New MA9500 integrated amp

I blew through most of my mad money flying and drag racing. I refuse to spend tax exempt money for hobbies. I’ve been retired for 18 years, so cash flow is not what it used to be.

2 Likes

Does she have a sister?

P.S. Don’t tell my Wife I said that…

3 Likes

This has been on my mind quite a bit lately which is why I’ve been thinking about downsizing some of my gear now while there’s still value in the seperates.

2 Likes

What do you plan on selling, specifically. I can tell my wife.

2 Likes

Now that’s funny!

Tell her I take PayPal…

Seriously, what would you like to sell?

Nothing at the moment. I need to decide what I am going to do to my office rig (currently separates) before I start to consider the main rig. I’m a few months away before I do anything. I listen to my office system far more than any of our other systems. I am going to be very picky with what replaces it. Maybe the KWH 225i…

I am seriously considering going to AXPONA to do some research.

You are really an audiophile. I bet you look like Darko and Guttenberg…perhaps a hybrid

I truly miss drag racing

3 Likes

I normally read The Absolute Sound and Stereophile and make my rounds to hifi shops near me or when we travel. Reviews are good, but actually seeing, hearing, and touching the gear can’t be replaced. For instance you can read reviews all day long about Pass Labs or Magico gear and it all reads pretty good. When you see the gear in person it’s a Holy $h1t moment and you realize why they cost what they do.

I can’t buy this. Whoever decided that the unbalanced inputs needed vertical orientation but the phono inputs should be horizontal I’d like to have a word with. This bugs me and I don’t even have a need or would use the phono side of this.

1 Like

I’ve read the following pricing: MA8950 - $9000; MA9500 - $12000.

I read online that it is $21k and that the MA10000 is $12k. But I also read the pricing that you mention. Who knows?

The $12k figure is what I have also seen.

$12k would be more in line with it’s actual feature set and the competition TBH.

That’s how I see it. So I was surprised when Google said:

The flagship MA9500 costs £14,995 / AU$24,995 (around $21,000). It outputs 300 watts per channel and has no fewer than ten analogue inputs (two balanced, six unbalanced, plus an MM/MC input with adjustable loading). You also get an eight-band tone control that allows users to manually tweak frequencies by +/- 12dB.

The MA8500 is a touch cheaper at £12,495 / AU$18,495 (around $17,000). It outputs 200 watts per channel and comes with a decent array of analogue inputs (one balanced, six unbalanced, plus MC with adjustable loading and a MM phono input). There’s a five-band tone control capable of the usual +/- 12dB adjustments.

1 Like

I think that the only source of that information is What-Hifi and that some others have quoted. I’m more inclined to believe the lower figures since 1) it’s more in line with the pricing of its predecessors and 2) international and US based audio sites have stated the lower MSRP.

The consistent price now being quoted as $12k. The upgrade appears to be minimal if you use an outboard DAC. The DA2 module is $1k of the new unit’s price.