Listening music through AVR = my biggest mistake!

[avink]

I was happily listening to music through my Denon2312 AVR and wharf 9.2(part of 5.1 setup) untill...I recently picked up a JBL C1+Toping TP20 combo from a FM. This was for my second room. I thought let me just hook up the Amp with my wharfs and see the diff and ..WoW! I was dumbstruck ..the wharfs suddenly opened up , the soundstage became crisper and well defined. The vocals became livelier and clearer. I use to read about one should have a separate Amp(not AVR) for music but little did I realize that what mistake I was doing by not getting a dedicated Amp. The wharfs are little too heavy for TP20 and I have to keep the knob full but even then it was such a difference. I found the TP little bit on the brighter side which I think makes vocals little more prominent but I really liked it. So far I have using my Samsung Note II as source , which I heard has a relatively decent DAC in phones.

Obviously, I am on a lookout for an Amp. I am lookign at Marantz PM5004. I am convinced that I need a little brighter Amp and I have read that Marantz are little bright. There is a good deal on HiFimart(its a combo deal but I plan to use those BA speakers separately) and I am keen on picking it up to power my Wharf 9.2. Would it match?

PS: The source for now will be my HTPC (with ASUS AMD A85X MB onboard sound card). But I may eventually buy a DAC in about 6m/ 1yr time frame.

 

[jkarthik]

Marantz are on the warmer side. If you want bright then go for the brands like Cambridge audio, Nad etc.

Speaker - Qacoustics 2010i,2020,2020i, PSB Alpha1, Mission MX1,MX2... Better than BA.

 

[thampi]

marantz pm 6004&pm6005 are better choice .if you can raise the budget ,go for cyrus 6a.receivers are intended for movies only.

 

[rohitmusic]

I am lookign at Marantz PM5004. I am convinced that I need a little brighter Amp and I have read that Marantz are little bright.

Irrespective of which amp you get please first ask yourself following questions:
1. What kind of music you like?
2. Duration of your music listening? (If you listen for long hours then brighter amps will give you ear fatigue where as warmer sound is more forgiving) A good idea is to try to keep system as neutral as possible. Neither too bright nor too warm.

 

[rohitmusic]

Marantz are on the warmer side. If you want bright then go for the brands like Cambridge audio, Nad etc.

I think you meant the reverse.
Bright: Marantz, CA
Warm: NAD

 

[vnmathur57]

Its related to other factors also. I have both AVR & Amp and sometimes I connect the amp for listening to music only. The difference in SQ is there but not so great. May be because of my AMP which is not that good. AMP-speaker matching is important and I think in this case, OP's TP-20 has matched well with the Wharfs.

 

[asliarun]

I was happily listening to music through my Denon2312 AVR and wharf 9.2(part of 5.1 setup) untill...I recently picked up a JBL C1+Toping TP20 combo from a FM. This was for my second room. I thought let me just hook up the Amp with my wharfs and see the diff and ..WoW! I was dumbstruck ..the wharfs suddenly opened up , the soundstage became crisper and well defined. The vocals became livelier and clearer. I use to read about one should have a separate Amp(not AVR) for music but little did I realize that what mistake I was doing by not getting a dedicated Amp. The wharfs are little too heavy for TP20 and I have to keep the knob full but even then it was such a difference. I found the TP little bit on the brighter side which I think makes vocals little more prominent but I really liked it. So far I have using my Samsung Note II as source , which I heard has a relatively decent DAC in phones.

Obviously, I am on a lookout for an Amp. I am lookign at Marantz PM5004. I am convinced that I need a little brighter Amp and I have read that Marantz are little bright. There is a good deal on HiFimart(its a combo deal but I plan to use those BA speakers separately) and I am keen on picking it up to power my Wharf 9.2. Would it match?

PS: The source for now will be my HTPC (with ASUS AMD A85X MB onboard sound card). But I may eventually buy a DAC in about 6m/ 1yr time frame.

Interesting.

I have a very interesting question for you - Can you please try and use your
AVR as a preamp? In other words, feed your AVR preamp out to the Topping.

Most AVRs typically become feature heavy on the preamp side, while sacrificing the power amp section.

I am really curious to know if it is *only* the power section that lets an AVR down (in terms of music quality).

 

[avink]

Interesting.

I have a very interesting question for you - Can you please try and use your
AVR as a preamp? In other words, feed your AVR preamp out to the Topping.

Most AVRs typically become feature heavy on the preamp side, while sacrificing the power amp section.

I am really curious to know if it is *only* the power section that lets an AVR down (in terms of music quality).

Interesting thought..Will try it out and share the result.

 

[sups]

I was happily listening to music through my Denon2312 AVR and wharf 9.2(part of 5.1 setup) untill...I recently picked up a JBL C1+Toping TP20 combo from a FM.

Use TP20 with JBL C1 and not with wharf. You might get another level of surprise about what this combo can do.

I am sure you will be have to spend much more to match the effect of TP20+JBL C1. So, audition please before a blind buy.

 

[avink]

Actually I was indeed listening to JBL+TP and that is how I will eventually use them in another room.

Pairing TP20 with wharfs was for testing purposes. That is when I discovered that the Amp really opened up the wharfs. That's why I am looking to add an Amp to my main setup (Wharf 9.2 fronts for stereo music).

 

[Audio_Freek]

Marantz are on the warmer side. If you want bright then go for the brands like Cambridge audio, Nad etc.

Speaker - Qacoustics 2010i,2020,2020i, PSB Alpha1, Mission MX1,MX2... Better than BA.

Na Na Na.. CA,Onkyo,Yamaha,Rotel are on Brighter side and NAD is warm

 

[Audio_Freek]

Actually I was indeed listening to JBL+TP and that is how I will eventually use them in another room.

Pairing TP20 with wharfs was for testing purposes. That is when I discovered that the Amp really opened up the wharfs. That's why I am looking to add an Amp to my main setup (Wharf 9.2 fronts for stereo music).

CA or Marantz cannot go wrong with Wharf's. I would try the Yamaha \CA\Onkyo with Whrafs.

All the best,

 

[spirovious]

Yamaha amps match well with Wahrf. Aslo Rotel can sound better.Try listening.

 

[BLASTO]

Actually if you like TP, why not get one more?
Why do you need other amps?

 

[kanna.sridharan]

Obviously, I am on a lookout for an Amp. I am lookign at Marantz PM5004. I am convinced that I need a little brighter Amp and I have read that Marantz are little bright. There is a good deal on HiFimart(its a combo deal but I plan to use those BA speakers separately) and I am keen on picking it up to power my Wharf 9.2. Would it match?

Hi,

This very same thing happened to me, I had a similar setup as yours (Marantz AVR, Dia 9.2, Dia 9.CS, Dia 10DFS & SWF150) and thought it was doing justice to music, I was all wrong when I tried my NAD 326 BEE (which I had bought to use with my computer setup) connected the Dia 9.2 to it and wow I never knew that these speakers could perform so differently, it felt like after 4 years, my speakers had come alive. A stereo amplifier makes a lot of difference, AVR's are built with a lot of budget constraints and to put in all the latest decoding stuff in, the power handling capacities are so misleading. Maybe when you go upwards in your budget say around 4+, you would get musical AVR's.

After listening to NAD & 9.2 combo, I sold all my equipment at the beginning of this year and after a lot of auditioning, I've bought a stereo setup and its coming home today, really excited..

I've paired the Dia 9.2 with the CA 650 and the NAD 326 - liked both the amps, found the NAD better to my taste. Whatever you buy, always get to audition them first, never buy a HIFI gear without an audition, reviews and specs are there to guide, but nothing beats our EAR's, my very small experience but made a lot of difference.

Cheers & good luck

 

[jkarthik]

@rohitmusic
@Audio_Freek
Thanks

 

[sam9s]

I am using my Denon AVR with polk Tsi 330 for music, does anyone think getting a TP20 with polk will really make a difference ... ???

 

[avink]

I am using my Denon AVR with polk Tsi 330 for music, does anyone think getting a TP20 with polk will really make a difference ... ???

Based on my experience, I think it will make a difference.

Since you are in NCR, you can try out my TP20 on your setup and decide. Let me know if you want to borrow it.

 

[avink]

Actually if you like TP, why not get one more?
Why do you need other amps?

I still feel that it doesn't have enough power for 9.2s. E.g. when I switch to another source(other than Note II) the volume really drops. The input sesitivity of TP20 is 200 mV.

 

[avink]

Interesting.

I have a very interesting question for you - Can you please try and use your
AVR as a preamp? In other words, feed your AVR preamp out to the Topping.

Most AVRs typically become feature heavy on the preamp side, while sacrificing the power amp section.

I am really curious to know if it is *only* the power section that lets an AVR down (in terms of music quality).

I tried this. Hooked up my AVR's preouts (via zone 2) to TP20 but couldn't make out the diff in SQ.. the volume was really low. Seems like AVR's preouts don't output much voltage. But the fact that I could use Denon as preamp(with compatible Amp) was good to know. But I also got to know that most of Denon AVRs(except for few high-end) don't support preamp for digital inputs. So I won't be able to use the Denon's DAC in my case.