performance,price,build quality, binding posts, pre-amp outputs

Cannot be bridged, but pre-amp outputs allow for bi-amping which is better anyway so none!!!

Looking to upgrade from 555II combo of 8 years. Have listen to everything that I could find while taking into consideration room differences. Have purchased and returned 10,000 dollars worth of amps and preamps. Noticed after 3 days of listening to the A3 combo that something about them really appealed to me. Watched movies in stereo where it seemed I heard detail that I never noticed before. Caused me to follow movie more closely. Thought to myself. Wow, I love this combo.. Can listen without fatigue!!! Wonderfully transparent, great imaging, soundstaging. Thought to myself. This is great. I don't care if something better is out there. If only I would have stopped there! Just ordered a pair of speakers the maggies 1.6. In a second audition I noticed something was missing with the A3 combo so I started to do AB comparison. Wasn't the amp, it to my ears defeated the ARC D130($2000), and at the very least held its own with all other competition. Next I tried external DAC. Yeah! that helped. But When I put the ARC LS8 II pre-amp into the equation, I noticed a dramatic difference. Granted this pre retails for $1000 dollars more than the A3. After returning home and listening to A3 for a couple of days with my conventional speakers. I have fallen back in love with it. Convenience of a remote!!! Great sound really. Wondering if it is the maggies which can benefit from the added warmth and "presence" of tubes. Well maybe I should leave well enought alone!!! On the best recordings that I have heard such as Patricia Barber's Nightclub. This combo is very impressive.. Highly recommended!!!

Similar Products Used:

Audio research D130, Krell KAV150, Adcom 5802, Classe,B&K,

Absolutly the fastest, sweetest and quitest amp there is, great dynamics also

Bass a little shy, but not much

After burning out my Golden Tube SE40 while replacing new tubes, I now neede a new amp! While the SE40 is a great tube bargain, it was and is not the best at anytning other than price to performance. So, while considering other tube amps, I reread all the reviews I could find on thism the A3cr. With AA's 30 day money back, what could I loose. Well, the amp is here after 3 months, and I now consider it the best amp in price to performance I have heard. And in many ways, it rivals many of the best.
First, it really is very quiet, much more so than my SE40. With the added quietness, I could hear more detail, and better dynamics.
Second, this thing really is fast, it is like Lamborgini fast. The notes just fly out. I am useing speakers that are very similar to the Triangle Titus, a small 2 way with a paper 5 1/2 inch bass/mid and a titanium tweeter. These little speakers sound very crisp, fast and detailed withe A3cr amp. Where as they sounded very good on the SE40, they just very much better with the new A3cr.
Third, the dynamics where stunning! I believe this is due to both the speed of this amp, and the quietness. I just loved hearing the crack of snares, the power of bass, and all the other really dynamics that were abound. On vinyl records, the dynaics just seemd to jump out and grab you.
Those were the biggies, the only downside is if you use full range speakers, like my old Advents, the bass was still quick, just not as much impact as when I use my Velodyne subs.
The associated equipment are as follows:
JVC 1050 TN cd player
Phillips CDR-960 cd recorder player
MSB Link DAC III with upsampling
Musical FIdelity X-pre
Musical FIdelity LP^2 with PSU
Linn Valhalla turntable with Ittok VII and SIgnet MC
Monster Cable, SOnic Horizons Speaker Cables and NBS interconnects.

Similar Products Used:

Golden Tube SE40

Detail, Transparency, Slam, Speed, build
Seems to control Maggies very well

Don't know Yet

This is an incredible product. Right out of the box it does things the CJ, I'm considering replacing, can't do. It has this uncanny "speed". The bass is tight and very detailed. Mind you, it's not even broken in. I hate to hear what it's going to sound like in a month. Follow up to come. For those who are interested, associated equipment.

Linn LP 12 valhalla turntable w/Rega RB300/Madrigal Carnagie One cartridge
Conrad-Johnson PF2 preamp
Pioneer 525 DVD feeding Adcom GDA600 converter
Magneplanar 1.6QR loudspeakers
Synergistic Research interconnects.
Straightwire Octave II speaker wire
Monster Power line filter

Similar Products Used:

Conrad-Johnson MF2100

VERY musical, clean sounding, Nutral and uniform frequency response, Excellent treble extension, Very good bass response,non-fatiguing,uncongested. Good imaging and detail. Tube-like fleshing out of instruments and vocals.

Only two binding posts, so cannot bi-wire without combining the speaker cables at one end. Cannot be bridged for more power. Unconventional binding posts that seem to be made for bare wire only (but they are very well made).

This is an easy review for me to write. The MF A3CR amp is one of the finest amplifiers that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I have had it for only a couple of months (it just came out in the US in April, I believe), but I listen to music on it almost every day.

When I go to a live concert, I can pick out the different instruments and counter-tempos, but I have had less success doing that on my home stereo until I bought the C-J MV-55. The MF A3CR takes me even further in un-raveling the music. Congestion on complex passages is almost unknown. I can pick out every instrument or rhythmic line easily. This is an amp that can keep up with most of the top gear that I've owned or heard.

I have owned tube amps since the early '90s, and have listened to many other tube amps since I started in this crazy hobby in the mid-70s. I do not have an axe to grind in the tube vs. solid state debate. I have liked tubes for their sound, but the tube sound can't give a lot of power without a lot of dollars. On the other hand, solid state gear gets very pricey when you go after tube-like sound.

When I listen to tube gear, there is something special in the music; it is more fleshed-out. I can hear the resonances and overtones in a singer's vocals. I can hear the harmonics of the wood in an acoustic instrument such as the guitar or violin. The same is true of drums and woodwinds and almost all instruments. It is a sound quality that I will not give up willingly. It contributes to a more realistic persentation. I'm very happy to say that this MF amp gives me those harmonic benefits as well. Tube-like sound and lots of power for an inexpensive (for what you get) price!

I like a clear mid-range and good frequency extension from top to bottom. Authoritative bass is nice, but it isn't high on my list. I don't need to jump very high when a bass drum is hit. I like my bass to be solid and clean. The MF has clean bass, and a lot of it, balanced with the rest of the music. My tastes run to Classical, World Music, Classic Rock, Folk, some Jazz and some Country. The MF handles all of it with ease and beauty.

I have it matched to my tubed Quicksilver pre-amp (Excellent!). I have owned this pre-amp since 1990 and am very familiar with its sound. They work very well together, and I enjoy them both. I don't think that the MF is very fussy and should mate well with whatever pre-amp it is hooked up to. Of course, the better the pre-amp, the better the MF is going to sound.

To fill in the blanks, my other gear is as follows:

Turntable : Luxman PD-375 w/ vacuum hold-down.
Cartridge : Ortofon MC200.
MC Preamp : Mark Levinson JC1.
CD Player : Audio Research CD2.
Tuner : Denon TU800
Cassette(!) : Sony 707ES.
Speakers : B&W CDM7 SE
Interconnects: BEL "The Wire" Transparent Audio, DH Labs Silver Sonic, Kimber PBJ, LAT IC-100.
Speaker Cable: BEL S24, A double run for bi-wiring.

To summarize, I will not hesitate to recommend this amp to anyone and everyone. If family, friends and co-workers ask me for a recommendation, this amp will be at the top of the list.

I love it.

Similar Products Used:

Conrad Johnson MV-55, Sound Valves M40i Monoblocks, Bryston 2B, Bozak amp, Hafler XL-250, Citation 19, several others.

Clarity, musicality.

Underpowered for some systems. 2 year warranty.

Wonderfully musical with clarity in spades. Every disc and LP I own sounds better than I've ever heard it before (using the A3CR pre). Low listener fatigue, can listen for hours. Fine details like room reverb, and micro sounds like piano string buzz and reed noise of brass can be heard , but they don't jump out at you unpleasantly. A neutral presentation rather than forward or laid back. Female vocals can be gorgeous and I can distinguish voices in choral works like never before.

The drawback is that they do not provide enough power for me driving PSB Stratus Gold's in my system. I'm hearing strain on classical crescendoes and some dynamic brass outbursts in jazz. The A3 does not really fill the room and have that massive bass that I hear with the 4BST, even at levels below strain or clipping. Most pop, rock and jazz sound quite nice, though. My old amp, the 4BST can really blast the room w/o straining. I won't say rock the room, because if this is rock, it's like a live rock concert where you lose your hearing. Interestingly the additional clarity of the A3 means you don't have to play your set as loudly to hear details.

My jury is still out. I'd like to hear my rig biamped with two A3CR's before giving a thumbs up in my system. For the average speaker in an average room though, the A3CR may be the best choice for "Class A" sound. I'm giving it a 5 rating because it is a very special amp, although it may not be for everybody.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 4BST, Adcom 555 II, Audio Research D110B