Integrated Amp Reviews

Once the M8xi had been hoisted, with assistance, onto my rack, I did some thinking about power conditioning. I'd already inquired about the use of a power conditioner and received an email that said that while Musical Fidelity had striven to build "a power supply with very low internal impedance in order to achieve maximum possible dynamics," conditioners that didn't limit current and squash dynamics could possibly improve things further. After listening and comparing, I opted for the same AudioQuest Niagara 5000 I use with the Progressions. I also used the same Ansuz Darkz T2^S support feet I use with the D'Agostino monos. I continued to use them because they enhanced the depiction of air, depth, and space—what stood out most was the clearer depiction of space between vocalists, instrumentalists, and the wall behind them—but I should note that the M8xi did quite well on its stock feet.

To test the M8xi as an integrated amplifier without engaging its DAC, I ran balanced interconnects from either the dCS Rossini DAC/Clock combo or the Weiss DAC502 to the M8xi and turned the DACs' digital volume controls up to 0dB to remove them from the signal path.

Although the M8xi is not Roon-tested, its DAC had no problem recognizing signals sent directly from the Roon Nucleus+ server via USB. Hence, I used the Nucleus+ as the music source throughout this review. When the Rossini and DAC502 were in use, the Nucleus+ fed them by either USB or Ethernet; when the M8xi DAC was engaged, I either fed it by USB or used Ethernet to send signal through the dCS Network Bridge via coax. (I didn't hear a big difference between USB and coax, but then, so many new variables were introduced when I added the Network Bridge and additional cabling that I can't swear there aren't any differences.) By choosing tracks within the M8xi DAC's limit of PCM 24/192, I was able to compare the same music on all three DACs.

Play
First listens to the M8xi followed an intense period of using the Progressions to compare the dCS Rossini and Weiss DAC502 DACs. When I switched from the Progressions to the M8xi, its sound was virtually as pleasing, and spot-on neutral, albeit less transparent and airy and less precise in its depiction of acoustic space. The M8xi conveyed the warmth of Yo-Yo Ma's cello on his Bach Trios recording (24/96 WAV, Nonesuch 558933), with mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and bass player Edgar Meyer, but I missed the mandolin's undertones. Instruments seemed to hang, separated from each other, as though recorded by separate microphone feeds that didn't blend into a coherent whole; they do blend together with my reference monoblocks. But I could hear the delicacy of every pluck of the mandolin string and the unique textures of Ma's cello.

"This is very natural and beautiful sound that just about any music lover would enjoy," I wrote in my notes. "Even if the bass line isn't as firm and full as with my reference, soundstage boundaries aren't as well-defined, and depth depiction isn't as strikingly realistic, the sound is very organic and resolved. If I hadn't heard better, I could imagine myself content with this integrated for the rest of my life." (My closest friends might say that they've never seen me content for days on end, but there's little harm in waxing Panglossian now and then.)

Turning to very different music, Yello's bass-pounding, wall-to-wall, immersive "Electrified II" from Toy (24/48 WAV download, Polydor 4782160), the wow factor was diminished. A little. But even if its bass wasn't as gut-shaking—even if the soundstage didn't seem to reach out to me and gobble me up body and soul—it sounded really good.

How did the M8xi's DAC compare to the stand-alone Rossini DAC/Clock combo? Musical Fidelity's baby lacked profundity on the bottom, wasn't nearly as open and transparent, threw a smaller and less convincing soundstage, had a less-differentiated color palette, and so on. But, if memory serves me correctly, the M8xi's DAC was more satisfying than the Aurender A10's, whose sound I begrudgingly described as "okay"; it also bettered the optional DAC in the Krell K-300i integrated ($7000; DAC $1000 extra), which I termed "surprisingly musical and satisfying for the price." It certainly sounded better than Lichtenegger suggested it would. If you don't want to add another box, power cable, and set of interconnects to your system and you're content with resolutions up to 24/192 PCM, the M8xi's internal DAC will not leave you feeling shortchanged.

The limits of what the M8xi could reveal became clear when I enlisted both it and the Progressions to compare the Rossini and Weiss DACs. I chose a new, excellently engineered recording of Handel's sprawling soap-opera oratorio, Saul, with the period-instrument Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, and the Philharmonia Chorale, conducted by Bruce Lamott (24/192 WAV, PVP-14). The recording includes seven distinct-voiced soloists and a large group of instruments, including a keyboard glockenspiel that brought to mind Papageno's magical enchantment in Mozart's The Magic Flute.

After spending several hours immersed in Saul's troubled universe, it became clear that all the differences between DACs that I heard with the Progressions were also conveyed by the M8xi—just not to the same degree or with quite as much clarity. I could hear the fetching innocence of Yulia Van Doren's lustrous highs, the "splat" of horn on the big orchestral movements, and the resonant acoustic of Berkeley's First Congregational Church, a venue I know well.

Nonetheless, there were some distinct differences. Baroque instruments have more uniquely contrasting timbres than their smoother sounding, bigger-boned modern counterparts. Because the Progressions convey a greater range of orchestral color, everything I love about well-recorded period-authentic instruments came to the fore. In Saul's 10-minute overture, whose repetitive patterns grew tedious through the M8xi, the Progressions revealed how much care McGegan and his players devoted to subtle changes of dynamics and emphasis. They enabled me to understand why Handel devoted so many measures to passing the same multinote pattern from strings on the left to other instruments on the right. The color contrasts revealed by this back-and-forth were so captivating and delicious that, instead of yawning, I wanted to applaud.

Replaying the "Chorus of the Israelites" through the Progressions, their greater ability to locate instruments and singers within the soundstage led me to realize just how fine an engineer David v.R. Bowles is and how faithfully his recording conveys what music sounds like from a center-aisle seat maybe 4 or 6 rows back in this familiar venue. When a soloist sang, I could sense how far forward they were from the orchestra. The extra resonance around the voices of the chorale, which was situated in the rear, clarified their (greater) distance from the microphones. I could also hear how well Lamott had tuned his singers, save for the brash tenor voice or two that occasionally stuck out from the pack.

Using two sets of balanced interconnects, I briefly evaluated the M8xi as a preamp only, with the Progressions providing amplification. (I didn't spend much time with this, since few people will use the M8xi this way.) The sound improved a noticeable notch over the M8xi working as a full integrated. There was more color and detail in harpsichord plucks and more air and body. I ended up feeling that the M8xi's preamp and amplification sections were well-matched.

At the end of the review period, I invited neighbors Vicki and Dana over for a masked, socially distanced listen. First, they heard the Rossini feeding the M8xi. When I cued up Mark Knopfler, the artist of Dana's choice, performing "Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes" from Tracker (Deluxe) (24/192 FLAC, Qobuz), the couple eschewed the standard "sit in your place and take copious notes" reviewer routine, jumped up, and started dancing. (Knopfler's is far more danceable music than Handel's "Chorus of the Israelites.") But when I switched to the Progressions and they sat back down to take another listen, they immediately commented on the difference. "Every flavor is distinct from the other," Vicki said. "It's like the difference between crock-pot food and stir-fry." Crock pot may sell the M8xi short—it certainly serves up quite a meal—but you've got to love her for that one.

Picking up the toys
After reviewing six moderately priced integrated amplifiers (and at least one expensive one) in the past few years, I can say with confidence that the extremely neutral Musical Fidelity M8xi is not only the most powerful and least expensive of the bunch but also one of the best-sounding. It may not sound as brilliant and warm as the more-expensive and easier-to-lift Krell K-300i, but it delivers a similar share of seductive musical truth. Given that the M8xi also has abundant power to manage difficult speaker loads and convey dynamic contrasts generated by huge forces, it is a major achievement in its price range. Highly recommended