Musical Fidelity A5 problems/questions

[frankphess]

I purchased a used Musical Fidelity A5 integrated. I used it with some Klipsch reference bookshelf speakers (and a MF A3 tuner) and listened for a couple of hours. I then moved the speakers out wider to try to get it to sound better, which yanked the speaker cable, which made the + & - spades touch at the amp output, which shorted out one channel. I saw fire and smelled a burning smell. That part is done, and it's in the shop getting fixed. I understand there's supposed to be a fuse to stop that sort of thing from happening, but sadly it happened.

Of the couple of hours I did get to listen, I didn't think it sounded that good. Could it be that MF gear was designed to work with "harder to drive" speakers? It also is supposed to be 250wpc. It sure didn't seem to have that kind of power.

Of the review's I've read, people love MF with B&W, Paradigm, Dynaudio, etc. I've heard the X-series with Sonus Faber Concertino's and thought it sounded wonderful, but my combo at home, not so good. Anyone have any ideas as to why?

[frankphess]

I can't belive it's "normal" either but that's exactly what happened. Deltronics here in Chicago that repair electronics quoted $400 or so to fix it, said "there's a bunch of blown components" and like I said, I saw the fire erupt as I was moving the speaker. I'm having them fix it and I'll give it another try, but I was pretty disapponted in it's performance even before it caught on fire, so I'm not sure if there may be other issued with it or what. The person I bought it from I would consider to be a stand up guy, and he stated that he enjoyed it for the two years he had it, so it doesn't seem like there has ever been a problem with it, but I guess you never know. I'll post on it when I get it back. Maybe Deltronics will work some magic, and bring it back to what it's supposed to be.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

I have not heard Musical Fidelity with Klipsch, but have heard it with B&W and Theil's high end speakers, both of which can be harsh with the wrong equipment. It works great with these brands. I use the A308CR series and also have a CD Pre 24 in an office system with ERA speakers and a QSC amp. I have not used a MF amplifier in anything.

That reminds me, a member here who has Jubilees and lives in Arlington Texas uses a CD Pre with his Klipsch. Maybe he can chime in.

Mark,

MF gear is chock regulated, can this cause the damage when shorted?

[frankphess]

I've read that description, "choke regulated" in MF's spec's and descriptions and don't really understand what that means. That's one of the things that made me think that their stuff might work better with "harder to drive" speakers.

[frankphess]

This was for a second system upstairs, so I'll just wait to get it back and give it another try. If it doesn't work out, I'll just start over. Thanks for the info Mark.

[frankphess]

Deltronics fixed my A5. $50 for parts, $350 for labor, and cautioned me to "check your speaker cables" and said that if the wires got crossed it could short out again. So no more spades for me, strictly bananas from now on.

Got the MF A5 back, put it into my main system and it's a heck of a lot better. It's what I expected to hear the first time. I guess using it with small bookshelf speakers, cheesy innerconnects, and in a "bad" room was the problem. Using it with the RF-7's in a "good" room it's power now seems evident, and it sounded much better. Not as good as my B&K sperarates, and of course not as good as tubes, but certainly good enough for a second system, provided I get some "good" stuff to run with it. While it certaily wan't "bad", I personally didn't care for the sound with my RF-7's, so I'll most likely be auditioning this with wall mounts from ERA or Sonus Faber due to lack of space in the second room. Any other suggestions????