Real life matters, and as much as some people may have struggles with the distributor margin and the store margin, being able to go somewhere and listen is frankly priceless, as well as the knowledge from the folks in the industry
Another thing that would add to the price is that in the 80's everyone had a stereo in their homes. Nowadays, not so much. i.e. there will be much less units sold than in the 80's
Yeah, I knew the A1 deserves one more video, high viewes were not happening by mistake, ppl are want to know more! I wanted to know more as - before my purchase - I was afraid of the possible loose bass or issues with heat but man... heat is also a feature on that lovely heatsink and the bass-punch is lovely on this unit! Love it! Nice content as alway Mr. @DarkoAudio!
Tip of the day. If you have a Roon Nucleus and it can be connected via Ethernet close to your DAC of choice, forget using a streamer and just connect your Nucleus to your DAC with a decent USB cable and you’re good to go using the Nucleus as both the Roon Core and streamer. In some cases less is more and hey one less component to buy and have in your cabinet. Enjoy! Ps: Nice review of the A1
I go through a lot of gear. One piece I’ll never replace is my A1. Holy shit! I do run different speakers, but for me, q acoustics 5020’s with the A1 is audio perfection.
Learning the back story on this piece alone, tells you everything you need to know really. There was much thought and passion put into its design. BTW, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots one of my Flaming Lips faves! The surround mix is particularly worth a listen if you can get it ; )
John Darko makes great audio commentary. I respect and trust his reviews. I bought the DW6s based on his use of ZU products. Entering the HiFi realm, I was quickly sucked down the rabbit hole so I convinced myself that I needed an amplifier to complement the new speakers. The A1 was at the top of my list. My uncertainty pushed me to the audiophonics Purifi monoblocks that were crammed with watts.
Of course I watch it tó the end…. (Almost) always :) captivating content, optimal length (would also listen for longer…) Dear John, you are partly to blame for me listening much more again to music and having HiFi back as a hobby in my life - and thus being a happier human being 😊
The A1 is a great amp...my mate fixed and upgraded his one after blowing it up decades ago...and now they re-issued it...very good amp indeed....anything they bring back must be good and they know it....just like the original AE1 speaker....
I’m loving the Canadia stuff, almost as much as previous videos having American versions of kit being made from a different material (Aluminum) to what the rest of the world gets (Aluminium),
I bought this because I have tinnitus and was trying to find something that I could stand to listen to without that high end etch that has become pervasive. Everything in the reviews made the A1 sound like the ticket for me. I auditioned and was convinced at the store and took it home and it stayed. I sampled a bunch of speakers. I had no problems with power even with lower efficiency speakers though I'm not playing loud. I love the sound. I've said it before, it reminds me of the days when people came over to listen to records and not our systems. The A1 is not an audiophile's dream amp, that's for sure. It's for people that are more interested in the rhythmic drive of music. I have to say that the entire discussion about price is irrelevant. Those inflation calculations have a lot of error in them. So you spend a third of the video pointing out those errors. I get it as a value proposition economic lesson, but not sure what's the point in a review. Were there complaints about the price? Because I think it's a frickin' deal compared to a lot of the stuff out there. Or perhaps it says something about the cheap and meaningless nature of humans in general that we clutch our pearls and thrust our fists over whether someone is taking us to the cleaners. Ugh. By the way, I like the Todd Hido bass trap in the left corner.
Not buying the original in the 80s is one of my very few HiFi regrets. I bought a technics amp as I was scared of the reliability of the MF. The technics was awful and broke constantly. Lesson learned. Those Zu speakers are magnificent.
Real life matters! I have a conundrum, trying to figure out if I should go for this A1, or a Sudden A21SE and spend more than twice the amount. I think this video helped me save some money, I like the idea of the A1 very much, and I play 90% vinyl.
I've an 1987 A1 in a box under my bed. The original was hot enough to "keep your takeaway warm"...so its now a bit flaky to use, channel dropouts and the like. I don't know I'd trust the new one beyond 5 years use if its still an oven by another name, and besides my M3Si sounds so much better. And just to say MF200B balanced phones are superb sounding additions, sadly underrated.
Hey, I rarely leave the house … wfh, carer, except to sing in a choir and visit the relatives, occasional work trips and the occasional concert (classical &pop/rock). I’m also on the internet, with a keyboard!
Interesting comment about connecting the WiiM directly to the power amp sounding worse when you think it would be the opposite. People love to throw half baked theories into the mix, so I was wondering if it’s down to impedance matching. I know my valve preamp uses a low impedance cathode follower/buffer to offer a very low impedance to the power amp. I suspect something like a WiiM pro plus has a lot higher output impedance which a preamp input matches well but not so much the power amp. Also a higher impedance source into a power amplifier would mean the interconnect would possibly have more of an effect. I’ll hide in the corner now 🙂.
I’ve been trying to tell my friends and co-workers, who have taken a slight interest in HiFi, to go to an actual store and demo stuff. The staff are usually very happy that you are there and they have been delighted, at least with me, to figure out with you, what kind of sound and gear you are after. To me it’s a no brainer, but to them it seems like an inconvenience at best and they just end up scrolling the ole internet trying to figure out what would be best for them on specs alone. Which is an utter shit way to “figure out” anything.
(Real life matters.) To paraphrase an Aussie TV commercial with which you might be familiar - "Watts ain't Watts!" As a bass payer, over the years I have played through tube, "regular" transistor, and Class D amplifiers. A multi-kilowatt class D power amp seemed to have less poke than an ostensibly much less powerful tube amp. Bottom line - printed spec.s, even if accurate, don't tell you much about subjective listening (or playing) experience.
It drives the klh_model_5 very well. With direct mode off I can't get past 30-35% volume before reaching 85 DB, with direct mode on, I rarely use more than 40%-45% before reaching 85 DB. I have never been able get close or 12 o'clock in either modes. It will be too loud. I assume Lintons will be similar and it will drive them with good ease since they are more efficient than the klh_model_5. My guess.
Try it, they present a somewhat tough load on paper with a 3ohm (there or there about’s) dip. But they do have a sensitivity of 90db. The a1 isn’t a single ended design I believe, and isn’t completely class A, sliding into B when needed. Hence I think the strong performance with the kefs in John’s reviews. A sugden a21 single ended design it is not where the load raises the less power you actually have. You really need to audition with an amp like this
People spend way too much time on their phones and the internet, if you ask me. And yes, real life matters. Thanks for the review on the A1. It looks like a very interesting product. A nice comparison would be with the Exposure 2510and the Heaven 11 hybrid integrated amps. Take care....
I want one even though I’m well covered in the amp department for my Zu. Schiit Aegir or Gjallarhorn cover SS options, and I have tube amps as well. I might be a little sentimental where Musical Fidelity is concerned; my first “real” amp was an A300 integrated.
Interesting, I find the same thing with my PrimaLuna tube amp, 44 watts sounds bigger and more robust than my 250w NAD solid state amp. The specs just don't seem to correlate with what we hear at all.
Just an odd comment here enjoyed the material but you have me questioning my pronunciation of Canada now. I have known several from east side and western Canada and your way of saying it has me thinking about it.
Absolutely agree that real life matters. A spec sheet tells you nothing about the sound quality of a product and you will always get more from an in person listening than from any video review or demonstration on the internet.Great video, thanks John.
So glad you added this video it need that additional clarification on gain and impedance. Suggest it might be good do an episode on that alone it’s a rabbit hole but a good one to rack the brain. Ps Taiwanese and Chinese labour is no longer what it used to be. Reason their skill levels have increased and compete on par if not better than western labour tech additional their is about a 6:1 ratio of better quality labour.
Hifi is like buying an XL tshirt. Sure, XL means it's bigger than L, but where? Sleeves? Length? Girth? There is zero way of knowing if any hifi product will work in your application until you try it.
Class A design amps aren’t the same as class A/B. I have the Musical Fidelity A1 & the Sugden A21SE paired with Spendor 4/5 monitors (sensitivity rating 84 db) & Salk Song 3 Encore towers (sensitivity rating 87 db). Either amp will drive these models well above 90 db SPL in room without any notable distortion. Both are beautiful sounding amps.
Back in the day I bought a B1 instead of the A1 due to the heat being produced. The B1 still works and is at my sisterks house. Are MF going to release a B1 at all?
After 3 MF amps, starting with a A100 back in the days which burned after a stuck fan inside the amp, much later a A3cr power amp that refused to start up on a rainy day and the last one was a M3i which sounded not more than mediocre i gave up on MF.
I have a question. What is the brand of the hifi furniture with the chrome tubes and cream colour doors? I am looking for something better than I have (ikea) and planning to move somewhere else.
Real life matters, and as much as some people may have struggles with the distributor margin and the store margin, being able to go somewhere and listen is frankly priceless, as well as the knowledge from the folks in the industry
Another thing that would add to the price is that in the 80's everyone had a stereo in their homes. Nowadays, not so much. i.e. there will be much less units sold than in the 80's
CANADIA???? BRO WHAT?! LOLOL
Made popular by Australian PM visiting Canadia a few years ago.
@@karelseemonster hahahahaha amazing 👏
It's not Canada anymore, in the current political atmosphere... Maybe it'll be Canada again if there are changes made at the helm ;)
Real life matters, but only in Canadia
Between Chinia and Germania
"Real life matters," indeed, it does. Your enthusiasm for this amp is infectious.
Yeah, I knew the A1 deserves one more video, high viewes were not happening by mistake, ppl are want to know more! I wanted to know more as - before my purchase - I was afraid of the possible loose bass or issues with heat but man... heat is also a feature on that lovely heatsink and the bass-punch is lovely on this unit! Love it! Nice content as alway Mr. @DarkoAudio!
Cheers from Canadia. 😉
Watched it to the end. Interesting thoughts John.
Tip of the day. If you have a Roon Nucleus and it can be connected via Ethernet close to your DAC of choice, forget using a streamer and just connect your Nucleus to your DAC with a decent USB cable and you’re good to go using the Nucleus as both the Roon Core and streamer. In some cases less is more and hey one less component to buy and have in your cabinet. Enjoy! Ps: Nice review of the A1
I go through a lot of gear. One piece I’ll never replace is my A1. Holy shit! I do run different speakers, but for me, q acoustics 5020’s with the A1 is audio perfection.
Would like one for nostalgic reasons, for sure.
Learning the back story on this piece alone, tells you everything you need to know really. There was much thought and passion put into its design.
BTW, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots one of my Flaming Lips faves! The surround mix is particularly worth a listen if you can get it ; )
It's a great album - stood out to me too
John Darko makes great audio commentary. I respect and trust his reviews. I bought the DW6s based on his use of ZU products. Entering the HiFi realm, I was quickly sucked down the rabbit hole so I convinced myself that I needed an amplifier to complement the new speakers. The A1 was at the top of my list. My uncertainty pushed me to the audiophonics Purifi monoblocks that were crammed with watts.
Of course I watch it tó the end…. (Almost) always :) captivating content, optimal length (would also listen for longer…) Dear John, you are partly to blame for me listening much more again to music and having HiFi back as a hobby in my life - and thus being a happier human being 😊
Totally agree to that. ✌👍
The A1 is a great amp...my mate fixed and upgraded his one after blowing it up decades ago...and now they re-issued it...very good amp indeed....anything they bring back must be good and they know it....just like the original AE1 speaker....
Real Life Matters indeed…informative and thought provoking points you make about all of the components which contribute to and/or dictate a price.
Another excellent review. Can't wait for your KEF Q Concerto Meta Bookshelf Speakers review
Awesome!
I’m loving the Canadia stuff, almost as much as previous videos having American versions of kit being made from a different material (Aluminum) to what the rest of the world gets (Aluminium),
Hello from Canadia.
I’m Canadian and I approve the Canadia usage.
I bought this because I have tinnitus and was trying to find something that I could stand to listen to without that high end etch that has become pervasive. Everything in the reviews made the A1 sound like the ticket for me. I auditioned and was convinced at the store and took it home and it stayed. I sampled a bunch of speakers. I had no problems with power even with lower efficiency speakers though I'm not playing loud. I love the sound. I've said it before, it reminds me of the days when people came over to listen to records and not our systems. The A1 is not an audiophile's dream amp, that's for sure. It's for people that are more interested in the rhythmic drive of music.
I have to say that the entire discussion about price is irrelevant. Those inflation calculations have a lot of error in them. So you spend a third of the video pointing out those errors. I get it as a value proposition economic lesson, but not sure what's the point in a review. Were there complaints about the price? Because I think it's a frickin' deal compared to a lot of the stuff out there. Or perhaps it says something about the cheap and meaningless nature of humans in general that we clutch our pearls and thrust our fists over whether someone is taking us to the cleaners. Ugh.
By the way, I like the Todd Hido bass trap in the left corner.
Not buying the original in the 80s is one of my very few HiFi regrets. I bought a technics amp as I was scared of the reliability of the MF. The technics was awful and broke constantly. Lesson learned.
Those Zu speakers are magnificent.
Good follow up. Thanks
Not for the Future -Fi , but one for the Retro - Fi , i can see this unit appealing to the nostalgic.
Flova Scotia, Canadia’s #1 fix for hockey wife audiophiles. #supertroopers2 Famous for Mount Unit as listed on the back of the A1. Real Life.
Real life matters! I have a conundrum, trying to figure out if I should go for this A1, or a Sudden A21SE and spend more than twice the amount. I think this video helped me save some money, I like the idea of the A1 very much, and I play 90% vinyl.
Yep, real life matters - of course though, some of us can’t identify real life when we find it.
I've an 1987 A1 in a box under my bed. The original was hot enough to "keep your takeaway warm"...so its now a bit flaky to use, channel dropouts and the like. I don't know I'd trust the new one beyond 5 years use if its still an oven by another name, and besides my M3Si sounds so much better. And just to say MF200B balanced phones are superb sounding additions, sadly underrated.
Real life matters, yes sir, thanks John
The end. Testing for reverb
Real life matters when life is lived.
Real life matters. I especially like the pause at the end after you say "...spend too much time on the internet". ;-)
Real life matters and real bricks and mortar dealers matter.
only Darko gets the blacked-out Wharfedales
Hey, I rarely leave the house … wfh, carer, except to sing in a choir and visit the relatives, occasional work trips and the occasional concert (classical &pop/rock). I’m also on the internet, with a keyboard!
Thanks.
🙏🙏🙏🙏 Always great vids..
A real pity it’s so hard to get a demo at dealers now days..
Canadia, love it!
I got mine for 1299 Euros, so can’t complain about the price.
Real Life Matters for sure
So nobody can make this sound without the heat?
Interesting comment about connecting the WiiM directly to the power amp sounding worse when you think it would be the opposite. People love to throw half baked theories into the mix, so I was wondering if it’s down to impedance matching. I know my valve preamp uses a low impedance cathode follower/buffer to offer a very low impedance to the power amp. I suspect something like a WiiM pro plus has a lot higher output impedance which a preamp input matches well but not so much the power amp. Also a higher impedance source into a power amplifier would mean the interconnect would possibly have more of an effect. I’ll hide in the corner now 🙂.
Real life matters. Canadia... ?? Is that near Canada?
Between Chinia and Germania
Canadia? Eh!!!
I’ve been trying to tell my friends and co-workers, who have taken a slight interest in HiFi, to go to an actual store and demo stuff. The staff are usually very happy that you are there and they have been delighted, at least with me, to figure out with you, what kind of sound and gear you are after. To me it’s a no brainer, but to them it seems like an inconvenience at best and they just end up scrolling the ole internet trying to figure out what would be best for them on specs alone. Which is an utter shit way to “figure out” anything.
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 KHANADIA 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
5:22 Tim The Power Of Fettuccine
Aluminum Canadia.
(Real life matters.) To paraphrase an Aussie TV commercial with which you might be familiar - "Watts ain't Watts!"
As a bass payer, over the years I have played through tube, "regular" transistor, and Class D amplifiers. A multi-kilowatt class D power amp seemed to have less poke than an ostensibly much less powerful tube amp. Bottom line - printed spec.s, even if accurate, don't tell you much about subjective listening (or playing) experience.
Would the A1 drive a pair of Lintons? Thanks in afvance
It drives the klh_model_5 very well. With direct mode off I can't get past 30-35% volume before reaching 85 DB, with direct mode on, I rarely use more than 40%-45% before reaching 85 DB. I have never been able get close or 12 o'clock in either modes. It will be too loud. I assume Lintons will be similar and it will drive them with good ease since they are more efficient than the klh_model_5. My guess.
I have the same question
of course
Try it, they present a somewhat tough load on paper with a 3ohm (there or there about’s) dip. But they do have a sensitivity of 90db. The a1 isn’t a single ended design I believe, and isn’t completely class A, sliding into B when needed. Hence I think the strong performance with the kefs in John’s reviews. A sugden a21 single ended design it is not where the load raises the less power you actually have. You really need to audition with an amp like this
REAL LIFE MATTERS - Not sure where Canadia is? Excellent insight and advice...again,
I want this amp so bad 🤤
People spend way too much time on their phones and the internet, if you ask me. And yes, real life matters. Thanks for the review on the A1. It looks like a very interesting product. A nice comparison would be with the Exposure 2510and the Heaven 11 hybrid integrated amps. Take care....
I want one even though I’m well covered in the amp department for my Zu. Schiit Aegir or Gjallarhorn cover SS options, and I have tube amps as well. I might be a little sentimental where Musical Fidelity is concerned; my first “real” amp was an A300 integrated.
Interesting, I find the same thing with my PrimaLuna tube amp, 44 watts sounds bigger and more robust than my 250w NAD solid state amp. The specs just don't seem to correlate with what we hear at all.
What speakers do you have with the PL? How much experimentation did you do with different speakers?
I too have a Prima Luna Evo 100 and it drives my KLH model 5’s fantastically.
Real Life does indeed matter!!
To the very end
Real life matters, great video
Where the heck is Canadia?
In North Americia of course.
Love my M6SI
Just an odd comment here enjoyed the material but you have me questioning my pronunciation of Canada now. I have known several from east side and western Canada and your way of saying it has me thinking about it.
The previous video became so popular because many people bought an A1... clone 😜
Real Life Matters - especially in Canadia...
I watched right up to where you said leave a comment.
Me too
Absolutely agree that real life matters. A spec sheet tells you nothing about the sound quality of a product and you will always get more from an in person listening than from any video review or demonstration on the internet.Great video, thanks John.
I like these follow up videos
Edit: Lives matter
I agree, real life matters,
So glad you added this video it need that additional clarification on gain and impedance. Suggest it might be good do an episode on that alone it’s a rabbit hole but a good one to rack the brain. Ps Taiwanese and Chinese labour is no longer what it used to be. Reason their skill levels have increased and compete on par if not better than western labour tech additional their is about a 6:1 ratio of better quality labour.
My original burnt up I won’t get another one.
Hifi is like buying an XL tshirt. Sure, XL means it's bigger than L, but where? Sleeves? Length? Girth? There is zero way of knowing if any hifi product will work in your application until you try it.
This is a terrific analogy. 👏🏻
🙋♂️ REAL LIFE MATTERS,🤗😁💚💚💚
Class A design amps aren’t the same as class A/B. I have the Musical Fidelity A1 & the Sugden A21SE paired with Spendor 4/5 monitors (sensitivity rating 84 db) & Salk Song 3 Encore towers (sensitivity rating 87 db). Either amp will drive these models well above 90 db SPL in room without any notable distortion. Both are beautiful sounding amps.
Back in the day I bought a B1 instead of the A1 due to the heat being produced. The B1 still works and is at my sisterks house. Are MF going to release a B1 at all?
Class A, hmmm. My Auralic headfi amp is Class A, I use it to cook eggs.
After 3 MF amps, starting with a A100 back in the days which burned after a stuck fan inside the amp, much later a A3cr power amp that refused to start up on a rainy day and the last one was a M3i which sounded not more than mediocre i gave up on MF.
testing 1,2, for reverb!
Real life matters. I can hear the reverb as well 🙃
Real Life Matters!
Noice!
Where is Canadiah? Haha
Canaydeeuh?
Chinese copies are still available at eighties prices. But much simpler made.
I dont like direct sound on,even on my marantz nr1711 sound very flat when its on,pure auto sound very good when audyssey cal is off
Does the A1 have a 220v model. That’s another real world cost for Musical Fidelity
Can adia... You do mean Canada🇨🇦
Testing for reverb...
Near South Africana
Real life matters, especially in Canadia
Real life matters!! and audio
90 db? You may have very good neighbours!😜
“Streets ahead”?! Are you a fan of the American TV show, “Community”?
Real life matters, only in Australia!
Real life matters!
Canadia ?
I have a question.
What is the brand of the hifi furniture with the chrome tubes and cream colour doors?
I am looking for something better than I have (ikea) and planning to move somewhere else.
USM Haller
"Canadia"? 🙃
Real life matters... do I win something?
Realverb
Too many of these new amps have only one set of speaker outputs, no option for two sets of speakers.
Real. Life matters