Sound
Alrighty then: If recent press releases are any indication, Antony Michaelson and Musical Fidelity, Ltd. would be happy to see…
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I used the X-T100 in two different systems. In my small-room system, it mostly drove the very sensitive Audio Note AN-E/Spe HE (for high efficiency), although it also spent some time driving the new DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Nines. In my large-room system, the Musical Fidelity amp drove my restored Quad ESL speakers. In all cases, the X-T100 required at least half an hour of warmup before sounding its best. It didn't appear to invert signal polarity.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with tubed preamplifier stage and outboard power supply. Tube complement: two ECC 88. Phono inputs: 1. Line inputs: 3. Input impedances: 47k ohms phono, 220k ohms line. Outputs: one pair of speaker terminals; preamplifier and tape outputs on RCA jacks. Power output: 50Wpc into 8 ohms (17dBW, but see "Measurements" sidebar), 80Wpc into 4 ohms (16dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.2dB. Preamplifier output impedance: 47 ohms. Damping factor: 80 (equivalent to an output impedance of 0.1 ohm).
Dimensions: 8.5…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Linn Lingo, Linn Basik power supplies; Naim Aro tonearm; Miyabi 47, Koetsu Black cartridges.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player, Musical Fidelity X-Ray CD player.
Preamplification: Koetsu, Audio Note AN-S8 step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Quad II monoblocks, Shindo Cortese.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL, DeVore Gibbon Nine, Audio Note AN-E/Spe HE.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Shindo silver. Speaker: Auditorium 23, Nordost Flatline Gold. AC: JPS Labs…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Before performing tests on an amplifier, I thermally stress it by running both channels for 60 minutes into 8 ohms at one-third the specified power—23Wpc, in the case of the Musical Fidelity X-T100 with its Triple-X power supply. With its limited heatsink area, I wasn't surprised that the X-T100 quickly got hot under these conditions. Its side-mounted heatsinks were too hot to touch after 15 minutes, with a hot spot at the rear of the baseplate. The distortion level didn't change during this period, beginning and ending at a low 0.0055%, but I ended the…
Sam Tellig wrote about Musical Fidelity's X-T100 in February 2007 (Vol.30 No.2):
The X-T100 integrated amplifier and matching X-RayV8 (no relation to the vegetable juice) CD player are both members of Musical Fidelity's new series of half-width X-series components.
The X-T100 updates two of the A1000's concepts: first, the notion that an integrated amplifier has certain advantages over separate pre- and power amps (less noise, less space, economy, no interconnects from pre- to power, and common grounding); and second, that there's a huge advantage in outboarding the power supply…
"All great editors are men able to see how stories, episodes, and personalities flow and merge one into the other to reproduce the pattern of a world that only their own inner eye perceives.—Henry Robinson Luce, Founder, Time and Life magazines
I fell over the Luce job description around the time I became Editor of the UK's Hi-Fi News & Record Review in 1982. But as true as I believe it to be (other than the dated sexism), to put together a publication is a team effort. The Stereophile you hold in your hand involved the joint efforts of almost 70 talented, hardworking people to…
How many hi-fi professionals can say that they've designed at least one of every part of a complete recording system, from microphones to tape recorders to vinyl-disc-cutting electronics? Probably only Tim de Paravicini (footnote 1). Best known to audiophiles for his extraordinarily durable EAR valve amplifiers, Tim is also an electronics guru to the professional recording world. His global reputation today is based on more than four decades of making things better, building equipment that stands the test of time.
In the 1970s, Tim spent four years as chief amplifier designer for the…
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Back in October 2001, when Larry Greenhill told us about the Sony TA-P9000ES multichannel preamplifier, it seemed the best thing since sliced bread. This affordable ($700) analog controller had two six-channel inputs, a six-channel bypass input, level controls for all channels, and a stereo bypass input. For those of us just dipping our toes into multichannel, it was welcome. Though no longer manufactured, the Sony is still a unique component, and one highly prized in the second-hand market. The TA-P9000ES was not, however, the answer to all our prayers—made to complement a digital processor…