Musical Fidelity A1 (1985)

Distinctively styled, hot running and a sublime sound

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The A1 was not Musical Fidelity’s first amplifier. In fact, the A1 followed a preamplifier, power amp and a premiumpriced integrated. But its introduction in 1985 was instrumental in establishing the Musical Fidelity brand as a serious force in the market.

It carried a £189 price tag on release, and its natural rivals were the likes of the Cyrus Two and Nait 1. The A1 stood apart from both those excellent designs because of its Class A-biased circuitry and wonderfully distinctive casework. Being different is all very well, but there was real substance here too, thanks to a sound character that offered things nothing else at the price could emulate.

The A1’s circuit was designed by Tim de Paravicini, a legendary audio engineer and designer who was best known for his valve amplifier designs and custom work in the recording industry. On a side note, Paravicini also founded the high-end EAR Yoshino brand (EAR for Esoteric Audio research).

The decision to make the A1 a Class A design influenced everything that came afterwards. On paper, Class A operation is optimal for sound quality thanks to the minimal distortion it produces. The reason that the vast majority of high-quality amplifiers don’t use it though, is that it has issues with high power consumption and generates lots of heat.