Matching Musical Fidelity to Focal 936. Watt current?

[BrendonF]

Hi folks

 

I might have started going down a rabbit hole here and need some advice or a quick slap in the face to snap me out of it. I have spent many years in a previous life doing critical listening as an audio engineer and have recently switched out my old studio monitors for a journey into the world of hi fi. 

 

Currently running Tidal > Schiit Bifrost2 > NAD 300 (Fantastic built 70s integrated) > Focal 936. Over all sounds fairly good but lacking clarity and dynamics at higher volumes and the noise floor is fairly high. I know I can get so much more from these speakers.

 

I'm honing in on getting a Schiit Freya + pre amp to get some tube colour and a Musical Fidelity amp to punch in home. I understand the Focals need a high current amp which has led me towards:

 

- M8s500 dual mono 500w, 200amp current, great line level specs. Wondering if this is overkill for power and what the ramifications of running the Focals on this would be. 

- M6si500 integrated - also 500w but only 100amp current, specs not as great as m8 on paper. No need for the integrated but could hold off on the Freya maybe.

- M6sPRX - 230w, 140amp current peak to peak, Line specs match the m8s500 on paper. I also have a noise power supply which this talks about been beneficial for.

- M5si - 150w, 62 amp current peak to peak. Similar line level specs as the M6si500. Probably enough power for my listening environment but feel I could spend a bit more and separate out the amp and pre.

 

Are there other brands and combos that I should be considering? As we are all in lockdown doing any sort of listening test with my speakers seems like a fantasy these days.

 

Thanks in advance if anyone is game to respond  

Brendon

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by Brendon Farlow

[BrendonF]

Also the Freya + has an output impedance of 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced > As the Bifrost DAC has balanced outs I am hoping to run balanced throughout the system.

 

- M8s500 input impedance 50 k Ohms

- M6si500 input impedance 50 k Ohms

- M6sPRX input impedance 38 k Ohms

- M5si input impedance 40 k Ohms

 

Is this something I should worry about? Wanting to make a solid purchase once that will last for a very long time.

 

 

[bjs]

I just got the M8s 500. I probably do not have the expertise and have not compared it to the M6 nor M5 lines. However, it was a massive step up from the older A5CR power amp in terms of speaker control and lower noise floor.

 

Also, you are probably aware, but Musical Fidelity have recently dropped their prices in Australia substantially. We are probably as good or better than anywhere else in the world. It is worth checking your budget and checking the prices. I had my eyes on the M6 but realised with price drop the upper line was now within reach.

[bjs]

Also, there is a dedicated musical fidelity amp chat if you don't get any more experience bites here. They might notice it there.

 

Good luck with the research.

 

@betty boop

@kdoot

@Silver Audiophile

@TDX

[TDX]

I used M8s500 and think it's good enough to drive the Focal 936, you will have good control and bass from the amp.

 

There are something here talk about pre and amp matching. Surely there are topics on SNA as well. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/how-to-match-preamp-and-power-amp

[JD1]

Hi Brendon. I have the 936s matched to the M6prx. Zero is about 7 o'clock on the dial and 9 to 10 is getting pretty dam loud. I am running balanced cables so they increase the voltage which I'm not sure is a good thing. I guess if I don't go to far up the dial it should do no harm. I would think 140 amps is heaps for speakers rated 92 db, I think they are. They do sound nice with the MF and from all I could read they match well with the Focal range. There is an owners discussion thread for MF and Focal which will give some info. One owner was running M5si with the 936. Most of the good stuff in the Focal thread is towards the last few pages. I have only had them a few weeks but do like them. Hope this will help.

[betty boop]

4 hours ago, Brendon Farlow said:

Also the Freya + has an output impedance of 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced > As the Bifrost DAC has balanced outs I am hoping to run balanced throughout the system.

 

- M8s500 input impedance 50 k Ohms

- M6si500 input impedance 50 k Ohms

- M6sPRX input impedance 38 k Ohms

- M5si input impedance 40 k Ohms

 

Is this something I should worry about? Wanting to make a solid purchase once that will last for a very long time.

 

 

something like this to drive focal 936 and you would be fine with the m6si ...theres nothing stopping you going further up the tree...but i think would be worth demo to work out for self what for you is just right...whether m5 or m6 or going further up...

 

pre and power matching is pretty important so rather than needing both pre and power... you have the option to just go an integrated...

[JD1]

 

6 hours ago, Brendon Farlow said:

 M6sPRX - 230w, 140amp current peak to peak, Line specs match the m8s500 on paper. I also have a noise power supply which this talks about been beneficial for.

Just wondering what the noise power supply you mentioned is for the M6prx that is beneficial. 

[BrendonF]

5 hours ago, bjs said:

I just got the M8s 500. I probably do not have the expertise and have not compared it to the M6 nor M5 lines. However, it was a massive step up from the older A5CR power amp in terms of speaker control and lower noise floor.

 

Also, you are probably aware, but Musical Fidelity have recently dropped their prices in Australia substantially. We are probably as good or better than anywhere else in the world. It is worth checking your budget and checking the prices. I had my eyes on the M6 but realised with price drop the upper line was now within reach.

 

Thanks, not aware of the price drop. Appreciate the reply.

 

4 hours ago, TDX said:

I used M8s500 and think it's good enough to drive the Focal 936, you will have good control and bass from the amp.

 

There are something here talk about pre and amp matching. Surely there are topics on SNA as well. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/how-to-match-preamp-and-power-amp

 

Cheers for the link, that thread made a couple of things clear. 

 

3 hours ago, betty boop said:

something like this to drive focal 936 and you would be fine with the m6si ...theres nothing stopping you going further up the tree...but i think would be worth demo to work out for self what for you is just right...whether m5 or m6 or going further up...

 

pre and power matching is pretty important so rather than needing both pre and power... you have the option to just go an integrated...

Thankyou

 

4 hours ago, JD1 said:

Hi Brendon. I have the 936s matched to the M6prx. Zero is about 7 o'clock on the dial and 9 to 10 is getting pretty dam loud. I am running balanced cables so they increase the voltage which I'm not sure is a good thing. I guess if I don't go to far up the dial it should do no harm. I would think 140 amps is heaps for speakers rated 92 db, I think they are. They do sound nice with the MF and from all I could read they match well with the Focal range. There is an owners discussion thread for MF and Focal which will give some info. One owner was running M5si with the 936. Most of the good stuff in the Focal thread is towards the last few pages. I have only had them a few weeks but do like them. Hope this will help.

I'll have a search for that one. Cheers for the reply.

 

1 hour ago, JD1 said:

 

Just wondering what the noise power supply you mentioned is for the M6prx that is beneficial. 

 

I meant to say "noisy" as in some old rental house wiring and the system is likely on the same circuit as a bunch of other things.  There is quite a high noise floor and plenty of click and pops when people turn lights on or off at the other end of the house. 

MF - "Two  independent  and  over-specified  choke  regulated  power  supplies  also ensure  the  absolute  best  in  supply  noise  filtering,  separation  and  power  reserve  possible  in  a  single  box  power amplifier."

Not sure if this would help my situation or not but one thing is for sure I'll be needing to sort out the power supply issues asap.

 

 

 

[fjs]

Hi, the whole hobby of hifi is frustrating and designed to loose money in the search for the perfect system. I’ve been doing it for 50 years. However, it is a hobby and a very enjoyable one at that. My other two hobbies are photography and guitars both again designed to loose money but wonderful hobbies. One could take the view that the cost of the hobby is more than offset by the potential cost of psychiatric treatment in the fast paced world. Anyway, the purpose of this post is let you know that if you replace your dac I am in the market for a schiit bifrost 2 on my never ending quest for the perfect dac. Kind regards, Frank

[BrendonF]

10 hours ago, fjs said:

Hi, the whole hobby of hifi is frustrating and designed to loose money in the search for the perfect system. I’ve been doing it for 50 years. However, it is a hobby and a very enjoyable one at that. My other two hobbies are photography and guitars both again designed to loose money but wonderful hobbies. One could take the view that the cost of the hobby is more than offset by the potential cost of psychiatric treatment in the fast paced world. Anyway, the purpose of this post is let you know that if you replace your dac I am in the market for a schiit bifrost 2 on my never ending quest for the perfect dac. Kind regards, Frank

@fjs  Insightful. I scratch around thinking about if I could save money on various pieces of kit but once upon a time my hobby was 4WDing... that sucks up some serious $$$ End of the day life is short and in such a stressful world why not get lost in the sound.

 

The Bifrost sounds excellent. wont be selling it for a while... unless I upgrade to the Gungnir hahaha

Edited August 14, 2021 by Brendon Farlow