What's wrong with the MF A3.2 integrated amp?

E

Emiliano

Joined
Oct 13, 2003
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
HFC and What Hifi seem to ignore this amp, but Hifi News rates it and the yanks love it.

I listen mainly to classical so it might just suit me, and I intend to audition it when I'm back in the UK.

Now that the X series is back, it might soon be discontinued, which would probably mean a welcome drop in price.

How does it compare to the discontinued Arcam A85, which is going for as little as 600 quid at the moment?

I'd appreciate your views.
 
i auditioned the origional a3 a while ago and whilst it was ok it was soundly beaten by some of the other amps i've listened to. the arcam is pretty much in the same camp... i.e. a step up from a currys or dixons mini system but not the best out there. i'd take a look at some of the ex demo or 2nd hand amps (there was a thread a while ago with a list of links to useful places for this kind of thing) you can get some storming pre/power combos for 600 ukp which will truly embarass the a3 and arcam.
of course this is all imho so do some listening.
btw i've seen the arcam fmj 2nd hand for <600ukp (in the back of hi-fi world this month i think along with the fmj cdp for a similar price) if you like the arcam sound.
cheers


julian
 
Thanks for your replies.

I am hoping to compare it to the Unison Research Unico, if I can find a dealer in the North-West.
 
Dev,

I'm mellowing in my old age, although they do make posh door stops along with the Nap 500's :) Although "musical & m/f" in the same sentance are worrying
Besides as my hearing shot :D acoording to more than a few, I'm hardly in a postion to make a judgement or to tell people what they think they are hearing.
The XA 200's still eats it, so you can rest easy Dev :)
 
Originally posted by Lt Cdr Data
actually, it defies belief that the yanks love MF.
One would have thought they like big things, bass, aggresive dynamics, not polite insipid offenceless stuff.
beggers belief. on a payroll?
Click to expand...

....but they love Mackintosh and my Nuvitsa M3 was very superior in almost every respect when compared with one of the Mac integrateds.

MF do make good gear it just depends on what you like. Bryston is good but also more expensive. To my ears a bit lean (also read uncoloured) which is why recording studios love them. I heard the Unico recently and it sounded similar to the Quad 99 power amp when fed by the Quad 99 CDP. It might be worth while listening to the Quad as well which was surprisingly good - so good that I bought the 909 power amp.

Dominic
 
ok, word of warning - i own an A3.2 so i am most probably biased... but at least, i know what it sounds like... on my set up, that is.

i listened to quite a few amps before i chose this one. at different price points. however, nothing much more expensive (i didn't want to be tempted... god knows how easy that is already... :rolleyes: )

a few of the ones i heard: naim nait5 (not nearly resolving things as nicely as the mf, but a very foot tapping kind of sound, especially if partnered with their cd player), a couple of marantzs (something wasnt quite right... cant remember what... ;) ) and the Rotel 1062 (which i was hoping would sound good as it was a lot cheaper, but it was in a totally different league to my ears - no detail, a bit confused altogether).

so i went for the A3.2. it created the biggest soundstage i heard, it resolved complex symphonic passages very well, and it made me hear the instruments as i think they should sound. on a cello and piano sonata for example, the piano was present and well placed, and the sound of both instruments very natural (i play cello i should know ;) ). percussion was always very tactile, and i really look for that in the sound i want... i could almost see the rosin in the bows, or the brushes hitting the drum... so this is why i bought it.

i have it playing with my sonus faber signums. the combination sounds very good to my ears, although i am sure a lot of other pairings will sound good as well. very open, very organic sound.

i have heard other things... like krell, which is lovely with sonus faber, and resolves even better... but for a much higher price... TAG mclaren's pre/power which is great if you like your rock and pop but it is not the most subtle thing to my ears... :duck: and some really good sounding tube kit. for example, i really enjoyed listening to an old audio innovations 500 playing vinyl through a pair of Triangle Titus... for vocal and acoustic, it was a dream.
(unfortunately tubes are not very practical for me, at the moment, but maybe one day i'll get a nice Jadis Orchestra or something :p )

in the end, within your budget and your preferred listening genre, you must audition a good few amps to make up your mind... there are many really good amps around, as everyone here will tell you... i tried to give you an idea of why i chose the A3.2... i hope it is of some use to you.

best of luck, and make sure your dealer lets you bring it home on a trial first!

:beer:
Jack
 
Hi - owned both the 3.2 and the Unico, and IMHO the Unico trounces it. It is very hard to describe, but I found the sound from the Unico beat the MF in every department.
I am not going to go into any detail as you should listen to the two yourself, but for me, it would be the Unico every time.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top