Advice on upgrade of Sony Amp and Philips CD Player

[penfold_001]

Hi,

My current setup is the following and I'm looking for some advice.

Sources:

Mission 775LC Turntable with Shure M75E cartridge

Philips CD-582 CD Player

Tangent DAB/FM Tuner

Pure Digital i20 Dock (For my iPod Classic)

Interconnects:

Cambridge Audio Pacific

QED

Amplification:

Sony TA-FE370 Amplifier

Speakers:

Tannoy Mercury MX3 Floor Standers with QED Original Speaker cable.

I am looking to upgrade the amplifier and the CD player.

The amp was purchased as cheap "stopgap" that has now been there for a year or two.

It is definitely "entry-level" and I don't think it does my Mission TT or the Tannoy speakers justice.

The Philips CD player is only the second that I've ever owned and is getting a little long in the tooth. Although it still works perfectly well I'm wondering about a change.

My musical tastes are mainly pop/rock with little classical thrown in. I've got a good budget of about £1000.

Many thanks in advance!

Shaun

 

[matthewpiano]

For that money you could consider the Rega Apollo-R and Brio-R. A great combination which will withstand future upgrades in your speakers and, as a bonus, the small form factor means they don't dominate a room.

 

[hoopsontoast]

With a budget of £1k, I would keep the sources, and spend the money on an amp and speaker combo, there is a lot of choice. You will get a bigger change with the Amp/Speaker swap than an CDP/Amp swap IME.

A seperate DAC may be a better bet rather than a new CDP though as long as the Phillips has a Digital Out and the transport works fine (sounds like it does).

For example, I have a Denon PMA-2000AE and Acoustic Energy AE2's for under £700. FWIW, I use an old Philips CD-850 and dont really see the point of changine it anytime soon.

I have both used some of the older but good Sony ES amps like the TA-F670ES and TA-F770ES which are very good value at around £150 and £300 respectively if you wanted to explore some better Sony amps.

There are a lot of S/H speakers out there that would be a lot better than the Tannoys.

Whats you room size, listening volumes and music tastes?

 

[penfold_001]

Thanks for your suggestions guys.

I've always had a fondness for Rega kit, which stems from the fact that I knew Roy Kandy when I was a teenager (I went to school with his son).

The fact that the BRIO-R will have a nice phono stage is certainly a big plus point in it's favour.

A DAC is a good suggestion as well, The Rega DAC would be a good option too.

I quite like my Tannoys at the moment, so I think I will keep them. Although the upgrade bug is starting to bite.

As always the possibilites are endless!

Thanks,

Shaun

 

[hoopsontoast]

Plenty of cheaper Rega speakers, R3's go for around £200, Jura ~£150 and R1's a bit less. Would be a very good match for a BrioR. You can pick up a Brio3 for around £200 as well as a cheaper option.

I would not write of the older Rega electronics as well, the orginal Planet was a lovely little thing.

If the MX3's are anything like the MX1's (I had a pair for a while) then you can do a lot better, like the Rega speakers for example.

 

[penfold_001]

Hey Guys!

Thought I'd post an update (I know it has been a while).

Went to see my local dealer (The excellent P.J. Hi Fi in Guildford, Surrey).

Auditioned the Brio-R and Apollo-R along with the B&W 684 Floorstanders.

A very excellent combination, which sounded great!

My wife was concerned with the size of the B&W's, so we also tried some Neat Motive 2 and Spendor A5's.

As soon as the Spendor A5's were attached we were both grinning from ear to ear! The combination sounded fantastic.

The bass was well defined and controlled but not over powering. We listened with Rock, Pop, Choral works. Nothing seemed to phase it at the modest volume levels we will be listening at. We both heard things in our favorite pieces we hadn't heard before.

I know the Spendors are £1500 but the little Brio-R was not overwhelmed at all and the whole combination sounded great. Even though the Spendors are not the most sensitive speakers out there, I never felt the Brio-R was struggling.

So, I left the shop slightly poorer than I anticipated but very happy with my purchases.

Thanks for all your help and advice.