Musical Fidelity Owners Thread

[Chops54]

I still have three P140 stereo power amps tucked away. I've rebuilt two of them with new Canterbury transformers, larger smoothing caps and replaced everything else not up to spec. The other hasn't been touched but still works just fine. I use an M1DAC in my main system in conjunction with a CA CXC transport though it's not truly British is it? Not much is anymore tbh.

 

[dogwan]

Finally got around to upgrading the opamps in my M1 dac.

Back on post #59 I outlined all the mods I did to the dac. The last thing to do was replace the N5532 surface mount opamps with sockets and I used the LM4562 opamp to replace them. I had some LME49720NA's, but from what I've been reading the 4562 and the 49720 are essentially the same opamp. The LM4562NA was only $1.65 at Mouser.

Good thing they worked without issue because I pretty much buggered the SMD solder pads getting the 5532's off.

I set up the dac on my bench with a headphone amp and my modded T50rp's for cans. Listened to a few tracks on my Macbook Pro before making the swap. Made the swap, then listened to same tracks. At first I heard some distortion, but it settled down after about 1 1/2 songs. From then on it just got smoother and smoother. Of course it's all subjective and I'm sure I have some expectancy bias, but I would say it's definitely another step up in sound quality. Naysayer's be damned!

 

[Nightcleaner]

Archive Review of a Musical Fidelity A3.2 That Did not start of well. With the reviewer moaning about it cosmetically. His Tone (No Pun Intended) Changed once he had it switched on. In fact he found it hard to walk away

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_2/musical-fidelity-a32-integrated-amplifier-6-2003.html

 

[mikeybc]

Archive Review of a Musical Fidelity A3.2 That Did not start of well. With the reviewer moaning about it cosmetically. His Tone (No Pun Intended) Changed once he had it switched on. In fact he found it hard to walk away

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_2/musical-fidelity-a32-integrated-amplifier-6-2003.html

Thanks for posting that, I remember reading it many years ago, I’m gonna dust mine off and give it a listen soon,

 

[Nightcleaner]

Thanks for posting that, I remember reading it many years ago, I’m gonna dust mine off and give it a listen soon,

Let us all no Mikey how it turns out

 

[Cantonboy]

Hi MF owners!

I’ve just finished my A3 amp upgrade and the result is very impressive. All of the original capacitor was very cheap (Teapo) and I decided this amp deserve much more than chinese caps. I’ve choosed 4x6800uf from Cornell Dubilier
and Audio Note 3x2200uf for the psu. The other caps in the psu is Elna silmic II.
All of the rest is Nichicon FG, Nichicon Muse BP, and Elna SilmicII.


And a question...

I’ve picked up a A3 CD player a few days ago and I would like to upgrade it. I can not make a decision which brand should I choose. I would choose Nichicon FG ( in psu and in the dac board) but I’m not sure... any suggestion would be appreciated.

 

[dogwan]

Hi MF owners!

I’ve just finished my A3 amp upgrade and the result is very impressive. All of the original capacitor was very cheap (Teapo) and I decided this amp deserve much more than chinese caps. I’ve choosed 4x6800uf from Cornell Dubilier
and Audio Note 3x2200uf for the psu. The other caps in the psu is Elna silmic II.
All of the rest is Nichicon FG, Nichicon Muse BP, and Elna SilmicII.
View attachment 2014530 View attachment 2014531 View attachment 2014532 View attachment 2014533

Nice job. I did the same to my A3cr amp. I'm curious how you would describe the sound difference after replacing those cheap Teapo caps? I know mine sound siginificantly better, but I always want to hear others opinions on similar projects.

 

[Cantonboy]

Nice job. I did the same to my A3cr amp. I'm curious how you would describe the sound difference after replacing those cheap Teapo caps? I know mine sound siginificantly better, but I always want to hear others opinions on similar projects.

Hi.
Thank you! The result is much better than I expected. First what I’ve noticed is the clarity of the sound. Very clean and there is more air and detail. Also the soundstage is wider and deeper. I’m very happy with the result.

 

[Nightcleaner]

My basic setup at the moment Music Fidelity A5 Bluesound Node 2! Bower & Wilkins 603. The speakers I have Bi Wired i put the Four Wires into Two plastic tubes i bought at the hardware store. I put WD40 on a rag and pulled each cable through the rag then slid them easily through the plastic tube looks quite sexy.

Question please: my knob now now : Volume knob on my A5 is come somewhat loose What screw driver do i need to remedy this a pozidriv or an Alan key Thanks.

 

[Erik Tracy]

View attachment 2014963

My basic setup at the moment Music Fidelity A5 Bluesound Node 2! Bower & Wilkins 603. The speakers I have Bi Wired i put the Four Wires into Two plastic tubes i bought at the hardware store. I put WD40 on a rag and pulled each cable through the rag then slid them easily through the plastic tube looks quite sexy.

Question please: my knob now now : Volume knob on my A5 is come somewhat loose What screw driver do i need to remedy this a pozidriv or an Alan key Thanks.

MF and B&W is s good pairing!

My A5 int amp volume knob was a bit loose, too. It takes a Allen(aka "hex") wrench. Just snug her up and it'll be smooth.

 

[Nightcleaner]

MF and B&W is s good pairing!

My A5 int amp volume knob was a bit loose, too. It takes a Allen(aka "hex") wrench. Just snug her up and it'll be smooth.

Thanks i failed to do the Job because I didn't want to scratch the unit with the Alan Key i tried for 15 minutes last night very gently and gave up

 

[dogwan]

View attachment 2016067

Thanks i failed to do the Job because I didn't want to scratch the unit with the Alan Key i tried for 15 minutes last night very gently and gave up

It may not be that the knob is loose, but rather that the shaft is loose.

If it's like my A3cr, then the actual volume pot is located back in the middle of the chassis and uses an extension shaft through the front panel. That shaft is not a tight fit in the bushing. So while mine feels loose it is not. It just has a little flexibility and wiggles in the bushing. Not harmful at all, but it is a little annoying.

If that is the case with yours you could try opening the case, take apart that extension shaft and get some thick grease inside the joint to reduce the rattle feel and re-assemble.

 

[Erik Tracy]

I no longer have my A5 so I can not be sure, but I believe that the Allen Wrench you are using is too large. I seem to remember using the long side and the diameter of the wrench was half the size of the hole.

I also had to remove my knob and tighten the nut and lube the control. Mainly because it got some scratchy noise in the control.

That's what I was thinking.

My volume control knob was really loose and I was able to slide it off, then find the right sized allen to fit.

Plus, I put the long side of the allen wrench into the knob to tighten it up. I was able to do this with no worries about making contact with the face place.

 

[sjoege]

@dogwan

I'm planning to recap my A3.2cr power amp, could you describe how to set the bias properly?

Cheers!

 

[dogwan]

@dogwan

I'm planning to recap my A3.2cr power amp, could you describe how to set the bias properly?

Cheers!

I can't speak to whether or not the A3.2cr idle setting procedure is exactly like the A3cr. But this is what I did on mine.

The A3cr uses the Sanken SAP15 series of output devices. Unfortunately MF hasn't released a Service Manual. Fortunately the data-sheet specifies the idle current for the transistors at 40mA and has the emitter resistor (0.22Ω) built into it.

Simply measure across pins S and E and adjust the trimpot until you get 8.8mV.

I didn't measure directly on the pins as they are very close together. I located where the traces connected to those pins were attached to the next component nearby and measured from there.

Here's the thread over on DIYaudio where I figured it out....
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/303890-sap15-biasing-power-amp.html

YMMV so please do your due diligence and verify that this procedure will work on your amp.
Good luck.

 

[sjoege]

That is very helpfull information.....

I'll recap the amp and report back with the results.

Thanks again Dogwan!

 

[Cantonboy]

Hi MF owners! I’m thinking about a new upgrade. What opamp do you recommend for A3 CD player? There are 4x NE5532 in the signal path.

 

[Steve Rakow]

MUSICAL FIDELITY OWNERS and USERS (Past and Present)

THIS IS A PHOTO THREAD first and foremost. So PICS PICS AND MORE PICS please.

Apparently I've got quite an addiction to Musical Fidelity Gear, Specifically the X-ponent series . It's a design thing I'm sure. I started like many with an X-10d "missing Link" tube buffer and have racked up quite a bit of other units. SO. I figured I'd put up a MF owners thread to see if there are other Junkies out there.

Just this past weekend I attended a head-fi meet up in NH. and brought a Vintage MF Rig with me.
System included the following:

X-Cans v2
X-10d Tube Buffer
X-24K Dac
X-PSU Power Supply
X-Tone EQ/Tone Control

Custom Grado Cans ( Vibro Labs/ Manta )

 

[Steve Rakow]

MUSICAL FIDELITY OWNERS and USERS (Past and Present)

THIS IS A PHOTO THREAD first and foremost. So PICS PICS AND MORE PICS please.

Apparently I've got quite an addiction to Musical Fidelity Gear, Specifically the X-ponent series . It's a design thing I'm sure. I started like many with an X-10d "missing Link" tube buffer and have racked up quite a bit of other units. SO. I figured I'd put up a MF owners thread to see if there are other Junkies out there.

Just this past weekend I attended a head-fi meet up in NH. and brought a Vintage MF Rig with me.
System included the following:

X-Cans v2
X-10d Tube Buffer
X-24K Dac
X-PSU Power Supply
X-Tone EQ/Tone Control

Custom Grado Cans ( Vibro Labs/ Manta )

 

[Steve Rakow]

recently purchased a mint condition used Musical Fidelity m6si integrated amp. It was purchased thru Amazon. Two weeks ago it stopped putting out any output. Changed sources cables everything. Other amp hooked up to same works great.

Here is the problem. There is no phone number or website to get authorization to send to Musical Fidelity to repair. I’ve called three different dealers all refused to deal with it due to not purchasing it from them. I’ve left numerous messages with the distributor Naim North America and no has returned my calls. I guess I’ll send it to someone local to look at. I will sell this unit when repaired and never will purchase Musical Fidelity again. I’m beyond frustrated.