John Darko
Achtung! Warning! “Caution: hot surface. The whole top of the A1 is a heat sink, may become very hot and may cause burns. Do not touch. Special care should be taken in the presence of children and vulnerable persons. To allow full heat dissipation, nothing should be placed on it any any time”.
These firm words are the first thing we see when opening the Musical Fidelity A1’s box for the first time. But why? The amplification circuit inside the A1 is heavily biased into Class A to leave the output devices (almost) always on. The upshot is a ridged top plate tasked with dissipating the resulting heat. And that heat is significant. You can cook an egg on it, albeit slowly. I know because I did it yesterday.
After half an hour’s warm-up, a Bosch heat gun pointed at the centre of that top plate shows 62C when playing music and 67C when idle — because ‘always on’ energy turns to heat when the amplifier isn’t driving any loudspeakers. The A1’s operational temperature is like that of a small radiator. This is why the Musical Fidelity has been sitting in the review queue for several months; I’ve been waiting for the cooler weather to arrive. During the summer, I had to turn on the AC whilst in use.
If the A1’s low profile, function-over-form aesthetics and minimal feature set – five line-level inputs plus MM/MC phono – have you thinking of Live Aid or Ronald Reagan, you’re not going full shoulder pad. This A1 is a rework of the 20wpc original, designed by the late Tim De Paravacini under the stewardship of Musical Fidelity founder Antony Michaelson in 1985 and discontinued ten years later. The then £189 sticker price delivered significant bang-for-buck to those with the right speakers but the buying public didn’t take to the more powerful Class A/B do-over, released in 2008 with internal DAC and front-panel display.
I suspect the 2023 version will right that wrong.
The minor grammatical errors found on the heat warning point to Musical Fidelity’s now Austrian ownership. Pro-Ject CEO Heinz Lichtenegger bought the company in 2018. To be clear, my German can’t hold a candle to Lichtenegger’s English.
The new A1 (€1299) is not a carbon copy of the original. Lichtenegger’s design team has: 1) increased the chassis width by a couple of centimetres to 2) accommodate a fully discrete circuit with dual mono power supplies; 3) upgraded many internal components for superior heat resistance; 4) added remote controllability to an all-new ALPS RK volume pot; 5) change the tape monitor toggle switch to one that activates a ‘direct’ bypass of the pre-amplifier’s 10dB of extra gain and 6) upped the output power from 20wpc to 25wpc (which Hifi News’ Paul Miller has measured as capable of 34wpc).
The Austrian design team should be applauded for staying true to the 1985 original and not adding mod-cons like a DAC or a network streamer. In the age of WiiM, FiiO, Eversolo and Bluesound, adding a streaming DAC that can be (optionally) tucked away out of sight has never been easier…or more affordable.
I used a FiiO R9 with which I preferred the sound of the A1’s ‘normal’ operational mode. It keeps the extra pre-amplifier gain in the signal path for more overt rhythmic drive but caps the volume wheel turn at around 10 O’Clock when hitting 90dB SPL in the seat. At least, that’s the way I hear it with a pair of KEF Q Concerto Meta working a 6m x 5m room, putting the boot in on any preconceived notions that a close-to-full volume turn is required from the A1 for 85dB standmounts. Other listeners might prefer the ‘direct’ mode’s more laid-back disposition. The 10dB drop in gain allows me to reach 11 O’Clock on the volume wheel, again with 90dB SPL in the seat.
For vinyl playback, I went with a Rega Planar 8 turntable fitted with an Ortofon 2M Black — an MM cartridge that extends our volume wheel turn possibilities by another hour to midnight. The internal ‘current mode’ phono stage will also talk to MC cartridges where 60dB of gain is enough.
Knob feel? The volume wheel is reassuringly stiff and the source selector requires higher-than-average turning force to switch between the six inputs.
Our review video will drop in a couple of weeks with the side-by-side comparative context coming from the Class A/B Marantz Stereo 70s (€999) and the vintage-clothed Class D NAD C 3050 (€1499).
Lastly, the white streaks on the top plate – as seen in some of my photos – are of my own making. They are the remnants of yesterday’s many attempts to cook an egg on top of the Musical Fidelity, about which I have made a video for Darko.Audio Patrons. Watch it here.
Further information: Musical Fidelity
