I replaced a 6 yr old ARCAM FMJ CD 23 with the MF kw 25 duo nearly 6 months back. While the Arcam FMJ was a solid performer,the MF 25 is in an altoghter different league. Is the MF 25 the best cd playback out there ? Probably not.Given the limited audio choices available to an audiophile in India the MF represents a great buy judged by the yardstick of purchaser happiness. In the context of an all tube/ESL system still in the infant stages of break in, the MF 25 duo is a superb performer. The rest of the gear : Quad 2905s, CJ CT5 preamp, CJ LP70S poweramp, Hydra 6 power conditioner, MBL audio rack and all Cardas cables ( Golden Ref/Golden Cross),Clearaudio Emotion TT with a Project Phono box as phono preamp.I can detail several ways IMHO how the MF, to my ears, is a superior performer to the Arcam eg retreival of detail. In the Natalie Merchant Live concert cd(forget the name)there is a long passage of monologue(Spanish ??) at the end of the cd which I heard for the first time thru the MF.I have owned the cd for nearly 4 years !!My earlier gear while lacking the finesse and musicality of the present system was fairly respectable in its own right eg Bryston 14 BST, B&W CDM 9NT and later ML Odssey etc. I can go on about the delicacy of the upper registers, the bass slam, the overall musicality of the player but I would do less justice tnan the Stereophile review of July 2006, which I agree with.
If you have the good fortune and the circumstances to review every or most highend players out there , then choose what sounds sweetest to your ears but be sure to include the the MF in your short list of must hear demos.
Cheers
If you have the good fortune and the circumstances to review every or most highend players out there , then choose what sounds sweetest to your ears but be sure to include the the MF in your short list of must hear demos.
Cheers