Big Shiny Knobs

Aren't MF mostly Chinese these days?

 

I agree completely

The impression I get is that, if it has valves, then glowiness and gaudy aesthetic touches are somehow cool, however if its a purely transistor affair like this MF, the consensus seems to be that its over the top bling....

Personally I think that MF actually looks quite good, not a fan of the blue feet but otherwise I can't see whats wrong with it at all! Certainly much preferable to some of the Ming-da kit (no disrespect inded to owners of said gear ) to my eyes.

 

I happen to think that most valve amps are ugly as sin.... and I seriously think that whoever does the box styling for Shanling (in particular) is blind.

 

I think the thing is with a valve amp - they have valves (which glow) and the valves need cooling (so they are best outside of any box).

This gives them the worlds best excuse to be glowing pretty things.

Solid state doesn't need any of that to function.. hence the criticism of the glowy flashy stuff IMO

 

I have to admit I agree completely with regards to the more blingy shiny modern ones, though I don't like the look of any blingy modern hi-fi. I recently ruled quite a few amps out as I hated the looks so much. I’m a firm believer in form being dictated by function, so I have no problem with Quad IIs, Radfords, Leaks etc, and I like the simple black box with tubes sticking out look of my Prima Luna integrated.



It just looks like a little tube amp, it does not try to be anything else.

Tony.

 

How you getting on with it Tony? think its a keeper?

Ultrasonic - thats exactly the type of amp I'd reccomend you to try - I dont think you'd find it sterile at all.

 

I like it very much indeed. It has a nice big open and clear sound that is wonderful on acoustic music, which being a jazz freak is most of it’s diet. This is not to imply it’s a slouch on rock, pop or electronica either, the system as a whole is very even handed and handles everything I fling at it very well.

To be honest I’m struggling to work out what is the sound of the amp and what is the sound of the specific tubes I’ve got stuck in the top – I’ve been rolling the ECC82s and ECC83s a bit as I’ve had access to a few pairs to try and different types can totally change the sound. I’ve currently got a pair of NOS General Electric ECC83s that I bought off Rob Holt and a pair of NOS Mullard ECC82s on loan from Richard (Lordsummit) and it is sounding very nice indeed. I’m sure this amp will stay with me for a very long while, though I’ll probably end up with a cupboard full of tubes...

To be honest I’m really happy with the whole system now, the only thing left to do is to throw a seriously good cart at the Spacedeck, i.e. a Lyra, Shelter or something in that class. At that point it is job done IMHO. All that is left then can be filed under ‘expeditions’, either into the world of ESL57s or huge 15” Tannoys, both of which should work fine with the PL2. I can’t see either happening for years, but both are on my long term ‘things to do for the hell of it’ list.

Tony.

 

Sounds like post rationalisation to me. My Granddads valve kit was all cased up, My old valve TV was cased up, my old valve oscilloscope was cased up. They just used to have some holes in the case for ventilation. The only reason valves are outside the case is marketing. IMO it's just daft, makes them unusable in a house with young kids.

It is all down to personal taste, like so much stuff in the world of hi-fi. Personally I much prefer the simple styling of Copland but there are plenty out there who love MF.

 

I agree. I've got a Copland integrated valve amp now (CTA 401) with everything inside the box, and it looks very similar to the pic at the start of this thread (just a bit bigger etc), so just because it's valve doesn't necessarily mean it has to be overly flashy. However, I do find myself peering into the casing to look at those lovely glowing valves

I don't mind valves being outside the box, it's the rest of the package that can be over the top.
Most vintage valve amps that had no cover over the valves were designed to be stored out of sight inside units, not left on display. It's just that some of the designs like the Quads and Leaks are so nice to look at that we like to put them where we can see them. They were more 'industrial' looking though, but more pleasing to my eye than a lot of modern stuff.

 

Presumably, with the nature of your business being the selling of vinyl, you're able to put down the expense of a new cartridge as a Capital Allowance for the business? Seems like a jolly good excuse to splash out to me.

 

That hadn’t even occurred to me. I assume I could perfectly legitimately put a percentage of the cost down as the system is used both as part of the grading process for many items and also to enable me to describe the more obscure albums that I’ve never heard. I’m not sure I could make a business case for a 600 quid Lyra though, being honest I could do this with an AT95E!

Tony.

 

Just say you have to grade audiophile LP's on a proper system. It would work much the same I imagine as someone who drives a BMW for work and uses that as a loss, you could do the job in a Punto but you can still offset the BMW.

 

To accurately grade top quality vinyl you need a top quality cartridge. I reckon HMRC would be hard pushed to prove otherwise.

Capital Allowance deduction allows, from memory, 40% in the 1st year, and then 20% per year for the following 2 years.

 

Sounds legit to me. Surely you need a top quality cartridge to the real fine grading. I'm sure the tax man will understand

 

PS: The same deductions could apply to the remainder of your grading system (turntable, arm, amp, speakers....).

 

..., and let's not forget your VPI cleaner.

 

...and all those bits of vinyl you wanted...

 

They'd need to go in as business stock, as opposed to a Capital Allowance, because they're not tools of the trade, but there's no way of forcing Tony to sell any he'd actually want. A secondhand record is a secondhand record no matter how many extra times it's gets played whilst sitting as stock, and if you buy the expensive cartridge then they'll be far less wear, too...

 

I agree with the comments saying that vintage valve amplifiers often hid the valves away behind closed doors, and that having them on display does indeed make people worry who have kids (uneccessarily so IMHO, kids don't touch red hot things like radiators, coal fires etc - they're not daft!).

I'd emphasize that just because you can design a valve amp that hides the tubes doesn't make it the optimal solution. If you want to cool tubes down, the best way is to have as much air circulating around them as possible.

 

Frankly none of HMRC business IMO. You're a pro in that industry who are they to say what cart you do or dont need. I think they're tolerant as long as the item in question is related to your business. It's your choice if you want to commit additional expense and your loss of profit as a result.