Musical Fidelity B1xi

Bold sound, ample features, admirable pedigree

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Do you know when we reviewed the original Musical Fidelity B1 integrated amplifier? 1990. Back then, we lauded it as “the very essence of a good budget amplifier”, and while we weren’t bowled over by the B1’s construction or feature set, the original model gained five stars in the sound department thanks to powerful dynamics and boldly painted instrumental textures.

Like mullets or skinny jeans, this 1990 kid is making a comeback in the shape of the newly imagined B1xi integrated stereo amp. It’s a spiritual successor inspired by the design principles of Musical Fidelity’s established amplifier but with one eye on modern users’ “diverse listening needs”.

Musical Fidelity’s reborn amplifier isn’t a particularly subtle beast to behold, but it is as well made as it needs to be at this price. The main chassis is constructed entirely of metal, including an extruded aluminium front panel, with many of the control knobs and dials also employing metal rather than plastic.

Regardless of whether it’s to your tastes or not, the B1xi is a sturdy unit that we find reasonably easy to use. The front panel’s array of physical buttons are easy to find and responsive to the touch, while the centrally mounted volume-control knob has enough weight and resistance to feel satisfying in the hand. The small LEDs above each of the inputs tell you which one you have selected.

This is a well-made amplifier for the money, and while there are few luxuries to be found, we wouldn’t expect many at this level. The provided plastic remote is similarly simple to use – even if, during our testing, the B1xi could be a touch temperamental regarding how responsive it is to the remote’s commands.

This Class A/B amp boasts 60 watts per channel into 8 ohms, which is a generous amount of power at this level. It should be able to drive a wide range of speakers without too much of a problem.