Everything that I can think of

None yet discovered

This amplifier is simply excellent. It is extremely well constructed. I can't get over how heavy it is. The manual claims 13 kilos(28.6 lbs), but I would estimate that it is several pounds heavier. One really gets the impression that the A3 is a piece of high-tech jewelry. By the way, the sound is frickin' incredible. I am waiting for a pair of PSB Image 6Ts and a Music Hall MMF-5 to arrive to complete the setup. For now I have a brand new Pioneer Elite PD-65 CD player(A fantastic CD player that has been recently discontinued)running it, with an older pioneer sat/sub set for speakers. The last Item may cause much condecension and laughter from obsessive audiophiles, but they actualy sound quite nice with the crazy-good A3 running them. The one minus that I can think of is the quality of the remote, which does not compare with the amp itself in terms of looks or perceived build quality.
The sound is hard to describe. "punchy" is a term used in the audioadvisor ad copy, and I think it is the best adjective to describe the sound. The manual warns that the class A/B nature of the unit will cause it to run hot. One of the most impressive things that I have noticed is that I can turn the sucker up until I fear for the survival of my 160watt rated low-end pioneers and the A3 will barely be warm to the touch. Ignore the 85watt rating, this amp has serious muscle. With the volume knob at ten o'clock, it fills my small room with an intense, tactile soundfield. A good CD to audition this thing with is Vangelis' soundtrack to the film Blade Runner. 3d phasing effects that I had never noticed before had me looking over my shoulder at a nonexistant rear channel speaker. The lack of tone controls should be taken into account by anyone interested in buying the A3. What is on the recording is what you get, good or bad. Bass is a bit lacking with my wimpy passive 2x 6" pioneer sub, but I'm sure that the PSB 6Ts will remedy that. Regardless, the imaging, complete lack of any hiss or clipping, and tangibility of the sound are doubleplusgood. This is really a good buy at $1k, and would be reasonable at $2k. Perhaps I will add a Vantas processor/amp in the future to add 5.1 capability, but it may be unneccesary, I believe the reviewer below when he praises the sound quality with movies. I am of the opinion that really good stereo sound can provide an equally enjoyable experience, albeit a very different one, with films. After all, we only have two ears. Thanx for reading my long-winded review. I really like the A3, and I bet that you would, too

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite HT receiver

The A3 sounds great! When you crank the volume up, the music
does not change. It only gets LOUDER. Very hard to beat for
the price.

My only complaints are the lack of an optical input and the
remote will not turn the amp on/off.

I picked up my Musical Fidelity A3 from Ken at Audio Advisor
(800-942-0220). I looked at Bryston, Krell, NAD, Adcom and
Yamaha. I wanted the $2500 Krell integrated amp. Then I herd
about the Musical Fidelity A3 and A300. I found a test on the A3.
Musical Fidelity rates it at 85w-8ohm, .008% distortion. The test
found it easily exceeded ratings (112w-8ohm, .0067% distortion).
The A3 sounds great! When you crank the volume up, the music
does not change. It only gets LOUDER. I am glad I did not spend
the extra money on the Krell.
Currently I have it driving Canton speakers. Also in the system
are Nakamichi CD player and cassette deck .
My only complaints are the lack of an optical input and the
remote will not turn the amp on/off.

An excellent intergrated for the money. Soundstage was Soundstage was fairly wide and deep; bass was taut. The sound was on the sightly warm side (something I generally like).

Transparency and detail were good, not outstanding.

The A3 is an excellent value for the money. When I auditioned the A3 and the Densen Beat against each other (speakers used were the new (and incredible) Audio Physic Tempo III) --- see this month's Absolute Sound --- the Densen Beat did everything the A3 did and more. The soundstage was wide and deep but the tranparency and detail were there and the sound was slightly more "immediate." While I really liked the A3, I loved the Densen Beat. The music I listen to is mainly jazz vocal, folk and classical.
Finally, I must say the The Audio Advisor (the importer of all Musical Fidelity products) were very easy to do business with (I returned the unit) and I would recommend them to anyone interested in buying Musical Fidelity products.

Similar Products Used:

Densen Beat-100 Intergrated (suggested retail $1295 and imported by Audio Outlet in Mount Kisco NY)
Magnum IA170 - I really liked this product - limited availabilty in the US though

weithy mid, deep base that's fast and tight, smooth hi, balanced presentation, handle all type of music well.

lack of headphone jack, require careful speaker cable setup (see below), when playing music, all 3 red lights could be distractive, cheap looking remote but works.

This is a remarkable amplifier by any standards. This was the words from What Hi-Fi magazine, and I totally agree. It is a big step in the journey of building my hi-fi system. I agree what most of reviewers indicated, it's musical, smooth, powerful and easygoing, play all types of music equally well. Here I just put my 2 cents about something I discovered about this amp, hope it could benefit someone in the same situation.

Like many people, I started from mass-market Japanese products, then replaced with NAD C520 and B&W 601 S2 stand-mount speaker. This amp is a big step for me, and I took 3 weeks compared different integrated amps, finally brought this MF A3 home. I first setup my system with AudioQuest Diamondback interconnect and Kimber 4PR bi-wired. I didn't get the good sound stage. Then I put Transparent Link 100 interconnect, improved very little, too much to be improved. I understand I need to run 100+ hours to let A3 fully break-in, but I thing sound stage is something should be right right at beginning. I thought about speaker cable, so I tried almost docent of different cable combination, from Monster Reference M1, to Straitwire Duo and Quartet, I finally got perfect combination with Straitwire Duo bare wired running base, and Quartet running treble using banana plug, the result is very rewarding: big, dimensional sound space, very "thick" middle tone that is very authority and smooth--I can hear violin is played from wood, hi are airy, clear but nor harsh, and base is totally alive: deep, fast and clean. Did I say deep base? my 601 S2 is rated at 70-20k HZ, but for the first time, I hear subwoofer like base even at lower volume (bellow 9 o'clock), I never expect my speaker can produce such decent base, I used to run subwoofer to compensate low-end frequency. Not any more, with base this good, I absolutely don't need to use subwoofer at all. In my case, it pays to play around different cable setup to get hi-end sound, otherwise could sound like $300 gear. That is scary!

Overall, I give this product 4 and half star rating, but considering Cdn$1350 price (less than US$900) I paid, I would be very pleased to give it a final 5 star.

Similar Products Used:

Simaudio Moon I-5080, Rega, NAD, Rotel amp and digital receiver, etc.

Exellent build quality, musicality, high resolution, clear and brilliant sound, pretty weak but good bass

Speaker terminals

The best integrated amplifier I have ever used. MF A1 also had exellent musicality, but sounds weaker ("anemic") due to its limited output power. DENON was APPARENTLY NOT a real competitor. UR S2 is beyond A3 in midrange energy and vocals, but A3's mid/highs are more detailed, clean&clear, more suitable for big symphoniy orchestras.

Similar Products Used:

MF A1, MF Electra, Unison Rresearch simply two, DENON PMA2000

Right out of the box where do I start.

None so far

I purchased this after trying the Ae-25 Signature super amp. This amp mind that it's not broken in yet just sings to you. Wide sound stage Good depth little tight on the bass but it needs to break in to fully open up. I had the Adcom 535 for 12 years and I loved the sound but do to changing things around I went to an integrated amp this time around and I am just floored at how well it sounds. It blows the Adcom away right off the bat. Kevin And Ron at Upscale audio help me make my decision after trying the super amp it didn't have the bass control like my old Adcom, so they recomended the Musical Fidelity. This peice will stay part of my system for a long while.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 535, Audio electronics DJH signature.

Quiet,balanced,Great value

High frequency extension,ability to untangle complex passages.

I bought this unit used for $550.00 from Trevor at Oaks Audio.It is beyond criticism at this or any price below $1000.It is very quiet,presents a balanced soundfield,with distinct identification of individual instruments.My two listed criticisms relate I believe to the accompanying Denon 1650 cd player,but I am not sure.It can become a little less than stellar with complex,multilayered passages.The highs are sometimes slightly diminished,although I believe they were better with my former PD 65 cd.Nevertheless,this well built, aesthetically pleasing unit is going to force you to spend $2000 if it is to be replaced.4 stars in absolute terms,5 given it's retail price.

Similar Products Used:

Aragon 2004 Mk I

Musicality

None yet

I went to my audioshop to listen for the new Naim Nait 5 amplifier. However, with my MC M3 loudspeakers the sound still did not come out they way I was looking for. Than I listened to the Musical Fidelity A3. The moment I listen, I knew this was what I was looking for. Even the CD of Shania Twain (Come On Over) started to swing (this is not to be underestimated). But also opera and classical music sounded really great.

Compared to the other amplifiers, the Naim was second and the Puccini SE was definitely last.

Rest of my system:
Loudspeakers: MC M3 (In sound and price they are comparable with the Dynaudio Contour 1.8 but with somewhat less bass).
CD-player: Onkyo 7711
Cassette player (I still like it): Nakamichi DR3
Tuner: Pioneer F304

Similar Products Used:

Audio Analogue Puccini SE, Naim Nait 5

Great clarity and detail. Excellent soundstage and imaging. Wonderful midband, so great vocals and acoustic instruments.

Does not really let rip with heavy rock.

A fantastic integrated amp. Detailed,weighty and smooth. Excellent with Jazz,Classical and more acoustic music. Somewhat too polite for heavy rock.

Great phono stage (MM and MC) A bargin at $1000.

Good bass, simple design but nice finish.

Too forward, too much treble, which can be mistaken
for detailed presentation, lacking warmth

Bought this unit as a demo unit. It must be great since I don't have to break it in. It has been on display for about three months. I paired it with my B&W 602 Series 2. Pretty impressive was my first impression. It wowed me with its detail (or so i thought) and dynamic punchy sound. Bass is good.

After a while, I could not stand the sound. It's tiring and I got the feeling that turning the thing off is a relief.
I was disappointed, I've never experienced this with the Bryston B-60 which I demoed at home just a few weeks back. Even my Onkyo receiver never did that to me. Anyway, I paid quite a sum of money on this one so I better like it. Maybe, my ears will get used to it. The A3 got good reviews from various audio magazine.

I never turned it off (I thought the sound should improve) and I listened to it for the next three days. After which, I could not really stand it any longer and went back to the store for a full refund.

The sound is too forward for my taste, the details I thought I was hearing was actually a bright, treblish presentation. My ears just got tired of listening after only 30 minutes. I really wanted to like this integrated after reading the reviews and looking at its faceplate with its simple yet elegant design, the touch of gold design surrounding the volume knob was a knockout. Maybe it
did not match well with my speakers. Afterall, Audio is the art of matching components and equipments. We also have our own subjective taste and preferences. All this play a part in what we like and what we don't like about a particular set up. Don't let this review deter you from at least trying it out. Be sure that your dealer will allow a refund later if your are not satisfied.

I was told that british made amp matches well with either canadian or US made speakers. Try it, you might have a different experience than I did. I went back to my other dealer and bought the Bryston B-60 and now I am happy. Review of B-60 to follow later.

Assosiated system at time of A3 use:

MF A3 Integrated Amp
B&W 602 Series 2 speakers
custom made sand filled speaker stand
Rotel RCD 971 CD player
DH Labs cables all around

Primary CDs used in the course of listening:

Chesky Audiophile test CD vol 2 and 3
Sheffield Lab Test CD
Diana Krall's Love Scenes
Best of Fourplay
Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue

Similar Products Used:

Bryston B-60