Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
Product Strengths
- Delivers 500W per channel into 8 ohms
- Fully balanced architecture
- Exceptional signal-to-noise ratio
- Has clarity, grip and control to challenge many a more expensive amplifier
- Offers versatile connectivity options with both balanced XLR and RCA inputs
Product Considerations
- Build is functional but nothing excessive, such as fancy heatsinks or front plate extrusions, that would push the price up
- Substantial weight might require sturdy support
- Some might want a little bit more muscularity to the presentation
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Hegel H190: The M8s-500s offers extra clarity, grip, control, more precise imaging, and ability to play louder
- Vs Exposure 21 Pre and 18 Super monoblocks: The M8s-500s cannot quite match them for bass weight and soundstage depth
Takeaway: The Musical Fidelity M8s-500s combines raw power with precision, so it's great for audiophiles and music lovers. Its ability to deliver clarity and control makes it a worthwhile upgrade.
All
M8s-500s
reviews
Manufacturer details
- Power output: 500 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms (27 dBW)
- THD(+ noise): <0.007% typical
- Signal to Noise Ratio: >120dB 'A' weighted
- Frequency Response: +0, –1dB, 10Hz to 80kHz
- Inputs: 1x RCA Phono Line Level, 1x Line level XLR Balanced, 1x Trigger input 3.5mm (⅛") mono jack ±4.5 to ±15V DC
- Outputs: 1x RCA Phono Line Level (loop output), 1x Line level XLR Balanced (loop output), 1x Trigger output 3.5mm (⅛") mono jack 12V DC
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 440 x 160 x 460 mm
- Weight: 29 kg / 34.5 kg (unpacked / packed)
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- They place a significant emphasis on achieving a distinctive, energetic sound, even at the expense of absolute neutrality, leading to a more engaging and enjoyable listening experience.
- Musical Fidelity often integrates advanced features, like sophisticated equalization or balanced inputs/outputs, into their designs to enhance versatility and cater to audiophiles' evolving needs.
Select products
V90-BHA
- Positioning: The entry-level balanced headphone amplifier in Musical Fidelity's lineup.
- Description: Offers excellent sound quality with balanced audio technology. Features balanced XLR inputs and outputs, which minimize noise and interference, providing a cleaner sound. This makes it ideal for users with a limited budget who want to enhance their headphone listening experience.
M2si
- Positioning: An affordable integrated amplifier designed for audiophiles seeking high-quality sound without extra features.
- Description: Delivers a pure and dynamic sound, drawing on technology from Musical Fidelity's premium models. Stands out with its fully discrete power amplifier and independent power supplies, offering a performance akin to a pre/power configuration in a single unit.
M8xi
- Positioning: A super integrated amplifier, positioned as a high-performance model in the M8 series.
- Description: Known for its powerful and articulate sound, featuring dual mono power amps and a high-quality DAC. It offers significant power output and low distortion. Provides extensive connectivity options, including digital inputs, catering to users with diverse system compatibility needs.
Nu-Vista 800.2
- Positioning: The flagship integrated amplifier in the Nu-Vista series, representing the pinnacle of Musical Fidelity's offerings.
- Description: Combines the unique Nu-Vista tube technology with modern design, delivering an exceptionally smooth and powerful sound. Features dual mono power amps and a locally decoupled output stage, providing remarkable stability and control over any loudspeaker.
Our take on the brand
Look inside the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
Musical Fidelity (like other Audio Tuning brands) is structured in a pretty traditional way, whereby support and advice are best administered on a local level. Of course, they have a technical team positioned at HQ to help all their partners around the world, and in some more extreme cases you may need to be put straight through to this team. But it's the job of the distributor to support the territory in the best way it can.
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
I can tell you this, as we've done this recently for others. These are personal choices:
Simon Quarry – the chief designer – selected these three.
- Low Desert Punk – Brant Bjork
- Moon Love – Electric Moon
- Psychic Chasm – Ozric Tentacles
Heinz Lichtenegger – the brand owner – selected these two:
- Tosca – Puccini, Leontyne Price, Di Stefano, Taddei / Vienna Philharmonic with Herbert von Karajan (Decca, 1963)
- Don Juan – Richard Strauss, Tod und Verklaerung, Also Sprach Zarathustra / Vienna Philharmonic with Herbert von Karajan (Decca, 1960)
What other products pair best with yours?
This is a tough one! Partly because of the diverse range of products on offer from Musical Fidelity. For example, with the A1, we have a lot of success pairing this amp with Klipsch Heresy or Forte IV – but in smaller rooms, our own-brand LS3/5A are a wonderful choice. For Nu-Vista, we pair very nicely with Piega – which requires some deeper power reserves to really get going. So I would say it's very difficult to pair the sonic ID with one brand in particular. Musical Fidelity pairs pretty nicely with a wide range of products, giving customers a great degree of choice.
Used
Musical Fidelity
What if you spend more?
For many people, the cinema is just a place with a big screen and expensive snacks - but there is more, which is usually not visible at all: The surround-sound-system. It all started with a simple three speaker setup in the 1980s and evolved to object based systems with up to 20 speakers. With the M6x 250.11 you can easily create a Dolby Atmos home cinema setup (your active subwoofer is powered separately). You can connect your preamplifier/AV processor with either RCA or fully balanced XLR cables. The XLR connection furthermore enhances the sound quality and keeps the signal transmission clean.
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Product Strengths
- Exceptional home cinema sound with clarity, depth, and power
- Handles high-quality music playback, potentially eliminating the need for a separate stereo amplifier
- Delivers an astounding 250W per channel in its main channels and 150W for effects channels
- Ensures a cohesive soundstage
- Features balanced XLR inputs for optimal signal integrity
Product Considerations
- Substantial weight at 35.5kg
- Significant power consumption
- Large form factor requires adequate rack space
Takeaway: The Musical Fidelity M6x 250.11 delivers exceptional power and clarity for both home cinema and music, ensuring a high-quality audio experience. It's a great choice for those wanting a long-term, high-end audio solution with flexible configuration options.
Video review
Our take on the brand
The A35.8 is Primare’s most powerful and flexible multi-channel amplifier, designed to serve the needs of virtually any high-performance multi-channel system through its ability for each pair of channels to be bridged to mono for an incredible level of power delivery and system building options, including 1500 watts of total output in a fully bridged bi-amped stereo configuration. Shipping June 2022!
Our summary
Product Strengths
- The A35.8 provides eight channels of 'unimpeachable Class D power in a fairly compact and very flexible package'
- Flexible configuration options for power output to speakers are available, such as bi-amping and bridging
- Each stereo pair can be bridged separately to make four times 375 watts (8 Ohms) from the eight times 150 watts
- Fault-free sound quality
- High quality fit and finish
- The A35.8 offers flexible connectivity options
Product Considerations
- The 20-amp power inlet is the seldom-seen variety with three horizontal blades
- The speaker output posts are spaced too widely for dual-banana plugs
- Cabling can be tricky
- A high current power cord is needed
- Lower gain is present, though this doesn't necessarily need to be an issue
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs NAD M28, the A35.8 gets you one more channel and more versatility for a 10% price increase
- Vs Benchmark AHB2, the Benchmark presented a more neutral tonal balance and undistorted soundstage
- Vs NAD C 298 stereo amplifiers, the Primare seemed slightly more forward, often conveying an appealing liveliness
Takeaway: The A35.8 power amplifier is a flexible and versatile product worth considering for anyone seeking a high-quality multi-channel setup. Its ability to bridge channels offers many ways to configure your speaker system.
Video review
Our take on the brand
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Our summary
Product Strengths
- The EAR 890 produces 70Wpc in stereo, and can be bridged to 140W in monoblock
- Neutral sound that gets out of the way and lets the user enjoy the music
- Complex and dense music textures are handled with ease, and dynamically demanding passages are sailed through
- Articulate midrange
- Detailed and realistic bass
Product Considerations
- Removing/installing tube cages is difficult and time-consuming
- The loudspeaker binding posts are positioned too close to the output transformers, making it hard to tighten them properly
- Some assembly work appeared amateurish, specifically the use of silicone in various locations, such as fastening chassis wires
- The amplifier can operate quite hot
- May not have as much bass impact compared to solid state amps
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The EAR 890 monoblocks achieve SET-like definition along with the authority and swagger necessary for most full-size speaker systems, when compared to Cary Audio 300B SET amps
- The EAR 890 is as textured as the top LAMM designs, but with noticeably better neutrality and more power
- The EAR 890 surpassed the deHavilland KE50As with a more articulate midrange, producing more color and separation in the microtones of instruments
Takeaway: The EAR 890 is easy to set up and sounds good with very little tweaking, making it easy to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music. It's a good choice for people who want a tube amp that is both musical and powerful for their home listening experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our summary
Product Strengths
- Delivers amazing quality of sound and detail
- Bulletproof amplification
- Has a rhythmically soulful sound with a tremendously rich and natural midrange
- The A51's bass is well-defined, extremely textured, and robust
- With 250 watts on tap, the Parasound A51 will power virtually anything
Product Considerations
- Due to its class A/AB design, the A51 does get a bit warm and should be installed in a properly ventilated space and/or rack
- The A51 is large and heavy, and is best moved and/or positioned by two people
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Compared to Rotel, the Rotel makes the M&K Sound system slightly bright with a bit of sibilance, while the Parasound is more neutral
- Compared to Acurus A250, the Parasound had tighter bass, which is probably attributed to a better damping factor
Takeaway: The Parasound Halo A51 is a high-performance amplifier with great sound quality, detail, and build quality, making it an excellent choice for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts. Its ability to deliver power and control to speakers makes it a valuable addition to any high-end audio system.
Video review
Our take on the brand
What competes at this price?
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Tangible feeling of pure power and speed of delivery
- Clean, neutral performance
- Fulsome, fast, and fun sound
- Thrillingly responsive to the dynamics of a sound mix
- Drive needed to partner floorstanders hungry for power
Product Considerations
- Chassis depth is a considerable 533mm
- Low-end delivery may not be the best compared to some rivals
- Green/blue aesthetic might not be for everyone
Takeaway: The MI502 is a powerful and responsive amplifier suitable for various applications and it looks good. It offers clean and neutral performance, making it a great choice for someone wanting to get a new amplifier.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Impressive clarity, tighter bass, and more pinpoint accuracy of instruments in the soundstage compared to the SET 600
- Great dynamic range, definition, and transparency, while maintaining the nuances and details of the original music recording
- Designed to run cooler and last longer
- Relative bargain for its performance level
- Always sounded musical, a presentation which engaged the listener with music rather than calling attention to the gear
Product Considerations
- A pair of amplifiers can provide enough power to damage almost any speaker system if carelessly used
- Tone and timbre were not as rich and voluptuous as the reviewer tends to prefer, there seemed to be less meat on the bone
- One of the five-way speaker binding posts spun when tightening spades, but there were no electrical or other performance issues from that
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Compared to Audio by Van Alstine SET 600, the DVA M750 has more power, a quieter presence, more clarity, tighter bass, and even more pinpoint accuracy of instruments in the soundstage
- Compared to Pass Labs XA30.8, the M750s are slightly more intense sounding
Takeaway: The DVA M750 Monoblock is a powerful amplifier with finesse and a large, quiet soundstage presented with exceptional clarity. It delivers a compelling and engaging musical experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- High power output
- Great sound
- Low noise
- Connectivity options
Product Considerations
- Lack of protection circuitry
- Users should never make any changes to input or output connections while the amplifier is turned on
- Under no circumstances should the speaker terminals be short-circuited or either of the speaker terminal(s) be connected to ground
- The storage capacitors inside continue to be 'powered-up' for many minutes after it's turned off
- The Adcom GFA-585se proved to be unstable into a highly reactive load, meaning it is not recommended for use with electrostatic speakers
Takeaway: The Adcom GFA-585se provides a lot of power and great sound for the price. It's a good option for anyone looking for a high-quality amplifier.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Delivers an astounding 250 watts per channel into 4 ohms—peaking at 400W
- Features silent operation with passive cooling due to an innovative heat sink design
- Has outstanding build quality and exceptional signal-to-noise ratio
- Delivers a visceral performance and transports you inside any action movie in a realistic and immersive way
- Offers dual input options (XLR and RCA) and through outputs for flexible system configuration
Product Considerations
- Substantial weight—30.5kg
- Large form factor requires ample rack space
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The M6x is more refined and has more musicality than the Emotiva XPA, while the XPA has a slightly more reserve of power, and the M6x also has a cleaner noise floor compared to the XPA
- Using the M6x with the Marantz Cinema 40 creates a 'day and night difference' and a huge improvement
Takeaway: The M6x 250.5 is a powerhouse for home cinema that delivers impressive power and a refined, musical sound. It's great for anyone looking to take their surround sound experience to the next level with a more realistic and natural sound.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Stunning power across all seven channels with 250 watts per channel into 4 ohms
- Exceptional build quality and a robust chassis
- Operates silently with no fan noise
- High damping factor for excellent speaker control
- Offers comprehensive connectivity with RCA and balanced XLR inputs
Product Considerations
- Substantial weight (32.5kg)
- Significant power consumption
- Large form factor requires ample rack space
Takeaway:
The Musical Fidelity M6x 250.7 is a powerful and well-built amplifier perfect for serious home theater enthusiasts seeking reference-level performance. Designed to elevate any home theater experience, it features comprehensive connectivity and silent operation.
Video review
Our take on the brand
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