ESP2009:drummerman:
Good and interesting write-up. I have a similar model marantz, the KI, which I admittedly dont use often but can understand why you like it. I perhaps would'nt compare it with some of the better modern amplifiers I've heard, especially around the price you've auditioned but whether they justify the huge extra expense is another matter. It has a lot to do with how seriously you take your hobby, not least financially.
But I think it's relevant to hear these elevated products in the context of matched system. Old phrase but any link is only as good as the rest of the chain.
I did'nt notice you mentioning the rest of the demo system/s, just worth bearing in mind. In any case, you came away feeling happy with what you have and that can only be a good thing.
Thanks. My thoughts regarding the PM66SE KI Sig vs the three newer and more expensive models I heard yesterday are basically that:
1. The law of diminishing returns on your financial outlay definitely seemed self-evident.
2. For the money, the KI Sig was an absolute bargain.
3. However, as I think about it, what
is the modern equivalent of £500 spent in the 1990s? I think the Marantz retailed for approx £500 back then, which was not cheap, but what would be the equivalent now? Is the Kandy K2, at almost £900, a close equivalent?
I am currently and finally in a fortunate financial position to be comfortable enough to consider spending what many would consider silly money on hi-fi, but the old me sounds a note of caution regarding value for money. One reason for considering a range of options.
I don't know if I misunderstood your comment, or you misunderstood my post, but basically what I did was take my Marantz CD63 KI Sig, KI Sig amp, DacMagic, Spendors and even the cabling from my system. Then all we did was swap the amps in and out. No other components were introduced. I absolutely take onboard the issue of matched items, but firstly I wanted to see if any amp can push my existing kit that bit further in terms of performance, and I am also quite confident that, based on various other comments, both the CDP and the speakers can easily cope with more elevated amplification than I already have.
Anyway, it's all very interesting.
Hi.
Yep, I did understand what you meant.
When I listened to a Naim system, the amplifier did not match well with either a Naim player lower down the range nor a different brand one I use. When matched with the more expensive Naim cdp, it was an altogether different situation. This, nearly £2k player in turn showed up the deficiencies of my own system. - All you need is one bottleneck, whatever that may be. In your case, and I don't mean for one moment to criticise what is obviously a very nicely paired system, it may have been your source/DAC that held the more expensive amplifiers back. It could have been the speakers but having both owned the KI sig player and heard the DACmagic I'd point my finger there.
This is all irrelevant really as I have had the misfortune of hearing some mismatched, expensive products which did not live up to their prices and conversely, a few relatively inexpensive ones which played beyond what I'd expected. On the whole though, a more expensive, well put-together system will almost certainly always be better in ultimate hifi terms than a cheaper, similarely well matched one ... at a price.
Whether the costly one is more enjoyable is debatable. With high price come high expectations. - I read somewhere that we always want 30% more than what we have. If that is true, we're constantly chasing satisfaction ...
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram