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Budget Product of the Year 2024 – Stereophile
Enthusiasts Amplifier Award, 2024-2025 – EISA
Product of The Year Award 2024 - StereoNET
Outstanding Product Award – Hi-Fi News Magazine
Five Stars – the-ear.net
'The Beast' is Back, and It's Better Than Ever
In audiophile circles, the Musical Fidelity A1 is widely known as one of the most classic integrated amplifier designs. Countless A1's are still in use today and remain the pride of their fortunate owners.
First released back in 1985, the A1 quickly made waves for being an absolute beast when it came to driving some of the most difficult speakers of that time, even though it was actually a rather low powered integrated amplifier. But it was all done in pure Class A with excellent and expertly laid out discrete symmetrical circuitry topology, using only highest quality components. The A1 showed people that there was more to amplifiers than just high power.
Based on its huge success, the A1 has gone through multiple reissues and new versions over the years.
Now for 2023, for the first time since its initial release, Musical Fidelity has retained the specifications, appearance, and circuitry of the 1985 rendition for those who missed out the first time. But it now boasts an updated transformer, power supplies and modern low noise components to revitalize the formula for a fresh A1 original – three decades later.
"Budget Product of the Year"
Stereophile chose the Musical Fidelity A1 as its Budget Product of the Year for 2024.
"HR started his auditioning with high-impedance speakers from Falcon and DeVore Fidelity, using the phono input, which can be set to MM or MC modes. With a variety of recordings, he noted that tone and texture were 'super vivid,' and he found himself grinning at the volume and extensive detail of the projected soundspace."
EISA Honors
The Expert Sound and Imaging Association (EISA) gave the Musical Fidelity A1 its Enthusiasts Amplifier Award for 2024-2025.
"Musical Fidelity’s A1 integrated amplifier takes music lovers on a journey back in time, resurrecting the distinctive, slender-chassis styling and much of the under-the-hood design of the company’s celebrated 1980s original."
"This remains an all-analogue amp with MM/MC phono, line in and tape loop connections, but now benefits from carefully considered upgrades to its power supply and internal heatsinking, and adds a welcome Direct mode that bypasses the preamp gain. Otherwise, this 2x25W Class A unit picks up where its predecessor left off – notable for an organic, almost tube-like presentation that delivers music in a thrillingly expansive, expressive fashion."
Award-Winning Performance
The A1 won a StereoNET Product of The Year Award 2024 in the Integrated Amplifier category.
"The original Musical Fidelity A1 was a flawed gem. In theory it was a hugely capable product, designed by none other than high end valve guru Tim de Paraviccini. In practice, the execution of the circuit design was 'sub-optimal', with various build quality issues sullying what was otherwise a sublime sounding compact integrated amplifier. All such bugs are completely fixed on this new version – which offers a super clean 20W RMS per channel, and way better load driving ability than its predecessor. The result is a delicious sounding full Class A integrated amplifier that’s way more practical than before."
Outstanding Product Award
"It's easy to be sceptical about 'classic' designs returning to the market, but in this case Musical Fidelity has done an excellent job," reports Jamie Biesemans in Hi-Fi News magazine, which handed the A1 an Outstanding Product Award.
"The new A1 remains faithful to the original intent of its much-loved forebear, while improving what needed improving. Regardless of the nostalgia aspect, this is a fine performer that should give more contemporary rivals in its price class a real run for their money."
"The A1 elicited an emotional response, as good audio does," notes the-ear.net, September 27, 2024, which gave the A1 its top rating of Five Stars. "Some retro products are a triumph of form over function. Not the A1. That a 1984 design can hold its head high 40 years later is testament to the original design. Bravo to Pro-ject’s Heinz Lichtenegger for resurrecting it."
"A Timeless Classic"
"More than most amps I'm familiar with, the Musical Fidelity A1 integrated amplifier engages my brain's right and left hemispheres in roughly equal fashion. That's its chief virtue. And that is something very few amps at any price can do," observes Herb Reichert, Stereophile, July 31, 2024.
"A timeless classic, as good as it was, but better."
"A Really Cracking Amplifier"
"It’s a really cracking amplifier and I am really glad its back because there definitely is a place for it in the modern HiFi world, and a place for it in many audiophiles hearts, including me. I want one I will leave it at that," reports Terry Ellis, pursuitperfectsystem.com, January 2024.
"Detail resolution is clearly the area that has progressed the most through the decades. But look at the bigger picture and you will find that the A1 remains good at conveying the energy and intent behind the music," notes What Hi-Fi? magazine, August 10, 2023. "This is a truly charming product, and we love the way it looks. If you want a taste of a classic hi-fi product but with the reassurance and reliability of buying new, dive right in."
Dynamic Class A Design
The A1 is built around a completely discrete and symmetrical Class A topology. It will output 25 watts of pure Class A power into an 8 ohm load with 25 amps of maximum output.
While the numbers here might seem rather low, the ability for the output stage to drive difficult speakers is a small miracle in itself. The amp design is dynamic class A, meaning that if Class A standing current is exceeded, this amplifier will automatically allow more. It therefore “slides” (NOT “switches”) smoothly into class B style operation, temporarily allowing the further current draw needed.
Enhanced, Updated Power Supply
The new A1 has received an updated transformer replacing the shared windings of the 1985 original with more efficient dual mono split rail windings. The amp stages are supplied by fully independent left and right power supplies for better power handling and stereo imaging, and each power amplifier now has double supply capacity, resulting in reduced ripple and noise.
The transformer‘s noise and heat dissipation are reduced due to better efficiency and updated components. The main supplies are filtered for better regulation and reduced switch-on surge.
Low-Noise Preamplifier
The A1's low noise preamplifier circuitry is the same as the original 1985 design and greatly benefits from the improved, fully smoothed and regulated power supplies.
One discernible alteration that immediately catches the eye is the addition of a new "Direct" switch for the preamp stage. This switch allows you to totally bypass the gain block before the volume control, resulting in roughly 10dB less gain. This feature proves particularly advantageous when working with modern or high-output digital sources for fine-tuning the range of your volume potentiometer to accommodate sensitive loudspeakers.
Also, a notable upgrade has been made to the volume potentiometer itself, now replaced by a premium ALPS RK series potentiometer. This high-quality component ensures superior performance and enhanced precision. Additionally, the potentiometer is now motorized, granting you the convenience of adjusting the volume from the comfort of your couch, courtesy of the new included remote control.
High Quality MM and MC Phono Stage
The A1 employs a discrete current-mode input stage for lowest noise amplification of MC and MM cartridges. A low noise current to voltage conversion stage is used for further amplification and RIAA equalization. Automatic input impedance matching for the selected MC input, along with increased gain increases the versatility of the A1‘s phono stage.
It Makes Beautiful Music
The A1 makes beautiful music. It sounds sweet and fluid and creates a beautiful atmosphere around natural instruments – especially in small to mid-sized rooms, carefully set up with a pair of great two-way speakers. It is not a powerhouse, but music lovers will cherish its abilities. It‘s also not a product that you‘ll want to hide., but a perfect example of form follows function. The oversized heatsinks define the A1‘s look and are essential for its operation. It is truly unique, from the outside as well as the inside.
The A1 has a sweet, warm, full, and exciting sound. No harshness. No grain. Just pure music. It doesn‘t get muddy, and despite its lower power, the A1 drives difficult speakers with ease. It remains clean right up to its power limit.
To hear what the A1 does is to hear what hi-fi is supposed to do. It makes music, pure and simple.
