MSB M204 monoblocks

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walesi

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Finland, that´s somewhere in Northern Europe
Has anyone heard them/own the MSB M204 monoblocks? I´d be interested in hearing what do you think.

I´ve heard them together with MSB Select and Reference DACs in Munich 2016 and again in 2017, and I was impressed.

And yes, I tried to Search. If I missed a thread, my aplogies.
 
I bet they are amazing. Just wish they weren't so expensive :)
 
walesi said:
Has anyone heard them/own the MSB M204 monoblocks? I´d be interested in hearing what do you think.

I´ve heard them together with MSB Select and Reference DACs in Munich 2016 and again in 2017, and I was impressed.

And yes, I tried to Search. If I missed a thread, my aplogies.
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I heard the MSB M204 mono amps at Axpona 2017 with the MSB Select II DAC and YG Sonja 1.2 speakers. In my opinion, it was one of the best systems I've ever heard. The amps delivered beautiful Class A sound but surprisingly didn't generate that much heat. They are remarkably well designed amplifiers and produce wonderful synergy with the other components in that system.

Best,
Ken
 
they sounded superb in HK - gold bling was pretty cool as well

36449247506_32f36dce83_h.jpg
 
Hi,

We have a pair currently in the store. They were hooked up at first to the same YG Sonja 1.2, and now to the Wilson Alexia Series 2.
Hooked up directly to the MSB SELECT DAC, they're really warm, yet fast and detailed.
We keep them in the "high bias" setting, which makes them put out quite a bit of heat, but there is a "low bias" setting as well...


cheers,
alex
 
I have the older M202s. They a classic class A sound - they are very smooth sounding, a bit on the warm side, with beautiful tone. They are a no negative feedback design, which means thay offer a free flowing liquidity at an expense of ultimate speed and bass articulation.
 
i have had the stereo version , the msbs200 for a number of years . its so realistic in its presentation , and sounds exceptional .
 
hifinutt said:
i have had the stereo version , the msbs200 for a number of years . its so realistic in its presentation , and sounds exceptional .
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+1

I had the S200 before I got the M202. World class sound for real world money.
 
Great amps. I've always liked the way they sounded. They looks are a little odd, but the design makes a lot of sense.
 
asiufy said:
Hi,

We have a pair currently in the store. They were hooked up at first to the same YG Sonja 1.2, and now to the Wilson Alexia Series 2.
Hooked up directly to the MSB SELECT DAC, they're really warm, yet fast and detailed.
We keep them in the "high bias" setting, which makes them put out quite a bit of heat, but there is a "low bias" setting as well...


cheers,
alex
Click to expand...

Alex - Interesting combo of the MSB amps with Alexias S2s. Can you say more about the pairing?

Thx!
 
Not sure the model, but a club member has MBL mono block amps, powering MBL speakers, through MBL preamp... great sounding system!
 
Ritmo said:
Alex - Interesting combo of the MSB amps with Alexias S2s. Can you say more about the pairing?

Thx!
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Sure! Today was final set up day with Peter McGrath, and we were all impressed how the amps just got out of the way, and no matter the volume, the Alexias sounded full yet precise, with punchy, tight bass.

I'm still getting acquainted with the Alexias, so when I put the D'Agostinos (or the ARC GS150) back, I'll get a better feel for what the amps were doing vs some other competing designs, on the Wilsons.

But so far, the setup is simply amazing!
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I own msb 204, pair them with big TADs. They are really good: musical, silent with deep musical insight, just a bit on a warm side, bass tight, but not too controlled (since it is no feedback design). For me a top notch solid state. Have heard many of top solid states (gryphon, mbl, esoteric, constellation...) - for me they are among the very best. But they need quite some warm up time to play excellent. I have not played them for 3 months (have been using big vtl tube monos), but hooked them up last weekend. They needed a day to really wake up, I am still amazed how well they play.

Regarding the functionality: still do not understand what is standby switch - I think it is mute since it seems that does not impact power consumption. They have low and high gain switch, in low gain they are quite hard to drive.
 
tbzc said:
I own msb 204, pair them with big TADs. They are really good: musical, silent with deep musical insight, just a bit on a warm side, bass tight, but not too controlled (since it is no feedback design). For me a top notch solid state. Have heard many of top solid states (gryphon, mbl, esoteric, constellation...) - for me they are among the very best. But they need quite some warm up time to play excellent. I have not played them for 3 months (have been using big vtl tube monos), but hooked them up last weekend. They needed a day to really wake up, I am still amazed how well they play.

Regarding the functionality: still do not understand what is standby switch - I think it is mute since it seems that does not impact power consumption. They have low and high gain switch, in low gain they are quite hard to drive.
Click to expand...

Are the comments in the link in Post #15 about your system? Big TADs, M204 and VTL are one major coincidence if it isn't your system...LOL.

Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Are the comments in the link in Post #15 about your system? Big TADs, M204 and VTL are one major coincidence if it isn't your system...LOL.

Ken
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Yes they are. But they are not my comments. Do you see any issues?
 
tbzc said:
Yes they are. But they are not my comments. Do you see any issues?
Click to expand...

No issues with the comments. The reviewer generally found the VTL amps to have more body, dimension and bloom than the MSB amps. I've read similar comments in the comparison of tube and solid state amps. It really comes down to what your preference is sonically. And we know Kedar has a penchant for the tube sound (Lampizator).

Best,
Ken
 
Hi, I also love Vitus, Dagostino, Symphonic Line Kraft, and preferred the Spectral DMA 400 to VTL s450 on XLF (you can do a direct compare in NY).

I preferred Vitus to Kondo Kagura on Magico at Rhapsody’s.

Of my top speaker choices, one is restored Apogees, for which I only look at SS. No tubes, though I have heard one Duetta sound great with TRL tubes. I would assume the same for speakers like YG and TAD though there can be cases of powered push pulls like AR 250SE and VTL Siegfried pulling ahead of some SS

My other speaker choices are all horns for which I will use SETs, though if not for the reputation of it blowing up, my amp of choice would have been Tenor 75 OTL

In phonos, I have preferred both, sometimes the SS outclassing the valve

My top 3 favorite systems are all SS – Mike Lavigne’s, Apogee Grands, and Yamamuras.

The rest have at least one valve component in them.

My favorite pre is AR Ref 10, VTL 7.5, for use on big cones/Apogees, provided they can drive the SS amp and suit the gain impedance of the 242 tubes in my Lampi. Unlike for many the pre for me is the least important of the 4 (Speaker, source, power, pre, that order)
 
And I am not just a solid state guy... I own the ARC Reference CD-9 Player, the ARC Reference 10 Preamp and the Vandersteen M7-HPA Mono Amps (tube input stage, solid state output stage). As a side note, I owned the Apogee Duetta Signatures for many years. Still some of the most lifelike vocals and piano I've ever heard.

Ken
 
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