Musical Fidelity M8xi

What are the differences between this and your Hegel?

Great question Soix.  And one that is hard to completely answer/discern given the different room, speakers and sources.  I demo'd the M8 through a dealer's BS Icon and Mofi888 speakers in a room smaller than mine, albeit perhaps better treated.  I have an Eversolo T8, Denafrips Pontus 15th at home with B&W 803 Nautilus speakers.  So what I perceived at the demo was more bass slam and tightness/grip with the M8.  Nothing terribly different on soundstage or imaging with the M8 vs Hegel at home.  Perhaps a little warmer on the top end from the M8, but I like the high end punch I get at home,And the M8 seemed to have some more fullness in the vocal/acoustic strings mid-range.  But not sure how that might translate to home.  So really I'm curious as to how other people perceive this amp, in their rooms and with their equipment.  

If you want Musical Fidelity’s warmth (less accurate, detailed and transparent), then run with it.  If you want a degree of warmth (more accurate, transparent and detailed), as well as a super amount of head-room, slam, and a super high damping factor, find yourself a nice preowned Hegel H590, which I believe you’d be extremely happy with, especially if you’re using an external DAC with it (which is the key).  The choice is yours.  I’ve been driving my beloved Revel Salon 2 speakers with the just incredible Hegel H590 (I use an external DAC) for about four years now, and I’m still so taken by it, I have no desire to move to the H600 (the H590 is a little warmer than the H600), or anything else, for the foreseeable future.  But, if I were going to move on from my H590, I would definitely roll with the incredible H600.  Happy listening.