Integrated amp for Paradigm Titan v.6

[ruenigma]

In my infinite stupidity I ended up owning the speakers I liked and pairing them up with an AVR (Denon 1611).

I needed good stereo and family needed an AVR for the plethora of gaming and HT needs. Heresy in this section, I know.

So now after my incessant whining for over an year the better half has finally allowed me to get a stereo amplifier.

So here I am. The hunt starts this weekend. The budget is around 35-40K including speaker cables and interconnects. +- 10% (I know It'll end up on the plus side anyway)


Here's my little homework.
Source: NAS -> Passively Cooled SSD Laden PC -> Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1 / Xonar DX -> <Put the Amp Here> -> Paradigm Titan Monitor v.6

I would like to have an amp which would let me use the D1s Tube Pre stage but its not a must, I guess an integrated at around 35 would certainly have a better pre-stage than the DAC.

Music Preferences: Mostly New Age - Enigma, Enya, Era, Waterbone, Carbon Based Life Forms, Klaus Schulze and the likes. Rock - Floyd, Sting, Led Zapp, Steely Dan the works. And not to forget Ghazals and Indian Classical as well as Oldies.

No TT in the house, and hence MM/MC is not a priority. Will invest in the Phono stages separately when needed.

I am not aware of the brands available in India and am prepared to toil it out in auditions.

So fellow Paradigm Titan owners and other masters please chime in.

PS: I am in Pune.

 

[ruenigma]

UPDATE:

Had an audition of 2 Integrated amplifiers yesterday .Came away with mixed feelings.

1. This was a totally new sales team for me. I had never interacted with the Aquarius folks before and boy were they helpful. Behram (the owner) had spoken to me over the phone and had the Paradigm Titans ready for an audition since I own those.
2. We (I and a very good friend/colleague/mentor/fellow audiophile) reached the shop after a hectic day at a prospect's location, so were unfortunately without our favorite audition content. Nonetheless, we had most of the stuff on the iPhone (FLAC 16/44) and a few CDs that Behram had.

Behram only had two integrateds available there, Marantz 5004 and Denon PMA 710.

Marantz 5004:
Almost half of my budget so any comments on this baby will be unfair but still...
This was "shrill" with the Paradigms. It tried its best to sound musical and did succeed whenever there were lower mids involved. The problem of this combination was evident. The already sharp tweeters of the Paradigms were fed another "musicality" of the Marantz and it wasn't musical in the end. Where the marantz did exceptionally well for its price-tag and 40wpc prowess is the mids. That was the among sweetest I've heard the Titans sing. The opening notes of Dean Peer's Tundra (Stereophile Test Disc 3) a strong heady strumming was rendered beautifully. The sax in Alan Parson's Eye In The Sky was brilliant too. In Eye In The Sky Track 1 Sirius though the Marantz felt underpowered and lacking to overall command the mighty Tatans.
The overall experience leaves me very hopeful that the bigger bothers in the Marantz family will definitely do better so I've not yet given up on them. I just cant get the way they rendered the mids with the Titans out of my head.

Denon 710:
Considering I have a substantial Denon Ecosystem (HT) in the house I was looking forward to this. Turned out to be a huge disappointment. Even priced 1.5 times more than the Marantz 5004 as well as with a higher rated power it failed to deliver on all counts against the Marantz. The lows were distorted moderately high volumes the opening drums of Enigma 7 Lives Many Faces were heavily distorted as against the mellow texture of the Marantz.

On Wednesday Behram is bringing in another French brand which I've never heard before (Heard "of" but never heard). Advanced Acoustic. I'll be auditioning their MAP102 (80WPC) model. Let's see what it has to offer?

Anyone with experiences with their gear?

 

[Gerry_the_Merry]

How are you able to play FLAC on iPhone?

 

[ruenigma]

How are you able to play FLAC on iPhone?

Off topic but "There's an app for that" App Store - FLAC Player

 

[iaudio]

ruenigma, a forum member from Mumbai I believe,'mpw' has the same speakers and was setting up a stereo rig. You could look for his inputs on the same. If you felt the Marantz-Titans combo was bright, most probably,CA amps would also be out of consideration.
Why dont you try auditioning it with a NAD integrated like the 326? Highs would be fatigue free in most cases, also you can connect your D1s pre to it.

 

[Flash]

Hi Ruenigma,

Do let me know when u are going to audition the Advanced Acoustic Amp at Behram;s . would love to tag along .
Ive heard good things about Advance Acoustic.

Cheers

UPDATE:

Had an audition of 2 Integrated amplifiers yesterday .Came away with mixed feelings.

1. This was a totally new sales team for me. I had never interacted with the Aquarius folks before and boy were they helpful. Behram (the owner) had spoken to me over the phone and had the Paradigm Titans ready for an audition since I own those.
2. We (I and a very good friend/colleague/mentor/fellow audiophile) reached the shop after a hectic day at a prospect's location, so were unfortunately without our favorite audition content. Nonetheless, we had most of the stuff on the iPhone (FLAC 16/44) and a few CDs that Behram had.

Behram only had two integrateds available there, Marantz 5004 and Denon PMA 710.

Marantz 5004:
Almost half of my budget so any comments on this baby will be unfair but still...
This was "shrill" with the Paradigms. It tried its best to sound musical and did succeed whenever there were lower mids involved. The problem of this combination was evident. The already sharp tweeters of the Paradigms were fed another "musicality" of the Marantz and it wasn't musical in the end. Where the marantz did exceptionally well for its price-tag and 40wpc prowess is the mids. That was the among sweetest I've heard the Titans sing. The opening notes of Dean Peer's Tundra (Stereophile Test Disc 3) a strong heady strumming was rendered beautifully. The sax in Alan Parson's Eye In The Sky was brilliant too. In Eye In The Sky Track 1 Sirius though the Marantz felt underpowered and lacking to overall command the mighty Tatans.
The overall experience leaves me very hopeful that the bigger bothers in the Marantz family will definitely do better so I've not yet given up on them. I just cant get the way they rendered the mids with the Titans out of my head.

Denon 710:
Considering I have a substantial Denon Ecosystem (HT) in the house I was looking forward to this. Turned out to be a huge disappointment. Even priced 1.5 times more than the Marantz 5004 as well as with a higher rated power it failed to deliver on all counts against the Marantz. The lows were distorted moderately high volumes the opening drums of Enigma 7 Lives Many Faces were heavily distorted as against the mellow texture of the Marantz.

On Wednesday Behram is bringing in another French brand which I've never heard before (Heard "of" but never heard). Advanced Acoustic. I'll be auditioning their MAP102 (80WPC) model. Let's see what it has to offer?

Anyone with experiences with their gear?

 

[sonosphere]

Hi ruenigma,
In case you haven't already checked this... see my observations reg Titans here >> http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/...m-titan-7-quad-12l2-ma-rs1-usher-v-601-a.html

Though I haven't heard the Titan's paired with Marantz I would have guessed the same outcome as described in your experience. My experience with Denon 500 /700 series has been again similar to your's... in other words: underwhelming (coincidentally, at Behram's place).

Since Titan's are mildly bright, your Tube-DAC ought to match well with them. Generally speaking I would have suggested NAD 326 integrated to pair with Titan's but considering the maverick is already (supposedly) laid-back, the Titan's may end up sounding dull on both ends of spectrum. So my first recommendation would be Marantz amp again, but try for bigger brother like Marantz PM7001 to get some muscle in bass.

2nd recommendation: NAD 326

Of course, make final decision only after audition of above amps with your Tube-DAC and favorite music collection.
(Future upgrade alert: Irrespective of whichever amp you finally choose, you'll soon be wondering whether the maverick DAC is the weak link and holding back full potential of Titans ... Sorry if this unsettles you)

Regds,

 

[srinisundar]

I have paradigm Titan Monitor and paired with Music hall a25.2 / CD63SE & NAS/Popocorn hour combo to hear only Music and it is sounding Perfect for me and also paired with my NAD 314 and it is fine but slightly dull, may be i felt amp could not drive the speaker like. But i like the combo of Music hall a25.2 with Paradigm. For me it is an good upgrade and happy with the bass and throw of music.

Do not abuse me I connected with my AVR Marantz 7002 also and it is also not that bad. Forgot about the brightness, it is musical. So with little bit adjustments it will go with Marantz Int Amp. I suggest to have an demo of the typical Marantz combo pair which is in deals section or higher series. But no doubt Titan need more power.

I am yet to try with my squeezebox touch, since travelling a little bit.

Regards

 

[ruenigma]

Hi ruenigma,
In case you haven't already checked this... see my observations reg Titans here >> http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/...m-titan-7-quad-12l2-ma-rs1-usher-v-601-a.html

Thank you sonosphere. I pretty much agree on your observations having lived with the Titans for an year now.

Since Titan's are mildly bright, your Tube-DAC ought to match well with them. Generally speaking I would have suggested NAD 326 integrated to pair with Titan's but considering the maverick is already (supposedly) laid-back, the Titan's may end up sounding dull on both ends of spectrum. So my first recommendation would be Marantz amp again, but try for bigger brother like Marantz PM7001 to get some muscle in bass.

I am actually looking forward to listen that pair. I haven't given up on Marantz yet. Honestly the mids were the best I've heard with on the Titans thanks to the Marantz. As of now Behram is yet to arrange the big brother due to Diwali rush.

2nd recommendation: NAD 326

The fun part about the NAD recommendations is I am totally open to it. However since I'd always have a 315BEE at my disposal I am looking for a better (different?) sound signature which could do better than the NAD. The NAD kind of tries to do everything well but in the process rounds off most highs and ends up being soothing but not necessarily musical. The marantz on the other hand did sound musical albeit a little strained (power?) and hence brighter.

If the 7003 fails to do better I might as well go ahead and invest in the C326.

(Future upgrade alert: Irrespective of whichever amp you finally choose, you'll soon be wondering whether the maverick DAC is the weak link and holding back full potential of Titans ... Sorry if this unsettles you)

It does not unsettle me.
I've graduated from onboard->nVidia SoundStorm-> Audigy Value-> Audigy Platinum (KS20) -> Xonar -> D1 and HRT MSII so have had my share of upgraditis.

But I always have the option of going to the HRT when I feel the D1 is too mellow.

@iAudio: Thanks, will PM him/her with this thread, so that he/she can chime in here.

@Flash: I am expecting a call tomorrow to confirm the audition on Wednesday. HAve PM'ed you my number lets talk tomorrow to finalize the schedule. Would love to be with a fellow audiophile, couple ears better than mine would come handy

 

[ruenigma]

I have paradigm Titan Monitor and paired with Music hall a25.2 / CD63SE & NAS/Popocorn hour combo to hear only Music and it is sounding Perfect for me and also paired with my NAD 314 and it is fine but slightly dull, may be i felt amp could not drive the speaker like. But i like the combo of Music hall a25.2 with Paradigm. For me it is an good upgrade and happy with the bass and throw of music.

Do not abuse me I connected with my AVR Marantz 7002 also and it is also not that bad. Forgot about the brightness, it is musical. So with little bit adjustments it will go with Marantz Int Amp. I suggest to have an demo of the typical Marantz combo pair which is in deals section or higher series. But no doubt Titan need more power.
Regards

Sorry Srini I missed your post. Thanks for the feedback. Who sells the Music hall in India? How much did you pay for it?

 

[ruenigma]

Update time folks!

After listening to sonosphere's NAD C320 paired with my Titans and the DAC+Pre duties done by the Tubemagic D1 at the Pune HFV meet, it was a no-brainer. Picked up the NAD C326BEE today and a pair of Audioquest G-Snake ICs. Thanks to everyone who chimed in, and especially to sonosphere, Viki, mubeen, Flash, Sachin and Askii for the kind audition at 10:00 PM no less.

 

[Santy]

Well even I wanted to audition Sono's NADc320 but it was too late!
Congrats Sarang. Its a great choice and I am sure you will enjoy better music for days to come...