Musical Fidelity A5 cd player (used) - sold

Come with remote control. Selling at RM4000 with 2 pcs spare 6112 tubes (Nu Vista). Sms only 012 332 9244 or PM

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/musicalfidelity/A5.html

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Since many asked about the player characteristic, here it is:

Musical Fidelity A5 CD Player

Review

INTRODUCTION
They
say the devil is in the details. If so, the Musical Fidelity A5 is a
devil of a good CD player. This review reflects my own experience and
opinions regarding the Musical Fidelity A5 CD Player. I will focus on
the sound and function of the A5 and leave the technical issues to those
qualified to address them. My interest is in how it sounds in my
system, not why it sounds that way.

I have a huge library of
CD’s going way back that includes an eclectic mix of classical, jazz,
rock and world music, much of which will never make it to a new high-res
format. So I am looking for a CD player that will let me enjoy those
while still getting the most out of the new masterfully recorded CD’s.
My ideal player would provide all possible information and detail from
the CD so I can use the rest of my system to craft the sound I want. I
have a preference for the middle ground in the areas of overall tone,
detail vs smoothness and transient attack vs roundness. I put a high
priority on 3D imaging, inner detail and that sense of “air” around an
instrument or voice.

My two channel system is in a home office
10 x 12 and consists of a CD player, 300B based integrated amp and
Reference 3A MM DeCapo i speakers. Although I do have a REL Strata III
subwoofer, I did not use if when listening for evaluation, so it does
not mask bass performance. Recent CD players in my system include (in
chronological order), Musical Fidelity A308, Ayre CX-7, Accuphase
DP-65V, Accuphase DP-55V and most recently, Audio Resolution Opus 21.

My
Musical Fidelity A5 CD player was purchased at my local MF, dealer,
Upscale Audio in Upland, CA. According to their recommendations, I
allowed a week of break in before doing a critical evaluation. The unit
does require a break in, as it developed better imaging and detail over
the break in period. I now have over two weeks of play on the
machine.

My strategy for evaluation is to use about two dozen
tracks on a handful of certain CD’s to look for specific
characteristics. Then I will play a bunch of different CD’s for
enjoyment. If I am comparing two items, I will do an A/B/A comparison.


FUNCTION
The A5 has the typical excellent MF build quality,
having a brushed aluminum face and black anodized extrusions for the
sides, as well as a pair protective handles on either side of the front.
The unit reads CD’s quickly and has a very solid feel to the CD
drawer. Display is a blue LCD panel with white lettering that has high
and low brightness settings as well as an OFF setting. The display is
easy to read when viewing it head on, but gets harder to read from
extreme side angles. The remote is a full function plastic affair with
all the usual functions, including direct track access and drawer
open/close. The drawer open/close feature is great if you put your unit
on some kind of isolation devices that are a bit tippy, like Symposium
Rollerblocks. The top half of the remote has the function buttons for
the MF preamp and tuner.

SOUND
The overall tonal quality of
the A5 is neutral, not cool/lean or warm/rich. The presentation is
perhaps a touch recessed. I prefer a somewhat recessed presentation
over a forward one. The highs are clean, clear and airy. Bells and
cymbals are crystal clear. The midrange has exceptional transparency and
detail, yet is not analytical sounding. Voices have all the inner
detail and fullness they should. The bass is strong, full but not too
tight or tubby. The difference between a stringed bass and electric
bass is obvious.

There seems to be compromises in design that
trade off slam/attack/quick transients for roundness/fullness. The
Ayre CX-7, for example, excels in handling quick transients, but lacks
the round tones of the Accuphase players. The A5 strikes a very nice
middle ground. In the area of detail vs smoothness, the A5 also strikes
the middle ground with a good balance between the two. The piano is a
percussion instrument and has an initial transient that is missed by
overly smooth players. The A5 lets you hear the initial transient, but
continues on to yield the musical nature of the note.

In the
area of imaging, the A5 is truly outstanding. It seems to provide all
the information and cues that are available on a CD to let you
experience the image to its fullest potential. Soundstage width, depth
and height are right on and not exaggerated. The 3D imaging is
excellent, with that sense of air around the voice or instrument.
Perhaps the best aspect is the ability to bring out the layers of sound
and let them be heard distinctly. I like an old Joni Mitchell track of
“Circle Game” where there are three layers of voices to the chorus to
check out this capability. The A5 does the best job of any player I
have heard at letting you hearing the distinctions between each voice.
The overall result is an involving sound that had me playing whole
tracks that I would normally only just sample a couple of sections of. I
got pulled in and lost in the music.

An area that is important
to me is the ability of a player to handle the array of older CD’s that
did not have the best recording attributes. I have lots of old CD’s
that are edgy or compressed sounding. The good news is that the recent
crop of mid-priced high-end players for the most part does a good job of
bringing these CD’s back to life. The A5 is no exception and somehow
teases out the layers and smoothes them enough to be palatable.

I
found that the A5 performance was enhanced by the use of double
Symposium Rollerblocks (one block on top, one on the bottom) and a
Svelte Shelf for component isolation. The bass was a bit tighter and
the mids/highs a bit clearer.

COMPARISONS TO A5
All these
are really good players that provide lots of the information on a CD
that your system can turn into enjoyable music. They all provide that
information in somewhat different ways and handle the inevitable
compromises with their own approach. The result is differences in sonic
characteristics that you can then match to your system/room
acoustics/personal listening preferences. So not to be too redundant, I
thought the A5 bested all of these in inner detail, revealing layers in
the music and “air” in the highs.

Musical Fidelity A308 –
Clean sounding and neutral. 3D imaging a bit flat compared to the
others. Good, but not up to the others in most areas.

Ayre
CX-7 – Strong attack, tight bass and solid imaging. A bit on the cool
and analytical side. Highs are a little lean and “white” sounding.
Tends toward a dynamic presentation, rather than a smooth and refined
one.

Accuphase DP-65V – Warm, rich and inviting. Gives up
some detail and attack for rich, round tones. Big, round bass. Great
imaging. Seductive.

Accuphase DP-55V – Clear, slightly warm
sound. Better detail than the DP-65V, but not as rich or inviting.
Imaging is good, but lacks “air” and a relaxed, natural image.

Resolution
Audio Opus 21 –Clean, clear and musical. More forward and slightly
warmer sounding than the A5. Bass is not as strong as most, but it is
beautifully integrated into the music.

SUMMARY

The
Musical Fidelity A5 CD player seems to be aimed at a neutral spot in
many of the key sonic characteristics, like tone, attack, detail and
smoothness. It has wonderful inner detail, great imaging and let’s you
hear deep into the layers in the music. The result is a thoroughly
involving musical experience. Having stated my personal preferences
earlier, I prefer the A5 over the other players mentioned because it
comes closest to what I am looking for. YMMV, of course, based on your
personal preferences/system synergies/room acoustics.

Is the
Musical Fidelity A5 CD player, “the best player ever made”, as claimed
by the MF website? My answer would have to be “No”, because there is no
possibility of one machine being superior in all possible systems,
rooms and appealing to all possible musical tastes. To me it seems like
an outstanding value when compared to players costing two times as
much. It is certainly worth checking out if you put a high priority on
imaging, inner detail and “air”.

TEST WITH SS AMP

I put
the Musical Fidelity A5 CD player in my home theater system for a bit of
fun. This system is at the other end of the audio spectrum from my
home office SET system. Sony DVP NS 999 ES DVD/SACD player ->
Integra DTC 9.4 pre/pro -> Cinepro 3K6 series III 6 X 400 watt amp
-> VMPS RM-30M left and right speakers in a 14 x 24 x 8 room. The
speakers have a ribbon tweeters, three ribbon panel mids and two carbon
fiber 8” woofers. They go down to about 30Hz with a tight bass and
crystal clear mids and highs. I ran the system in the Direct mode,
which picks up the analog in signal, shuts down the video section and
does not use the subwoofer. This was a quick afternoon test.

Needless
to say, compared to the Sony player, the MF A5 was better in every
respect except video. More transparent, better imaging, more detail,
smoother, better bass, better transient attack and clearer highs. All
the strengths I heard in my home office system were here, plus, due to
the system, much more bass and stronger highs.

Using the same
player and CD’s gave a great means of comparing the two systems. The
SET home office system is warmer, has more precise imaging, more detail
and is cleaner sounding. The HT system is more extended at the top and
bottom, but its imaging is not as concise. I assume the imaging
decrement is because of the room acoustics and much greater distance to
listener (4’ vs 18’).

The MF A5 player clearly enhances the two
channel music performance of the system. I found the sound to be
involving and enjoyable. Again, I found myself playing whole tracks
rather than the few short sections I use for key sonic characteristics.

by Ricrich (audiogon)