Opinons on Musical Fidelity A3 cr Preamp

i haven't tried either the s/f *or* the m/f, but, i recently went from solid-state to tubes. i was using the latest iteration of the linn kairn, which was wery nice - accurate, detailed, dynamic, extended, good soundstage width & height - but it lacked depth. i hoped tubes would give this to me, but i dint wanna lose what the linn was good at.

1st, i tried a rogue *magnum* version of the 99, & it definitely did the depth thing! but, i lost a lot at the frequency extremes, especially the dynamics, range & texture in the bass. i tried nos tubes, which helped, but i couldn't live w/it. also seemed a bit coloured thruout the range, but i prolly wooda kept it if it got the bass right. in fairness, there may have been an impedence mismatch - rogue sez the output impedence is 100 ohms, but, after crosing the outputs w/resistors, my guess is 2400 ohms is closer.

next, i tried a cary slp98l. this was better in all aspects - not as coloured, and as extended in the bass as my linn. everything i wanted in a preamp! and, the wersion i tried dint have any of the upgrade caps cary offers. mite be even betteer w/them.

but, just days after buying the cary, i came across a melos music director (latest version of their ma333). i just *had* to try it, remembering how much i liked the sha-gold, the model below, a few years before. well, nice as the cary is, the melos is in another league altogether. sounds like *music*! :>)

i was able to try all this stuff, cuz i bought either used or demo - the only way to do it, unless yure loaded, or yer local dealer will lend ya everything ya wanna try.

the cary, a nice preamp, is definitely in your budget, if bought used, but the melos, (or something else in its price-range, used), isn't much more, & will take you to another level, imho.

regards, doug

Well, it has been two weeks with the Musical Fidelity -- and I must say I am extremely impressed. It is a terrific unit (as least as far as I can tell, since I will never use the phono stage) that seems more and more musical every day. My only serious quibble is the meagre range of the remote (which is limited to about 15 feet, at least 5-8 less than my $250 Pioneer DVD-525 transport!) -- which I will eventually try to remedy by writing Mr. Michelson personally. Other than that, I can't imagine a solid state unit sounding any sweeter or more musical (at least within any vaguely sensible price range). I will almost assuredly keep it -- and add 1 or 2 of the matching amps at some point (to replace my Conrad Johnson MF-200). My guess is that a third-party line cord will further improve the musicality of the unit (the supplied cord is exceedingly thin and generic), as well as eventually running the preamp from a PS Audio Powerplant. Thanks everyone for your input. Opinions on the matching amp are also appreciated (although I may indeed eventually need two to drive Apogee Duetta Signatures).