Musical Fidelity & April Music

[Art K.]

Expensive does not equal top shelf, not to me. When I say that I mean top shelf performance.

 

[davidro]

oh and the sound of the mf....it is what mf is known for. airy, slightly warmish, tube-like & big sounding. have i lost anything here...??

 

[slippers-on]

lol! Dang! David....that is a digi system I would very much like to hear. Knowing the favorable characteristics of both, I know its probably a very nice sound. Im feeling a little covetousness at the moment.

 

[slippers-on]

Expensive does not equal top shelf, not to me. When I say that I mean top shelf performance.

I know Art...and I do understand your points. I know you understand what I mean by a digi system thats cold as well.

 

[Art K.]

Of course, there are components in every medium that sound like ass, that's a given. It appears David has snagged himself some of the good stuff, kudos! :thmbsp:

 

[slippers-on]

i still prefer the sound of good vinyl over digital any day. but that dont mean i wont listen to digital as that means i'll lose too much of recorded music, which is y i got a new digital rig and its performing pretty good. and as i said digital has its own merits that are lacking in vinyl.

anyone whos heard the stello transport can probably imagine what it would do to the sound of the mf dac. stable, solid and what some might call prat....

plus im vain and superficial. i love the clamping mechanism with tray-less, no-nonsense top loading system...! kewl.

I share you sentiment here....especially on the top loader.

 

[guiller]

Congratulations, David!

 

[MikeT.]

oh and the sound of the mf....it is what mf is known for. airy, slightly warmish, tube-like & big sounding. have i lost anything here...??

I'm still getting to know my MF M6i and is why I'm so interested in your impressions of the Stello. Comparing my experience with your description I agree 100% with big sounding and airy (detail if its there).
I'd assess MF amps as giving you 100% back what goes in. The upsampling of the M1DAC seems to apply a consistency of sorts to my digital sources which I'm not for or against, just my impression.

I've frankly been confused for some time as to what warmish and tube sounding means.
As Byron assesses tubes, it doesn't mean syrupy which is what I've experienced so far with tube gear, preamps only. The M6i is opposite of syrupy. Very detailed and precise.
Thanks for your posts on the MF and Stello.

 

[MikeT.]

Expensive does not equal top shelf, not to me. When I say that I mean top shelf performance.

+1:thmbsp:

 

[davidro]

Congratulations, David!

thanks Guille!

I've frankly been confused for some time as to what warmish and tube sounding means.
As Byron assesses tubes, it doesn't mean syrupy which is what I've experienced so far with tube gear, preamps only. The M6i is opposite of syrupy. Very detailed and precise.
Thanks for your posts on the MF and Stello.

yeah 'tube-like' is such a vague, subjective descriptor. perhaps one should stick with 'syrupy' as Byron does. no i don't mean to say the M1 sounds syrupy by any means. 'tube-like' in my mind is more to do with transparent, embracing mid with clear, life-like top end.

 

[Mr. Lin]

and as i said digital has its own merits that are lacking in vinyl.

Like that velvet black background? (yes I know a great cartridge can give you that too, but it's not entirely the same nor as consistent) It's great for out-of-touch weirdos who listen to a lot of classical music.

oh and the sound of the mf....it is what mf is known for. airy, slightly warmish, tube-like & big sounding. have i lost anything here...??

Pretty much how I'd describe my MF CD player too.

'tube-like' in my mind is more to do with transparent, embracing mid with clear, life-like top end.

And that is exactly how I think of it now, sort of "lit up" in the upper-mids, but in a good way. If it's syrupy and and overly warm, something's amiss IMO.

Load up the Mahler and Shostakovich man!

 

[davidro]

Like that velvet black background? (yes I know a great cartridge can give you that too, but it's not entirely the same nor as consistent) It's great for out-of-touch weirdos who listen to a lot of classical music.

oh yeah. the state of nothingness in the b/g. for us hopeless weirdos that's real important!

Load up the Mahler and Shostakovich man!

been doing sissy chamber music lately. ur quite right. time to man up.

 

[slippers-on]

thanks Guille!



yeah 'tube-like' is such a vague, subjective descriptor. perhaps one should stick with 'syrupy' as Byron does. no i don't mean to say the M1 sounds syrupy by any means. 'tube-like' in my mind is more to do with transparent, embracing mid with clear, life-like top end.

I have the Musical Fidelity XRAY CDP with an external power supply. It is slightly warm sounding...no hard edges....has a great sound stage like tubed gear, detailed and very good decay like good tubes, and a very good enjoyable midrange. But mind you its SS. There is a tubed DAC that is made especially for the XRAY which I never purchased. (wish I did) I've had it connected to SS amps as well as Tubed amps. It was a very good match with a Syrupy Conrad Johnson amp and preamp. Now when I say syrupy, the sound is usually described as overly warm sounding and colored...very thick sound and its like its hid behind a veil. The XRAY took on the nature of the Conrad Johnson. That day we where in a shoot out with the XRAY and a T+A, E series "CD Player". The T+A was a slightly better player a little bit more noticeable transparency and dynamics. But what really caught our attention was the XRAY being a better player with tubes...while the T+A still sounded like SS, mind you a very good SS. (T+A also makes tubed gear) With the XRAY going through my Vincent tubed preamp, which is not syrupy but lively like some ARC gear (BTW Conrad Johnson also makes tubed gear not as syrupy) it too seems a very good match with my tubes. I suspect this is because Musical fidelity designs their SS gear to sound like tubes. For those who didnt know....MF also has been making tubed gear for years. But there is nothing syrupy about MF tubed gear...but now, their tubed gear is also the most expensive of their gear

 

[davidro]

i think ur spot on Byron....

funny about xray, i did consider buying one (the v first model) along with the x-100r i have with me. but it was taken already.

i listened to a mono recording (Dinu Lipatti Besancon Recital EMI) the overall SQ was like i never heard from this CD before (more air and presence) and every little detail (chair noise etc) was captured....

 

[slippers-on]

Like that velvet black background? (yes I know a great cartridge can give you that too, but it's not entirely the same nor as consistent) It's great for out-of-touch weirdos who listen to a lot of classical music.

Hold on now! A good vinyl rig with a very good phono amp can also give that velvet black background as well. But the key is very good vinyl. Also...there are a number of CDP's that have a noisy floor.

 

[davidro]

interesting. what CDPs did u get that noise floor from?

listening to a Winter & Winter recording (Amsterdam String Trio)...this frankly surpasses some good vinyl playback even with my new digital rig!

 

[MikeT.]

thanks Guille!

. no i don't mean to say the M1 sounds syrupy by any means. 'tube-like' in my mind is more to do with transparent, embracing mid with clear, life-like top end.

If that is what good tubes sound like, I need to experiment with some tube amplification.
Good description of what my M1DAC sounds like. I love the MF gear. Congrats again. All you need now is a signature so we can see all your gear.

 

[MikeT.]

thanks Guille!



yeah 'tube-like' is such a vague, subjective descriptor. perhaps one should stick with 'syrupy' as Byron does. no i don't mean to say the M1 sounds syrupy by any means. 'tube-like' in my mind is more to do with transparent, embracing mid with clear, life-like top end.

Hold on now! A good vinyl rig with a very good phono amp can also give that velvet black background as well. But the key is very good vinyl. Also...there are a number of CDP's that have a noisy floor.

I have a re-release Coltrane CD that sounds like a 45 used as a frisbee. They shouldn't have bothered. It probably sounds much better on old vinyl.

 

[MikeT.]

interesting. what CDPs did u get that noise floor from?

listening to a Winter & Winter recording (Amsterdam String Trio)...this frankly surpasses some good vinyl playback even with my new digital rig!

More likely a record will have a higher noise floor over time from wear and a bit less dynamic range. I do have a couple of albums that are just a quiet as the CD but find myself listening to the CD more often because I simply don't have to get up as often

That M1DAC is a wonderful addition.

 

[davidro]

If that is what good tubes sound like, I need to experiment with some tube amplification.
Good description of what my M1DAC sounds like. I love the MF gear. Congrats again. All you need now is a signature so we can see all your gear.

there's something about MF gear man. the signature is a bit of hassle as i change my gear every so often (i really shouldn't) but you can see my setup at my gear thread.

More likely a record will have a higher noise floor over time from wear and a bit less dynamic range. I do have a couple of albums that are just a quiet as the CD but find myself listening to the CD more often because I simply don't have to get up as often

That M1DAC is a wonderful addition.

so do u use the CA CDP as a transport? what's ur take on the CA as a complete set against the CA + MF DAC combo?