Musical Fidelity Trivista 300 vs. kW500


A few extra $$'s appeared. Time to ditch the tweaked Hafler pre-amp/amp and go with my choice du jour: MF Trivista. Please advise...300 or the big 500 integrated amp. Driving my old but still damn good B & W 901F's, medium size room, mostly classical. Also need advice on a new (or good used) CD player to meld into this system...preferably multidisc (shudder you audiophiles). Thanks for any direction in the above quest. farmdoc
farmdoc6449
I can't remember the interconnects. They are using Kimber cables to the speakers and the 2.4s don't seem to be the problem. The ones at the store sound close enough to the same (on my amp) at the store and as my 2.4s sound at home on my amp. They've got plenty of detail and base short of the really deep base + LFE ranges.
Ah, I thought you were running older B&W's at home. Just a thought......I'm not a fan of Kimber cables, always found them light on bass. Do they have other cables you can demo with?
Maybe, but they are proud of the Kimbers and the other 2 amp have bass-a-plenty through them and the same speakers that the MF doesn't. The only thing changing between using my amp + MF pre vs MF amp + pre is the addition of cables from the pre-amp to my amp and the amps. So it's in the KW amp part of the integrated KW500
Currently have thiel24 with kw500. No lack of bass comparing to many other amps
I had a TriVista 300 and absolutely LOVED it, and have just bought a replacement. My impression from the dealer/experts is that the KW has more detail...which is not something that is lacking in the TriVista...so I'm not sure what to make of it. But I trust MF to move onward and upward.

If your looking in this price range and really have the money, my advice is 'take home demo' KW500. Prepare them for a couple of rounds, after the second or third round, if you can muster the will to return it, then it is not the amp for you. I'm sure they'll have something else to offer in that range, and then you'll have a point from which to triangulate.

If you buy the amp, you'll want the CD player. It's true, right? You will! There's no getting around it. So if you want to spend 6K...spend 7 or 8 on the TriVista complete set. Or spend 12-14 on the KWs. If you get the TriVistas, and are VERY CAREFUL handling them. You can resell for minor loss (10%) if you feel they are not for you. (That's what I thought...but my second TriVista is on it's way).