what price to pay?

[neo]

2leftears what kind of music do you listen to & what is it the kind of sound that you like??

All dyna's are 4ohms,83db & require loads of power.
I'm using the dyna's 52 with nad 320 bee, 542 cd player, kimber 8tc & hero interconnects. It works well as i don't go beyond normal listing volumes. For some time I had borrowed my friends the krell 400xi & the spk sounded much better.

I agree with dinyaar that on mid hi fi set ups we shouldn’t go beyond a certain limit. If you really wish to go loud then I feel you'll have to get a powerful amp a nad 372 or similar, a clean sounding cd player with a dynamic range of 105db or more & a speaker with arnd 90db sensitivity. Which can tough considering your budget.
Confused???
All the best

 

[2leftears]

Hi, I listen mainly to classic rock, Retro, folk rock and western classical. I presently have a Nakamichi Amplifier 2, Nakamichi Musicbank 4 CDP (bought in 1993 and till date have no complaints) I like clarity and the volume is midway most of the times (when the house is empty)

Maybe?? am asking for a lot in this budget? (is 70-80K not enough??) I think i can surely can find something that sounds good. Has anybody heard the Norge 1000 with Cadence Arita speakers?
(a) Is the Marantz 6002 a clean sounding CDP? (18.5-19K)
(b) MA Silver RS1/ Dyna 52/ Quad 12L/ or ??? (40K)
(c) NAD 372/ Marantz 7001/ CA 640 or ?? (40K)

I can buy any two of the above for now and the third at a later date. I dont want to regret later....if only I had .....and be reminded of it every time i close my eyes to relax and listen to music
HELP!

 

[spycatcher]

Hi I have a Marantz CD 6002 combined with Marantz PM 7001 KI with MA BR5 speakers. To my mind the CD6002 is a well built, clean and articulate player. Low distortion and interference. Music - from Jazz & BLues to Deep Purple sounds super for a 200 Sq feet room size. It also plays MP3s/WMAs so my friends are really happy!

 

[soundofmusic]

Hi

As far as speakers are concern go for Quad 12L , if you are looking for a detailed speakers with clean sound Quad is the one to choose , i didnt like the sound of MA as well as KEF .

The amp its between NAD and Marantz PM 7001 , Nad is a little bit warmer then the Marantz , but sacrifices on the details .
IMO the older amps are far more superior then the latest ones. Try for some good Second hand amps as well.

regards

 

[2leftears]

Thanks for the leads, will listen to the recommendations and get back to you. So am off hunting again.......

 

[dinyaar]

Hi again,
Firstly the Nakamichis are great. The quality of the components allow u to play at the 12'O'clock volume setting. Most modern budget amps have such high gains(to impress u) that u have used max power by that position. CA amps actually dictate what volume u should listen to by turning down the volume when u turn it up!!!!!!!!!! I dont know if the nakamichi has a linear volume control. Maybe that explains it.
The Nad C372 is a good amp and i say this inspite of the terrible reviews it gets. Its difficult to get reasonably articulate 150 WPC of reasonable clarity @ 50K. A 40 WPC arcam costs the same.
Do ur auditioning and buy the speaker u like best.Unfortunately i sold off two pre/power combos of Nad/Rotel which were less than a year old for 50K!!!! per pair.
Regarding the cdp i strongly suggest u buy a marantz only at that price point. Let me tell u from my experience it will shame more expensive players.
Your suggestion for not buying all right now but slowly as finances allow is the most sensible approach.Buying used is also an option.
Lastly if u are playing music @ halfway mark please look for a powerful/stable amp with enough power reserve. Most amps or most electronics fail due to the heating/cooling of components over time and by buying a big amp u are addressing that fact to an extent.
Regards

 

[2leftears]

Hi all, The Nakamichi is a "Harmonic Time Alignment amplifier" what it means I am not sure, but it sounds like it should
Dinyaar, too bad about the Rotel you sold, some lucky guy now owns it. I am leaning towards the Qual 12L but will hear the MA Silver RS1 today before I decide.
The CDP will be the Marantz 6002...Next, then i will work out the amp....guess it will have to be a stable amp seeing my requirements. Know some airline pilots, where should i search for Rotel/ Arcam..amps (U.K, Singapore, Middle east??). Guess, even if i pay the duty it might be cheaper.
Regards, Kunal

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Kunal,
U can buy something better than the Rotel!!!! U could be luckier. If u can get from abroad do so. Plus point is that its much cheaper and minus is the warranty which the distributor here wont endorse. Since all these products are covered only for a year i would take that chance.
Regards

 

[2leftears]

Dinyaar, where can i compare prices and which country is the cheapest...the reason I ask is i will request the Pilot to go straight to that store, give him the exact details of the product and the price to pay.
Is a google product search... a good way to start??
Internationally with a 40-50K budget, what amp should i look for?
The speakers form India and marantz 6002 from the grey market
Regards,
Kunal

 

[neo]

It's sad that you can't audition the tannoys in mumbai. As i feel they'll fit the bill esp looking at your prefrence of sound.

As per your budget the amp as per my rating should be(Though i'm just taking a guess on the international prices.)
1) Primare I30,
2) Creek 5350SE
3) NAD 372.

You'll ve to check out the pricing in dubai or singapore as there is no one good bargain at one place or country as it all depends on the local dealer for a particular brand.I'm sure friends on this forum will be able to share their exp on this front.

May be you can get the cd player as well from abroad.

I belive you are building your second system, from what i've noticed is that building a second system is very tough & confusing as one starts geting the maturity of sound, brands etc. Usally one always goes overboard with the budget, most people end up spending more than double.
All the best.
Cheers.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Kunal,
YA seems a good option to buy speakers locally, cdp from grey or even official.(3year warranty on marantz)
Singapore is best place to my mind. I dont know shops but google it and am sure u will get leads.
Amps to consider would be:-
Primare I 30 but even in sgpore it will cost about 70K
Marantz 15SI about 60K sgpore
Rotel RA 1070 about 45/50K(since u like to play loud!!!!!)
Nad C162/C272 @ 55K(great vfm and good grip and drive just not the most detailed)
I have not suggested any low powered amps as ur requirement is different. The primare has the best tonality, the marantz runs it close, the rotel is very robust and loves to play loud and this nad pair comes closest to what nad offered a few years ago.
Regards.

 

[2leftears]

Hi all, am checking out prices in U.K, Singapore and Dubai. Neo you are dead right, i have almost doubled my budget over the last one month...
Heard the MA Silver RS1...they were the best amongst what I have heard as yet, (Quad 12L a close second, but yet to hear the Dyna 42/52 or the Missions)
Can anybody tell me if the Marantz 7001/ 7001 KI will suit my requirements?
Regards

 

[unleash_me]

...Can anybody tell me if the Marantz 7001/ 7001 KI will suit my requirements?

Yes. May be morethan anything else mentioned here! OK that is a bold statement, but do give it an audition, am sure you will like 'em.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi kunal,

The Marantz`SA 7001 and the KI version are fantastic.Will suit many people even those with a higher budget.
Regards

 

[2leftears]

Thanks all, I will hear the Marantz 7001 and 7001 KI with the MA RS 1 speakers and Marantz 6002 CD Player. (all the three are priced well in India and within my budget)
The Cambridge Audio, I am giving it a skip.
Will like to give a chance to the NAD 372 also....with PSB Image25.
Hear out Dyna 52/ Epos/Mission....
Check prices in Singapore.....

So little time....so much to do.
Regards.

 

[Nevil]

Hi, the Dynas are your speakers...and if you come to Pune check out Arita and In bangalore the Dali Ikon 2.
Amps with Dyan- Exposure 2010 or Cyrus 8v or Rotel 1070...anything lesser the Dynas wont sing.
Get a pair of speaker stands...i havent seen you looking for them and lastly for the CD Player...the Marantz 7001/ Rotel CD 1070/ Cambridge Audio 840 should fit your bill.
Regards,
Nev

 

[Nevil]

P.S. Look at the Creek 5350S also.

 

[2leftears]

Hi all, Heard the MA RS1 and the Quad 12L....to me the Quad's sounded better. Can anybody tell me where I can hear the EPOS/ Dyana's in Mumbai. Are the Elac and Paradigm bookshelves worth considering?
So many choices...the confusion continues...towards the amp and CDP i am looking at Marantz, If i get a good deal on the KI then the issue is sealed.
Regards

 

[gopi]

Hi, Checking this site after quite some time and was excited to see a post that reflects my situation as of a year back. I have been searching all around for that perfect match. I started from a budget of 30k and ended probably around the same budget which you are looking into right now. I own a Monitor B2 and Rotel RA-04. I did go through a wide range of components in the last 1 year and did that in multiple cities and did quite some A/B comparisons carrying my equipments to the stores (huge sigh). The problem being in India is that you never get to audition all the things and almost never in an ideally intended manner as a complete system. Anyway, long story short - these are the impressions I have of my system and of some of the choices you are looking for. Please see if some of my experiences will help you and I really hope so. MA B2 is really good. But definetly its more of a great VFM than saying that as a standalone speaker you will be wow about it. But then again my cousin thinks its awesome. But for me, there is still quite some things that needs to be right for the speaker to become wow. I have heard Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, Mordaunt Short 902i, Paradigm Atom, Mission M32i, Energy, Klipsch etc which are cheaper but not the Quad ones, though I came pretty close on Quad. B2 was a clear winner for my tastes. Rotel, is very good. I have heard NAD C352 with B2, Rotel with B2 and Marantz 7001 and this is what I can say. Rotel, like most of them say gives you more detail than NAD. It just sounds quite a lot cleaner. I found Marantz to be laid back as well. If you needed your music bit upfront, definetly Rotel with MA B2 gets that done. But, the bass is more prominent in NAD than Rotel or Marantz. I really wanted the NAD bass with rest of the Rotel. Marantz is more of in between NAD and Rotel without giving too much bass and also, a warm signature with as detailed as Rotel. I liked the Rotel sound while my cousin liked the NAD sound. Since, in some earlier post you said that the pair with NAD was very warm and you didnt like that, then I believe you will like Rotel more. Prior to this I had Marantz 4001 with MA B2 and sold it off immediately, (for 10k thats all I could manage) because it couldn't just drive the B2. I immediately noticed that when I paired it with a NAD C352 it was like suddenly B2 felt so free. The power difference was so obvious. But, I read tons of reviews and went instead with a Rotel RA04 which is just rated 40W. I have to say, that 40W was quite a lot. I never had to listen to more than 10'o clock position. As far as the CD player, I had a cheap Philips DVD player and did an A/B comparison with Cambridge Audio 640C V2. Yes, the difference was there. But, including 5 other guys in the store and myself said just one thing. The philips player is pretty good. For the price difference, 3k vs 21k - 7 times different - no way. I am not recommending you a philips dvd player, but just that for the difference of CD players to be more apparant, you need to really step up the rest. The "divide the cash by 3" rule cannot be applied for the entire money spectrum. You would do perfectly fine with a 20k CD player amidst more costly amplifiers and speakers. In fact, I have since then ditched the idea of a CD player, because my music has a huge mp3 part to it, now I have an external DAC doing the job for me instead of a CD player. I have a 3k DAC that stacks up with a 15k Marantz DVD player. I couldn't tell any difference except for a slight noise floor issue which was because of some noisy power supply. I will upgrade that and can eliminate that as well.
So my recommendations are: Fix your budget. You can always keep bumping them and you will never complete. Allocate to speakers and amplifier more than the CD player. If you are into mp3 music think of the DAC route. It can work wonders killing many CD players and also, saving you a lot of money. As far as the speakers, Monitor BR2 is very good and they go low than most of the speakers around this price range (42Hz) . This was a crucial factor for me, as I needed a bookshelf that go low and be good. For me, infact BR2 itself left me a bit needed in the bass department. So, be aware of that. Dyna's really need power. At 4ohms and 83 db compared to 6 ohms 90db of RS1 - there is simply no comparison on the drivability. Yes, you can run Dyna's with a low powered amp. Like somebody earlier said NAD320bee drives it, but Krell400xi makes it sing. So, if you go Dyna route then you need to get the next league of amps for it to be used. So, with a 70k budget I don't think Dyna will be a good bet. If you listen to in high volumes, is it because of a huge room or because that you might not be critically sitting and listening to it.
On a sidenote, Unfortunately, I am going to sell my Monitor B2 and Rotel RA04 - both 3 months old and brand new and in mint condition , since I am permanently moving abroad. I am based out on Hyderabad and anybody can give a call and drop in for a free audition. I got B2 from the local dealer with full warranty and got the Rotel RA04 lot cheaper than the quoted price in India, since I got it from Singapore.
Please note that I just gave my honest opinions above and wasn't trying to make the above as an advertisement for my sell.
This is my first post here and if I have done something against the rules I am sorry about that.

 

[smedhavi]

Hi Gopi,

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Can you also provide more details regarding your external DAC? Which make and model is it?

Thanks,
Sharad