Musical Fidelity A3cr Dual Mono Power Amplifier

This is a special amp that really put Musical Fidelity on
the map for stateside audiophiles.  Sam Tellig rated it Class A in
Stereophile, becoming the least expensive amplifier ever to earn that
distinction.  Age has not dimmed its beauty.  I’d be surprised if
anything on the market today can touch this amp at the price point. 

These were some of the first amplifiers on the market
advertising extra-wide bandwidth to take advantage of the then-new
high-resolution digital sources.  The choke-regulated power supply
provides a vanishingly low noise floor, permitting long decays of notes and
presenting an instrument’s harmonic overtones, not just the fundamental. 
It is very tubelike in that regard.  It is highly detailed, but detail is
presented in a completely natural way - never thrust at the listener.  The
amp is slightly warm, with a good sense of texture, but open and extended - no
solid-state darkness here.  At 120 wpc, the amp has plenty of drive, but
it works best with higher-sensitivity speakers like Focal/JMlab, Triangle,
Vienna Acoustics, or some of the newer Sonus Faber designs (like Liuto or
Venere).  Amp has a loop output which may be used for biamping or driving
a subwoofer.

I bought this amp as a backup while I was having my A308
repaired.  It acquitted itself nicely.  Although I’d hoped to keep it
for a second system, that is not in the cards right now.

I am the second owner.  I bought it from the original
dealer, who had taken it back from the original owner on trade-in.  It’s a
solid 8/10, primarily for age.  This is a late-production model with the
rare silver platinum trim, not the gold found on most.  The unit will ship
double-boxed.  Pick-up or possible delivery in the greater Chicago area.

There is a small blemish on the left side of the chassis, as shown in the photos.

***CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR THE A3cr***

-Simon Pope, Hi-Fi World

Hailed as “among the best in the world”, Musical Fidelity
are set to shock the market with their new A3cr per and power amps. *** The MF
amps sought something more in the music than mere notes.  This was due to
the exquisite detail present.  There was a depth to the sound as the bow
dug into the string that was frighteningly realistic.  You could almost
smell the wood through my Magneplanars.  As I cranked the volume slightly,
I was brought more into the music - something that actually doesn’t happen that
often. *** With the big guns of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring on Reference
Recordings, the MF pair showed that as well as clout and slam at the bottom
end, as the bass drum was hit for all it was worth, there was immense dynamic
range here. *** There is an almost non-existent quality to the treble. 
It’s neither sweet, nor shimmery, nor harsh.  In fact, you hardly notice
it at all - you actually feel it, it’s so life-like. *** [A] consummate
listening experience.  A corking duo that set a new sonic standard at the
price.  Listen and weep.  4 stars

-Andrew Everard, Grammaphone

It’s not just a matter of detail or ambience, both of which
are supplied in abundance, but rather that the A3cr combination seems to be
giving the listener more of the music - whatever the music. *** Notable, too,
is the way this amplification, used between a quality source and fine speakers,
can get one into the heart of the scoring. *** I could easily tell you about
the massively weighted yet agile and rhythmically taut bass they deliver, the
sparkling treble or open-mouthed, revealing mid-band; or I could enthuse about
the clarity with which even the smallest low-level detail is apparent, and the
“sit up and take notice” manner in which the amplifiers swing from a quiet solo
passage into a full orchestra or chorus entry, without a hint of what motoring
journalists would call “turbo lag”. *** The sound shows total confidence, but
at the same time this equipment has the ability to reach the listener... on a
very strong emotional level.

-David Berriman, Hi-Fi News & Record Review

High frequencies are creamy, smooth, and valve-like: more
valve-like than many valve amps (particularly those using pentodes).  It
really does sound as though the high frequency distortion is ultra-low. 
That transistory “edge” which can mar many an otherwise excellent
silicone-based power amplifier just isn’t there.  Vocals are pure, clean,
and articulate.  Bass is fluid, tuneful, and well-formed.  *** [T]he
amps positively reveled in the superior wider bandwidth, wider dynamic range
signal [of SACD]. *** The design team have simply excelled themselves with the
A3cr.  The pre-/power kept the separate elements of even the most complex
music and loud passages separated and easily distinguishable. *** All one can
say is that the A3cr pre- and power offer quite exceptional sound
quality... 

-What Hi-Fi Group Test Winner

In use, the A3cr combination set a tough standard for the
other amps here to follow, having a sound of sweetness and focus allied to massive
slam and driving ability when required. *** Whether with the often raw sound of
Moby’s Play CD, or some subtle chamber music... the sound is both controlled
and natural-sounding, while at the same time the amplifier displays the dynamic
ability needed to thrill. *** The bass is rich and weighty, and the treble
clean and clear, but most impressive is the way the whole frequency range is
held together, sounding integrated without undue emphasis.

-Sam Tellig, Stereophile.

To my ears, the chokes made the A3cr sound much like a very
expensive high-end solid-state amplifier, and very much like a single-ended
triode tube amplifier with choke power-supply regulation - for instance, the
Sun Audio SV-2A3.  There was a purity to the sound that would be remarkable
in any power amp, let alone one costing $1500.  I found the sound pristine
- smooth, sweet, exquisitely detailed, and, most important of all, harmonically
right. *** I have not heard an amplifier for anywhere near $1500, tube or
solid-state, that has comparable resolution, speed, delicacy, truth of timbre,
and immediacy.  Make it one of my reference amps?  Absolutely! 
A stunning achievement!

-Stereophile Recommended Components (Solid State, Class
A-Rated)

“Astonishing transparency is what makes this the only $1600
amp to get a Class A rating,” woofs, ST. 
Choke-regulated power supplies clean up the power – with great results.