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Musical Fidelity Tuner and Other Qs such as DVD

Friends,

This is not strictly an Amps/Preamps question, but it was either this or the "Misc" category. It's a multi-part question, and some questions are a bit naive, so please indulge me:

BACKGROUND: I have a Musical Fidelity X-ray, X-10 V3, and X-150 driving JM labs Chorus speakers; MF components fed by Shunyata Hydra-4 plus 20A Shunyata Copperhead. This is the type of system one is constrained to in an apartment in New York City (unless you earn a gazillion dollars a year, which I don't!). Sound is good, warm and wide, but a bit bass-heavy and mid-range mushy; I am changing interconnects from $100 synergistic alphas to Nordstrom Red Dawn. Anyway, here's the Qs:

QUESTIONS:

1. Does the MF X-PSU confer any additional advantage in driving the X-10 V3 over the power supply (fed, in my case, by the Shunyata) that which comes with the X-10? I have no solid info on what the X-PSU is or does.

2. Does anyone know if MF is going to produce a tuner to complement the current X series? I would really like a decent FM tuner, but don't know where to start. MF remote control is "tuner-ready", but where's the tuner?

3. Ultimately, would also like to run audio from a DVD player (for movies) through the X-150. Here's where we drift further from Qs about MF. Anyone have recommendations for DVD players in the $300-500 range? Looking for something to feed a good quality 40-50 inch HDTV monitor (e.g., Aquos) through HDMI. Zero experience with flat screen HDTVs, and technology/prices seem to change daily. Any and all tips welcome. Thanks :)

Thank you in advance,

Keith
kwnyc

Showing 2 responses by satch

satch
329 posts
 
I can answer two questions. MF produced a matching X-tuner, the X-Plora: http://www.musicalfidelity.com/mf/en/Products/archive.jsp?pid=3282

As for the X-Psu, I've bought one for the X-Pre, and it made a big difference (improvement) to the sound. Since it has 4 outputs, you can power multiple X-items (excluding powerhungry items such as the poweramps offcourse), so it seem like a good buy IMHO.
And as for the sound of the X-pre: I really like it, and bij changing the standard Philips tubes, you can easily alter the sound to your taste. Bear in mind though that it is a minimalist design, having only four inputs.
satch
329 posts
 
Wow, a Magnum Dynalab..... never heard one, but it seems to be amazing.
Anyway, I bought the X-PSU secondhand, and it came with 3 instead of the 4 cables suplied originally, but since I bought it for 70 dollar including the costs of sending it, I don't complain. And yes, I use these standard cables, considering it's much thicker than the cable from the original adaptor, and considering the amount of juice it transports (12 V, max. 400 mA). To me, spending more on a low voltage cable seems like overkill. You can always experiment by buying two standard connectors and some cable and make your own, but I would be very surprised if it changed the sound at all.
And you may not like to hear this, but I definitly don't like the X10-D. To my ears, it only added distortion, slowed the sound down, made the bass sound flabby and killed the stereo image. So I would improve your system by ripping out the X-10-D, but if it sounds good to your ears, keep it. You might wanna experiment with different tubes though, because the standard Philips tubes aren't the most musical around. Good luck, let me know your experiences!
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