MUSICAL FIDELITY M6i

[dinyaar]

Sometime back I was looking to upgrade from my Plinius integrated. I was keen about the Accuphase line. I had heard their entry level E203 which had some magic to it but yes, resolution and bass control was left wanting. So when I wanted to upgrade from my Plinius I thought of looking at the higher end Accuphase and E450 vs 550 was something I wanted to know. At that time I had Dynaudio 1.3SE so I did not want to take risk with the 30 watter but I also got some interesting feedback then that E550 can sound amazing even if it is just about 30 watts. Finally I ended up buying a Symphonic Line RG1 Mk4. But my infatuation with Accuphase was yet there.

Aha another SL amp. Why Accuphase really? I think the SL has everything and more.
Incidently I too had the same Dyna speaker but at the time I had miserable electronics and did not realize the true caliber of the speaker. Sadly I sold it for a song and then jumped into the B&W 800 bandwagon.
The current E250 is the latest avatar of the entry level Accuphase. Its good but it does not sound like the 450 at all. I am not saying its a bad amp but that its not the accuphase sound that one is after and hence not worth the money. The 350 is decent but this 450 is creamier. Plus the flexibility to try putting an integrated on some tough loads rather than jump into the bulky current dumpers!
I loved the A 60 (never heard the new 65) but that was too much moolah for an amp for a 'rational' (relatively) minded bloke
Am sure ur set up sounds great Dr bass.
Rgds

 

[suri]

Aha another SL amp. Why Accuphase really? I think the SL has everything and more.
Incidently I too had the same Dyna speaker but at the time I had miserable electronics and did not realize the true caliber of the speaker. Sadly I sold it for a song and then jumped into the B&W 800 bandwagon.
The current E250 is the latest avatar of the entry level Accuphase. Its good but it does not sound like the 450 at all. I am not saying its a bad amp but that its not the accuphase sound that one is after and hence not worth the money. The 350 is decent but this 450 is creamier. Plus the flexibility to try putting an integrated on some tough loads rather than jump into the bulky current dumpers!
I loved the A 60 (never heard the new 65) but that was too much moolah for an amp for a 'rational' (relatively) minded bloke
Am sure ur set up sounds great Dr bass.
Rgds

you sound sarcastic - ?

 

[dinyaar]

No Suri not in the least!!!!!!
I truly believe thats its great. Have heard it only once and that too years ago so no real personal opinion but owning the accuphase and hearing other owners raving about the SL amps I concur that it has everything. Anyway a true comparison would be with one of the accuphase class A/B power amps of similar output.(P5000 ??) Both can drive beautifully even down to 1 ohm so they relish these challenging speakers.
No sarcasm here at all .
Rgds

 

[ajay124]

@Dinyaar
Would a branded power cord Kimber/XLO be an improvement over the regular power cords supplied with the Bryston's?Would appreciate some info. about brands/pricing for used power cords.

 

[Dr.Bass]

To me, power cord is the foundation to all cabling in a hifi setup.
The reason ? At least this is what I have felt, while interconnects and speaker cables help in transfer of signals, power cord fundamentally affects in the signal creation process and that is a much more critical juncture to take care off. In my setup at least it has been proven time and again.

 

[odyssey]

On power cords - pls pay attention to the quality of the connectors, then worry about the actual power cables used. Its important to get a wide and good/tight contact

cheers

 

[dinyaar]

@Dinyaar
Would a branded power cord Kimber/XLO be an improvement over the regular power cords supplied with the Bryston's?Would appreciate some info. about brands/pricing for used power cords.

Hi
A power cord can change the sound. A well implemented cable with good connectors (IEC & WALLS PLUG) should improve things MARGINALLY in most cases.
I know this is a hotly debated issue so best is to try it out in the set up before one cries foul. I have tried both the above plus many more and yes they did make a small increment in my set up. Be it a quieter background, more resolution or just simply peace of mind.
Please dont spend big bucks unless one hears the difference. Generally the maximum benefit on the source then the preamp and finally the power amp. For a 3BSST a 2.5 sq.mm power cable with any decent IEC is good.
Certain cords work well with cdps and some work well with power amps so its not a one size fits all.
Try a Supra LOrad 1.5 Sq.mm on cdp and Pre and 2.5 Sq.mm on power amp. This can be a cheap upgrade as the cords should cost u about Rs 2.5/3 K for a 1 Meter. Please dont pay actual retail of 7.5K as thats crazy. Others will suggest u many other good options but these are the cables that I am using alongwith an XLO.
The cord that comes with a Bryston is a cheap MEGA CORD which is 1.5 Sq.mm with a schuko at the wall end. I FEEL U MUST CHANGE that to enable a proper earth. If nothing else then change it to a decent Indian 15 Amp 3 Pin top.If the manufacturer provides a 3 PIN male IEC at the rear then the component requires earth and a schuko cannot get earthing in a conventional Indian wall socket.
Rgds

 

[ajay124]

On power cords - pls pay attention to the quality of the connectors, then worry about the actual power cables used. Its important to get a wide and good/tight contact

cheers

@odyssey,dinyaar,Dr.Bass
Kimber Kable
pk 10/14/gold?
XLO?

 

[Dr.Bass]

Aha another SL amp. Why Accuphase really? I think the SL has everything and more.
Incidently I too had the same Dyna speaker but at the time I had miserable electronics and did not realize the true caliber of the speaker. Sadly I sold it for a song and then jumped into the B&W 800 bandwagon.
The current E250 is the latest avatar of the entry level Accuphase. Its good but it does not sound like the 450 at all. I am not saying its a bad amp but that its not the accuphase sound that one is after and hence not worth the money. The 350 is decent but this 450 is creamier. Plus the flexibility to try putting an integrated on some tough loads rather than jump into the bulky current dumpers!
I loved the A 60 (never heard the new 65) but that was too much moolah for an amp for a 'rational' (relatively) minded bloke
Am sure ur set up sounds great Dr bass.
Rgds

Dinyaar, you are pretty much spot on that SL has everything and I am yet to tap its full potential. But Accuphase...hmmm...you know it is like hearing about a girl on whom you had a crush in your school days.
I liked the Accuphase sound but I also understood that you need to pay a lot get all the goodies from Accuphase. I am also astonished that there is such a vast difference in performance between A30 and A60.

 

[dinyaar]

Ya ajay am aware of all the kimbers. Yes a proven cable maybe a bit harsh (relatively). Connectors are always wattgates. Cheaper ones are with the IEC 320 which also is more than capable BUT the problem here is the US type walls plug. U will need a conversion plug. There is also a school of thought that advises against buying any US power cables/connectors as they are 110V. Some time ago I had written to XLO and they rubbished (naturally what did I expect????) this.
I use UK sockets as my wall outlets accept them.
XLO ref cords are expensive and frankly only excel on cdps so avoid. I have bought one from a forum member recently and its the Ref 2 and to our collective dismay ( as loads of us bought them like jokers!!!!) the oyaide IEC/Wall plug are absolutely fake.

These may be in excess of 7/8 K for a 1Meter cable and u may get similar performance from less outlay. Most of us (including Boomerang) now use Supra so ask Grat if he can lend u some. He does not sell this rather just uses these to demo gear.
Rgds

 

[dinyaar]

Dinyaar, you are pretty much spot on that SL has everything and I am yet to tap its full potential. But Accuphase...hmmm...you know it is like hearing about a girl on whom you had a crush in your school days.
I liked the Accuphase sound but I also understood that you need to pay a lot get all the goodies from Accuphase. I am also astonished that there is such a vast difference in performance between A30 and A60.

Hahaha Dr bass I can understand the school crush part as it does look sexy!!!!
Frankly I wanted to get my hands on one from the first time I saw 'her' and that was in the 80s but I fell over with the price!!!
Internationally overpriced product.
Rgds

 

[Dr.Bass]

Yes the look and build quality is downright gorgeous. Even though it is overpriced, internationally it has carved a niche for itself and is respected all over. Some people (audiophiles) just could not believe that my Plinius sounded better than the E203, as if it is impossible. Accuphase has that kind of an aura!!

 

[odyssey]

@Ajay
My and my customers' experiences are a bit different from Dinyaars (if I understood his post), I believe the connectors make the bigger difference, then comes the cord (all things being equal in both cases). So as Dinyaar said, dont spend too much on the cord itself unless
1. it already has very good connectors
2. you can afford it

otherwise, go with good connectors - the wattgate IEC 320 (that we also sell) is a very basic one.

cheers

 

[ajay124]

@odyssey
Which connectors are you carrying and would recommend as a decent budget option along with 1 meter cable lengths for a midfi cdp/pre/power?Would appreciate if you can mention prices as I'm sure many folks would like a price point to be put on the stuff being posted.
*Thank you!For your/Ali's wonderful hospitality and the excellent audition room at ARN.I admit I was exhausted after a full days audition at Absolute Phase and not in the best of form for more auditions.Next time I am in Bangalore I would love to visit ARN first fresh and early!

 

[odyssey]

Hi Ajay
you are welcome to come over anytime.

The only ones that we sell are the Audio Art and Groneberg power cords. Both can be terminated with entry level Wattgate sets or Furutech (FI-11) Gold connectors. The latter have gotten very good feedback from our customers and some have used the Audio art power cable, some Groneberg, some Siltech, etc Some of the customers have also used their existing power cord cable and used the Furutech connectors -
The FI-11 goes for 6.5K a set incl of VAT. The Audio art cable is 2k per meter. so a 1M audio art power cord with Furutech will retail for 8.5k
The Groneberg cable is closer to 3k per meter


cheers

 

[ajay124]

@Odyssey
Could we have the pricing for the Wattgate connector pairs also for their economy/silver/gold range please?

 

[sidvee]

I am using the audio art power one cable with furutech terminations with my odyssey stratos extreme and it definitely made a significant difference over the stock cable.
Cheers
Sid

 

[dinyaar]

Hi
Have a question for shridhar
Would using a US type wall plug help in any way? Since u are selling the Furutech as a pair (Amp end Female IEC & US walls plug) I presume guys using these will use some form of CONVERSION plug or change all wall sockets to US type.
Keeping in mind that the US is 110V How good is this in our scenario?
Lastly would u sell me just one female Furutech F!-11 IEC (regular one not the 20 amp) to try out? If yes at what cost?
Thanks
Rgds

 

[Asit]

Dinyaar, use Crabtree international sockets, should be available easily, although every electrical goods store does not keep them. They accept all sorts of plugs and will give you very very good fits for Furutech male plugs or any good quality plugs I guess.

Regards

 

[rikhav]

Dinyaar, use Crabtree international sockets, should be available easily, although every electrical goods store does not keep them. They accept all sorts of plugs and will give you very very good fits for Furutech male plugs or any good quality plugs I guess.

Regards

Are these Crabtree International products different from the Crabtree India?
I got some sockets from an authorized dealer of Crabtree and they were made in india