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Musical Fidelity V90-DAC & M1PWR Amplifier Review

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Inspired To Make Predictions

I adore moments such as this, when an unexpected visceral connection is made with the music due to a technological shift in the culture. In the audiophile realm Class D is a shift, not a fad. Such shifts are by necessity disruptive, or as I put it, Class D is disruptive technology. I foresee the following consequences of the development of Class D:

-Already Class D can be not just favorably compared in terms of sound but in particular systems argued as equally legit in terms of performance. This means that price paid for amplification is now truly a double edged sword as audiophiles can contemplate moving to a product which has as compelling a package of sonic attributes as the finer Class A or A/B amps and yet spend multiples less.

-The Class A and A/B amp will slowly fade from use. Class A and A/B will remain nostalgic favorites, but will see sales declines. Once the community gets over the fact that a shift is occurring the critical mass will take the transition to completion. It is occurring with file playback, and it will occur with migration to Class D amplification. The benefits are too many not to be exploited.

-There will be a shakeup in the industry; many traditional amp makers will not survive as droves of audiophiles migrate to Class D. Those who diversify with Class D offerings will slow the decline of sales of their traditional offerings, and hopefully offset them entirely. I wouldn’t want to see the elimination of any small component manufacturer, but obsolescence will follow those who do not adapt.

-Once the industry shakeup is over we will have another wave of better performing Class D amps because of the mental firepower targeting the technology. New genius designers will appear and old A and A/B designers will be enshrined but will fade away. The fading process has already begun as the wizards of Class A and A/B are aging and dying. Technicians who understand the older designs are also becoming scarce. Unless a technological/materials advancement in the older designs manifests itself in terms of efficiency and weight reduction direction of flow toward the new technology is inevitable.

-Class A and A/B will become esoteric audio; it will survive for some time as a niche product but it will be on the basis of nostalgia, not supported widely by the audiophile community due to performance.

-Eventually the appearance of “throw away” audiophile amps will move from a novelty to a fixture of the high end. As radical as this seems, the M1PWR is already such a product, at least at its current price. If the price of products like the M1PWR were to fall to the level of the V90-DAC repairs would be a moot point as it would cost more for the service time and a dealer’s markup on the parts and repair than it is worth.

-The biggest losers will be those who deny the shift, who hold out on their behemoth amps for years, then discover that their beloved hefty amp has been radically reappraised and devalued. The market for Class A and A/B will crash, and that will be the end of the reign of those designs.

Do you consider this an Amp Doomsday scenario? Am I far too pessimistic as regards the older beloved technologies? Perhaps; we’ll see in about five to ten years. I do see one exception to this trend, that being the high power, lower weight integrated Class A/B amplifier. One example currently on review is none other than the Musical Fidelity M6500i Integrated, which sports four amplifiers bridged to two mono amps, yielding a whopping 500wpc! This represents the kind of forward thinking which must be undertaken if Class A/B is to survive long term. It is also one case which confirms my proclamation made when I used the Pathos Classic One MkIII in Mono mode that more efforts should be placed into development of mono integrated amps. The M6500i is a stunning example of this design philosophy in one chassis, and I will be pleased to report on it in a full length review upcoming. Suffice to say for the moment that the M6500i is a strong argument for the efficacy of the implementation of dual mono integrateds.

A Very Upside Future For Amplification

As pertains to the audiophile hobby a marked downward price restructuring in terms of the gear associated with a marked upturn in performance per dollar will translate to more interest from dollar-strapped younger people. The price of admission to the finest sound is a big barrier to most, but a sub-$1K superbly performing amp lowers that barrier significantly. In an age where ecological and space considerations grow ever more important, products like the M1PWR will become increasingly desired.

The M1 series is so good that it can take a competent speaker and upscale its performance to mimic far costlier speakers. I had my Kirksaeter Silverline 200 speakers handling occasional duties in my family room, and powered by the NuForce DDA-100 they performed acceptably for general listening. I am elated that I took these speakers back into the listening room again to see what would happen with the Musical Fidelity components. The speakers and electronics meshed as though made for each other, the salubrious effect so intense that I plan on working with these speakers in my alternative Landscape orientation which I had first tried with the Daedalus Ulysses.

Perhaps the simplest way to summarize the performance differential between Class A and A/B versus the M1PWR and what it does for speakers is to consider a tube amp in Pentode mode. In my experience a tube amp in Pentode mode often is thicker, lusher sounding but with less cleanness. The M1PWR is like a tube amp in Triode mode where a premium is placed on clarity and spatial relationships in the soundstage versus the weight and warmth of instruments. I am simplifying my descriptions for effect as these characteristics can vary widely by brand of tube amp. In comparison to solid state designs with higher power, say 500wpc, the M1PWR will sound less robust. I would enjoy hearing a 500wpc version of this design, which I believe would address this perceived shortcoming. After all the M1PWR is only a 65 Watt amp into 8 Ohms and 100 into 4 Ohms. In mono mode it moves to 200 Watts into 4 Ohms, still a far cry from far larger amps. I would love to hear what Anthony could make if he were to put his hand to using a module of 500 Watts or even 1kW!

My findings were consistent in regard to the M1PWR when paired with the elegant Pass Labs XP-20. I do not wish to cause a panic, nor gross misunderstanding that the M1 series surpasses or even matches the Pass Labs offerings, but as no amp is wholly unassailable the M1PWR does offer one specific area which is crucially important to some listeners – higher definition and detail. Whereas the both the XP-20 and the X600.5 had more robust, easeful, generously flowing character the M1PWR had laser precision. With a speaker in a system perceived to be too soft, unexciting, dull or bloated on the bass, and too laid back the audiophile on a budget seeking to compensate for a languid sound should especially consider this amp. 

5 Responses to Musical Fidelity V90-DAC & M1PWR Amplifier Review


  1. Mario Munos says:

    Good job reviewing the power amp. The DAC’s review, however, is hardly a complete review, particularly the comparison to the EE Minimax. No where you mention that the V90 is an upsampling DAC (to 192K , non-defeatable), while the EE Minimax does not upsample at all. Also, as other reviewer have measured, the V90 output runs almost 1dB louder, which although small is bound to trigger all sort of perceptions of subtle subjective sound preferences, thus, skewing that subjective opinion in favor of the V90,in a comparison with other DACs. So, the difference that you heard and prefered, must likely, was the combination of the higher output and the 192K upsampling. Besides matching outputs, a proper comparison would have been playing through the EE Minimax ripped files from the CDs used for the comparison, but upsampled to 192K (either on the fly or as previously upconverted files) using the appropriate media player/sample rate converter programs.

    Mario

  2. Richard Behling says:

    You owe it to yourself to review a D-Sonic high power amplifier.
    http://www.d-sonic.net

  3. Dan says:

    Hello,
    I’m running my MF M1 PWR in mono mode(200w) with 4 ohms Linn AV5140 speakers.
    Will I heard a Big difference if I switch to Stereo mode and Bi-amp both speakers.
    Stereo mode would be 130w on Highs and 130w Low per speaker into 4 ohms.(260w per speaker)
    Thanks

  4. Vahram Sahakian says:

    But the instructions /and all MF sites/ say։
    1x RCA coaxial connector SPDIF 32-192 kbps [!!!]
    2x TOSLINK optical connector 32-96 kbps {!!!]

    I have a question
    WHY kbps???
    Kbps is a file data rate unit!!!!

    Maybe it’s a mistake?

    Can be KHZ?

  5. Bob P. says:

    For the money, the M1 amp is a steal.. It is very clear and detailed, maybe a bit too precise. . However, all the sound comes through. I am using a vintage Conrad Johnson tube preamp with the M1. The combination of mellow tubes along with the precise sound of the M1 is a perfect match. If you are careful to match components, the M1 is a great choice at a great price.

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