The Musical Fidelity Integrated Arrived Yesterday

M

Mister Pig

Pigamus Maximus
But I was sick as a dog, and lucky to make it to the front door to sign for the packages. So I unboxed it this morning before I have to head out to class. Figured I would snap a pic or two before it gets installed in the rack. It does have the gold trim, I guess the lighting when taking the picture washed it out. Oh well, I will live. Don't look forward to putting this in the rack though, its a beast.
IMAG0353.jpg IMAG0356.jpg IMAG0355.jpg IMAG0354.jpg

Regards
Mister Pig
 
That's a beast - and has great street 'cred'.

Please share your listening notes when you can.
 
Well I already have a problem, something I didn't think about. The integrated section is too wide to fit the bay where my First Watt amp is located. I might be able to pull the door and then install it, and then put the door back in place. But that will be a tight fit, and I am probably going to need an extra set of hands to do that. Have to think about this a bit.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Well it's in. Could not have done it by myself. I was lucky that my good friend AKer Audiofreak71 came on by and help me slide this bad boy into the rack. After the door was pulled there was about a 1/4 inch on both sides to clear the side rails. Then once it for far enough in to where it was behind the hinges, it was pretty much to the back of the rack. It takes up some room I tell ya.

The only mishap was a tape monitor button getting pushed in and giving us reduced volume. Fortunately I had the volume turned down most of the way when I disengaged it, but not all the way down..... 300 WPC is still a force with 93 dB speakers at even minimal volume settings.

So its warming up now, and I am putting my listening room back together. But the amp survived shipping with no mishaps, and works just fine. And it fits in the rack. So stage one is completed.
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Very nice. Would you post an image including more of the room and system so we can better see it in context, in this thread?

Congratulations on the acquisition.
 
botrytis said:
May have heat issues with this one. I think it will need more room for the passive cooling. That's OK, you can ship it my way. :)
Click to expand...
Sorry that bay of my rack has an extended back panel with two variable speed fans that are temperature sensitive. A sensor wire goes to the heat sink of the amp, monitoring temperature. The bottom panel under the amp is ventilated, so there is air flow through the compartment. I ran the amp from 2 pm to 11pm with the fans barely spooling up. No cooling issues here.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
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Those Salamander racks look great but can be a pain to get equipment in and out of. I sure like the ability to adjust the shelves and the large interior space. The last time I swapped equipment out, I pulled the rack out from the wall and came in through the back. I seem to remember a few choice words coming out of my mouth at the time. It was that same integrated amp or possibly a big brother that got me hooked on Paradigm Signature S4 speakers. I still remember getting the speakers home and never quite getting them to sound like that again. That salesman was no dummy. I'm looking forward to hearing the comparison to the First Watt ... the F5 is still on my bucket list.
 
Your self cooling rack sounds interesting. Maybe another thread about it?
Nice amp.
 
SPEC2man said:
Those Salamander racks look great but can be a pain to get equipment in and out of. I sure like the ability to adjust the shelves and the large interior space. The last time I swapped equipment out, I pulled the rack out from the wall and came in through the back. I seem to remember a few choice words coming out of my mouth at the time. It was that same integrated amp or possibly a big brother that got me hooked on Paradigm Signature S4 speakers. I still remember getting the speakers home and never quite getting them to sound like that again. That salesman was no dummy. I'm looking forward to hearing the comparison to the First Watt ... the F5 is still on my bucket list.
Click to expand...

There are no free lunches in audio. If you want your gear tucked away out of sight and protected, its going to be difficult to get it in and out of whatever you put it in. When the amp weighs 65 pounds and the power supply is 30 pounds, well its going to require some effort to get horsed in there. But when its said and done, you have a room that has a nice understated look, unless you consider those 4 foot tall 190 pound JBL speakers to be conspicuous. Oh and the two turntables sitting on top of the rack I suppose.

The advantage is that your gear is kept away from prying eyes, cannot be accidentally touched by guests, and has a nice and tidy look to it. Right now I cannot protect the tables, and need to have a couple of plexi glass covers built for them. Once that is done, things should be safe from visitors and grand kids. The living room has a French door for an entrance, and the dining room has one also. I plan on getting locks for both so that I can close off that room whenever needed, such as grand kid visits. I would hate to have a visit screwed up because something got damaged. Do things safely to start with, then there is no chance for issues or conflict to come up. Everyone can just say Grand Pa is a butt head.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Well, this has been a while coming together, but it looks great. I'm looking forward to your report after it gets settled in and you have some listening time with it. Also some photos of the room now that it seems you have it mostly "finalized." What turntable(s) did you finally settle on using?
Bob
 
cason said:
Well, this has been a while coming together, but it looks great. I'm looking forward to your report after it gets settled in and you have some listening time with it. Also some photos of the room now that it seems you have it mostly "finalized." What turntable(s) did you finally settle on using?
Bob
Click to expand...
Oh that hasnt been worked out yet. A slight adjustment had to be made to the SP 10 plinth and I will have it back around the beginning of May. Going on a trip, so it won't get shipped till I am back here. I will trial it with the Riggle String Theory arm and ZYX 4D cartridge and see what happens. If it makes the grade then it stays, if not it will find a new home.

Currently been playing the Morinified XA pretty extensively. It is a very capable table, and just easy to listen to. I don't have the Riggle arm dialed in on the Serac, I was going to wait till I tossed it on the SP 10. I really like both the Serac and the XA so have 3 potential tables, but am determined to keep it at two. What I really should do is get it down to one drive unit and two arms and cartridges. But I do like what I get from the modified XA, its a very capable package. Amazing for what one costs once Marc is done with it.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Mister Pig said:
Oh that hasnt been worked out yet. A slight adjustment had to be made to the SP 10 plinth and I will have it back around the beginning of May. Going on a trip, so it won't get shipped till I am back here. I will trial it with the Riggle String Theory arm and ZYX 4D cartridge and see what happens. If it makes the grade then it stays, if not it will find a new home.

Currently been playing the Morinified XA pretty extensively. It is a very capable table, and just easy to listen to. I don't have the Riggle arm dialed in on the Serac, I was going to wait till I tossed it on the SP 10. I really like both the Serac and the XA so have 3 potential tables, but am determined to keep it at two. What I really should do is get it down to one drive unit and two arms and cartridges. But I do like what I get from the modified XA, its a very capable package. Amazing for what one costs once Marc is done with it.

Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

You may have sold me on the "Morinified" AR tables. I'm looking at one of those or an Empire, I think, for my next table. Was really wanting TD-124 but those are a little spendy for me right now. Of course if the cash is there, there's still the TD-124, VPI Classic, or that nice Marantz/Clearaudio table for around $1500. But for the next one, likely will be an AR, thanks for the vote of confidence on those.

Nice system you have, glad it's coming together.
 
Mr Pig,
I thought maybe you were a little further along with turntable selection. Hadn't heard of the delay with the SP 10. Every time I read your praises of the Morinified AR, I start getting the "itch," but I've sort of promised my wife "no more turntables." (After my last debacle with a PL-L1000) I could probably pull it off if I sold a couple first. Just haven't been sufficiently motivated yet. That could change. I could see a Morinified AR being a permanent partner with my Fisher 500c. Then I could focus on other bits and pieces. Really need to downsize/upgrade. I'm too scattered with too much gear.
Anyway, I enjoy following your journey, especially since your move.
Bob
 
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