We first glimpsed Musical Fidelity's revived B1 range at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show way back in cold, dreary February, which teased a stereo amplifier and a CD player.
Five months on, we now have confirmation that the B1xi integrated amplifier is now ready and available to buy at retailers, with confirmed prices and details.
The Musical Fidelity B1xi stereo amplifier aims to continue the original B1's legacy from the 1990s, packing in modern digital connectivity while still ensuring this decidedly hi-fi amplifier remains reliable and great-sounding as part of your system's core "for many years to come."
The new B1xi boasts a warm and dynamic sound that claims to invoke the quality of a valve (or tube) amplifier, thanks to transistor amps used in the fully discrete Class A/B design. The claimed power on offer is 60 watts per channel into 8 ohms, with toroidal transformers with large power reserves for "purest sound quality".
The amplifier features a "carefully tuned" moving magnet phono stage with high gain, three line-level RCA inputs, a 3.5mm line input, and a pair of variable RCA pre-outputs on the analogue side.
Digital connections are generously catered for, too, with HDMI ARC input, optical and coaxial all available through the built-in DAC (which supports up to 24-bit/192kHz native files).
Bluetooth streaming is also on the cards, along with a 6.3mm headphone jack.
However, Musical Fidelity is at pains to explain that this amplifier doesn't have any network streaming features.
The brand says that "built-in streaming can limit the amplifier’s lifespan, as when the playback technology is superseded," so it prefers to keep the sources separate – focusing instead on making this amplifier a well-made, good-sounding product so "your investment can last for decades."
The B1xi uses high-quality components throughout its design and the internal layout is optimised for audio performance. The preamplifier section has its own dedicated linear power supply (as does the digital input stage), ensuring there is minimal interference.
A motor-driven analogue potentiometer drives the volume control, too.
The Musical Fidelity B1xi amplifier is available to buy now in a single black finish for its all-metal construction.
It costs £699 / $879 / €799, which is very competitive pricing that undercuts the five-star Arcam A5 (£749) and Rega Brio Mk7 (£799) rivals, so we're excited to hear how this new B1 amplifier performs when we get a review sample in for testing.
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