Amplifiers/Processors

The two proprietary toroidal transformers are split between the amps, so one feeds four channels and the other feeds three. I suppose this means that the M6x 250.7 could have easily been an eight-channel design if the manufacturer desired – but, of course, seven channels makes perfect sense in an AV environment, and adding another Class A/B module would have made the amp even wider...

The quoted output is 250W per channel (with a 400W 'peak') although this is into a 4ohm load – Musical Fidelity doesn't give an 8ohm figure, but you could expect it to be around half of the 4ohm rating. And, yes, this amp promises the same power whether you are using the 'AMP1' or 'AMP7' speaker terminals, meaning your surround channels will benefit from just as much grunt as your LCR stage.

Juice Me Up
Big amp, big sound. That would be my 'in a nutshell' verdict of the M6x 250.7. There's a scale and weight to its delivery of multichannel mixes that mirrors its physical presence. It sounds deliriously powerful, and able to give any likely partnering loudspeaker the juice it requires to perform at its best. If you need more grunt than what's on offer here, it's probably because you're running wilfully inefficient high-end speakers in a cavernous listening room, and can therefore afford suitable monoblocks. For everyone else, Musical Fidelity's seven-channel machine will more than do.

The barrage of ballistic effects that accompanies the opening credits/battle sequence in Terminator Genisys (4K Blu-ray) was presented by the M6x 250.7 with serious slam, poise and low-end menace. As Skynet hardware flies overhead, and Resistance weaponry is discharged, the soundfield feels alive with energy.

Using GoldenEar's BRX models (see p54), this amp proved a dab hand at making 'small' speakers sound absolutely huge. Bass details, whether in the film's portentous musical score (especially the dramatic notes that accompany the title reveal), or the chunky metallic sounds of the future war scenes, came across with an extra layer of weight. And stepping up to a Polk Monitor XT 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos array (HCC #330), the helicopter escape sequence in the film's final act ('you can fly, right?') was a showcase of brutal surround effects: machine gunfire, whirring chopper blades, the swoop of the helicopter as it ducks between buildings.

Magic Act
This is a lively amp, too, despite its appearance perhaps suggesting otherwise. Yes, you might find more of a sense of sheer finger-snap attack on a rival Class D design, but the M6x 250.7 is no slouch. Far from it: the action of Terminator Genisys comes across with speed and dynamics. Meanwhile, having matched amps for all channels gives the soundfield a massive feeling of uniform scale, even though it's the LCR stage that most showcases the power on tap.

Musical Fidelity rates its new amp's total harmonic distortion at an ultra-low 0.003% (at 100W). In use, its output sounds impressively pure and clean. Details and nuances across the audio band aren't air-brushed. Switch to film material where the mix is more subtle, such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (4K BD), and the M6x 250.7's focus becomes less about brute force and more about picking out the ambience of the varied locations. The gentle early morning suburban sounds as the young wizard flees 4, Privet Drive are presented with a deft touch, as are the outside-the-carriage rattling sounds of the Hogwarts Express. Then when the Dementor boards the train, the amp nails the variety of details in the layered soundmix, presenting the freezing water on the window pane with a spine-tingling clarity, before unleashing a dynamic thump as the carriage rocks and rumbles.

There's also a musical side to the M6x 250.7 that brand loyalists will be expecting. Fed stereo tracks, the soundstage it creates is miles wide, and deep too, so that I was easily able to 'place' the instruments on the stage in Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder's Talking Timbuktu album. The tonality is gorgeous here too, with the acoustic bass and shimmering slide guitar on closing track Diaraby having a rich, lush quality. The varied percussion, all delicate patted drums and ticks and tocks, had a crisp impact, but all the while sounded perfectly in balance.

Beating Heart
The styling of Musical Fidelity's M6x 250.7 might be nothing to write home about, but its sound performance certainly is. This is a gloriously powerful, deep-diving multichannel amplifier, but one with exemplary tonality and control too. For anyone looking to upgrade the beating heart of their cinema, it has to be considered.

HCC Verdict

Musical Fidelity M6x 250.7

Price: £3,099
www.musicalfidelity.com

We say: Nothing to complain about here – behind maybe the size and weight. This seven-channel power-pusher is a superb performer. Will there be a processor to match?

Overall: 5/5

Specifications

POWER OUTPUT (CLAIMED): 7 x 250W (4ohm, all-channels driven, 0.003% THD) CONNECTIONS: 7 x phono inputs; 7 x balanced XLR inputs; 7 x speaker terminals; 7 x phono through outputs; trigger in/out DIMENSIONS: 450(w) x 195(h) x 435mm(d)mm WEIGHT: 32.5kg

FEATURES: Class A/B amplifier technology; multiple internal heatsinks; 7 x front-panel channel status LEDs (blue = on, red = fault condition); 2 x Musical Fidelity 'audiophile-grade' Super Silent toroidal transformers; milled aluminium fascia; bi-amping; auto switch on