I am currently trying to decide what to buy for my first major hi-fi system.
Yesterday I got to demo some equipment and it was a real experience!
I tried out three sets of B&W speakers (685, 684 and CM7) partnered with a Rotel RA-06 Amp and matching CD player.
The 685 sounded great with everything I threw at it. For a variety of CDs it delivered a consistent, quality sound.
Next came the 685s... I put on some Classical Music (Steve Reich) and all of a sudden the extra bass of these floor standers created a much more dramatic and moving sound. After moving on to some other music however, I became a little disappointed with them. The bass was over powering on the Sigur Ros tracks. There was a very full sound but the extra bass resulted in a lack of clarity and definition. It was muddy. I would have not expected this from a 5star speaker at this price level.
The CM7, is the most expensive speaker, but it is clear why! Tracks that sounded muddy on the 685s became very clear, and tracks that sounded lovely on the 684s acquired a whole new dimension of sound. Listening to them was a fantastic experience. I had hoped to buy something like the 685 but after hearing the CM7s I think my initial budget is going to be stretched somehow as I am seriously considering getting the CM7s.
Unfortunately the local B&W dealers have a very limited choice of Amps. I was very happy with the sound of the £950 CM7s and £485 Rotel RA-06 Amp but What-Hi Fi did not consider it a 5 start product. Could there be a cheaper Amp that would deliver a similar sound... or perhaps there is a similarly priced amp that would sound even better! There is a 2nd hand Roksan Kandy MkIII Amp being sold in another shop for just £250 would this be a worthy alternative? As I would not be able to test the 2 out together would it be worth the risk?
Are there any other Amps you recommend?
I play some records so a phono stage would be nice and I do not play music at an extremely high volume so the Amp does not need a huge amount of power.
One quick question to tag on at the end... I intend this to be a mostly digital music system. Is Dacmagic the way to go or is there anything better worth considering? £350 is my budget for a DAC.
Thanks for all your advice!
Yesterday I got to demo some equipment and it was a real experience!
I tried out three sets of B&W speakers (685, 684 and CM7) partnered with a Rotel RA-06 Amp and matching CD player.
The 685 sounded great with everything I threw at it. For a variety of CDs it delivered a consistent, quality sound.
Next came the 685s... I put on some Classical Music (Steve Reich) and all of a sudden the extra bass of these floor standers created a much more dramatic and moving sound. After moving on to some other music however, I became a little disappointed with them. The bass was over powering on the Sigur Ros tracks. There was a very full sound but the extra bass resulted in a lack of clarity and definition. It was muddy. I would have not expected this from a 5star speaker at this price level.
The CM7, is the most expensive speaker, but it is clear why! Tracks that sounded muddy on the 685s became very clear, and tracks that sounded lovely on the 684s acquired a whole new dimension of sound. Listening to them was a fantastic experience. I had hoped to buy something like the 685 but after hearing the CM7s I think my initial budget is going to be stretched somehow as I am seriously considering getting the CM7s.
Unfortunately the local B&W dealers have a very limited choice of Amps. I was very happy with the sound of the £950 CM7s and £485 Rotel RA-06 Amp but What-Hi Fi did not consider it a 5 start product. Could there be a cheaper Amp that would deliver a similar sound... or perhaps there is a similarly priced amp that would sound even better! There is a 2nd hand Roksan Kandy MkIII Amp being sold in another shop for just £250 would this be a worthy alternative? As I would not be able to test the 2 out together would it be worth the risk?
Are there any other Amps you recommend?
I play some records so a phono stage would be nice and I do not play music at an extremely high volume so the Amp does not need a huge amount of power.
One quick question to tag on at the end... I intend this to be a mostly digital music system. Is Dacmagic the way to go or is there anything better worth considering? £350 is my budget for a DAC.
Thanks for all your advice!
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