My current system consists of a pair of Dynaudio Focus 140 speakers, driven by a Musical Fidelity a308 integrated, with a Musical Fidelity a3.2 as a source. I am seriously considering upgrading to an a308 cd player. Any thoughts on the a308 as it compares to the a3.2?
Hi I have the mf a308 pre and power, and im having the same thoughts. Both cd players seem to get quite good reviews. Though they seem to offer a different listening experience.
I'm sure the a308 cd will give better all-round satisfaction, but then again its all very subjective isn't it.
So sorry I'm not really helping, I suppose I'm just joining the queue with you to see if anyone can give hands on advice.
Dave, After reading some very positive reviews I just bought a used a308 cd. It should arrive next week. By the way, how do you like your a308 pre and power? I have wanted that set up for a long time but don't have the money for them. That is why I settled for the a308 integrated. It has sufficient power for my Focus 140's. What speakers are you using and how large is your room? Bill
Hi Bill, well I haven't had the 308s long ( a few weeks) but love em, I had an arcam alpha 10 before which was a nice amp, and had for 4 years. but the 308s give me that controlled, spacious, detailed, slam that I have heard in other peoples systems and yearned for but never seemed to achieve.
The alpha 10 though a very nice amp to listen too just didn't really get the speakers moving, I know that now.
The room is 2 rooms knocked into 1 (27 feet) with a large arch between them but the speakers are either side of the arch facing towards the 15 foot part of the room ..if that makes any sense suffice to say I have no problems filling the room with sound. The speakers are monitor audio studio 20s.
The problem I have with buying a new cd player is that the player I have (amongst others) is a pioneer pds 505 precision. I know its not that well known and all things being equal its not in the same league as the a308 cd (or the a3.2 for that matter) but it just sounds so damned nice with the 308 amps ( I also have a modded Marantz cd67 and an Arcam Delta 270 ( an oldie ) both nice to listen to but neither get my feet tapping like the pioneer.
My concern is that the pioneer may punch above its weight and although I'm sure both the MF players will be better (or different) that I won't notice a big enough improvement.
The amps where a moment of ebay madness that im still trying to explain to my girlfriend, the need to have bought them. :-).... I'm damn glad I did Though !
Having bought the 308s and seen how much better my room can sound, I feel tempted to mate them with an MF cd player, as im sure it will possibly bring even more enjoyment out of the amps.
Sorry if this is a bit nonsensical, ive had a long day and am just bashing this out on the keyboard, and I'm not the best typist even when I really try
Based on good reviews and already having pleasing experience with Musical Fidelity I made the jump from my a3.2 cd player to the a308. It is a wonderful match to the a308 integrated and Dynaudio Focus 140's. It is more musical and dynamic in every respect.
Dave, I can just imagine how the a308 cd would sound even better with your 308 pre-power set up.
Cheers for the feedback on your a308 cd Bill, though its only pushing me further down the 'i'm going to spend some more money I don't really have' road :-)
I was considering an a3.2 as it seemed spec wise similar to the a308, but its looking like i will probably try to find(at the right price) an a308 to mach the pre/power.
suffice to say I have no problems filling the room with sound. The speakers are monitor audio studio 20s.