Review and Measurements of Musical Fidelity M2si Amp

[Victoria]

Oof, that isn’t brilliant; especially in this price bracket.

yes it does seem to trip up over its own marketing claims a fair bit

Haha well that’s the norm for Musical Fidelity. I used to carry some fondness towards their gear; but only because my first stereo amplifier was a Musical Fidelity (A5 Integrated) purchased solely because I was young and naïve. Musical Fidelity does get pretty carried away with their flowery language though and their dealers are obviously more than happy to parrot all their marketing wank.

Having said that this is definitely disappointing; I’m always on the lookout for a nice integrated just in case I ever find myself taking a break from active speakers and needing one again; I can rarely ever be bothered with separates because clutter gives me anxiety.

Time to move on I guess!

 

[Kobold]

Newly registered from France, my English is so so...

Here is a link to a review from 2012 of the M3i. It's from AVHUB Australia and with lab measurements.

http://www.bm.rs/Musical%20Fidelity/Musical%20Fidelity%20M3i%20-%20Australian%20HiFi%202012.pdf

The M2Ssi seems identical to the old M3i.

I ordered this M2si to replace the Denon PMA-655R i currently use for the Polk ES20. The Denon works very well with the Polk but is over 20 years old and I'm going to put it aside and maybe change some capacitors when I have time.
I tried the STA-400D with Hypex UCd 250LP but didn't like: a lot more power and control but at low level bass sounded less deep than with the Denon and for casual listening i found the sound anemic and boring. With the Denon, the bass is very precise and seems to go lower.
In France the M2si is easily found for 730€. For someone like me who is the type to keep the same device for 20 years if possible I consider that this amp can be a good choice:
Class AB, simple design, few additional functions that I don't use and which could increase the risk of failure, large heatsink and runs cool, power 2X60W 8 ohms 2X80W 4 ohms, 150W peak.

 

[Kobold]

Newly registered from France, my English is so so...

Here is a link to a review from 2012 of the M3i. It's from AVHUB Australia and with lab measurements.

http://www.bm.rs/Musical%20Fidelity/Musical%20Fidelity%20M3i%20-%20Australian%20HiFi%202012.pdf

The M2Ssi seems identical to the old M3i.

I ordered this M2si to replace the Denon PMA-655R i currently use for the Polk ES20. The Denon works very well with the Polk but is over 20 years old and I'm going to put it aside and maybe change some capacitors when I have time.
I tried the STA-400D with Hypex UCd 250LP but didn't like: a lot more power and control but at low level bass sounded less deep than with the Denon and for casual listening i found the sound anemic and boring. With the Denon, the bass is very precise and seems to go lower.
In France the M2si is easily found for 730€. For someone like me who is the type to keep the same device for 20 years if possible I consider that this amp can be a good choice:
Class AB, simple design, few additional functions that I don't use and which could increase the risk of failure, large heatsink and runs cool, power 2X60W 8 ohms 2X80W 4 ohms, 150W peak.

Didn't like the sound with the M2si, so traded it for the Rotel A11 Tribute for less money (520€ but i was lucky).
The sound with the Rotel is ok for me but i don't understand why there are differences between these amps with the Polk ES20:
M2si: too much high mids and treble
A11: less high mids and treble than Denon, much less than M2si
The differences were really evident!!

 

[Overseas]

A11 Tribute is very nice for the money, sounds all right except the stage could be better.

 

[Kobold]

A11 Tribute is very nice for the money, sounds all right except the stage could be better.

Agree, noticed the same thing about sounstage! Same sound signature that my old CD player Marantz CD6000 OSE...
I'm amazed there are so much differences between amps that are measured flat between 20hz and 20khz, damping factor >30.
Hypex UCD, Musical Fidelity, Denon, Rotel, all sound different with the same Polk ES20.
There is something going on here that is beyond my understanding
Rotel A11 gets a little hot heatsink too small in my opinion. Quality components so ok.

 

[yodog]

Agree, noticed the same thing about sounstage! Same sound signature that my old CD player Marantz CD6000 OSE...
I'm amazed there are so much differences between amps that are measured flat between 20hz and 20khz, damping factor >30.
Hypex UCD, Musical Fidelity, Denon, Rotel, all sound different with the same Polk ES20.
There is something going on here that is beyond my understanding
Rotel A11 gets a little hot heatsink too small in my opinion. Quality components so ok.

Which sounds better, musical fidelity m2si or hypex ucd or denon?

 

[Julf]

Agree, noticed the same thing about sounstage! Same sound signature that my old CD player Marantz CD6000 OSE...
I'm amazed there are so much differences between amps that are measured flat between 20hz and 20khz, damping factor >30.
Hypex UCD, Musical Fidelity, Denon, Rotel, all sound different with the same Polk ES20.
There is something going on here that is beyond my understanding
Rotel A11 gets a little hot heatsink too small in my opinion. Quality components so ok.

Ho did you compare? How did you match levels? Sighted, blind or double blind? A/B, ABX, serial listening or relying on auditory memory?

 

[Kobold]

Which sounds better, musical fidelity m2si or hypex ucd or denon?

Returned the M2SI, sold the A11 Tribute, Nad C375BEE, UCD Monacor... My old Denon PMA-655R is still there.
20 yo and running strong, the sound with this particular unit is the best for me. Non-fatiguing and deeper and more precise bass at low volume. Jm Lab 708K2 and Polk ES20.
Purely subjective though but I'm happy as it is...

 

[Kobold]

Ho did you compare? How did you match levels? Sighted, blind or double blind? A/B, ABX, serial listening or relying on auditory memory?

Relying on auditory memory.
I know...

 

[yodog]

Relying on auditory memory.
I know...

All good… anecdotal experiences and reports are welcome to me as long as it is honest and genuine with no monetary personal benefit biases involved…