AkurateDS which was ex-demo so I didn't have a choice there.

At the moment I have decided to keep AV & music completely separate. So two sets of speakers cables, one from the Primo one from the Yamaha. It's a bit of a pain & not at all wife friendly but given past experiences I feel better this way. Have ordered one of the Beresford switching boxes for a bit of a play around. It will definitely make life easier but I still have a few reservations about adding an extra compent in the between the 35p & the Diablos.

Have used basic thick oxygen free speaker cable for the time being & decent RCA interconnects. Previously I had put the cart before the horse a bit & rushed out to buy cables before letting the system bed itself down. So this time I thought I would start with the cheaper but reasonable alternative & get used to the sound. Then slowly start experimenting different alternatives.

First step will definitely be to look at options for balanced interconnects between the primo - 35p - akurate. I do have a chance to give some Atlas cables a go, one of the companies I deal with through work are re-sellers, so should be able to get pretty good pricing.

As to the sound, what can I say! I'm in heaven :cheers:

Unfortunately I can't make a definitive comparison to the 35i because of the long gap. Certainly that same warm silky AMS sound, such a good match with the detail of the Diablos.

Cno, you were right about this set-up driving the Diablos with more ease than the 35i. The volume only goes to about 25 or 30 & its getting loud, I seem to remember the 35i having to go to around 45-50 before the neighbours started banging on the door!

The added component that I never got to hear with the 35i is the AkurateDS. I've been getting it set-up for the past few weeks now, just running it off the yamaha while I was waiting. So it was all ready to go when the MF gear arrived. After getting used to it I seriosuly don't know why anyone would ever want a CD player. Perhaps just to save myself the trouble of ripping my 3000+ CD collection! Being a child of the digital age & not being a vinyl junkie I really love the ipad interface / tunein radio / spotify, endless music on tap. I was a tiny bit concerned that it might be a little to "Akurate" when paired with the Diablos, but not at all. Detailed certainly, but not at all edgy or fatiguing.

Again though, it's hard for me to quantify exactly which piece is adding exactly what characteristic. Suffice to say that the sum of the parts is absolutley sensational. It will probably be one of those things where you forget about exactly how good it is & then every so often you just get those moments.

Loving life again :dance:

 

[Neuphonix]

Back again,

one other small functional difference that is apparent between the 35i & the primo/power combo is that the latter has a standby mode & can be turned on/off by remote. I always found this to be a slightly annoying lack of feature in the 35i.

I guess that this must be something to do with the fact that the primo doesn't actually amplify anything? but it is touted as being an A class device & the 35p certainly is and both have standby. If they can do it I wonder why the 35i cant?

But it has raised an interesting problem for me. I have the primo linked to the 35p by the trigger output which makes turning it on & off very convenient. However this seems to stop the primo from responding to any commands sent by my harmony universal remote. Not that it was working all that well anyway, but as soon as I plugged the trigger lead in nothing. As soon as i removed the lead it starts responding again, albeit sporadically.

The harmony was working really well with the 35i. I'll have to play around with the delays a bit to see if that irons out the wrinkles. It would be a bummer if the trigger function which is meant to make life easier actually stopped the remote from working at all!

Not that it really matters all that much now that I am using the Akurate, all remote control now via computer or ipad. I only have the Akurate plugged in so won't be swapping inputs very often, only need to turn it on/off & controll the volume.

Hmmmm, perhaps an expensive new universal remote? Do you think that this will improve the SQ at all!?

 

[CnoEvil]

It will definitely make life easier but I still have a few reservations about adding an extra compent in the between the 35p & the Diablos.

Given your new system's ability to resolve the tiniest detail, I would share your concern.

Have used basic thick oxygen free speaker cable for the time being & decent RCA interconnects. Previously I had put the cart before the horse a bit & rushed out to buy cables before letting the system bed itself down. So this time I thought I would start with the cheaper but reasonable alternative & get used to the sound. Then slowly start experimenting different alternatives.

First step will definitely be to look at options for balanced interconnects between the primo - 35p - akurate. I do have a chance to give some Atlas cables a go, one of the companies I deal with through work are re-sellers, so should be able to get pretty good pricing.

When you are ready, I can give suggestions from Cardas, Atlas, Telurium Q and Vertere. As you have access to Atlas, you should try the Mavros for your I/C.

As to the sound, what can I say! I'm in heaven :cheers:

If anyone deserves this, you do - I'm delighted.

Unfortunately I can't make a definitive comparison to the 35i because of the long gap. Certainly that same warm silky AMS sound, such a good match with the detail of the Diablos.

I would expect more of everything - control, detail, imaging and just more space round the notes/voices.

After getting used to it I seriosuly don't know why anyone would ever want a CD player. Perhaps just to save myself the trouble of ripping my 3000+ CD collection! Being a child of the digital age & not being a vinyl junkie I really love the ipad interface / tunein radio / spotify, endless music on tap. I was a tiny bit concerned that it might be a little to "Akurate" when paired with the Diablos, but not at all. Detailed certainly, but not at all edgy or fatiguing.

This is exactly why I keep banging on about it, so it's good to get affirmation.

Again though, it's hard for me to quantify exactly which piece is adding exactly what characteristic. Suffice to say that the sum of the parts is absolutley sensational. It will probably be one of those things where you forget about exactly how good it is & then every so often you just get those moments.

Loving life again :dance:

I have a very good idea of what you are hearing, and have gone a curious shade of green. Linn DS with MF AMS make a seriously good combo, and imo brings out all the best characteristics of the Diablos.

IMO. The icing on the cake will come with cables (including mains cables)....I suspect you might be pleasantly surprised at the improvements they can bring.

Please keep us updated

Cno

 

[Neuphonix]

regarding the beresford box, I probably won't end up using it full time, but part of this process has always revolved around the (misguided?) desire to somehow integrate the AV system with the hi-fi system with one common set of speakers. It was this that was a driving force in going with an integrated amp in the first place.

But it all still has to work with the wife & she's not really keen on changing speaker cables, understandable.

I will have the option of running the primo into the 35p with XLR & the yamaha into it via RCA & certainly plan to give this a go as it will simplify the spaker cabling side of the system. But given past experience I am quite keen to keep things completely separate now. One of my guys is coming over next week to run in a new dedicated power circuit for the MF gear. So the AV / Hifi set-up will be completely isolated from each other.

So options are:

1) Separate speaker cables, just change at the speaker end depending on what system is being used. A good safe solution, but inconvenient & not wife friendly.

2) 35p - primo balanced / yamaha - 35p RCA. Probably the most convenient, but doesn't allow me to keep the two systems separate.

3) Speaker box. More convenient in many ways but questionable in terms of SQ & certainly makes buying hi-end speaker cables much more difficult, indeed may even make it pointless.

Any thoughts on option 2?

 

[CnoEvil]

So options are:

1) Separate speaker cables, just change at the speaker end depending on what system is being used. A good safe solution, but inconvenient & not wife friendly.

2) 35p - primo balanced / yamaha - 35p RCA. Probably the most convenient, but doesn't allow me to keep the two systems separate.

3) Speaker box. More convenient in many ways but questionable in terms of SQ & certainly makes buying hi-end speaker cables much more difficult, indeed may even make it pointless.

Any thoughts on option 2?

As you have said, how much the speaker box effects the sound "may" depend on how good the cabling is, that you use. When you are using standard copper cabling, you may not notice any difference; but if you start using expensive cabling, it "may" introduce a weak link.....but you need to check this for youself (by borrowing some - possibly Mavros).

If the speaker box proves to be too much of a compromise, I would (and do) go with option 2.

 

[plastic penguin]

So options are:

1) Separate speaker cables, just change at the speaker end depending on what system is being used. A good safe solution, but inconvenient & not wife friendly.

2) 35p - primo balanced / yamaha - 35p RCA. Probably the most convenient, but doesn't allow me to keep the two systems separate.

3) Speaker box. More convenient in many ways but questionable in terms of SQ & certainly makes buying hi-end speaker cables much more difficult, indeed may even make it pointless.

Any thoughts on option 2?

As you have said, how much the speaker box effects the sound "may" depend on how good the cabling is, that you use. When you are using standard copper cabling, you may not notice any difference; but if you start using expensive cabling, it "may" introduce a weak link.....but you need to check this for youself (by borrowing some - possibly Mavros).

If the speaker box proves to be too much of a compromise, I would (and do) go with option 2.

When it comes high quality amplification, I definitely 'get' the use of high-grade wires.

I've recently ditched my Odyssey cables and found my old SilverScreens give better balance, (based on my humble set-up) even though technically, the Odysseys are better. When it comes to cables, IMHO, it really is a case of 'suck it and see.'

BTW, Cno - good luck tomorrow and see you return here soon.

 

[CnoEvil]

BTW, Cno - good luck tomorrow and see you return here soon.

Thx PP......I'm on here trying to take my mind off tomorrow (8AM - first on the table!!! )

 

[Macspur]

BTW, Cno - good luck tomorrow and see you return here soon.

Thx PP......I'm on here trying to take my mind off tomorrow (8AM - first on the table!!! )

I'd like to offer my best wishes too Cno and here's to a speedy recovery.

Mac