MF A1 for sale.

[JWW]

Mint. Upgraded by John Samson (ex MF) a few years ago at some expense - lots of new components. I now own an A1000 thus the A1 is sadly surplus. I've kept it for some time as I didn't have the heart to sell it, but I now want to pay Mr Samson to do some work on the A1000 thus I have to let it go. No price yet as I haven't thought about that seriously - I'd just to gauge the interest at this stage, if any.

Thanks.

[struth]

The a1000 is a machine and a half...already miss its presence

[JWW]

Fewer and fewer of them and I ain't ever selling mine. Second hand ones have actually gone up in value over the last few years - amazing. Hall of fame amplifier.

[southall-1998]

What is the cost for this amp? Does this run in Class A?

S.

[The Grand Wazoo]

I've deleted the post above from Steven (SLS) as, though informative of his own circumstances, it's not exactly helpful to Jeremy's sale.
Back to the amp in question:
I seem to remember a big fuss at the time over the class A claim - I think the upshot was that it is, but only a little bit(!) & not to the rated power.
They can sound great though - good luck with the sale Jeremy.

[SLS]

I've deleted the post above from Steven (SLS) as, though informative of his own circumstances, it's not exactly helpful to Jeremy's sale.
Back to the amp in question:
I seem to remember a big fuss at the time over the class A claim - I think the upshot was that it is, but only a little bit(!) & not to the rated power.
They can sound great though - good luck with the sale Jeremy.

Apologies - was about 2am and a bit tired

The point is that I would commend it as a great Amp, it does run very hot, I recall it had printed on the back of the casing that it was class A, look out if it has paint cracked off the top and the one I was recently offered retail was £350.

[Clive]

I seem to remember a big fuss at the time over the class A claim - I think the upshot was that it is, but only a little bit(!) & not to the rated power.
They can sound great though - good luck with the sale Jeremy.
I had one and totally loved it. I recall it's something like 6W in class A which if you use reasonably sensible speakers it'll rarely exceed 6W anyway. Fabulous amp.

[JWW]

Morning... Well, I missed all that overnight ;) I'm still dithering on the price (I'll post something today). Your recollection is about right Clive, but the power output is irrelevant really when matched up with the right speakers. It produces - to my ears - a very smooth (Class A) detailed sound. The thing to be aware of with the A1 is that you cannot stash this amp in a unit - it needs ventilation, lots of it. The worst examples of A1's on the second hand market (the one with the paint peeling off I suspect) is that they've been allowed to get too hot over a period of time. My photo is not that great, so I'll take another one if desired, but the whole upper surface is a heat sink and bears a remarkable resemblance to a non-stick griddle! I've never tried frying an egg on it but I'm d*mn sure you could!

The upgrade that mine had has replaced most of the components with better quality ones and the entire case with better ventilation. In my photo you can just about see the small holes punched in the sides - these didn't exist on the original casing. You're looking at a photo of an original / early A1 brought up to 'final spec' before it was discontinued.

The only other issues that you sometimes experience is slight 'scratchiness' at the bottom end of the volume control. John Samson replaced both pots when he upgraded it but I noticed that the problem crept back. In the end I stopped worrying about it and used his tip for cleaning the internal contacts - gently winding the volume control backwards and forwards a few times seemed to clear it.

Anyway, I'll be back with a price but IMHO this amp is one that should only be bought by someone who understands what they're buying and, frankly, loves Class A.