Musical Fidelity M8x

Musical Fidelity: M8xTT turntables

Musical Fidelity realized the M8xTT turntable, which follows the same concepts and radical innovations of the M1 model released in the early 2000s. Heinz Lichtenegger, current owner of Musical Fidelity, in fact applied the same design philosophy of its predecessor, improving it thanks to the current knowledge and materials.

Hi-End M8xTT turntables

The idea of music by Antony Michaelson, founder of Musical Fidelity, was warm and powerful, with details and nuances. His creations, especially amplifiers, are the expression of this sound feature. In 2002 Antony asked Heinz Lichtenegger, owner of Pro-Ject, to help him realize a turntable that implemented all these features. Moreover, the design was very important and had to be up to the mechanically extraordinary amplifiers. He was born Musical Fidelity M1, and it was a great success. The basic idea was to combine the inert mass of metal alloys with the zero-resonance acrylic. The engine was effectively decoupled from the arm and plate thanks to the double frame construction. The new M8xTT follows the same design philosophy with even more extreme technical features.

Highlights

• Mass-loaded turntables with belt traction and electronic speed control 33/45
• Double heavy aluminium plate
• Height adjustable magnetic feet
• New custom arm from 10“ Musical Fidelity
• Regulation of Azimuth and VTA
• Acrylic base non-resonant decoupled
• Exit both RCA and XLR
• Aluminium heavy disc stop (Record Puck) included
• Leather mat supplied
• Made in Europe

The arm
10 inch arm is a new project Musical Fidelity very low resonance with transparent acrylic support ring and aluminum conical arm tube. The arm is fully adjustable for VTA and Azimut and comes with two counterweights that allow it to be used with 6 to 20g heads. The counterweights are dampened in TPE to avoid resonance. On the back are both the unbalanced RCA outputs and the balanced XLR, offering maximum flexibility in the choice of the phono preamp.

The engine and the plate
The engine is housed in a customized recess, suitably damped with polyurethane foam, in the lower level acrylic plane, to better decouple it from the plate and arm. The speed is electronically controlled and just press a button to switch from 33 to 45 turns per minute. A silicone belt connects the motor to the plate, doubled and made of aluminium with internal inserts and damped peripherally with TPE.

The feet
Four heavy aluminium feet with magnetic support, damped with TPE, connect the two acrylic floors, supported by centrally positioned teflon spacers. It is possible to adjust them in height by turning their central part, to place the turntable.

In the box
Some interesting accessories such as: a heavy aluminum disc stop to stabilize the discs during playback and get the best trace possible. A leather mat that stabilizes the vinyl on the plate and characterizes it from the sound point of view. To connect the M8xTT to the preamp, a semi-balanced phono connection cable with gold plated connectors is also included.

Technical characteristics

• Speed: 33, 45 (electronic control)
• System: belt with electronic speed control
• Plate: double aluminum with internal inserts, weight 10 kg, dampened with TPE
• Bearing: Inverted, ceramic spherical shape
• Arm: 10‘‘ Musical Fidelity custom
• Arm length: 17g/254 mm
• Overhang: 16 mm
• Wow & flutter: 33rpm: +-0.05%, 45rpm +-0.04%
• Speed change: 33rpm: +-0.11%, 45rpm: +-0.10%
• Signal/noise ratio: -78 dB
• Dimensions: 533x245x413 mm
• Weight: 31.5 kg