Musical Fidelity M3X VYNL Black

The M3x ViNYL is a phono stage, designed to be without any practical limits. Connectivity is straight forward. You have an input and an output. Neither of them can be overloaded at the input or limited in the output driving capacity. It can be set for either MM or MC and exact loading. It offers state-of-the art technical and sonic performance just like the M6x ViNYL, but at a cheaper entry level to the epitome of the true spirit of high-end audio.

Design Philosophy The M3x ViNYL has been switched, just like in its bigger brother the M6x ViNYL, to an entirely discrete circuitry, which results in better technical measurements and better sound. It is equipped with one single-ended input and output. But the important question is: what is so special about discrete circuits

The Advantage of Discrete Circuits A discrete circuit is composed of electronic components which are disparate, individual devices, also called discrete components. These can be "passive" components, like resistors, capacitors and inductors, as well as "active" components, which in our case are transistors. The opposite to this would be an integrated circuit, which uses operational amplifiers (OpAmps) in the signal chain. In our industry we employ specialised Op Amps built for audio applications, which allow us to produce very small and efficient electronics, as well as saving the time of design engineers. However, countless hours of listening tests and years of experience have shown us that even the very best Op-Amps do not tend to be so neutral, natural, dynamic or vivid " all of which are characteristics of the Musical Fidelity "sound". For that reason, we're rediscovering our passion for traditional, discrete designs. Where standard phono pre-amplifiers with integrated circuits have a few tens or hundreds of components, discrete designs will employ hundreds or thousands of components by comparison. That makes for an extended design process, but in our opinion results in the best sound for your money.

Toroidal Power Transformer The special audio transformer with low core saturation decreases the level of electromagnetic radiation, which is essential because otherwise any phono amplifier will never be able to work correctly. Together with the distance between transformer and amplification section and the electromagnetic shielding, we are creating an incredibly high signal to noise ratio. If we are working with the few hundreds of microvolts from a phono cartridge, everything is playing its role; every decibel of signal to noise ratio is crucially important. For the first time, we have implemented our new proprietary power supply solution that has zero standby power consumption. Absolutely zero! It is a super green product and we are sure, there isn't any other product in existence with an ecological standby function like this.

Split Passive EQ Many other phono stages are using a single equalization network in a global feedback loop. By means of an EQ network, the amplified signal from the output of the phono preamp is brought back to the input of the phono preamp. This is the before mentioned feedback loop, and the results, as you can imagine, are not in accordance with the high standards in Musical Fidelity design philosophy.

MM INPUT:

Frequency response: RIAA or RIAA/IEC ±0 .2dB

Input sensitivity: 5mV in for 500mV out (at 1 kHz)

Input impedance: 47KΩ

Input capacitance: 50-400pF selectable

Gain: 40 or 46dB with +6dB function

THD+N: <0.028%

Signal to noise ratio: 95dB

Crosstalk: better than 100dB

MC INPUT:

Frequency response: RIAA or RIAA/IEC ±0.3dB

Input sensitivity: 500μV in for 500mV out (at 1 kHz)

Input impedance: 25Ω to 1,2KΩ selectable

Gain: 60 or 66dB with +6dB function

THD+N: <0.28%

Signal to noise ratio: 80dB

Crosstalk: better than 90dB

OUTPUT:

1 pair RCA: left and right 500mV nom 10V max Input

1 pair RCA

POWER REQUIREMENT:

Mains voltages: 230V/115V; AC 50/60Hz

Consumption: 20 Watts maximum. 0W in standby)

STANDARD ACCESSORIES:

Mains lead: 10 Amp IEC