- According to Musical Fidelity, the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT is a record player in the high-end hi-fi segment and the designated successor to the Musical Fidelity M1 turntable.
With the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT, it seems as if the English company Musical Fidelity is breaking new ground, since they are considered first and foremost as a proven specialist in the field of amplifier systems. In fact, Musical Fidelity can look back on a very eventful past, over the years they have been involved with many different concepts, including record players such as the Musical Fidelity 1 Turntable in the mid-2000s.
Paying tribute to a legend, as Musical Fidelity itself describes it, the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT claims to pick up where the Musical Fidelity M1 left off in 2004.
Homage to a legend – Musical Fidelity M1 turntable
It was in 2002 that Antony Michaelson, founder and chief developer of the English hi-fi company Musical Fidelity, asked his long-time friend Heinz Lichtenegger to help him develop a record player. The declared goal was to create a turntable that could perform in the high-end class, one that would also be a perfect optical partner for the usually very massive amplifier systems from Musical Fidelity.
Heinz Lichtenegger, founder and CEO of Pro-Ject Audio Systems, opted for a combination of metal and resonance-free acrylic as materials, as well as a massive but elegant design, and thus the Musical Fidelity M1 Turntable was born.
Even if one could not speak of the renaissance of the record at that time, which only triggered a real hype a few years later, which still continues at least in parts, Antony Michaelson and Heinz Lichtenegger still managed to celebrate a great success with the Musical Fidelity M1 Turntable.
Musical Fidelity M8x TT – The Successor
The fact that Musical Fidelity is now launching the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT, another high-end turntable and the chosen successor to the Musical Fidelity M1 turntable, is hardly surprising. After all, Heinz Lichtenegger took over Musical Fidelity after his friend Antony Michaelson retired.
Even though it will be clear to everyone where and by whom the new turntable is actually manufactured, Musical Fidelity is once again flying the flag in the record player sector and presenting a solution that is in keeping with the brand’s image and that is intended to address those customers who already rely on British solutions for their electronics.
And to make this clear, the name of the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT alone reveals the performance class in which this new turntable is intended to play, as it is clearly assigned to the Musical Fidelity M8 Series and thus to a product family at the upper end of the quality scale.
The same design philosophy as the Musical Fidelity M1 turntable
Musical Fidelity deliberately emphasises that the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT is based on the same design philosophy as the Musical Fidelity M1 turntable, but that it has not failed to make serious innovations, thus raising the turntable to a completely new level of quality.
The new Musical Fidelity M8x TT is a so-called mass-loaded belt drive design, which means that it is a mass drive that uses a classic belt drive.
Solid construction
The new Musical Fidelity M8x TT is also made of transparent acrylic, which is responsible for the elegant effect despite the very solid construction, and also shows off the stainless steel and aluminium elements to their best advantage.
The chassis is divided into two parts to ensure effective decoupling by means of Teflon elements. The solid feet, which are magnetically mounted, height-adjustable and damped by means of TPE, also contribute to this.
The turntable measures 333 mm in width, 413 mm in depth and 245 mm in height. The weight specification in the data sheet is particularly impressive, as it is 31.5 kg.
This weight is mainly due to the very massive platter, which the manufacturer calls a sandwich aluminium platter that weighs 10 kg and is damped with TPE. By the way, the turntable is delivered with a leather mat for optimal support of the record, which in turn can be fixed to the turntable with an aluminium puck. The turntable rotates in an inverted bearing by means of a stainless steel axle and ceramic tip.
The motor, which is decoupled in the lower part of the chassis, is electronically controlled, allowing the speed to be selected between 33 and 45 revolutions per minute at the touch of a button, with a precision silicone belt providing the connection to the turntable.
On request with tonearm ex works
Of course, the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT can be purchased “naked”, and the manufacturer offers mounting options for various cartridge systems. However, the turntable is also available with a matching 10-inch tonearm, which the manufacturer calls an ultra low resonance model.
This is a tonearm with a conical tube made of aluminium, which is mounted in a transparent acrylic bearing ring by means of precision bearings. Of course, this tonearm has all the possibilities to be optimally adjusted for different pick-up systems. In addition, two TPE damped weights are supplied to allow the use of cartridge systems between six and 20 g.
It should also be mentioned that the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT has both RCA sockets for an unbalanced and XLR sockets for a balanced signal connection to the phono preamplifier.
Prices and availability
The new Musical Fidelity M8x TT should be available in specialist shops within the next few days, as the manufacturer promises. The recommended retail price is € 8.990,-.
Getting to the point
It is a turntable designed as the successor to the highly successful Musical Fidelity M1 turntable from 2004, says the English hi-fi manufacturer Musical Fidelity about the new Musical Fidelity M8x TT, which they see as a tribute to a legend. It goes without saying that they have designed a turntable that on the one hand follows the design philosophy of its predecessor, but on the other hand comes up with numerous improvements. After all, the name already reveals that we are dealing with a solution of the Musical Fidelity M8 Series and thus clearly the premium line of the English company.
| PRODUCT | MUSICAL FIDELITY M8X TT |
|---|---|
| Price | € 8.990,- |
| Brand | MUSICAL FIDELITY |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Musical Fidelity |
| Distribution Austria | Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH |
| Distribution Germany | Reichmann Audio Systeme |
| Distribution Switzerland | Marlex GmbH – Audiophile Produkte |
| More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |
