Very open soudstage, clear and sweet highs, tight and controlled bass, and extremely quit background.

No headphone amp.

The Mac is a very powerful and warm sounding power amp. Paired with the XP-100, the combination is almost a perfect balance between clarity, open soundstage, and tight warm mid range and bass. Very musical indeed without being harsh. Prior to the XP-100, I had auditioned a Mac C15 preamp and owned a NAD preamp. No comparison, even the Mac. The Mac was good but did not have as much definiton as the XP -100. The Mac was also not as quite as the XP-100. No nonsense, but I was definitely hearing music that wasn't there before.

The XP-100 is well built.

The missing headphone preamp is not a big deal. For the price and performance of the XP-100, one can afford a dedicate headphone amp.

Similar Products Used:

Mac MC7300, NAD CD, & Mission speakers

Natural,liquid soundstage.

None

I agree w/much of previous review. This unit is just beautiful. One of the most natural, easiest sounds I have heard. Has all the detail, but none of the nasties, and a great sense of ambience.Superb bass, and very quiet. Also beautifully made. Makes it hard to justify big bucks preamps.

Similar Products Used:

Many, many premps over 30+ years

fine detail, good seperation and control bass

a little bright, sometime uninvolement sound

The sound is ok for the price. it is fine detail and control but it's bright balance and uninvole sound for me which i prefer more krell sound, something warmer and better soundstage but again price? krell is more expensive.

Similar Products Used:

Krell 250p

Wonderful transparent, detailed sound. Solid build. Remote control. Good MM phono stage built in.

None that I can detect (really!). Reservation - may not suit bright systems.

I wasn't even thinking of buying a new pre-amp, but my friend bought one and was raving about it. I heard it in his system (a system I am very familiar with) and was very taken. I then borrowed it and tried it in my system. I was instantly convinced. He let me have it at home on the weekend, so I gave it a thorough work out, which just convinced me further. I went to the shop the next week and ordered mine. That describes the degree of impact this component had upon me. It reinforced for me yet again the importance of having a quality pre-amp, which often seems to be the weak link in many systems.

It replaced a tube Audion Innovations L2 pre-amp that I had in my system. By comparison, the MF has life, and really sings. It has tuneful bass, extended, sophisticated highs and is dynamic to boot. At nearly AU$1700 (about US$850) it is not exactly cheap, but worth every cent as far as I am concerned (and you get remote volume/source selection as a bonus).

Special mention for the MM phono section, which is very, very good. In my view, it beats the separate X-LP that I had (and which I traded in on the X-P100) although it lacks the MC flexibility of the X-LP.

I know people throw around 5 star reviews on this forum like confetti, and I normally wouldn't. However, to break with tradition, here goes another 5 star review!

Similar Products Used:

Musical Fidelity X-Pre; Audio Innovations L2.

Musicality, Stress free listening

Slightly fat bass (but only just)

I took both this and the A3CR home for audition, the newer A3cr is probably the more analytically correct in its overall presentation. It was however the X-P100 I purchased quite simply for its total ease at which it allowed music to flow from the speakers. Its ability with soprano voice astounds, but its ability to also to clearly define complex bass lines in Disco/dance music has had me digging into my record collection further than i have for a long time. So pleased I got this before it goes out of production.

Similar Products Used:

Audiolab 8000c, Rotel Rc970

bass, detail, soundstage, high quality phono input, Full Remote Control

none ! (I never thought i would ever write this!)

I think it's impossible to find anything better at the price even at twice the price you would have to look very hard to find better. Even my girlfriend had to admit that this was a one of a kind preamp. She was as impressed as i was. When i Bought it they told me i didn't have to expect too much the first few days, but they should have said to expect even more after a few days. With the XP100 cold and right out of the box music comes to you. When it's a week old it's ... (no matching words found). I'm very happy with this preamp, this is the real thing.

Similar Products Used:

audio alchemy DLC (rev 2.5)

Nu-vista design, but sounds faster, more dynamic, remote control, audiophile performance for a bargain

Need more dealers in USA!

Same design as legendary nu-vista but uses J-FETs in place of triode tubes for a faster more dynamic sound, but still
narural and musical sounding. Has good phono stage, but I
use a CD based system, remote is a must have, I don't know
how I got by without one before! Seperate housing for power
supply contributes to excellent S/N ratios, provides black
background for a powerful dynamic sound that captures the
finest of musical details. Midrange is very nuetral, vocals
sound natural and sweet, bass and treble are extended very
nicely. 3D soundstage is excellent, deep and wide, completeing a strong product offering from MF.

This preamp pairs very good with MF X-AS100 amp, same appearance and sound. Very easy to bi-amp this set-up with
mono/stereo button on amp! I love the design appearance of
the X series gear, very unique, and always gets rave comments from visitors. Value is very good as Audio Advisor
is currently selling for $795, highest recommendation for
audiophile sound at this price range. My system:

Musical Fidelity X-Ray CD player
0.5m SilverAudio Hyacinth
MF X-P100 preamp
0.5m SA Hyacinth
MF X-AS100 amp x 2 (bi-amped)
6ft AudioQuest Argent speaker cables
PSB Silver-i speakers

Also: Powersnakes Sidewinder AC cord, "Kontak" connection
cleaner/enhancer

Similar Products Used:

Musical Fidelity A3, other MF integrated amps