The Musical Fidelity AMS 35i thread

[iceman16]

Hi Cno,

I hope you're feeling better. Btw Im still quite happy with my speakers. In fact there's a lot of changes or I may say improvement since I bought the EMC 1Up and MIT cables. If in case I'll get some Utopias..I'll pass the Diablos. I heard them at my local dealer and it seems they lack some lower end for my liking.

I almost bought the Ascendant but the seller withdrawn and Im still waiting for his upgrade to Eidolon's.

 

[Neuphonix]

Don't say that about the Diablos!!! >)

I listened to the Electra 1028be when I was deciding on my purchase & there was a significant diffence in the bottom end. However putting them side by side there was also a significant difference in SQ to my ears. The electras sounded bigger but more boxy, the extra detail the Diablos found was amazing. But this came at a trade off in the bottom end & may not be to eveyones liking.

My old man who is a trained sound engineer came over for a listen. He picked them straight away, "they are rolling off at around 40hz". Not his cup of tea either. I told him that his ears were going cause he was old & he couldn't hear the refined detail in the upper/mid range!!!

Still though, I do miss that bottom end sometimes! just have to buy more sub woofers!!!

 

[Neuphonix]

Hi Cno,

welcome back, trust everything went OK & that you're on the road to a speedy recovery. :beer:

Went against my previous statement of not changing cables too quickly! :rofl: like that was ever to going to happen!

1) The Beresford switching box arrived last week so got that set-up over the weekend. Had contacted Stanley Beresford to get the specs & he said that the unit was rated to 250w per channel, so no dramas there. Got to say it works a treat, does exactly what I need it to & makes things generally wife friendly. I was able to discern no loss in SQ, but given that it took me a while to set it all up I couldn't really do any immediate side by side testing. Waiting on some more banana plugs to arrive which may speed up the process. As mentioned previously I'm only using generic copper cables at the moment, so if I do invest in something more expensive I'll try using them with & without the box in place.

As a note I did try running the AV amp into the 35P with RCA cables but couldn't get it to work. Not sure exactly what the issue was, most likely installer/user error. Maybe the 35p doesn't like having two sets of inputs & defaults to XLR if there are leads in place. This doesn't seem right but I couldn't find anything in the instruction manual about it & given past experience I didn't want to experiment too much. Will research this a bit more before trying again, but given that the switch box works so well I probably won't use it. Prefer the idea of keeping the two systems as separate as possible & not having the 35p switched on more than is necessary.

2) Placed two pairs of Atlas Mavros XLR cables into the sytem, so fully balanced from amp to source now. There was a marked improvement. For a start everything was just about completely silent when no signal was being played (the RCAs did have a level of hiss). Then there was the extra detail in voices & separation in instruments. I feel that they really allow the akurate to reveal its full potential.

 

[iceman16]

It never came in to my mind getting a subwoofer in listening to 2 ch. ever

 

[CnoEvil]

As a note I did try running the AV amp into the 35P with RCA cables but couldn't get it to work. Not sure exactly what the issue was, most likely installer/user error. Maybe the 35p doesn't like having two sets of inputs & defaults to XLR if there are leads in place. This doesn't seem right but I couldn't find anything in the instruction manual about it & given past experience I didn't want to experiment too much. Will research this a bit more before trying again, but given that the switch box works so well I probably won't use it. Prefer the idea of keeping the two systems as separate as possible & not having the 35p switched on more than is necessary.

My 35i has a "Balanced Input" button beside the "CD" and "Aux...so there might be a button somewhere to allow the Balanced section to work...but that's a complete guess. Your dealer should be able to assist.

2) Placed two pairs of Atlas Mavros XLR cables into the sytem, so fully balanced from amp to source now. There was a marked improvement. For a start everything was just about completely silent when no signal was being played (the RCAs did have a level of hiss). Then there was the extra detail in voices & separation in instruments. I feel that they really allow the akurate to reveal its full potential.

You can try the next one down - The Ascent - to see if the Mavros is worth the extra. You will only really see what the Mavros can do, when the S/Cs are in place.

The EOS P/C is also worth trying.

If I can't spend my money, spending yours is the next best thing!!

 

[Neuphonix]

Don't knock it till you try it! I know that there are many audiophiles out there who will poopoo the idea but there are believers.

Indeed one of the reviews I read about the 35i before purchasing had the reviewer doing exactly that.

http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95:musical-fidelity-ams35i-integrated-amplifier&catid=55&Itemid=4

He did mention that the 35i sent a pulse through the subs when he turned the unit on, so you had to watch out. Also it seemed to be a given that the quality of the sub was up to the job both in terms of musicaliy & the ability to tune it so that they integrate well with the speakers.

One of the reviews I read about the Diablos mentioned that when paired with a good set of subs they would match a speaker kit far far above their price range:

http://hometheaterreview.com/focal-diablo-utopia-speakers-reviewed/

At the moment I have one of these beauties:

http://www.jlaudio.com/f110-satin-home-audio-fathom-powered-subwoofers-96104

& eventually plan to add one more. A little beastie of a thing that outputs some pretty serious bottom end for its size.

I had originally planned to run them both from the 35i, unfortunately however the 35p does not have any outputs so I may never get to find out how good they could sound with the Diablos in a hifi arrangement. The primo does have RCA out as well as XLR so I may be able to use both. But I think that there is a switch that allows you to use one or the other, not both simultaneously.

 

[Neuphonix]

There is a switch on the back of the 35p which allows you to choose RCA or balanced inputs. The instructions do state that you must not use both simultaneously or you could damage things.

I connected the Yamaha outputs to the 35p via RCA (same as when using it with the 35i) & set the switch accordingly, nothing.

Checked all connections but still nothing. I didn't try unplugging the balanced leads, so this might be the reason? Some sort of inbuilt protection to stop you accidently sending two inputs to the amp at the same time. Not sure. Will investigate further &report back.

To be honest this still has the disadvantages of: not being wife friendly, not having the two systems separate, having the 35p turned on more than is necessary. At the moment the amp switching box seems to be the better option.

I was able to get the Mavros leads at less than half of what I could find them for online, so I just took the plunge. What the hell, I've taken things this far! I plan to offload some uneeded equipment on ebay to try & offset the expense.

Happy to let you spend my money vicariously, particulalry if it helps with your recovery I should warn you however that my journey in coming to an end as funds have reached (passed in a cloud of dust about 6 months ago!) critical point & my wife is watching me like a hawke! I just turn the music up so loud that I can't hear her complaining :twisted:

 

[acalex]

I am wondering if I did the right choice not taking the 35i and joining this amazing club

How is the Akurate performing btw? I am still tempted but not ready to spend this amount of money yet...I think I will go for a DAC (M2Tech or Wadia 121) for now and when time will come I will update to a full streamer (I might find a second hand/ex demo in the meantime) :doh:

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Acalex, there's no point doing anything with your electrics. Time to change speakers, mate, forget the rest.

 

[acalex]

Acalex, there's no point doing anything with your electrics. Time to change speakers, mate, forget the rest.

Welcome back AL, long time haven't read from you! I think you are definitely right...

 

[Roby]

Acalex, there's no point doing anything with your electrics. Time to change speakers, mate, forget the rest.

Welcome back AL, long time haven't read from you! I think you are definitely right...

+1 :cheers:

ps: If I ever want to upgrade to a Primo/AMS50 I can always give you a call :rofl:

 

[CnoEvil]

I was able to get the Mavros leads at less than half of what I could find them for online, so I just took the plunge. What the hell, I've taken things this far! I plan to offload some uneeded equipment on ebay to try & offset the expense.

The Mavros are very good indeed and getting them at half price (imo) makes them unbeatable.

 

[Neuphonix]

Hey Alex

Too late to join the 35i club, they're no longer being made so this fraternity has become ultra exclusive!

+1 on the primo/50 combo though, the jadis is still pretty new so you should get a good trade in >

Come on, we are all in need of a new journey now that Roby & I have run out of money!

The Akurate is amazing. Really easy to set up, now have it connected to the primo with balanced leads. Love it more & more every day.

As mentioned earlier in the thread because everything landed at once I'm having a hard time saying exactly what each component brings to the table. Certainly the Akurate is great to use from a functional point of view. I've started ripping my CD collection, but haven't made a dent yet! Have to say that the few hi-rez albums that I have bought do really shine.

 

[Neuphonix]

Just one other question while I think of it.

The 35p has two sets of speaker terminals for each channel, the Diablos only have one set of speaker terminals. At the moment I only have a single ended set of leads running between the amp & speakers.

Presumably the second set of terminals on the back of the amp is for bi-wiring. Would there be any advantage in having a dual set of connections at the amp end running to a single set of connections at the speaker end? I'm considering some new speaker cables & had originally thought of single end to single end.

Thoughts?

 

[CnoEvil]

Just one other question while I think of it.

The 35p has two sets of speaker terminals for each channel, the Diablos only have one set of speaker terminals. At the moment I only have a single ended set of leads running between the amp & speakers.

Presumably the second set of terminals on the back of the amp is for bi-wiring. Would there be any advantage in having a dual set of connections at the amp end running to a single set of connections at the speaker end? I'm considering some new speaker cables & had originally thought of single end to single end.

Thoughts?

My thoughts are a guess....which is that it would only add expense with extra connectors (which can be very expensive) etc for little or no gain.

Maybe an email to MF to clarify is the way to go.

 

[iceman16]

Hi Cno,

Have you listened to MIT cables?

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi Cno,

Have you listened to MIT cables?

Sorry, I haven't.

From what I've read, I think they hold the middle ground between Cardas and Nordost.

 

[iceman16]

Cno,

After following some threads from you..:cheers: you should hear the MIT even from the Matrix or I can lend you mine and Mac for a short period for both to listen. It may not be for everbody's choice but I can sense your likes. As I've mentioned in the other thread..I challenge my ears!:cheers:

 

[CnoEvil]

Cno,

After following some threads from you..:cheers: you should hear the MIT even from the Matrix or I can lend you mine and Mac for a short period for both to listen. It may not be for everbody's choice but I can sense your likes. As I've mentioned in the other thread..I challenge my ears!:cheers:

Thank you very much for the incredibly generous offer, but I love the Cardas GCs that I have.

If going for a change , which I'm not (allowed), I would probably go with Vertere.

What you are discovering is the difference a really well sorted/expensive cable can make, be it MIT, Cardas, Atlas or TQ......either that or you are nuts !

 

[iceman16]

Cno,

After following some threads from you..:cheers: you should hear the MIT even from the Matrix or I can lend you mine and Mac for a short period for both to listen. It may not be for everbody's choice but I can sense your likes. As I've mentioned in the other thread..I challenge my ears!:cheers:

Thank you very much for the incredibly generous offer, but I love the Cardas GCs that I have.

If going for a change , which I'm not (allowed), I would probably go with Vertere.

What you are discovering is the difference a really well sorted/expensive cable can make, be it MIT, Cardas, Atlas or TQ......either that or you are nuts ! ;

And Im a believer ..don't care if its science or not ...I trust my ears Cno.. and patience to get there..

 

[iceman16]

And I thought ther's science behind MIT multipole..

 

[Helmut80]

off topic, but this is your 'home thread' I thought I'd post it here Cno:

I saw you recommended the Creek 5350 evo in another thread. A couple of questions:

- do you know how it compares to the Destiny 2?

- how would you describe the Creek sound (esp compared to Electrocompaniet, MF and Sugden)?

 

[CnoEvil]

off topic, but this is your 'home thread' I thought I'd post it here Cno:

I saw you recommended the Creek 5350 evo in another thread. A couple of questions:

- do you know how it compares to the Destiny 2?

- how would you describe the Creek sound (esp compared to Electrocompaniet, MF and Sugden)?

I am not familiar enough with the Creek range to give a meaningful answer, though I would expect the Destiny to be that much better in all departments....maybe some owners or Creek experts will be along to help (Audio Maniac / Floyd Droid / Nogsk etc).

At a guess, I would expect the MF M series to be a touch less laid back than the Destiny. IMO.The Sugden Class A amps are richer, with the Electro (especially the older models) being one of the more natural/organic brands that (with some models) have more ooomph than Sugden.

These are all amp that fall into the less forward and analytical catagory.

Not sure how much that helps

Cno

 

[Helmut80]

Cno, have you heard the Pass Labs Int-30A?

 

[CnoEvil]

Cno, have you heard the Pass Labs Int-30A?

Sorry, I haven't....where's Thaiman when you need him!

I have read good things about the brand though.