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Musical Fidelity M6-500i vs Kw - 500

Hello guys
I was browsing around the web today and stumbled across
the latest Super Integrated from Musical Fidelity .
This is a 500wpc into 8ohm beast similar in power to the limited edition Kw -500 , Some changes are evident between these models , The older Kw -500 has an external power supply and MM phono stage and single ended inputs only
along with 6112 milspec valves in the pre -amp section.
The Kw -500 was made in England.
The M6 - 500i has line level inputs only with 1 set of balanced inputs no valves appear to be in this unit making it solid state , The power supply of the M6-500 is onboard . The m6 -500i is made in Taiwan.
Has anyone else compared these two units ? Seems they each have advantages depending on your system setup.
I wonder if the new M6-500i would be much better ?
steam3642
steam3642 OP
124 posts
 
I have decided to purchase a traded in KW - 500 from my local hifi dealer , its in mint unmarked condition . I'm stoked : ))
Have been after one for a long time and they don't show up very often here in Australia , i guess there were only a small amount of the stock imported . Always lusted after one as it was out of my price range when they were released.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
I think you will really like it. A couple of things I have found from experience with mine; the manual says to not open the case under penalty of voiding the warranty but the MM/MC switch is on the inside on mine. Also the pre and amp sections on mine are connected by an internal jumper and can be used separately if you ever had occasion to do so. I once substituted my Kw line stage for the built in one; it was better as it should have been as it cost as much as the entire M3 but the difference was not dramatic.
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
Have no experience with the kW amps, but based on my experiences with the kW linestage I also think that you will be pleased with the kW line (if the syntergy with your other components is there, of course).
steam3642 OP
124 posts
 
Hi Stanwal
Thanks for the input , i believe the Kw - 500 has a mm phonostage only , i have a Rega P3 with Ortofon M2 Black mm cartridge . I may look for a Trivista Dac used at a later
time , have always liked it for sound and looks . I have a Marantz SA11-S1 sacd player at this time so the Trivista Dac would be more for a collectors piece :)). 5703 valves on the Trivista are a bit scarce but you can find them on the web if you look long and hard.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
surprisedThat is what I was told also, the MC is not even mentioned in the manual. But it is actually there, I only found out about it through an old review. It would be worth looking for as it might be set to MC if there is one there, it is quite small and I didn't notice it at first. Or they could have taken it off, I like MF but they treat info like it was a state secret sometimes.
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