Help needed for setting a stereo system (music only)

[dinyaar]

Hi setu kumar,
My set is Rotel Rc 1082 pre/ Rb 1080 power with a B&W 805 speaker. The source components are a Nakamichi DR 10 tape deck(cause i have tons of great tapes of yester years) a Denon TU 1800 Dab tuner and i just sold my nad cd player and am awaiting a marantz SA 7001 KI as my cdp. I also run a Rotel Ra - 03 and B&W 601 set up in my bed room. (Ra- 03 is the older version of the current Ra- 06) source is a very old sony cdp. Speakers i bought here in mumbai rest i got from london on various trips way before rotel was officially available here. Setu i am 40 now and have always loved music and am hence always buying. My old rotel Ra 1062 and my Nad c 352 are now with my nephew and neice and i have a Nad C 162 pre amp from my earlier set which i am trying to sell. My choice of music is western classical, some rock and loads of 80's stuff and my wife mainly listens to opera.

I personally feel if the set up is good all music should sound good and so dont buy the theory of different set ups for different types of music.

Regards and good luck.

 

[sethunr]

Hi dinyaar,
You have a wonderful experience with NAD, Rotel, B & W etc. and might have spent a lot of money into it already. I know that you are giving the advice that Rotel is better than NAD based on your experience only. But based on my experience with Rotel with B&W CM1 Book Shelves, I cannot go with that combo. Probably I need to try other speakers with Rotel which I find not easily possible here at Bangalore. The person who deals on Rotel here keep very high end stuff (pricey stuff) with him. If I need to try other speakers, then I have to purchase and carry it to him to pair with Rotel stuff that I wanted audition.
NAD+MA RS8 gave a good stereo imaging and musicality for all typesof music for me. It is true that when the volume is incresed the amp will not be able to keep with the speakers. So does this mean that I look for some other speakers? I heard PSB speakers match well with NAD, but not sure about this.

Regards
Sethukumar

 

[smedhavi]

Hi Sethu,

If you are looking for less power, MA RS8 might not be the best choice; even though they are great speakers. You could consider MA GS10, or other good stand mounters.

Did you check out EPOS? Their small speakers sound good at low volumes when paired with a slightly bright amp.

The ProAc stand mount is great too. Prithvi could help you in auditioning this in Bangalore.

regards,
Sharad

 

[dinyaar]

Hi sethu kumar,
Actually Mr S medhavi who has just posted above this post lives in bangalore and is running the Nad/ Monitor Audio floor stander combination so he would be in a position to give u first hand information. He could highlight the pros and cons for u to make an informed decision.
Yes i have had good experience with Rotel and with B&W. And i have hardly spent much money on rotel as i did not buy it here in mumbai. I think my pre sells for 54 K and the power for 65K plus taxes here and i paid about half that amount. I think its a fairly neutral amp which does well for me and my taste of sound. Am sure there are tons of better amps so maybe i can keep that for my next upgrade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards

 

[sethunr]

Thanks dinyaar.
Hi Mr S medhavi,
I would like to know the combination of NAD/MA that you are using. I thought of going for NAD C352or 355 with MA floor standers (RS8). Please let me know what combinations are possible. NAD and MA combination sounded good forme compared to Cambridge Audio 640A/740A & Mordaunt Short 906i, 908i and Mezzo Floor standers, Rotel RA-06 with B & W CM1 combinations.
Also I want to try the combination Rotel RA-1062 with MA RS8 if possible but not sure how.

Thanks
Sethukumar

 

[smedhavi]

Hi Sethu,

NAD and MA do go well together. I had the NAD C372 before I bought the MA speaker. I carried my amp all the way to the ARN Systems showroom in Bangalore to realize that Ali was already using the same amp for the demos The RS8's are rated at 175 watts and do deserve a powerful amplifier.

NAD amps have a slightly rounded off highs, which works well with MA. MA speakers have a mostly flat response, but the high frequencies are on a brighter side peaking at 22KHz for the silver series. Paring MA with a bright amp might be fatal. WHF suggested Roksan Caspian M series amp for MA RS6. I have never heard Roksan, as I could not find a dealer in Bangalore.

I had auditioned Mordaunt Short older models before I bought MA, but it was paired with Marantz, as Palani (Audio Planet, Bangalore) was not selling CA that time. MA had more clarity and refinement than MS. I haven't listened to Mezzo yet. I am planning to visit Palani sometime and check this out. I also need to try out the CA phone stage for my next turntable. Palani is a nice person.


Rotel RA-1062 and MA RS8 pair would be worth trying out, but there is no easy way out. When you buy the speakers you could carry them to the Rotel showroom for an audition.

regards,
Sharad Medhavi

 

[dinyaar]

Thanks dinyaar.
Hi Mr S medhavi,
I would like to know the combination of NAD/MA that you are using. I thought of going for NAD C352or 355 with MA floor standers (RS8). Please let me know what combinations are possible. NAD and MA combination sounded good forme compared to Cambridge Audio 640A/740A & Mordaunt Short 906i, 908i and Mezzo Floor standers, Rotel RA-06 with B & W CM1 combinations.
Also I want to try the combination Rotel RA-1062 with MA RS8 if possible but not sure how.

Thanks
Sethukumar

Hi again,
Mr sethukumar the CM 1 is a very small bookshelf while the MA RS 8 is a large floor stander!!! both amps u are mentioning would be fine with the CM 1 b ut would be totally under powered for the RS 8. The nad and the rotel are very different sounding amps. I know u dont play loud but i would still feel u would need an amp giving about a 100 WPC or more do get the best from the MA RS 8. If ur budget stretches also hear the B&W CM 7. Its a 3 way floorstander which i have heard with NAD C 372(friends place) and it sounded great to my ears.
Regards.

 

[sethunr]

Hi Again,

I'm considering NAD C325BEE (50W/ch) and could you please advice good floor standers/books shelves for this amp? If I go for MA RS8 (which i liked) I may need a more powerful amp which means I have to increase my budget, which I think is not possibleright now. So planning for a lower powered amp.
Also please advice on other amps also in this range and matching speakers.

Regards
Sethukumar

 

[dinyaar]

Hi,
For the Nad C 325 amp i would try the following speakers
1) MA BR 2
2)Epos M 12.2
3)kef iq 5(small Floor stander)
4)B&W 685
5) Quad 11 L
I think the B&W are little overpriced but i still put them on the list. Also instead of the 325 amp if i could get my hand on the older 320 i would grab it. I think a great budget amp for small speakers. Tonally better and cleaner than the 325. Am sure u could demo most of the above speakers in bangalore.
Regards.

 

[particleman]

I'm considering NAD C325BEE (50W/ch) and could you please advice good floor standers/books shelves for this amp?

NAD is usually (and well) paired with PSB speakers, especially the Image range. While the MA RS6 is a favorite for many (myself included), some like the transparent presentation of the PSB Image. You should audition the Image T45 and T55 floorstanders (even the B25 bookshelf).

If you like a transparent presentation like the PSB Image then you have Dynaudio Audience 52/72 as well.

Do not think the MS Avant range will be to your taste, it is a budget speaker -- Mezzo and Performance will probably be a better fit.

Having heard the Quad 22L driven by a restored Quad tube amp, I think it is a fantastic combo for Classical and Jazz.

I believe ProFX has brought the French Focal-JMLab range to India so the Chorus is probably another candidate to consider.

 

[particleman]

Spycatcher & Dinyaar:

Sorry for this being a bit late in the coming but thank you both for sharing your experiences and advice of bringing hi-fi equipment into the country. It was quite enlightening.

 

[sethunr]

Hi dinyaar/smedhavi

After googling on sometime, I found that poeple who like the NAD genere initially moved to the Rotel/Creek geners after some time. So I had a thought and had a discussion with my spouse to strecth our budget and go for the Rotel way thinking that we will not have any upgrades for a long time. But to decide on this I have to have more careful auditioning on the Rotel stuff. Last time I did it in the afternoon after having auditioning of the NAD stuffand and was in a hurry.
Another idea is strecth little further and go for the Creek 5350SE way. I liked the Creek EVO amp which I auditioned sometime back here at Bangalore with some minor complaints.
My idea is to settle on the amp first, purchase it, carry it to different speakers and finalise on the speakers. For CDP I'm still thinking on the Cambridge Audio Azur 740C as it has got Wolfon DACs on both the cahnnels and 24bit/384kHz upsampling. HiFi New (Hi-Fi News) had a review on the following CD players (July 2007) Arcam CD73, CA Azur 740C, Creek Evo CDP and Marantz SA7001. Out of these they ranked with the following percentages on sound like this: 65,85,70 and 60 respectively. But again I need to audition this and checkout.

Please give your comments/suggestions on this.

Thanks in Advance
Sethukumar

 

[dinyaar]

Hi dinyaar/smedhavi

After googling on sometime, I found that poeple who like the NAD genere initially moved to the Rotel/Creek geners after some time. So I had a thought and had a discussion with my spouse to strecth our budget and go for the Rotel way thinking that we will not have any upgrades for a long time. But to decide on this I have to have more careful auditioning on the Rotel stuff. Last time I did it in the afternoon after having auditioning of the NAD stuffand and was in a hurry.
Another idea is strecth little further and go for the Creek 5350SE way. I liked the Creek EVO amp which I auditioned sometime back here at Bangalore with some minor complaints.
My idea is to settle on the amp first, purchase it, carry it to different speakers and finalise on the speakers. For CDP I'm still thinking on the Cambridge Audio Azur 740C as it has got Wolfon DACs on both the cahnnels and 24bit/384kHz upsampling. HiFi New (Hi-Fi News) had a review on the following CD players (July 2007) Arcam CD73, CA Azur 740C, Creek Evo CDP and Marantz SA7001. Out of these they ranked with the following percentages on sound like this: 65,85,70 and 60 respectively. But again I need to audition this and checkout.

Please give your comments/suggestions on this.

Thanks in Advance
Sethukumar

Hi Setu,
If u like the CA 740 go for it. Great specs. Have not heard it though. Have never heard creek so cant comment on that too. Just take ur time, surf the net for more info, check the international prices and then part with ur money. Setu a lot of info available is pure marketing so please make sure u hear ur proposed combo and not go by reviews or our comments. These posts are to help u make a choice but my opinion on sound may be contrary to yours. I always buy speakers first as thats the sound i will hear and then add the electronics that match(to my ears and my pocket).Am also a little surprised that u say people graduate from NAD to ROTEL/CREEK. Actually nad and rotel are both at best budget components and very different tonally. If u go with rotel my suggestion is a RA- 1070 which is 100WPC and sounds more substantial and will drive most speakers. I dont know the local price but the 10 series is better than the current RA 06. Its just been around for long and hence there are no current reviews.I hope i am helping u decide and not confusing u even more.
Regards

 

[skt]

hi Sethu,
If you look for rotel B&W is a good combination, if you are CA fan ( they r good in CD player not that well in amp i guss, may be my taste) go for MS speaker new model speakers are available now hv a try.

any way let me know where you stand now in terms of cd player, amp, speaker and accessories.

Sk.

 

[sethunr]

Hi dinyaar/skt,
Thanks again for your valuable inputs.
When i searched many audio/hi-fi forums I found some people describing their change of taste as a migration from NAD to Rotel/Creek generes. I'm not sure whether it is due to any factore relted to ageing and frequency response of ears,aperhaps may be!
Creek EVO is 85W/Ch entry level amp from Creek audio.I checked this with EPOS M5 BS and it sounded good to me though it was different from NAD and MA combination which is more sweeter!
dinyaar,yes speakers are the interface between us and the electronics and it is sure we have to settle on this first. In this regard I liked the MA RS8 much better than MS Avant 806, 908 and the Mezzo FS speakers. I think I have to check out other stuff like EPOS, Jamo, KEF, Wharfedale, Tannoy, Q Accoustics Floor standers also.
The reason for considering NAD instead of Rotel is the qualities that you people given earlier like clipping is less, more capable of driving the speakers etc. I guess if I have the speakers I like and match with Rotel it would be a good combination (I have to match the CDP also).
I cannot consider B&W as it is well beyond my budget at the moment. I didn'tlike the CA amps (640A and 740A) after I had the comparison between NAD, Rotel and Creek. Even MS speakers also are behind EPOS and MA speakers that I auditioned.
Yes, I understand that this is a tough job to mix and match various compentns matching our taste!
You expert people please continue giving advices and suggestions as I continue to post in this forum with the updates that I have.

Regards
Sethukumar

 

[smedhavi]

Hi Sethu,

The Creek EVO and EPOS M5 combination does sound nice and cute. The husky voices in the mid range sound very dramatic (in a good way). It brought a smile to my face when Venki (at Reference Point, Blr) plugged in these speakers, because I wasn't as impressed by the M22. Unfortunately the sound distorts as soon are you increase the volume even a bit. This system is surely for night time hearing in the bed room. The M22 is good but does not have the same warmth and intimacy in the midrange as M5.

If you really like the MA RS8/NAD sound, and are scaling down because you don't need as much power, why don't you check out MA RS1 and NAD. You might like them as you would get a similar sound with a lower bass. You could also carry the RS1 easily (once you buy them) to the Rotel shop and try them out with the Rotel amp before you finalize on the AMP.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[sethunr]

Hi smedhavi,
Yes i found the problem that you described for the Creek EVO amp. Right now I'm thinking of 2 combinations but I need to audition few other floor standers also like KEF iQ5,iQ7, Wharfedale Diamonds (I guess I'll go for floor standers unless the Book shelf is too good in terms of all over the frequency spectrum).

1. NAD C325BEE/C355 with MA BR2/MA RS6
2. Rotel RA-1062 with MA RS8

I may add more such combinations as i audition more speakers.

Thanks
Sethukumar

 

[smedhavi]

Hi Sethu,

Sounds good. Keep us updated on your interesting journey.

I had checked out KEF iQ5 and iQ9 a couple of times at ProFx (they even copied my demo CDs). iQ5 has less bass than many book shelfs, so I doubt you could buy that after hearing RS8. IQ9 had a better bass extension, but was not too great in terms of detail and clarity. Actually the high frequencies on both these speakers sound quite different from anything else I have heard. So check it out, you might like it.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[sethunr]

Hi,

I have arrived at the following combinations that I have to consider seriously.

1. NAD 355/325 with MA RS6/MA BR2
2. Arcam Diva 70/Arcam CD73 with MA RS6
3. Rotel RA-1062 with Marantz 6001 CDP with MA RS6
4. Marantz 7001 KI/Marantz 6001 CDP

I'm not sure whether any other good combinations can be made like these.Please suggest me if there are so that I don't miss it if its worth considering.

Thanks
Sethukumar

 

[spycatcher]

Hi I have combo no. 4 with the two exceptions - CD 6002 i/o CD6001 and MA BR5 i/o RS6 as I have a smallish room. Let me know if you have any queries on this one.