Review: Musical Fidelity A1

[russ.will]

My first real amp by Russell Williams aged 35 1/4.

Every once in a while, a little bit of high end magic slips out of an R&D department that we can all afford. It will have limitations, it may not possess the stunning looks of its high end brethren and it will have quirks. But within its limits and carefully partnered, it will stun.

Step forward 1984's Musical Fidelity A1. Claiming only 25 watts of (not quite pure) Class A power it was immediately ignored by head bangers. This was good. It ran hot. Too hot to touch the casing and much quality vinyl was lost across this land by the hapless. There was nowhere to plug in your headphones. Come to think of it there weren't many places to plug in anything, but there were enough. Remember, the CD had only just been invented. People were only just realising that marmalade covered music media was a challenge you took up only once if you actually owned the player and recordings required (re)winding. There were only two Dolby systems - B & C. Multiple speakers still equalled stereo and this was an amp that required careful selection of just two.

The A1 used the circuit topolgy of MA's megalith A370 power amp and crammed it into a box the size of a tuner. The inferno conditions of the interior tended to cook the capacitors and other components within a few years. No problem - it became a tweekers dream. So, infexible, underpowered and a bugger to site. Pointless?

No. You see, it came with a midrange range bereft of Class AB crossover distortion. The liquid ease and air this imparted vocals and acoustic instruments had not been heard outside of the MF and Krell leviathons and the even quirkier valve brigade. And certainly not for £299. A touch soft in the bass, it favoured standmounts that didn't delve too deep and this may have contributed to its vocal talents. Its sweet treble reveled in the newfound detail of the first generation metal domes, whilst the slight high frequency roll off countered the sting. Missions 751 and Monitor Audio standmounts were natural partners, creating parings that punched way above their weight and could embarrass many self appointed exotica.

Uprgaditis and the supposed requirement of more power eventually lead to the A1s departure. That particular sale is one I still regret to this day.

Russell

[Sonnie]

Very interesting Russell... reading this I was reminded of that McIntosh MC250 amp I had once that was only 50wpc and I believe only had one stereo input. 1984 was the year of my first stereo system.

[russ.will]

A whole 50w. Pah! That's PA compared to the A1! Seriously though, do you regret selling it like I did? The A1 would have made a fantastic second room system amp.

Russell

[Sonnie]

Yeah, I really do wish I still had it. It was in near mint condition. I only paid around $150 for it and sold it for $250 several years later. I think that was about what it sold for new back in the early 70's.

... third from the bottom in the cabinet.

An amp just like it powered a pair of Klipschorns at a night club I deejayed at back in the early 80's.

I would love to have it right now for maybe a stereo setup in the bedroom or our study.

[Phil M]

I had the A1 for years, but was forced to trade it in by my wife a few years ago - and now regret it. I've opened a home office and have a pair of B&W CDM1's doing nothing, and it would have worked nicely with. I've always considered MF's core competence as being amps, with CD players a close second. The latest Stereophile (the US equivalent of Gramaphone) has a review of the new KW DM25 CD player, which they highly recommend as a bargain at $6500