Phonostages — Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl

The M8x Vinyl is a dual input MM and MC phono stage from Musical Fidelity, part of the company's M8x range and released in November 2024. It is housed in an extruded aluminium chassis and is built around a fully balanced, fully discrete circuit, with separate amplifier stages for the positive and negative halves of each channel.

Key specs that matter

Four input sockets are provided, two of them single ended RCA and two balanced XLR, so two record players, or one player fitted with a second tonearm, can remain hooked up permanently and be selected from the front. Its outputs consist of a single ended RCA connection plus a balanced XLR connection, usable simultaneously. Moving magnet gain is selectable at 40, 43, 46 or 49 dB, while moving coil gain offers 60, 63, 66 or 69 dB. MM input impedance is 47 kohm with capacitance adjustable from 50 pF to 400 pF, while in MC mode the load is adjustable from 5 ohm to 47 kohm. Distortion is below 0.005% at 1 kHz for MM and below 0.008% for MC. Noise performance is rated at better than 102 dB A-weighted at 40 dB gain in MM mode and better than 90 dB at 60 dB gain in MC mode. Overload margin is 32 dB on both, and frequency response stays within 0.2 dB.

Engineering and use context

Gain is produced in a three part stage using class A discrete transistor circuitry rather than integrated op-amps. Besides the standard RIAA curve, the unit can apply DECCA and COLUMBIA equalisation, which matters for owners of older mono and stereo pressings cut before RIAA became universal. A subsonic filter has three positions - off, a mild IEC setting and a standard setting at 20 Hz with an 18 dB per octave slope - so warped records can be handled without disabling the filter entirely. The supply is built around a so called Super Silent Power Transformer. The case is 483 mm wide, 102 mm high and 381 mm deep and weighs 10.6 kg, so it fits a full width rack shelf. Consumption peaks at 20 W, and standby draw is under 0.5 W.

Pairing

Because the signal path stays balanced all the way through, the XLR output is the natural link to a preamplifier or integrated amplifier offering balanced sockets, while the single ended output can run a second system or a recorder simultaneously. The wide spread of gain steps means MM cartridges and even very low output MC types are covered without an external step up transformer. Low output moving coil cartridges benefit from the highest MC gain steps, and a turntable with a balanced tonearm cable can use the XLR inputs end to end.

Alternatives

The Musical Fidelity M6x Vinyl is a smaller phono stage from the M6 series of the same brand.