Being the most expensive system here the build of these components is next to none. The front panels are machined from milspec aluminium billet and the chassis is custom made non-resonant extrusion. Fascia controls are machined metal buttons with a good solid feel. The quality is in the details, as they say. 

The size of these components ensures that they can be put virtually anywhere in the home (each measures 230 x 110 x 320mm - w,h,d). Never has high quality hi-fi been so modest in dimension and so household compliant - especially with the edition of the X-Series matching stacking blocks. Unlike the other auditionees, though, the tuner and CD player each have their own remote and there's none for the amplifier - thereís no single system remote available.

AMPLIFIER
The X-A2 is the new replacement for the successful X-A1 integrated. Musical Fidelity have accepted that the old model may not be quite at the top of the pile anymore. So in true Musical Fidelity style they've replaced it to hopefully regain top status in the entry/mid-price market. In order to do this Musical Fidelity have taken the circuit from their £1,000 X-A100R model, removed the remote control facilities and utilised the remaining space by 'improving' the circuit layout. The result is more power (at 75W per channel) and a sound that MF say betters the X-A100R, at half the price. There are six line inputs, but no phono, and a pre output for adding a power amplifier. The separate power supply included with the amp is the same as that used for the X-A100R.

CD PLAYER
The X-Ray has been around for a while now but lacks nothing when it comes to CD player essentials. Although small the X-Ray is a bit of a Dr Who's Tardis and weighs a surprising amount for its meagre dimensions. Crammed inside the casework are high-grade components such as a Burr Brown 24 bit DAC and a specially developed five-pole linear phase filter to help reduce high frequency spuriae and to reduce distortion levels. Low jitter is attained through use of the clock re-timing circuit in combination with the DAC. All basic skip and scan functions are operational via the remote as well as more elaborate tasks such as autospacing - adding four second silences between the tracks to help during taping.

TUNER
The nattily titled X-Plora is an FM-only design but has the advantage of RDS. Like most tuners the front fascia is fairly spartan - basically it's an X-Ray without a loading drawer. Aerial connection is by way of a 75ohm socket only- an adaptor would be needed for indoor aerial use. This is joined on the rear by just an IEC mains socket and the analogue audio outputs.

The supplied remote is the standard MF size but houses only nine buttons - leaving enough space on the surface for a herd of grazing cattle. The remote can be used for switching the RDS on and off and also operating the local/DX facility. When 'local' is selected the X-Plora will ignore stations with weaker signals. These can be searched by changing to 'DX' mode. The X-plora can be tuned in either search mode or manually. A signal strength meter is displayed by pressing the relevant control found on the remote.

PERFORMANCE
This X-A Series system makes listening to music a pleasant experience. The amplifier delivers a beefy, refined sound that matches the airy transparency of the X-Ray CD player. Immensely well suited to big orchestral pieces, the X-Ray and X-A2 played Copland's 'Fanfare For The Common Man' with grip and breathtaking dynamics. The repeating bass drum thwacks were resonant and fast and accompanying brass sweet and realistic sounding. This resulted in a genuine 'edge of the seat' sound that was certainly bright and alert but never too grating.

Radiohead's 'The Bends' was next up and the MF took a hold on the heavily processed mix and made sure that nothing was lost in performance. Guitar driven climaxes such as those in Iron Lung did not become muddled or harsh and I could identify every layer of the mix - which is basically what good hi-fi should do.

In the world of hi-fi it's a rare occurrence that a tuner truly makes one sit up and listen. Examples of ones that do being Leak Troughlines, the tuners of Naim and perhaps Marantz's ST-17. The X-Plora could well be up there with them. It delivers a realistic and suave sound that shows all that is good with radio broadcasts, such as BBC Radio 3 lunchtime concerts, and all that is bad, such as Capital Radio's over-generous use of studio effects. It's a natural and effortless sound that brings you into the studio like few other tuners available today. Impressive stuff.

Musical Fidelity do it again. A great sounding system, hard to beat at even twice the price. All it lacks is a volume remote!

WORLD VERDICT
Not the cheapset system around or the most user-friendly, but it sounds superb.