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Lise-Meitner-Str. 9 · 50259 Pulheim · Germany · www.magnat.de

fairaudio.de

08 | 2014

Magnat MCD 1050

Test 08/2014

Magnat MA 1000

Test 08/2014

MA 1000/MCD 1050

"Magnat's unit reproduces a crisp and brilliant

treble range, is exquisitely illuminated and

prevents disruptive hardness."

Lise-Meitner-Str. 9 · 50259 Pulheim · Germany · www.magnat.de

MA 1000 /MCD 1050

Magnat MCD 1050

Test 08/2014

Magnat MA 1000

Test 08/2014

Light off, spots on!

Glowing glass tubes go hand in hand with Magnat's product portfolio

(www.magnat.de) like toast and butter. The sound character of the

selected glowing tubes, which are of Soviet origin, is denitely

intended as an audible ngerprint. Groove, dynamics, musicality –

those of you who don't want to sit back in front of your system and

simply let things wash over you will be delighted by the unit from

the Rheinland. Magnat's MA 1000 integrated amplier is based on

a hybrid concept consisting of a tube preamplier and a transistor

output stage. One ECC-82 preamp tube is concealed behind each

of the two circular portholes in the front panel. According to the

manufacturer's declaration, the Russian glass tubes have been

selected in pairs ("matched"), with each having been burned in for

60 hours. A discrete amplier circuit with Toshiba power transistors

is used in the output stage. The conguration leaves nothing to

be desired and is conservative in a positive sense. Magnat's amp

dispenses with modern "digital overkill" such as streaming modules

or DACs, and instead boasts a fully-edged tape loop, a pre-out

and an exceptional, extensively equipped phono stage. This offers

connections for both MM and MC systems. And, at the same time,

there are also two other inputs available! Each of the double

speaker terminals is, as expected and typical of the price class, very

robust. Incidentally, these terminals are not intended for A/B wiring

(i.e. parallel operation of two pairs of speakers). Instead, they

provide the option of a "direct" bi-wiring conguration with suitably

equipped speakers. To round-off the overall package, Magnat's

MA 1000 is also equipped with a headphone jack. A detail that I

wouldn't have paid much attention to as a general rule, if Magnat

hadn't explicitly pointed it out, is the fact that a small, extremely

high quality amp has been accommodated behind the 6.3 mm jack,

which makes the need of an external device obsolete. Based on

the product description provided by the manufacturer, its 1000

series unit features electronic components in an "enclosed system"

that pursues a common goal: to satisfy "extremely high audiophile

standards in every department". That's all well and good. "But they

all want to do that!" thought our editor with some amusement. At

this point we turned our attention to Magnat's MCD 1050. A "CD

player plus", if you will.

This is the amplifying component in the series, which looks very

similar and gives off the air of an - apparently intended - system

concept. When the two components are stacked on top of one

another, the three portholes on each unit are exactly aligned. You

may now be asking yourself why, exactly? The fact is that the MCD

1050 also works with tubes. Logically in the output. One ECC

88 double triode is provided for each channel. The third window,

like the amp, accommodates an OLED display, which provides

information in a sharp font about the various states of the device

that can also be dimmed if necessary. If the integrated MA 1000

is classed as a pure analogue unit, then Magnat has positioned

its MCD 1050 as a digital data port, whose high quality "Burr-

Brown" converter can also be used by external sources. These

can be connected via Toslink, S/PDIF RCA or USB. A switchable

upsampling function converts data streams from external source

devices to a 192 kHz and 24 bit format when required. This is a

nice feature that promises a decent sound boost depending on the

material that's "delivered". SACD playback, which is still explicitly

advertised for the more reasonably priced MCD 850 model, has

been dispensed with by the Pulheim company for its agship unit.

The MCD 1050 is only capable of recognising CD audio. The drive

unit, which is manufactured by Sanyo, doesn't want to know when

it comes to MP3 or WMA formats. You may criticise this aspect,

but to be honest I only know a handful of people who will seriously

miss the SACD format, and even less who burn MP3 les to blank

discs for playback via a stationary hi- system. In this respect, the

absence of these features is bearable.

The sound of Magnat's MA 1000 integrated amp

As it features a similar structure, it's clear that Magnat's MA 1000

will need to measure up to its own RV 3 amplier. After the rst few

notes it seemed to me as though the elaborate housing had been

simply constructed around the relevant electronic components and

that the power reserves had been slightly reduced in comparison

to the agship model. This is because of a "respectful distance",

marketing and so on. Can you understand that? If this had been

precisely the case, I would have decided not to waste any more

of my time at this point and simply reverted to the tests that were

conducted on Magnat's RV 3 earlier this year. Fortunately, while the

two integrated ampliers may look similar, they don't produce an

identical sound.

Those of you that have read one or more of my tests will know

that when I assess and evaluate hi- components I like to use live

recordings of concerts that I have attended. In short: everything

needs to come across when I listen to the recording. And it needs to

be as lifelike as possible. The MA 1000 comes astoundingly close

to achieving this. First, the amazingly accurate soundstage with

which the dimensions of the Hanseatic sports hall are felt, neither

adds nor takes anything away from the overall sound.

Now you simply cannot transport such dimensions 1:1 to another

room, that's abundantly clear. But what the hybrid amplier from

Pulheim brings to my ears reminds me very much of the depth and

breadth of the concert hall and the auditorium. But that's just a

successful illusion, isn't it? The unit also succeeds in reproducing

the on-stage action, with the localisation of the individual musicians

and their instruments being particularly evident. Everything unfolds

from my speakers in a realistically graduated and yet present,

almost three-dimensional, manner. The sound is reproduced so

uidly that when I close my eyes I forget the speakers are even

there after a while.

In "Frankfurt/Oder" - during the concert's climax before the

encores - Bosse is supported by various guest musicians, who,

together with the enthusiastic audience, produce real reworks

where the native electronics denitely come into their own. Amidst

the complex, chaotic sounds of instruments, singing and cheering,

it's not easy to ensure a clear "overview" or "internal order" while

maintaining audibility at the same time. This is a stumbling block

with which my Yamaha A-S 1000, for example, fails to cope. It

may be slightly cheaper than Magnat's MA 1000 and, of course, it

cannot be directly compared in terms of technology due to its pure

transistor design, but I wouldn't have thought it possible for it not

to succeed in breaking down "Frankfurt/Oder" into comprehensible

individual elements without losing track of anything. The Japanese

amp tries to deliver power and pressure where it's not required

and "swamps" the complex part of the track. But it's all good

for Magnat's unit, as it is able to cope with things a lot better.

Its supremely airy performance is based on the company's own

reference model, namely the RV 3. The same can be said when it

comes to its bass response. The plucked bass guitar in "You goin'

miss your Candyman" by Terry Callier reaches great depths and

peppers the ear canal with a sharply structured sound pattern. A

track like "1000 years" by The Gaslight Anthem (from the album

Get Hurt) is a powerful percussive piece in classic four-four time

which breathes life into the room! It has punch, it has pressure,

it has verve. Magnat's amplier has inherited its seamless, uid

transfer between the bass, mid and treble frequencies from its

more expensive sibling. Its supple, natural, pleasant and "realistic"

sounding midrange, which doesn't refrain from a slightly warm

accentuation, provides vocals and instruments with a high degree

of "tangibility". It was impressive to witness how tangible the track

"Sarah" by Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes (from the album "Fur

and Gold") appeared from my listening position. Her slightly smoky

vocals, which have been recorded with some reverb, really gave us

goosebumps. A cross-check with my Yamaha unit and a Musical

Fidelity m3i amp (priced at around €1300), which I currently

also have access to, also turned out in favour of the hybrids from

Pulheim. While the Japanese unit tended to reproduce Natasha

Khan's vocals in a manner that was (too) warm and voluminous, the

lively British amp tended to ensure more neutrality in the mid-range,

however it produced a performance that was slightly too cold. To

me, Magnat's MA 1000 is simply better, as its sound caresses my

ear more pleasantly. To consider its more velvety intonation as an

effect would be an exaggeration. At the upper end of the frequency

range the "thousand" unit produces the right balance between a

brilliant, nely detailed "crispness" and a restraint that ensures

compressed music isn't reproduced in a harsh or annoying manner.

Magnat's amp doesn't convey an irritating sharpness that would

impair your listening pleasure over the long-term (even when used

in a 256 kBit/s format), although it does naturally convey the

general loss of quality.

The sound of Magnat's MCD 1050 CD player

Magnat's multifunctional MCD 1050 unit follows the company's

audio philosophy without question. It ensures a sweeping, uid and

emotive reproduction with a powerful, unobtrusive bass range and

a very natural impression in the mid-range. It also places a touch

more emphasis on a clear and transparent diction from the upper

bass range upwards in comparison to other ampliers in its class.

This is particularly audible when you use its upsampling function,

which upscales the incoming signals – from the internal drive and

external sources – to a 24 bit and 192 kHz format.

This ensures the whistling sounds that Axel Bosse's guest

musicians from Deichkind use in "Frankfurt/Oder" to stoke the

simmering atmosphere are even clearer and sharper contoured.

Overall, the digital assistant ensures that all manner of complex

passages are well-balanced and that the nest ramications are

reproduced. When it comes to Mighty Sam McClain's impulsive

track "Sledgehammer Soul", as well as his wonderful interpretation

of the soul classic "Long Train Runnin'", it provides more air around

the individual musicians and imparts a bit more brilliance and

attack to the brass sections. Not that it makes a whole world of

difference. Depending on the style of music you're listening to (for

example, mainstream pop) the inuence of the upsampler is of less

signicance. But when it comes to individual details, you should

leave this mode switched on.

Regardless of this, the player excels with tonal attributes that

are not only similar to those of the MA 1000 amplier, but which

also seem to be part and parcel of Magnat's in-house philosophy.

The extremely precise, agile and powerful bass range is worthy of

mention here, as it is an ever-present foundation for everything that

occurs above it; it never appears distracting or forces itself into

the foreground. Admittedly, however, Magnat's MCD 1050 doesn't

delve quite as deeply into the basement as my Yamaha CD-S 1000

- which revealed more volume at the rst cross-check - but it comes

up trumps in terms of precision and structure. While the Japanese

unit sounds slightly sloppy when it comes to a hard-plucked double

bass, as is the case with "Hello" by the John Butler Trio from the

album "Sunrise over Sea", the amp from Pulheim makes the wiry

and dry twang of the bass strings seem much more enjoyable.

Well, there is a difference of around €700 between the units.

Magnat's unit needs to look up for its "opponent". And it nds it.

The "bass duel" with my optimally-coordinated Lua Appassionato

- which is also equipped with a tube output stage and priced at

around €3500 - narrowly falls in favour of the chrome unit from

Bodensee. It gives the hearty double bass slightly more emphasis.

However, the difference is so marginal that the difference in price

is not justied. And that's saying something. As Magnat's MCD

1050 cannot be bettered in terms of ow, timing and homogeneity,

and the fact that it generates a slightly more supple, silky and ne

reproduction in the sensitive mid/treble range – particularly with

the piano/vocals in Tori Amos' "I can't see New York" (from the

album "Scarlet's Walk") – as well as the fact that it interprets the

intro more uidly than the aged Lua unit, I think it's simply exquisite

for a device in the sub €2000 category. Taking the fact that it's

"not only" a CD player into the equation, but also a high-quality

D/A converter that can accommodate external sources via S/PDIF,

Toslink and USB, I think the MCD 1050 is more than deserving of

the "all-rounder award" in this test.

Test conclusion: Magnat MCD 1050/MA 1000

Magnat recommends its "thousand" series amp as a system

solution. This is backed up by its aesthetics and technology. The

exceptional porthole design of the otherwise plain black units

ensures an elegant appearance when they are combined and, by

purchasing both components, you will cover virtually all analogue

(amplier) and digital (CD player) connection issues. The system

glides in terms of its sound reproduction yet it still has an

emotionally-moving and rousing side. Excessive analysis is not a

feature of the Rhineland company. Which is something I really like.

As I said: Magnat "recommends" the connected approach.

You can follow this advice, but you don't have to. Both the MA 1000

integrated amp and the MCD 1050 CD player are compelling when

used on their own. Their audio tendency ensures they enrich and

enhance "foreign systems" with their dynamic, rhythmic ow and

sheer musicality. They tend to be slightly warm/silky around the

mid-range, which is something you should try out before combining

them with similar components. Although I wouln't be worried about

any "over-saturation" here. What really surprised me is how close

the MA 1000 amp is to its big brother, the RV 3. If you can do

without the mechanical appearance of the top of the range amp

– or if you simply don't like it – and if the sometimes brutal power

generated for dynamic attacks is something that you don't nd

necessary, then you really can't go wrong with the MA 1000. The

MCD 1050 CD player will enhance any modern system as a digital

receiving station – especially with its excellent D/A converter and

effective upsampler. Tip: Always leave the MCD 1050's upsampling

function switched on.