Musical Fidelity XA-200R upgrade
It’s been roughly 3 weeks since I delivered by beloved but aged XA-200R down to JS Audio. I traveled back down to collect my amplifier, on the day after the very strong winds, that caused so much destruction around various parts of the uk. Little did I know my XA-200R was brewing up a storm of its own. When I got home and reconnected my amplifier I thought I would leave it fired up and go and make myself a coffee while it warmed up. The first few things I noticed while listening was a faster, deeper bass underpinning the other parts of the frequency range. Drums and bass guitar had another level of grip, speed and power that was not there before. All this was done while still sounding smooth and detailed. Instruments have taken on another level of clarity and separation. The image depth has now become so deep and wide, I am finding myself looking around the room to see how the percussionist, has some how managed to sneak into my house. The mid to high end has also emerged with a new lease of life, seeming to sound louder and more enriched with musical detail. I am not sure what John has done with my old amplifier, but the new addition is far better than the old. It’s almost like he’s given my amp a big sprinkling of magic fairy dust. My biggest problem now is what to upgrade next. X-Ray CD or my XA-200 power amps. Any help will be much appreciated.
This is the first of two upgrade reviews I am going to do. This one has been a next day review. My next will be either two or three months from now to see if the improvements continue.
John, thanks for the fantastic work you’ve done regarding my XA-200R amplifier.