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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
 
Have not had experience with Anthem products
I'm sure they are very good
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
Judging from my experence with the NuVista M3 I have I would go with the 500. You will get nowhere near its performance for $1495 from anyone; mine has outperformed amp/pre combinations costing over $10K.
steam3642 OP
124 posts
 
Hi Stanwal
Yes i had Musical fidelity M-250 monoblocks around 4 years ago
i have always found M/F to be a very good piece of kit , they remind me of a up market Rotel in the context of balanced design ( Quality sound , well designed ) . To be honest i have not been in the game of judging a product based on its re-sale value for which i see a lot of the sledging directed at M/F
I only sold the M-250's as i moved to another state and had to down size a lot of my kit. Prior to to that i had a M/F A3cr pre-power 120wpc set , again great sound and lovely
build.
amigo30
3 posts
 
I've had extensive experience with both models. The M6500i is the clear winner between the two.

The KW500 was an incredible integrated, and listening to it gave you the impression that there simply wasn't much more you could ask for. The M6500i somehow improves upon great. The bass in particular is so well-controlled, real and palpable, but not overemphasized, that it feels like your hearing the music for the first time. Notes start and stop exactly as they should, and you realize you haven't heard that aspect of system really done right before.

Most of these impressions were done using 802D's, but I've also listened to the M6500i on Paradigm S-8's and 803D's.

I've also used the Anthem 225 quite a bit. It's an un-sung hero in the audio world at its price-point, just silly- good for its price actually....but no..it's not even close to being in the same class as either the KW500 or the M6500i.
steam3642 OP
124 posts
 
Thanks Amigo
What i find amazing is they can extract the same power with a
on-board power supply when the Kw -500 used an 18kg external power supply, and the M6500i weighs 28kg ! The M6500i has to now be the worlds most powerful 1 box integrated amplifier ? i can't think of hand of another 1 box integrated that rates 500 wpc int 8ohm . When will the matching Phono stage for the M6500i
become available ? .
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