MX-1, a beast.

Dr. Ear

Super Member
My friend recently got a pair of Focal Maestro Utopia. Magnificent speakers, a bit pricey and also a bit heavy. In the shop we tried them with an AVM power amp, which shut down unexpectedly. The Maestro's impedance minimum is 1.7 Ohms around 100 Hz. My M-4 did quite well. It did not show problems driving such a difficult load. Of course, it lacked power. I did not try the M-2 and B-6 as they are stated "8-16 Ohms" only. My friend then got an almost NOS CX-1/MX-1 combo. I tell you, the MX-1 is really a beast. IMHO totally underestimated. After one hour of listening to Rammstein at *authentic levels* it was only handwarm. So, if you own speakers which are a difficult load, get an MX-1.
 
My friend recently got a pair of Focal Maestro Utopia. Magnificent speakers, a bit pricey and also a bit heavy. In the shop we tried them with an AVM power amp, which shut down unexpectedly. The Maestro's impedance minimum is 1.7 Ohms around 100 Hz. My M-4 did quite well. It did not show problems driving such a difficult load. Of course, it lacked power. I did not try the M-2 and B-6 as they are stated "8-16 Ohms" only. My friend then got an almost NOS CX-1/MX-1 combo. I tell you, the MX-1 is really a beast. IMHO totally underestimated. After one hour of listening to Rammstein at *authentic levels* it was only handwarm. So, if you own speakers which are a difficult load, get an MX-1.
Arguably the last of Yamaha's great classic amps. Lots of know-how and lots of Nippon Gakki love went into that sleeper beast.
Not surprised to hear this feedback.
 
i considered buying an Mx-1 in 1997 as a system upgrade. I did buy the matching preamp the Cx-2/ . I purchased the Cx-2 directly from Yamaha as 1/2 list price. Very happy with the preamp. However the physical size of the Mx-1 / M x-2 resulted in my buying an Acurus A250 instead, even though is cost more as I could not get 50% off list price. The acurus is built like a battleship with a clean design. It has more power uses I think a better circuit design better parts. It uses a toroidal transformer and other quality parts. It will play 30-50 seconds after it is powered down, the power supply is so massive. But the biggest factor was that is fit equipment cabinet w/o any modification.
 
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I've been searching for a Yamaha MX-1 (or MX-2) at a good price for some time now. Awesome amplifiers that can drive difficult loads with ease. Would also love to get my hands on an Acurus A250. Another local AKer has one and it sounds terrific.
 
I've been searching for a Yamaha MX-1 (or MX-2) at a good price for some time now. Awesome amplifiers that can drive difficult loads with ease. Would also love to get my hands on an Acurus A250. Another local AKer has one and it sounds terrific.
Depends what you call good price.

For a few hundred $$ one could get a nice beast of an amplifier such as the MX-1...To me that is a bargain.
 
i considered buying an Mx-1 in 1997 as a system upgrade. I did buy the matching preamp the Cx-2/ . I purchased the Cx-2 directly from Yamaha as 1/2 list price. Very happy with the preamp. However the physical size of the Mx-1 / M x-2 resulted in my buying an Acurus A250 instead, even though is cost more as I could not get 50% off list price. The acurus is built like a battleship with a clean design. It has more power uses I think a better circuit design better parts. It uses a toroidal transformer and other quality parts. It will play 30-50 seconds after it is powered down, the power supply is so massive. But the biggest factor was that is fit equipment cabinet w/o any modification.


I am sorry, not sure what Acurus A250 is and so I looked up the photos on the net and this is what It comes up:
1214287-acurus-a250.jpg
1207872-acurus-a250.jpg

is this the amp?
 
That appears to be an Acurus A250.

Regarding a good price for an MX-1 or MX-2, I could pick one up fairly easily if I had plenty of disposable income I'm listing a bunch of my collection in order to generate funds to pay for other gear being repaired and to purchase other stuff.
 
I've been searching for a Yamaha MX-1 (or MX-2) at a good price for some time now. Awesome amplifiers that can drive difficult loads with ease. Would also love to get my hands on an Acurus A250. Another local AKer has one and it sounds terrific.
used A250 sell on Ebay for about $400. get later version with detachable power cord and one where the green light part of the on & off switch does not blink.
 
used A250 sell on Ebay for about $400. get later version with detachable power cord and one where the green light part of the on & off switch does not blink.
I see, so I am still looking to make sense of the following:
acurus is built like a battleship

To me it does not look very refined

I think a better circuit design better parts.
better circuit??? yamaha has about 25 years of know-how built into this model, But I am not an EE.. and what does "better" parts mean?

It will play 30-50 seconds after it is powered down

the MX would play at least twice as long since it has more than double the size of reservoir cans, plus I am willing to bet that the sliding bias circuit is more efficient in power consumption. Again, did not study the circuit of the acurus, but what I am suspecting that there is no automatic speaker disconnect upon power-off. At any rate, I would not call that an indicator of a beefy PSU. from many perspective the MX-1 PSU is at least twice as beefy.

Looking at my avatar, you'll kind'a figure towards where I am leaning :biggrin:
 
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better circuit??? yamaha has about 25 years of know-how built into this model, But I am not an EE.. and what does "better" parts mean?

Looking at my avatar, you'll kind'a figure towards where I am leaning :biggrin:

The Acurus A250 is a nice amp, but the MX1 is a better amp IMHO. Bryston is my favorite of relatively affordable amps.
 
My friend recently got a pair of Focal Maestro Utopia. Magnificent speakers, a bit pricey and also a bit heavy. In the shop we tried them with an AVM power amp, which shut down unexpectedly. The Maestro's impedance minimum is 1.7 Ohms around 100 Hz. My M-4 did quite well. It did not show problems driving such a difficult load. Of course, it lacked power. I did not try the M-2 and B-6 as they are stated "8-16 Ohms" only. My friend then got an almost NOS CX-1/MX-1 combo. I tell you, the MX-1 is really a beast. IMHO totally underestimated. After one hour of listening to Rammstein at *authentic levels* it was only handwarm. So, if you own speakers which are a difficult load, get an MX-1.

The CX-1 is The "Beauty" to match the Beast. I'm only just starting to appreciate how good the CX-1 really is. I'm starting to think that I need to find an MX-1 to match it. I'm sure that my 4 ohm Speakerlab 7's will love it. Thanks for "heads-up".

Cheers,
James
 
I have MX2 and looking for MX1 in good condition and I not find it. A few months ago I saw a couple on Ebay.de ( each onne 300 euro, if memory serves ) but their external appearance told me that they were a bit too badly treated ...
 
I have MX2 and looking for MX1 in good condition and I not find it. A few months ago I saw a couple on Ebay.de ( each onne 300 euro, if memory serves ) but their external appearance told me that they were a bit too badly treated ...

A CX-1 and MX-1 combo just went on ebay.de less than hour ago for ca €800. You won't normally see either one for under €400 here in decent condition. I figure that when I am ready to look for an MX-1 I'll need to have at least €500 in my pocket. All Yamaha pre and power amps hold high prices here. Unfortunately for us.

Cheers,
James
 
Yes , I know . My budget to get the MX1 is around the your.I do not need a pre because I use the RX A 3040 and the RX V 3900 as preamplifier ...although I am considering buying at CX A 5100..Yamaha is a spell .... an addiction ... :)
 
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Yes , I know . My budget to get the MX1 is around the your.I do not need a pre because I use the RX A 3040 and the RX V 3900 as preamplifier ...although I am considering buying at CX A 5100..Yamaha is a spell .... an addiction ... :)

! I forgot that you also have a RX-V3900. I love that amp, it's great for home theatre. But please believe me that it is nothing like a CX-1 as a pre-amp. Channel separation alone is enormously different between an RX-V and a dedicated pre-amp, so imaging is enormously different.

When going from my RX-V3900 (in 2-channel mode) to my AX-1090 I could easily tell that the "acoustic picture" (imaging, sound stage) is considerably different between them. While the music clarity and quality itself was similar if not equal between the amps the RX sound stage was/is clearly smaller than the AX. I look at smaller channel separation as becoming more and more close to being mono. The acoustic image shrinks towards the center.

Going to using a CX-1 with the power section of my AX-1090 for a power amp as I am now (temporarily) doing resulted in much better imaging. Coupled with a dual mono power amp like the MX-1 has got to be fantastic concerning sound stage. Dr. Ear can no doubt expand on this thought? Having listened to them together?

Cheers,
James
 
You are right . The CX1 is better in all the ways but for my needs the receivers are good .Now i have on my RX A 3040 a pair of Denon POA 6600a on front channels, the MX 1000 on the back channels and the mx2 on surround channels . On the front channels fo RXV 3900 i have a Sherwood AM 7040 ( fantastic sound for little money ) in an other room .I left every TT, every CD and CDV player and I only listen to music from the web. So I do not need a sophisticated Pre as the CX1. I wanted to buy an OPPO but I got too lazy and Youtube is a gold mine for me :)
 
I see, so I am still looking to make sense of the following:


To me it does not look very refined


better circuit??? yamaha has about 25 years of know-how built into this model, But I am not an EE.. and what does "better" parts mean?



the MX would play at least twice as long since it has more than double the size of reservoir cans, plus I am willing to bet that the sliding bias circuit is more efficient in power consumption. Again, did not study the circuit of the acurus, but what I am suspecting that there is no automatic speaker disconnect upon power-off. At any rate, I would not call that an indicator of a beefy PSU. from many perspective the MX-1 PSU is at least twice as beefy.

Looking at my avatar, you'll kind'a figure towards where I am leaning :biggrin:

I'm a Yamaha fan too. But don't under estimate Acurus gear. Amps or preamps. Mondial built and Krell designed. Very good stuff.
 
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