MUSICAL FIDELITY A5
Digital sources
The A5 builds on success of Musical Fidelity's Nu-Vista range. The musicality and immediacy is what makes the A5 so involving - its sound is rich, colourful and smooth. I would not say it is 'high fidelity' as the sound favours beauty to fidelity, yet this is exactly what we expect from Musical Fidelity, don't we?
Function and form
The A5 CD player works best through its remote control. From its front panel it is only to possible start and stop the playback and skip forth and back. The remote controller's wand is a standard plastic thing that can control the other MF devices too. Also the rear panel is quite simple: RCA cinches only and digital outputs in coaxial and optical standards. The power cord is detachable.
Bass management
The player allows to upsample to 24bit/192kHz through dual differential Delta-Sigma converters with 8x oversampling. Its output stage features one nu-Vista 6112 tube so let's call the player 'hybrid'.
The CD transport is from Philips and despite it does not behave it reads promptly and reliably.
Clarity & delicacy
The Musical Fidelity A5 jis quite a detailed player (better than the MF's X-Ray line that is veiled in comparison). It can play with enthusiasm and immediacy and full fleshed imaging so the listening becomes fun - Diana Krall, for example, materialized in my listening room pretty convincingly.
Tonal accuracy
Spatial resolution
The soundstage of the A5 is three-dimensional and quite attractive, especially its ambience. The piano of Ms. Krall and Paul Keller's bass were realistic yet warmer and richer in their tones. Can this be because of the tubed output stage? The player injects a turntable attitude to the played material, it is anything but sterile.
Manufacturer's website: http://www.musicalfidelity.com
Associated components
- Digital source Musical Fidelity X-Ray V3
- Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity předzesilovače X-Pre V3 a konce X-P200
- Cables: Transparent Cable Music Link
- Loudspeakers: Paradigm Reference Signature S1, Dali Euphonia MS 4, Wilson Audio Sophia
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