Musical Fidelity Titan
- Thread starter Thetiminator
- Start date
Well now I've had a listen and the Boulder 1060 has been booted out the door...
An extraordinary sounding thing, besting the 1060 in every area by a good margin. The only downside is that it's a Musical Fidelity and I just know that one day soon it will go bang and burn my house down
An extraordinary sounding thing, besting the 1060 in every area by a good margin. The only downside is that it's a Musical Fidelity and I just know that one day soon it will go bang and burn my house down
Well now I've had a listen and the Boulder 1060 has been booted out the door...
An extraordinary sounding thing, besting the 1060 in every area by a good margin. The only downside is that it's a Musical Fidelity and I just know that one day soon it will go bang and burn my house down
Seriously? The MF was better than Boulder? Is this some special MF amp?
Hi Bonzo
Yes it's a statement amp they made with only 40 units at £20k. It wallops the Boulder in every area, especially in the bass where I haven't heard anything like it. No one was more surprised than me...so I bought it.
http://www.ultraaudio.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=54
Yes it's a statement amp they made with only 40 units at £20k. It wallops the Boulder in every area, especially in the bass where I haven't heard anything like it. No one was more surprised than me...so I bought it.
http://www.ultraaudio.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=54
it is certainly very informative to hear from an end purchaser. the titan does sound like a contender for bass amplification. however...
i was working for an MF dealer in the early 90's when the company's founder, Anthony Michaelson was found to have submitted ehnanced kit for review and then released for general sale a substandard version.
it is hard for a manufacturer to recover credibility after that, and i personally take every MF review with a new-york-mom-sized pinch of salt. i always enjoyed the warm, smooth sound of their amps until i moved up to YBA, then Boulder. more bass i might believe (better? jury is out) but i remain to be convinced the titan can offer the delicate musicality of a boulder 2060
i was working for an MF dealer in the early 90's when the company's founder, Anthony Michaelson was found to have submitted ehnanced kit for review and then released for general sale a substandard version.
it is hard for a manufacturer to recover credibility after that, and i personally take every MF review with a new-york-mom-sized pinch of salt. i always enjoyed the warm, smooth sound of their amps until i moved up to YBA, then Boulder. more bass i might believe (better? jury is out) but i remain to be convinced the titan can offer the delicate musicality of a boulder 2060
Aside your experience of MF and their review equipment, I wouldn't have ever considered them as a manafucturer I would deal with. I suppose that stems from the old days when build quality wasn't exactly their strong point...
Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my 1060, so much so I was on the hunt for over 2 years for a 2060, but have now given up hope of finding a good one at readonable money. IMO Boulder is up there as the best of the best, I still have my 1012 which continues to wipe the floor with anything I try as a replacement. Most recently a Audio Research Reference Dac at £15k, which sounded like a £500 dac compared to the 1012!
Back to the Titan:
Compared to the 1060, the Titan is much more natural in the mids, voices sound more real and have a real breathy quality that the 1060 misses. The sound is very slightly smoother across the band although still quite a bit more detailed. Soundstaging is significantly more expansive with instruments being more clearly defined. Regarding musical flow or PRAT, I'd call it even. The Titan has more body to the notes, not in any bloated way, just a touch more meat on the bones if you know what I mean.
The Titan sounds more relaxed across the spectrum which isn't surprising considering its mahussive power output. Finally where the Titan really pulls way ahead is in the lower bass area, the Titan has the same ultra tight, ultra detailed and ultra tuneful bass as the 1060, but just goes a good bit lower with much more oomph. Not in anyway over blown just real power and huge grip behind it.
Where the Titan loses out to the Boulder in a big way is in the construction and ease of use. The Titans are HUGE. The casework is well enough made but they look like they were designed by the Kardashians. The amps are far from silent in operation too, the power supply unit hums slightly and the other section sounds like a PC in that you can hear the sound of air 'whooshing', and I can hear it from my listening position with the volume muted. The power buttons on the Titans have a nasty feel in operation and the rear panel is poorly designed in that the balanced signal connectors are way too close to the speaker terminals, enough so that the speaker cables are pushing against the connectors at the end of the balanced cables.
The Boulders build quality and ease of use the other hand is nothing short of perfection.
I remain a total 'Boulderphile' and if a 2060 comes onto the market in my area I will certainly be taking a good look at it.
But for now I'm really enjoying the Titans.....owning them is like owning a classic car in that you've always got an ear out for strange noises that let you know something is about to go bang....though this may prove to be unfair, time will tell.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my 1060, so much so I was on the hunt for over 2 years for a 2060, but have now given up hope of finding a good one at readonable money. IMO Boulder is up there as the best of the best, I still have my 1012 which continues to wipe the floor with anything I try as a replacement. Most recently a Audio Research Reference Dac at £15k, which sounded like a £500 dac compared to the 1012!
Back to the Titan:
Compared to the 1060, the Titan is much more natural in the mids, voices sound more real and have a real breathy quality that the 1060 misses. The sound is very slightly smoother across the band although still quite a bit more detailed. Soundstaging is significantly more expansive with instruments being more clearly defined. Regarding musical flow or PRAT, I'd call it even. The Titan has more body to the notes, not in any bloated way, just a touch more meat on the bones if you know what I mean.
The Titan sounds more relaxed across the spectrum which isn't surprising considering its mahussive power output. Finally where the Titan really pulls way ahead is in the lower bass area, the Titan has the same ultra tight, ultra detailed and ultra tuneful bass as the 1060, but just goes a good bit lower with much more oomph. Not in anyway over blown just real power and huge grip behind it.
Where the Titan loses out to the Boulder in a big way is in the construction and ease of use. The Titans are HUGE. The casework is well enough made but they look like they were designed by the Kardashians. The amps are far from silent in operation too, the power supply unit hums slightly and the other section sounds like a PC in that you can hear the sound of air 'whooshing', and I can hear it from my listening position with the volume muted. The power buttons on the Titans have a nasty feel in operation and the rear panel is poorly designed in that the balanced signal connectors are way too close to the speaker terminals, enough so that the speaker cables are pushing against the connectors at the end of the balanced cables.
The Boulders build quality and ease of use the other hand is nothing short of perfection.
I remain a total 'Boulderphile' and if a 2060 comes onto the market in my area I will certainly be taking a good look at it.
But for now I'm really enjoying the Titans.....owning them is like owning a classic car in that you've always got an ear out for strange noises that let you know something is about to go bang....though this may prove to be unfair, time will tell.
Last edited:
thankyou for posting that Thetiminator, i was really interested to hear your views on the 1012, it has been on my radar. do Boulder make an equivalent cd transport?
the Titan certainly does sound like an awesome bit of kit.
even more so now i have heard the opinion of a genuine user
once finances allow i would like to build a second, bi-amped system, based around a pair of wavac 833 monoblocks handling mid + tops and a second, solid state power amp to run the bass. with your help i think i may have found my prime contender for bass amplification
i had originally planned to bi-amp with the 2060, but once i heard it that seemed like a waste of it's all-round abilities. and since i can't choose between Focal or Nola loudspeakers i'm just going to have to save up jolly hard for the next decade or so and try and afford both.
wishful thinking?
quite likely!
the Titan certainly does sound like an awesome bit of kit.
even more so now i have heard the opinion of a genuine user
once finances allow i would like to build a second, bi-amped system, based around a pair of wavac 833 monoblocks handling mid + tops and a second, solid state power amp to run the bass. with your help i think i may have found my prime contender for bass amplification
i had originally planned to bi-amp with the 2060, but once i heard it that seemed like a waste of it's all-round abilities. and since i can't choose between Focal or Nola loudspeakers i'm just going to have to save up jolly hard for the next decade or so and try and afford both.
wishful thinking?
quite likely!
on Musical Fidelity, i really do have a lot of affection for their amplifiers, erratic founder aside. in my shop we stocked the a370 power amp, a massive and lovely sounding beast, and i bought it's (much) smaller brother, the a100 integrated which gave me years of pleasure and just the one breakdown.
a few years later i found myself considering a pair of xa600 (i think) monoblocks, narrowly losing out to a krell ksa100. they were all there in terms of bass, the area i thought the krell would own, but lost out on musicality.
forgive me for being long winded, but i wanted to get to my last bit of MF kit, which was an f25 pre-amp. my god that was good, i mean really exceptional, and i only sold it because i was going through tough financial times, but looking back it was at the heart of one of the most musical set-ups i have ever had, a Rock turntable, Reson Rica cartridge (a tweaked goldring 1042), the MF f25 pre-amp, Krell ksa 100 and a pair of Alon iv speakers. this system was startling in it's realism, had the 'jump' factor in spades, plumbed the bass depths, threw up an incredible soundstage and got to the emotion behind music in a way that brought tears to my eyes....'the K + D sessions' by Kruder and Dorfmeister sounded unforgettably, mesmerisingly good
so there's a part of me that's very happy MF can still make exceptional amplifiers; on a good day they can lay claim to being the best amps made in britain, going toe to toe with naim and chord and better value than either:b
a few years later i found myself considering a pair of xa600 (i think) monoblocks, narrowly losing out to a krell ksa100. they were all there in terms of bass, the area i thought the krell would own, but lost out on musicality.
forgive me for being long winded, but i wanted to get to my last bit of MF kit, which was an f25 pre-amp. my god that was good, i mean really exceptional, and i only sold it because i was going through tough financial times, but looking back it was at the heart of one of the most musical set-ups i have ever had, a Rock turntable, Reson Rica cartridge (a tweaked goldring 1042), the MF f25 pre-amp, Krell ksa 100 and a pair of Alon iv speakers. this system was startling in it's realism, had the 'jump' factor in spades, plumbed the bass depths, threw up an incredible soundstage and got to the emotion behind music in a way that brought tears to my eyes....'the K + D sessions' by Kruder and Dorfmeister sounded unforgettably, mesmerisingly good
so there's a part of me that's very happy MF can still make exceptional amplifiers; on a good day they can lay claim to being the best amps made in britain, going toe to toe with naim and chord and better value than either:b
Yes I love the 1012, the dac section is brilliant and you also get a world class preamp and phono stage thrown in too, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. They don't have USB inputs though so you have to go in via AES/EBU or optical, or go for a decent USB/SPDIF converter. This isn't a problem for me as I have always find that this way is always better SQ wise.
Boulder brought out the 1021 CD/Network player a few years ago. The dac section is supposed to be better again than the 1012 but you don't get the preamp and phono stage you do in the 1012. Used the 1021 are c.£10k whereas there is a nice 1012 near me for sale for £2900!! Values of kit without USB inputs have fallen through the floor, which is good for those who aren't easily blinkered by the marketing men.
With regard to speakers, if you get a chance try to hear the Revel Salon 2's, go for it. They are remarkable speakers which absolutely blew away my 800 Diamonds I had previously. I just can't find any weaknesses in them at all.
Boulder brought out the 1021 CD/Network player a few years ago. The dac section is supposed to be better again than the 1012 but you don't get the preamp and phono stage you do in the 1012. Used the 1021 are c.£10k whereas there is a nice 1012 near me for sale for £2900!! Values of kit without USB inputs have fallen through the floor, which is good for those who aren't easily blinkered by the marketing men.
With regard to speakers, if you get a chance try to hear the Revel Salon 2's, go for it. They are remarkable speakers which absolutely blew away my 800 Diamonds I had previously. I just can't find any weaknesses in them at all.
Hi guys,
I stumbled across this thread accidentally, but found it a very interesting read, especially the comments regarding MF reliability (or more like, the lack of it!).
It goes some way in answering why my Primo pre-amp ("the best pre-amp that AM has ever designed and built") gave up the ghost with only 2k hours on it. Given that he built this thing with seven "specially selected" valves per side to reduce the strain and provide longevity, it came as a bit of a shock when MF invoiced me for nearly £700 (over $1000) for the repairs!!
This amp was £7900 (over $12k) when new and I'd have expected MANY years of service before this level of failure occurred, incurring such a phenomenal repair cost. Am I out of order? The replacement of 14 valves, when only one or two may have failed, seems to me to be rather excessive when the remainder should have most of their serviceable life left.
Unfortunately, and compounding my disappointment, is the fact that MF will not discuss the issues with me directly, but will only communicate with my dealer and to date have refused to respond to my letter requesting a 'fair' outcome.
Not a happy MF customer these days.....
I stumbled across this thread accidentally, but found it a very interesting read, especially the comments regarding MF reliability (or more like, the lack of it!).
It goes some way in answering why my Primo pre-amp ("the best pre-amp that AM has ever designed and built") gave up the ghost with only 2k hours on it. Given that he built this thing with seven "specially selected" valves per side to reduce the strain and provide longevity, it came as a bit of a shock when MF invoiced me for nearly £700 (over $1000) for the repairs!!
This amp was £7900 (over $12k) when new and I'd have expected MANY years of service before this level of failure occurred, incurring such a phenomenal repair cost. Am I out of order? The replacement of 14 valves, when only one or two may have failed, seems to me to be rather excessive when the remainder should have most of their serviceable life left.
Unfortunately, and compounding my disappointment, is the fact that MF will not discuss the issues with me directly, but will only communicate with my dealer and to date have refused to respond to my letter requesting a 'fair' outcome.
Not a happy MF customer these days.....
i feel that AM is a talented designer but lacks focus; whereas other manufacturers will keep working on the same design until it is perfect MF seem to want to bring out brand new models every year. inherent in this is a lack or regard for customers who actually buy his designs and want them to retain value and improve over time
out of curiosity Wullie, did you like the sound of the Primo in your system?
out of curiosity Wullie, did you like the sound of the Primo in your system?
I have to agree with your description of AM, as after a fair bit of research and talking to some local dealers, the conclusion appears to be pretty similar in a lot of cases..... He couldn't give a s**t about his customers (or his dealers) !!
As far as the Primo goes, I have to say that it was a huge leap over my previous Chord Electronics units. I know the Primo was an early model (as in one of the first few off the line), which I bought through my local dealer along with (probably) the very first AMS 50 to be sold.
The quality of presentation from both my CD player and my turntable was most satisfactory through my JBL S5800s with a very impressive 3D sound stage. Vocals always sounded as if the performer(s) were actually in the room with the musicians filling the space in a realistic fashion. Since buying the MF combo, my comparison with most other systems has always been that most sounded like 'hi-fi', whereas mine always sounded completely 'real'.
As far as the Primo goes, I have to say that it was a huge leap over my previous Chord Electronics units. I know the Primo was an early model (as in one of the first few off the line), which I bought through my local dealer along with (probably) the very first AMS 50 to be sold.
The quality of presentation from both my CD player and my turntable was most satisfactory through my JBL S5800s with a very impressive 3D sound stage. Vocals always sounded as if the performer(s) were actually in the room with the musicians filling the space in a realistic fashion. Since buying the MF combo, my comparison with most other systems has always been that most sounded like 'hi-fi', whereas mine always sounded completely 'real'.
Similar threads
