The M1 is here

So those purveyors of hifi sedatives have come up with this

http://www.walrus.co.uk/main/mfm1.htm

It sure looks pretty What on earth is that new SME sitting on it

So does this signal a return to the old days, when MF were lighting up the world with the A470 and A1000, or just another attempt to cash in on market trends?

 

It does look gorgeous. I like the LP12 but totally in the shallowness of my mind I want a deck like this because it looks so damn good!

So Merlin you finally succumed to the vinyl sound?

 

Hmmm.....
Blatant cashing in I'd suggest, but that's just me being a misery guts
The one thing I will say, that SME-sourced tonearm looks like a whole bunch of bits from retro tonearms cobbled together - Bearings like a Syrinx, armtube like a Hadcock, headshell like the bastard child of a Grace 707 and a Breuer, the mounting plate from a 3009, and so it continues. In fact I know what it looks like, a mid-range Audio Technica arm. I would say it's going to be the weakest link in the chain, except I don't hold high hopes for the TT itself.
Simon

 

Gary, I'm hoping to run with both, I do find there are certain albums that just never sound right on CD. Currently listening to UB40, it's never been great on CD, even when played via the Eclipse or dCS.

The vinyl copy has put a huge grin on my face, and taken me back to my youth It is so vastly superior in every way it is shocking. Having said that, some stuff still sounds prefereable to me on CD, so I am in neither one camp nor the other. Having said that, I am now firmly of the opinion that every household should have a record player They are really time machines in disguise

 

Well! two firsts!

Id heard about the release of a new SME tone-arm around the #500 mark, and I guess this must be it. A new TT from MF too.

The deck looks to be well made, if a little ''me too'' with easy comparisons with acrylic loving clearaudio/michell.

If that is the new arm, well Id have to hear it - but from appearances seems to be a step DOWN from the 309, which is a shame if Im right. I was hoping for either a totally new product, or a baby IV/V.

Still, when companies like MF bring out a new TT, it really does show the upsurgence of the worlds second largest music format is here to stay.

Hope it sells by the million, then maybe I wont have to pay 16.99 for my new vinyl releases!! (not very likely with a limited edition 3k TT I know, but I can dream dammit)

 

I thought more about that arm last night. Whilst I'll openly admit I don't know the intended selling price of the TT, I'd guess at around £2k, maybe more. Now at that price, fitting a 309 should be no problem within the theoretical budget. The fact that MF have specced this arm suggests to me that it's a bandwagon jumping exercise, because they've fitted the cheapest SME arm possible (well, with the exception of the 3009 if they still make it).
Simon

Edit: I've just read Bottleneck's post again, and if I'm right you're saying it's a 3K table. At that price I'd be pi**ed off if I didn't get something of IV standard, for crying out loud it's about 1/4 of the cost of the deck. I seriously wonder how many will leave dealers with that arm on, and how many will have the arms upgraded. That said, and perhaps I'm going beyond the pale here, perhaps most MF owners won't be the 'tweaky' type, and will just take it as it comes?

 

Is this a beauty competition or what?
I bet you are a female: that's a typical expression of that kind of species. :lol:

 

You can talk Titian, what with that CD player aesteticaly based on the see through undergarments of a Parisienne street walker

 

It looks a mess. A complete dog's breakfast. Sorry

 

Don't be sorry......I agree....

Paul.

 

Whats the pink circle in the middle then? :shame:

 

Merlin,
it looks shitty doesn't it? ...and see I don't care about the look.
Never bothered me, I'm not a female

 

Merlin,
it looks shitty doesn't it? ...and see I don't care about the look.
Never bothered me, I'm not a female

it is one of those CDs of pop music. Don't ask me why pop-music CD's have those strage colors. Maybe they also want to be female.

 

Looks like somewhere between a Clearaudio Solution and a Michel Focus 1..

At that price point it had better be good - for the same money you could get a Nouvelle Platine Verdier with Morch arm!
Or if you want the looks as well as the sound, a Clearaudio Revolution with Souther Tangential arm!

BTW, I don't think liking things to look good is necessarily a female trait, and wanting a piece of kit (whether hifi, car, mosickle or whatever) to look handsome doesn't make a chap a screaming queen! (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing before anyone shouts!)

And besides, I'm often of the opinion that there really isn't an excuse for a bit of kit look like a dog turd, albeit a gilded one, as one does have to live with it! However, I spose one mans' dog turd is another mans' Mona Lisa.. I like MotoGuzzis and Skodas!

BTW, talking about kit that looks good and isn't necessarily a triumph of form over function, my missus has seen a Kallista cdp, and wants one.. Now which DAC would look good next to that, the Clearaudio and those luvverly shiny chrome Lumleys

 

:lol:

Those of us of the slightly curvy persuasion but who are not screaming queens actually have rather less tolerance of the latter than your average straight chap

Bad, I know. We should all be tolerant of those who are different to ourselves.

Ah well, back to the TTs...

 

are you a Clearaudio fan?

Right. Maybe chauvinism is the right word.
Edit: neither true . Forget about it.

Of course there is an excuse: focus on the goals and no compromises. If you can't live with that...

Kallista, that shitty looking thing? Did she hear it?

Well if the look is the most important factor then I wouldn't get the Kallista.
And if the look is not important, there is only one DAC I would take in consideration...

 

Check out the third pic down on the Walrus site – it looks like the standard SME baseplate doesn't fit properly on the MF monstrosity, the two front screw holes overhang the arm support. Another example of the “precision engineering†we expect from Mr Michaelson & co?

Tony.

 

The Metronome C2A. It was made to match the quality of Kalista. I tried it with other DACs at my place and it was far the best (running with the Kalista). But it seems that also with other transporters it makes a difference but I cannot confirm you that. The best thing is to check it yourself if the distributor let you test the units.

 

Originally posted by TonyL

Check out the third pic down on the Walrus site – it looks like the standard SME baseplate doesn't fit properly on the MF monstrosity, the two front screw holes overhang the arm support.

Looks fine to me.........It's not fixed to the deck yet

Paul.