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I use this on app on my phone. Seems like its fairly accurate.

Thank you!
 
Well, let's hope this configuration sticks for a good long time, but this post is really about the Musical Fidelity M2si.

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It was a hard pill to swallow when my Marantz decided to betray me. But things happen, never when you want them to of course. But it did, and while I was troubleshooting the amp, and not getting anywhere, and then questioning other things in the chain, I decided that Amazon could be my friend at this time.

I've always been curious of the Musical Fidelity M Series, I actually bought an open box M3 before getting the Marantz and one of the channels wasn't working, so it went back. I had a MF Pre as well for a while and really liked it a lot, so fast forward and an Amazon 12 months no interest and 30 day return policy seemed to fit the bill.

So why the M2si? Firstly, really trying to avoid overspending, so I wanted to keep the purchase around $1k. Secondly, why pay for stuff you don't need/use. The "beauty" of the M2si is exactly that, it's the meat and potatoes of a system. No DAC, no phono, no headphone jack, just a chunky toroidal transformer and enough outputs/inputs to more than meet my needs. So if you need an integrated with any of those options, this isn't for you, if you don't, this little amp might just interest you.

Let's talk about what's right there in front of you, a beautifully well built, minimalistic, sleek design. Done, it's striking in my opinion, has some nice heft and nothing feels cheap.

Now the important part, what does it sound like. Well, it's got some "umph", which surprised me. 72 wpc into 8 ohms and I'm more than comfortable with the volume at slightly past 9 (see pic below). It's full bodied, deep and detailed. Clean highs that aren't harsh or bright and the mids and lows are crazy good. The one thing that stands out the most is the "air" this thing breaths into some music, the kick drum feels like it's in the same room with the airy thud it produces. Vocals are spot on, and it has some really nice separation and dynamics. It was really hard to knock anything on this unit. It definitely hits above it's price point, but honestly, it does so because it's more about the "rubber meeting the road" than the extra functionality most other amps include. I do have one negative, for such an attractively designed unit, the remote is fugly, it looks like it came off of a VCR from the 1980's, but I digress, it would seem all the cost went into the right places, so I can live with a fugly remote.

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At $1100 I can't say it's a 'budget" amp, some do, I refuse. But if you can live without the "bells and whistles", it's an easy recommendation, and honestly, most are running external pre-amps, and DAC's change too often to make them a permanent fixture of the unit. I did toss my Schiit Magni on the Tape Out for my headphones and that should suffice for now, if not indefinitely.

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up :)
 
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Hey fellas!

I'm currently using a pair of Klipsch RP150M and I've been offered the Whaferdale Denton 80 at a really low price (the store is closing and they're selling their remaining inventory).
Thoughts?
The speakers are here, they are truly gorgeous. Sadly, I won't be able to set them up before Sunday.
I find the gloves intimidating, haha.
I need to look up this bi-wiring thing, how does that work?

Edit: I just realized I should ask about the bi-wiring in the technical thread
 
The speakers are here, they are truly gorgeous. Sadly, I won't be able to set them up before Sunday.
I find the gloves intimidating, haha.
I need to look up this bi-wiring thing, how does that work?

Edit: I just realized I should ask about the bi-wiring in the technical thread

So you don't need to worry about bi wiring if you don’t want to. The speakers come with jumpers attached so you just need to connect to one positive and one negative and it will send the signal across the jumper to the other.

IF, you don’t have to at all, you ever feel the need to bi wire you will get a cable that has 2 terminals at the amp end and 4 at the speaker end. You remove the jumpers and attach the two positive to the two positive terminals and the two negatives to the two negative terminals.
 
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You could waste hours reading opinions on biwire vs normal 2 wire if you really wanted to. I will say this (could be different across brands or preference) I replaced the metal jumper with a short run speaker wire on my B&W and it made them sound better to me. Worth a shot. I have banana plug for speaker wire and small jumper has spades in-between. I used just generic wire for initial test.
 
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The speakers are here, they are truly gorgeous. Sadly, I won't be able to set them up before Sunday.
I find the gloves intimidating, haha.
I need to look up this bi-wiring thing, how does that work?

Edit: I just realized I should ask about the bi-wiring in the technical thread
You could waste hours reading opinions on biwire vs normal 2 wire if you really wanted to. I will say this (could be different across brands or preference) I replaced the metal jumper with a short run speaker wire on my B&W and it made them sound better to me. Worth a shot. I have banana plug for speaker wire and small jumper has spades in-between. I used just generic wire for initial test.

as @Haimez40 said you can use the metal jumper for now with normal cables, then try short cable jumpers (between the speaker connections, or you could get something like Canare 4S11 made up by Blue Jeans cables. You can get one end terminated for bi wire (speakers) and the other end shotgun terminated to two connectors (special request when ordering) for to your amp. Lots of Klipsch users go that route. Should be around $100 for 8-10 ft pair.


 
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Here is what my VPI dealer said:

"The Classic is no longer in production. They’ve moved to the Prime series: Scout 21, Prime 21 and Signature 21.

I’ve heard rumblings about hem possibly re-introducing the Classic or a new model like the Classic, but, that was pre-pandemic. So, not sure if it’s something on the books or if it’s been scrapped."
VPI just recently updated their website and the Classic Signature appears to be on the price list.

 
Someone’s been eating all the pies. That things a chunker…
The Classic has never been a lightweight, but the photos in walnut trim do look more svelte than the black plinth photos. With the gimbal standard now, it looks even more like a big brother to my Traveler.
 
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