MUSICAL FIDELITY M2sCD / M2si CD player + integrated amplifier
A pairing of classic hi-fi components which put sound quality first. As it should be. “From John Williams to Tracy Chapman’s understated debut and The XX’s electronica — the Musical Fidelity never disappointed.”
A pairing of classic hi-fi components which put sound quality first. As it should be.
Anyone seeking a classic hi-fi system based around an integrated amplifier should already have Musical Fidelity on their audition list. And all the more so now that the UK company is bounding forward with a new lease of life under the umbrella of Audio Tuning, owned by Heinz Lichtenegger, founder of Pro-Ject Audio Systems, who took over Musical Fidelity from its equally legendary founder Antony Michaelson in 2018.
This was no corporate buyout; indeed from Lichtenegger’s perspective it was just bringing a longstanding partnership under his own roof. He and Antony Michaelson have connections going back three decades, when Lichtenegger started his international distribution business with Triangle and Musical Fidelity, which he calls “a magical combination which helped make me the number one audio distributor in Austria”. As the distributor of Musical Fidelity products in Austria for more than 30 years, taking over the company made good sense.
The two luminaries also have much in common when it comes to audio philosophies. Neither cares much for accepted wisdom, preferring to trust their gut, or their heart, or their ears. As we’ve seen in hte previous review, Lichtenegger started manufacturing turntables at a time when vinyl was in decline against the “Perfect Sound Forever” of the new Compact Disc. Now that vinyl has returned to co-exist with streaming, and may even outlive CD, his decision looks downright prescient. Similarly when Antony Michaelson began developing the first Musical Fidelity products, he simply ignored what others were saying.
“When I started the company, I was told by a lot of people that there was no room in the market for another amplifier brand,” he remembered on the occasion of the company’s 30th anniversary. “I did not listen to them. Received wisdom is often wrong.”
The M2s series reviewed here is the most affordable of Musical Fidelity’s full-size hi-fi offerings, which rise all the way to some of the most impressive high-end kit on the planet, such as the spectacular Nu-Vista series. Meanwhile the M2s series consists of the classic CD player and amplifier combo, and is in many ways a very traditional offering, so taking advantage of the company’s longstanding expertise in these areas. Neither amp nor CD player offers either digital inputs
or streaming abilities — but those seeking such things can easily add a digital unit as an additional source (indeed we gather Audio Tuning’s plans for Musical Fidelity include an upcoming streamer/DAC).
“There are still some wrong trends in the streaming world — all to features, nothing to sound,” Lichtenegger complained to us recently. “We want the opposite — fewer features, more sound!”
M2si amplifier
And it might be easy to query Musical Fidelity’s M2si integrated amplifier on the subject of “fewer features”. This is one of the most stripped-back amplifiers we’ve come across at this level. It offers the basics — a remote control, six line-level inputs including a tape loop, and a home cinema bypass option to help integration into a surround system. Not much else.
So there are no digital inputs, no headphone output, no built-in phono stage (Musical Fidelity has, however, some fine standalone units, as does Pro-Ject). It might be called underequipped at its $2000 price.
But there are advantages to that. It means that your money is going to the best possible place — the sound quality. And it means that whatever your particular needs, you can add the bits you want, without paying for any bits you don’t. And on that basis, you’ll find it an excellent product.
The M2si is certainly well-built, feeling every bit as luxurious as you’d wish for the money. Neat touches such as using solid metal for the controls rather than plastic really lift the impression of quality. Michaelson was always prepared to spend a little on making amps look and feel as good as they sound, and here the overall finish is impressive; we like the clean-cut appearance.
Under the lid, you’ll find a preamp section that works in Class-A mode, another long-time Musical Fidelity preference. It also enjoys a separate power feed to improve performance and reduce any unwanted interaction with the power amplifier.
There’s no shortage of muscle here, with the M2si delivering 76W per channel into eight ohms and giving a healthy increase to 137W per channel as impedance halves. That impressive set of figures strongly suggests that this amplifier should be able to produce high sound levels with any price-appropriate speaker.
We gave the M2si a couple of days of running in before listening seriously, and its sound stabilised relatively quickly. Its obvious source partner is the M2sCD CD player, but we also plugged up a high-end Naim NDS/555 PS music streamer as an additional front-end, and a pair of
ATC SCM 50 speakers — this system to find the ultimate envelope of the M2si’s abilities. We also ran it into the rather more price-appropriate DALI Oberon 5 compact floorstanders.
It doesn’t take long to realise that this Musical Fidelity is a terrific performer. It delivers a large-scale sound, one that’s packed with authority and substance. Listening to Orff’s Carmina Burana the M2si’s refinement was clear, as was its ability to deal with musical complexity without sounding stressed. It can track individual instrumental strands with ease yet never lose sight of the whole. That’s a rare talent at this level.
This amplifier images well too. Every note is tightly focused within an expansive and spacious soundstage. The presentation remains stable even when things get busy, and at high levels.
Dynamic expression is a strong point. The M2si manages the sweep from quiet to loud superbly and is as happy rendering low-level subtleties as it is sledgehammer crescendos.
The tonal balance is even handed, and where it does diverge from complete neutrality, it does so in a wholly sympathetic way — the top end is sweet while the mid and bass have just a touch of added richness. This flavouring is slight, just enough to make the amplifier less fussy about partnering equipment and recording quality than most rivals.
We played Bruce Springsteen’s American Skin (41 Shots) and the Musical Fidelity sounded right at home. It has punch and power but tempers all that muscle with a light touch that captured the passion and texture of Springsteen’s coarse vocal delivery brilliantly. Bass is handled with flair — every note hitting hard and true. The song’s steady rhythm was communicated well.
We played a wide range of music from grand orchestral scores from John Williams to Tracy Chapman’s understated debut set and The XX’s electronica — the Musical Fidelity never disappointed.
This is a superb all-rounder, one of the best amplifiers we’ve heard at the price. If you can live with the limited feature count, this one deserves to go on the shortlist.
MS2sCD CD player
Musical Fidelity’s M2sCD CD player is a natural partner for the M2si amp. It’s the brand’s most affordable CD player, sitting below the M3 and M6 models. The M6CD, for example, is positioned as a digital hub rather than just a CD player, and will set you back $5000.
The M2sCD has the same sleek and fuss-free design as its amplification partner, with a small silver M2sCD insignia plate the only real flourish in terms of bodywork. There are small silver circular power and transport buttons located in a line below the digital screen, this row of six split by a centrally-positioned IR receiver. The buttons feel precise and are pleasing to push.
The bright blue display’s viewing angles could be better, the track information text rather fading away unless you’re almost directly in front of it. But some may prefer to turn this off anyway, especially as Musical Fidelity says this will minimise electrical noise and help improve the M2sCD’s performance.
The player boasts a mains choke filter alongside its more high-tech digital stream noise filter. While the former is perhaps a less fashionable approach, Musical Fidelity uses it to clean up the power supply.
There’s a 24-bit Delta-Sigma dualdifferential DAC onboard, but there are coaxial and optical digital outs as well as analogue RCA, so you could choose to upgrade to a separate DAC. There are no digital inputs here: this is a sleek CD player with integrated DAC, nothing more, nothing less. We slipped Prince and the New Power Generation’s ‘Diamonds And Pearls’ CD into the slot, and the player clearly delivers a levelled-up performance compared with even the best players at half the price, such as the Marantz CD6006. The separation and transparency of the vocal chorus at the start of Thunder was startling, accompanied by an agile, smooth bassline as the rhythm and guitar reverb kicked in. This is Prince’s music as it should be: rhythmic, clear throughout the frequencies and musical, with each melodic strand and vocal lick held in check, yet given ample space to riff. The overall effect was impressive.
The album continues to Daddy Pop and, dynamically, this was a fine rendition. The pensive ambient sounds at the start of the title track were rounded and sparkling, perceptible right up until they give way to the bass, cymbal and keys. Prince’s vocal was central within a cohesive mix.
We dug out more challenging material, loading the digitally remastered version of Weather Report’s jazz/rock masterpiece ‘Heavy Weather’. The M2sCD found extra detail and musical flair at every turn, even as the instrumental layers build to a cacophony during Birdland. If you can listen to this player and not tap your toes, you’ve got more reserve than us, or possibly no toes.
The soaring saxophone solo in A Remark You Made emerged three-dimensional and emotive through the Musical Fidelity combo, never muddied by its electric bass counterpart, even when both instruments are playing the same melody.
We listened to Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’ and the M2sCD continued to provide a refined, musical listen. But here the jagged bassline at the start of Airbag felt marginally smoother, less disconcerting than it should, the guitar also slightly short of its hard edges. But this was a rare slip; overall the M2sCD presented a refined, musical and elegant sound, beating less expensive models for both breadth and clarity.
Conclusion
With both models individually excellent buys, and combining impeccably together as a solid-looking and highly musical pair, this is a combo that should be auditioned by anyone seeking such as classic hi-fi solution at this price or even significantly above. You can add a streamer with digital inputs if you need them — but if you don’t, you can relax in the knowledge that your dollars have gone where they should, on ensuring the maximum sound quality for your money.