MUSICAL FIDELITY M8XI INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER 870 WATTS PER C/INTO 4 OHM MSRP 8K

Description: Musical Fidelity M8Xi Integrated Amplifier The Musical Fidelity M8xi is a powerhouse integrated amplifier that has garnered positive reviews for its impressive performance and build quality. *****FIVE stars across the board Product descriptionM8XI | SUPER INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERThe M8xi is a Super Integrated Amplifier.Years ago, Musical Fidelity made the first-ever Super Integrated amplifier 1990 we believe: the A1000. It is still received a rapturous welcome and, even today, second hand, is selling at very high prices. The A1000 was the first of a long line of Super Integrated Amplifiers from Musical Fidelity. Its children: the NuVista M3, Tri Vista 300, kW500, M6/500i, NuVista 800 and NuVista 600 all were equally enthusiastically welcomed to the audiophile world. The M8xi is the latest and the best of the breed. Listen to an MX8I and you will want one, and it has a great price that does not break the bank considering what you are buying. If you would buy all the components the MX8I has at the same quality level & build, separately you would spent 5 to 7 times more money! But, why when you can have all this unit offers in one! At a very fair price. M8xi - OverviewGeneral DescriptionThe M8xi is a separate preamp with two monobloc power amps sharing a common chassis. Each has its own heat sink and separate transformer. Genuinely dual mono. The preamp has its own separate power supply and is mounted close to the input sockets. Consequently, PCB tracks are very short. This elegant idea ensures that both channels' signals are ultra-low impedance the instant they get into the amplifier. This is a significant detail. Each channel has twelve big bipolar transistors - 200 amps peak to peak is easily available. The metalwork is high quality. The front panel is a custom made fine line extrusion of milspec aluminum. The custom made heat sinks have outstanding dissipation characteristics and finish. The M8xi construction has a feeling of solidity and quality.New CircuitryOver the last 5 years our power amp circuitry has reached a high state of development. In our never-ending quest for improving performance and customer value we have been looking for ways to improve our designs. One of the prime directives was to keep the low feedback configuration unchanged .. continue with low feedback! The problem was how to improve efficiency and performance without affecting the sound quality. If I say so myself, I think we have come up with a brilliant solution. Our new M8xi power amp design gives higher power, lower distortion, and better sound quality. Incredible but true. The output stage efficiency has been increased thus yielding about 10% more power for similar power supply voltage. More importantly, the whole driver stage is pure Class A. We believe that this innovative approach has a substantial effect on the sound quality. The sound stage appears wider whilst the micro and macro dynamics have more impact. This effect is particularly noticeable on well-recorded piano. I am sure you all know the piano is a percussive instrument but in truth, this is rarely audible on most Hi-Fi systems. Using an M8xi a piano‘s percussive nature becomes instantly obvious and jumps out of the loudspeaker. lt is a surprising and satisfying improvement to the sound quality. Vocals have more subtly, detail and presence. Large scale music has depth, width, and incredibly dynamic presentation. All in all the M8xi is a consummate all-rounder. Mostly it sounds like a small Class A amplifier with huge power.The DACThe M8xi also features a 5 input DAC. DACs are increasingly common in integrated amplifier designs to add convenience when connecting a variety of digital sources, so the decision was taken to build-in a DAC that would perform to a high standard, independently of the amplifier. For added integrity, the DAC features its own power supply. Based around the Texas Instruments PCM5242 TI low-distortion and low-noise DAC chip, which is also employed in many other premium products in the hi-fi industry as well as in previous Musical Fidelity products, the M8xi has 2 x coaxial (S/PDIF), 2 x optical (S/PDIF) and 1 x asynchronous USB Type-B inputs. The coaxial and the USB inputs are capable of supporting hi-res audio streams up-to 24-bit / 192kHz, and the optical input is capable of supporting up-to 24-bit / 96kHz. For maximal performance, all data streams are up-sampled and re-clocked by an internal converter to reduce jitter and remove unwanted artifacts in the sound.Technical PerformanceThe M8xi delivers 550 + 550wpc into 8 ohms. It is extremely stable and very linear. The distortion is low too; lower than 0.005% in the audible frequency range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The M8xi has remarkable linearity and consistency. lt is unconditionally stable and will drive any loudspeaker in existence easily with ample power reserve.Our Approach to Technical MeasurementsIn our view an amplifier should be completely neutral. lt is ‚a straight wire with gain‘. Easy to say but hard and complex to do. We want to stress that we do not believe that the technical performance is an end in itself. lt is a method of validating the total amplifier system concept. The aim of our circuit/PCB designs is to have low feedback and achieve complete neutrality, transparency, and great technical performance. The proof that we are on the right track is the technical performance. We think that technical performance cannot be summed up by the distortion at 1 kHz. Our view is that an amplifier has to be able to satisfy a wide range of technical requirements before it can be neutral.LinearityAlmost all loudspeakers have complex impedance and loading curves. An amplifier must be able to maintain its voltage virtually, regardless of loading. If an amplifier cannot maintain its voltage across the spectrum, then the ultimate frequency response and distortion will be nonlinear. This is not neutrality.DistortionThe overwhelming majority of amplifier manufacturers only talk about distortion at 1 kHz. We believe that this is only a fraction of the story. From our perspective, an amplifier must have very low distortion from 20 Hz- 20 kHz and beyond. We believe that an amplifier‘s high-frequency performance proves the total performance of the circuit and PCB layout. The M8xi distortion hardly changes from 10 kHz to 50 kHz. An outstanding achievement and validation of the circuit design and PCB layout.Noise RatioAmplifiers should be quiet. If they are not, low-level detail is irretrievably lost. Also, the dynamic range is seriously compromised. Dynamic range is not just how much power an amplifier will produce, it is also how quiet it can be. Dynamic range is the total from the quietest to the loudest. The M8xi excels in this respect.Precision Volume ControlThe M8xi has a precision volume control. This ensures perfect tracking right down to very low levels which is unattainable with standard potentiometers. This outstanding precision is achieved by laser-trimmed substrate resistors.Sound QualityThe M8xi is effortless, fluid, and dynamic. lt doesn‘t sound ‚loud‘. lt just sounds right. The dynamics are handled with no drama or fuss. They come and they go. There is no distortion; just pure undiluted music. lt sounds like a superb small Class A amplifier but with limitless headroom. Perfection! AmplifierPower Output (20Hz - 20kHz): 550 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms (870W into 4 Ohms); Peak 1.6kW into 2 OhmsMaximum output voltage: 67 Volts RMS, 20Hz to 20 kHz; onset of clipping (190 Volts peak-to-peak)THD+N: <0.004% typical, 20Hz to 20 kHz (XLR)Signal/noise ratio: > 86dB ‚A‘-weighted (XLR)Input impedance: 25KΩ (RCA), 50KΩ (XLR)Frequency response: +0, –1dB, 10Hz to 100 kHzMaximum peak output current: 105 AmpsDamping factor: 150Output devices: 3+3 pairs (bridged arrangement) per channelInputs (analogue)4 pairs line level RCA connectors2 pairs line level XLR (balanced) connectorsInputs (digital)2x Coax S/PDIF up to 24 bit 192kHz2x Optical S/PDIF up to 24 bit 96kHz1x USB B Asynchronous USB up to 24 bit 192kHzOutputs (analogue)1 pair line level RCA fixed1 pair pre-out RCA variable1 pair line level XLR variableOutputs (digital)1x Coax S/PDIF up to 24 bit 192kHz1x Optical S/PDIF up to 24 bit 96kHzGeneralDimensions (WxHxD): 485 x 185 x 510mmMax. Consumption: 2000Watts PLEASE REMEMBER SOMETIMES THE BEST PRICE IS NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST DEAL! WE STAND BEHIND EVERYTHING WE SELL. PLEASE READ OUR REVIEWS Mahler’s Symphony No.2 and this musical beast is right at home. It sounds massive, rendering an expansive but nicely focused soundstage. It’s an open and stable presentation where instruments are locked in position and never waver, even when the music becomes demanding.Given the Musical Fidelity’s reserves of power, it would be surprising if dynamics weren’t excellent. And they are. This amplifier punches out large-scale dynamic swings with skill and also manages to communicate nuances with the finesse they deserve.There’s a good level of insight here, and the ability to track low-level instrumental strands without losing sight of the whole. The M8xi is a thrilling listen with appropriate music, delivering all the drama packed into the original performance.Tonally things are even enough to give us convincing results across a wide range of instruments. If you hear an M8xi sound a little bright and edgy in the higher frequencies it probably hasn’t had time to warm up properly or is poorly matched with the speakers. Our sample sounds pretty even-handed given a few days of use.We try the amplifier’s digital inputs and are pleased with what we hear. Despite the less-than-stellar specs, this is a good-sounding digital module that’s broadly on par with some of the better three-figure outboard DACs on the market. We use our MacBook (loaded with Audirvana playback software and lots of high res music) and a Cyrus CDi CD player as digital sources and find the M8xi refreshingly consistent between inputs, taking into account the differing quality of the sources of course. The amplifier’s sound retains the lively and entertaining quality of the analogue line stages, which is more than can be said of many of the built-in DACs we normally come across. We listen to a whole raft of music from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Miles Davis to Eminem, and the M8xi never lets us down, rendering the sound with verve, insight and a physicality that is mighty appealingVerdict(Image credit: Musical Fidelity)The M8xi has power to burn and that shines through in its muscular and authoritative nature. You can throw pretty much anything at this amplifier and it’ll never seem out of its depth, yet beneath all that muscle is a product that has enough emotional stretch to satisfy across a wide range of musical genres. The Musical Fidelity M8xi definitely belongs on the shortlist. SCORESSound 5Build 5Features 5MORE:Here's our round-up of the best integrated amplifiers Musical Fidelity M8xi reviewA super-sized integrated amplifier that delivers the expected muscularity with a surprising degree of finesse Musical Fidelity M8xi integrated amplifierJason Victor Serinus | Oct 9, 2020Once upon a time, reviews of Musical Fidelity components frequently filled pages in Stereophile. But in all my years covering audio shows, I can't recall blogging about any of the company's products, not even once. So, when my editor offered a review of the new M8xi, a hefty 101lb dual-mono integrated amplifier that includes a DAC, I seized the opportunity to fill a black hole in my consciousness. (Kindly cast aside thoughts that it would take more than a hunk of audio equipment to fill the black hole in my brain.) As long as I didn't break my back lifting the M8xi, solo, to the top shelf of my rack—for this I humbly beg assistance from spouses, neighbors, and friends—new vistas were in store.I had no way of knowing if the M8xi would lead me down the Yellow Brick Road to Oz, but I did know that, power-wise, it would have no trouble propelling my Wilson Alexia 2 loudspeakers in that direction: The M8xi is specified to output a whopping 870W into 4 ohms. It arrived at the perfect time to compare its amplification section with my reference D'Agostino Progression monoblocks ($38,000/pair), which are specified to output 1000W into the same 4 ohms, and to compare its DAC with both my reference dCS Rossini DACClock combo ($23,999 + $7499) and the Weiss DAC502 ($9850). Given that the price differences among these products are wider than the fabled parting of the Red Sea that allowed the people of Israel to escape from Egypt, the prospect of using the money saved to buy a few coveted yellow bricks proved so tempting that I gleefully mixed mythologies as I prepared myself to ignore the possible consequences of my metaphorical sins.When I mentioned the Progressions to Austria-based Musical Fidelity President and CEO Heinz Lichtenegger during our cellular exchange, he set the stage for the comparison I had in mind. "I have the D'Agostino Momentums here. into high-end audio without spending crazy money," Lichtenegger continued. "It has very nice musicality, which it made a priority. Our design philosophy includes minimal feedback to ensure that we don't overdamp—we want to keep the life of the sound—and huge dynamic possibilities. The idea is to have huge, huge power to drive any speaker you wish while avoiding the pitfall of most high-power amplifiers that produce a hard, unmusical sound at low volume levelsDan is a very good friend of mine. I don't want to compete with Dan's products, which are in a different price range. We call the Musical Fidelity brand 'affordable high end,' and our Pro-Ject brand 'affordable hi-fi stereo.' Musical Fidelity prices will never rise to $20k; it's not the brand for it. We have to know what we are and want to maintain our tradition."Musical Fidelity's tradition is certainly ambitious. "To me, Musical Fidelity was always the best product to find your way . You can use our [products] in a normal environment where you can't make head-banging sound."Lichtenegger was equally forthright about the M8xi's limitations. "There may be a preamplifier in the M8xi, but mainly it is two mono amplifiers. It's not so far away from the Progression, but the Progression is for sure better and has more components inside. But any good amplifier with a radical design such as ours should have the same channel separation and the same power as two monos." That kind of talk makes me eager to see John Atkinson's measurements report.Lichtenegger entered the business almost 40 years ago as a small retailer who wanted to sell hi-fi to his friends without having to jack up prices because of import fees. Soon, he began to sell and distribute Triangle loudspeakers from France and Musical Fidelity from the UK. In 1991, he founded Pro-Ject.As he became one of Musical Fidelity's largest European distributors, Lichtenegger developed a friendship with company founder Antony Michaelson. Two years ago, when Michaelson opted to retire, Lichtenegger took over the company with the promise to rebuild the line while maintaining the Musical Fidelity tradition."Antony was never a designer," Lichtenegger said. "He was the idea holder, the man behind the sound whose specialty was electronic and analog design. For 10 years, I'd already been producing his digital and software line using Pro-Ject's digital engineers."As part of the ownership shift, Lichtenegger welcomed the original designer of the company's analog layouts, Musical Fidelity's technical director and main engineer, Simon Quarry. David Popeck, who was involved in designing the digital side of the M8xi, also remained with the company and focuses mainly on software design for the Encore line of streaming music systems."Our philosophy involves both circuitry and components. You can take the best circuitry and components, put them together, and build something that measures really well but doesn't sound good. Antony knew how to balance circuitry with components. It took us two years to fine-tune the M8xi to its current level, which required finding the correct placement for components. The layout of every wire and transistor has a huge impact on distortion and sound. You don't just put something in and solder it and consider it done; sonic balance is only achieved by play, play, play.It's very difficult to combine a certain warmth and sweetness with musicality in solid-state. Antony, whose first products were tube amplifiers, worked to get tube sound from solid-state amplifiers that could power big speakers. I'm very happy that I still have Simon and Antony on board to fine-tune the circuitry and components that create the famous Musical Fidelity sound."The M8xi's DAC handles PCM up to 24/192 and does neither DSD nor MQA. More characteristic forthrightness from Lichtenegger: "We decided to put a DAC inside the M-series because some people want one without adding an extra box. But we have to say that it's not possible to include a proper-sounding DAC in an amplifier with a design that requires so much current and power. ... So, if you want a DAC that performs on the same level as the amplifier, you need a separate DAC."Lichtenegger invited me to submit queries for Quarry, the M8xi's main engineer. Given my own fortes, I decided to limit my questions to basic information about the amp and preamp design. Having frequently read claims that a particular class-AB amplifier may produce its first 30W in class-A before switching over to class-B, I asked how the M8xi operates."Standing current in the M8xi is set so that 0.25W into 8 ohms would be within class-A region," Quarry wrote. "This is the point at which the audio transistors ... slide into zero glitching (crossover distortion) at the crossover point. Increasing the standing current beyond this point makes distortion rise again.Quarry corrected my use of the phrase "switching over.""Everyone says 'switches to class-B.' This is incorrect. The transistor supplying the current simply increases the output current into the speaker. Even the transistor that is 'not in use' on each alternate half cycle is not switched off—it is still drawing the standing current. So, no 'switching' is really occurring anywhere."The M8xi has a large power capacitor next to each of the output devices, separate from the main supply reservoir capacitors. This allows a huge amount of energy to be available to draw very quickly and close to the amplifier circuits. This in turn gives great output drive capability and much-improved transient response and dynamics, particularly into lower-impedance speakers."The preamplifier features all-analogue circuitry with a laser-trimmed, digitally controlled volume control. This allows 0.5dB steps matched to within less than 0.1dB between channels, from bottom to top [of the] volume range. So, no more increasing mismatch at the bottom end of the scale! The preamp section is set up so [that] no op-amp outputs more than its standing current, thus maintaining 'class-A operation' at all input levels. Pre-outputs would be class-A for next-stage inputs over 5k ohm impedance—nearly all are well above this; 10k ohm is standard lowest—but still keep distortion low [into loads below] below 600 ohms."Musical Fidelity's Lubor J. Grigorescu subsequently wrote that the M8xi's analog volume control, which is digitally controlled by the front-panel knob, resides on a T1 PGA2320 chip. The company claims "channel and frequency matching less than 0.1dB, even at lower levels, which are normally problematic for usual mechanical pot." The preamp is separately powered to prevent high-current leakage from the mono amplifiers. The DAC and sample-rate–conversion parts are fed by a filtered 5V power supply.Romping around the playground When I first set eyes on the massive M8xi's front panel, with its two oversized knobs glaring at me from either side of an easily readable, dimmable input/volume display, the thought "This is a man's amp" came to mind. I admonished myself for such sexist terminology and asked the husband what he thought."Everything you've got looks like men's gear," he said rather dismissively. Well, at least he didn't call my components "boys' toys."The back panel includes two sets of speaker outputs, two sets of balanced inputs, and one set of balanced line-level outputs. Unbalanced line-level connections (RCA) include four analog inputs (labeled CD, tuner, AUX1, and AUX2/ HT; there's a switch to turn the latter into a home-theater bypass) and two analog outputs (labeled LINE and PRE; the former is fixed while the latter is variable). Digital inputs include USB, S/PDIF optical (2), and RCA (2). There are also one RCA and one TosLink digital out, Trigger in and out, and a 20A-capable IEC receptor.Integrated Amp ReviewsMusical Fidelity M8xi integrated amplifier Page 2Once the M8xi had been hoisted, with assistance, onto my rack, I did some thinking about power conditioning. I'd already inquired about the use of a power conditioner and received an email that said that while Musical Fidelity had striven to build "a power supply with very low internal impedance in order to achieve maximum possible dynamics," conditioners that didn't limit current and squash dynamics could possibly improve things further. After listening and comparing, I opted for the same AudioQuest Niagara 5000 I use with the Progressions. I also used the same Ansuz Darkz T2S support feet I use with the D'Agostino monos. I continued to use them because they enhanced the depiction of air, depth, and space—what stood out most was the clearer depiction of space between vocalists, instrumentalists, and the wall behind them—but I should note that the M8xi did quite well on its stock feet.To test the M8xi as an integrated amplifier without engaging its DAC, I ran balanced interconnects from either the dCS Rossini DAC/Clock combo or the Weiss DAC502 to the M8xi and turned the DACs' digital volume controls up to 0dB to remove them from the signal path.Although the M8xi is not Roon-tested, its DAC had no problem recognizing signals sent directly from the Roon Nucleus+ server via USB. Hence, I used the Nucleus+ as the music source throughout this review. When the Rossini and DAC502 were in use, the Nucleus+ fed them by either USB or Ethernet; when the M8xi DAC was engaged, I either fed it by USB or used Ethernet to send signal through the dCS Network Bridge via coax. (I didn't hear a big difference between USB and coax, but then, so many new variables were introduced when I added the Network Bridge and additional cabling that I can't swear there aren't any differences.) By choosing tracks within the M8xi DAC's limit of PCM 24/192, I was able to compare the same music on all three DACs.Play First listens to the M8xi followed an intense period of using the Progressions to compare the dCS Rossini and Weiss DAC502 DACs. When I switched from the Progressions to the M8xi, its sound was virtually as pleasing, and spot-on neutral, albeit less transparent and airy and less precise in its depiction of acoustic space. The M8xi conveyed the warmth of Yo-Yo Ma's cello on his Bach Trios recording (24/96 WAV, Nonesuch 558933), with mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and bass player Edgar Meyer, but I missed the mandolin's undertones. Instruments seemed to hang, separated from each other, as though recorded by separate microphone feeds that didn't blend into a coherent whole; they do blend together with my reference monoblocks. But I could hear the delicacy of every pluck of the mandolin string and the unique textures of Ma's cello."This is very natural and beautiful sound that just about any music lover would enjoy," I wrote in my notes. "Even if the bass line isn't as firm and full as with my reference, soundstage boundaries aren't as well-defined, and depth depiction isn't as strikingly realistic, the sound is very organic and resolved. If I hadn't heard better, I could imagine myself content with this integrated for the rest of my life." (My closest friends might say that they've never seen me content for days on end, but there's little harm in waxing Panglossian now and then.)Turning to very different music, Yello's bass-pounding, wall-to-wall, immersive "Electrified II" from Toy (24/48 WAV download, Polydor 4782160), the wow factor was diminished. A little. But even if its bass wasn't as gut-shaking—even if the soundstage didn't seem to reach out to me and gobble me up body and soul—it sounded really good.How did the M8xi's DAC compare to the stand-alone Rossini DAC/Clock combo? Musical Fidelity's baby lacked profundity on the bottom, wasn't nearly as open and transparent, threw a smaller and less convincing soundstage, had a less-differentiated color palette, and so on. But, if memory serves me correctly, the M8xi's DAC was more satisfying than the Aurender A10's, whose sound I begrudgingly described as "okay"; it also bettered the optional DAC in the Krell K-300i integrated ($7000; DAC $1000 extra), which I termed "surprisingly musical and satisfying for the price." It certainly sounded better than Lichtenegger suggested it would. If you don't want to add another box, power cable, and set of interconnects to your system and you're content with resolutions up to 24/192 PCM, the M8xi's internal DAC will not leave you feeling shortchanged.The limits of what the M8xi could reveal became clear when I enlisted both it and the Progressions to compare the Rossini and Weiss DACs. I chose a new, excellently engineered recording of Handel's sprawling soap-opera oratorio, Saul, with the period-instrument Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, and the Philharmonia Chorale, conducted by Bruce Lamott (24/192 WAV, PVP-14). The recording includes seven distinct-voiced soloists and a large group of instruments, including a keyboard glockenspiel that brought to mind Papageno's magical enchantment in Mozart's The Magic Flute.After spending several hours immersed in Saul's troubled universe, it became clear that all the differences between DACs that I heard with the Progressions were also conveyed by the M8xi—just not to the same degree or with quite as much clarity. I could hear the fetching innocence of Yulia Van Doren's lustrous highs, the "splat" of horn on the big orchestral movements, and the resonant acoustic of Berkeley's First Congregational Church, a venue I know well.Nonetheless, there were some distinct differences. Baroque instruments have more uniquely contrasting timbres than their smoother sounding, bigger-boned modern counterparts. Because the Progressions convey a greater range of orchestral color, everything I love about well-recorded period-authentic instruments came to the fore. In Saul's 10-minute overture, whose repetitive patterns grew tedious through the M8xi, the Progressions revealed how much care McGegan and his players devoted to subtle changes of dynamics and emphasis. They enabled me to understand why Handel devoted so many measures to passing the same multinote pattern from strings on the left to other instruments on the right. The color contrasts revealed by this back-and-forth were so captivating and delicious that, instead of yawning, I wanted to applaud.Replaying the "Chorus of the Israelites" through the Progressions, their greater ability to locate instruments and singers within the soundstage led me to realize just how fine an engineer David v.R. Bowles is and how faithfully his recording conveys what music sounds like from a center-aisle seat maybe 4 or 6 rows back in this familiar venue. When a soloist sang, I could sense how far forward they were from the orchestra. The extra resonance around the voices of the chorale, which was situated in the rear, clarified their (greater) distance from the microphones. I could also hear how well Lamott had tuned his singers, save for the brash tenor voice or two that occasionally stuck out from the pack.Using two sets of balanced interconnects, I briefly evaluated the M8xi as a preamp only, with the Progressions providing amplification. (I didn't spend much time with this, since few people will use the M8xi this way.) The sound improved a noticeable notch over the M8xi working as a full integrated. There was more color and detail in harpsichord plucks and more air and body. I ended up feeling that the M8xi's preamp and amplification sections were well-matched.At the end of the review period, I invited neighbors Vicki and Dana over for a masked, socially distanced listen. First, they heard the Rossini feeding the M8xi. When I cued up Mark Knopfler, the artist of Dana's choice, performing "Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes" from Tracker (Deluxe) (24/192 FLAC, Qobuz), the couple eschewed the standard "sit in your place and take copious notes" reviewer routine, jumped up, and started dancing. (Knopfler's is far more danceable music than Handel's "Chorus of the Israelites.") But when I switched to the Progressions and they sat back down to take another listen, they immediately commented on the difference. "Every flavor is distinct from the other," Vicki said. "It's like the difference between crock-pot food and stir-fry." Crock pot may sell the M8xi short—it certainly serves up quite a meal—but you've got to love her for that one.Picking up the toys After reviewing six moderately priced integrated amplifiers (and at least one expensive one) in the past few years, I can say with confidence that the extremely neutral Musical Fidelity M8xi is not only the most powerful and least expensive of the bunch but also one of the best-sounding. It may not sound as brilliant and warm as the more-expensive and easier-to-lift Krell K-300i, but it delivers a similar share of seductive musical truth. Given that the M8xi also has abundant power to manage difficult speaker loads and convey dynamic contrasts generated by huge forces, it is a major achievement in its price range. Highly recommendedMusical Fidelity M8xi integrated amplifier SpecificationsSidebar 1: SpecificationsDescription: Class-AB integrated amplifier with D/A converter. Analog inputs: 4 pairs RCA (line), 2 pairs XLR (line). Digital inputs: S/ PDIF RCA up to 24/192 (2), TosLink up to 24/96 (2), USB-B asynchronous up to 24/192. Analog outputs: RCA line fixed (2), RCA pre-out variable, XLR pre-out variable. Digital outputs: S/PDIF: RCA up to 24/192, TosLink up to 24/96. Output power: 550Wpc into 8 ohms (27.4dBW), 870Wpc into 4 ohms (26.4dBW). Maximum output voltage: 67V RMS, 10Hz–20kHz; onset of clipping, 190V peak-to-peak. Maximum peak output current: 105A. Maximum power consumption: 2kW. Damping factor: 150. Frequency response: 10Hz–100kHz, +0/–1dB. THD+N: <0.004% typical, 20Hz–20kHz. Signal/noise: >86dB, A-weighted (XLR). Input impedance: 25k ohm (RCA), 50k ohm (XLR). Accessories: Remote. Dimensions: 19.1" (485mm) W × 7.25" (184mm) H × 20.1" (510mm) D. Weight: 101lb (46kg). Shipping weight: 106lb (48kg). Finishes: Silver or black. Serial number of unit reviewed: PXY05046 "Designed in EnglandThe Musical Fidelity M8xi is a powerhouse integrated amplifier that has garnered positive reviews for its impressive performance and build quality. Here are some key points from various reviews:Power and Performance: The M8xi delivers a massive 550 watts per channel into 8 ohms, which can rise to 870 watts into 4 ohms12. This makes it capable of driving almost any speaker with ease.Build Quality: It is a solidly built unit, weighing in at 46kg, with a modular design that includes a DAC, preamp, and two monobloc power amplifiers1. The design ensures minimal interaction between the analogue and digital circuits, contributing to its high performance.Sound Quality: Reviewers have praised the M8xi for its combination of muscularity and finesse. It offers a clear and entertaining presentation with a wide range of music12.Connectivity: The M8xi features a variety of inputs, including USB type-B, coaxial, and optical, as well as digital outputs.Drawbacks: Some reviewers noted that the M8xi is quite large and heavy, and it runs warm, which may require good ventilation12.Overall, the Musical Fidelity M8xi is highly regarded for its power, build quality, and sound performance, making it a strong contender in the high-end integrated amplifier market.Is there anything specific you would like to know more about regarding the M8xi?

Price: 5880 USD

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

End Time: 2024-10-01T01:42:21.000Z

Shipping Cost: 499.88 USD