Hi guys,
I am looking to upgrade my amp and speakers in the near future and am looking for some advice, please. Unfortunately, I moved home (and country) a few years ago and my geographical location now rules out auditioning components as I have done previously, and so it's a little "uncomfortable" figuring out what I want.
The system I am looking too replace is quite old and on the lower end of the budget scale - Yamaha A-S500 and Monitor Audio BX2 Bronze bookshelf speakers. This combo has that "sparkle" which I didn't get from the others I auditioned, and so I am looking to keep that kind of sound.
I am running a Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) as my source and am interested in pairing it with a CXA81 MkII.
I had considered the Arcam A15, but I just can't stand the way it looks - this might sound ridiculous to some, but there's definitely a visual asthetic that I am looking to go for (I'm a bit OCD), and the Arcam is just not for me... the CXA81 MkII matches the CXN (V2) and I am keen to go with that for that reason (and it still sounds to be a great amp in it's own right).
Onto the speakers... I am looking for some floorstand speakers this time around. Would the Cambridge pairing work well with the Q Acoustics 5040 or 5050? I note they can be tricky to pair with components and I couldn't find any specific reviews online. The room the current system is in is fairly large, so shouldn't be any issues there.
Or would I be safer going with the Wharfdale 12.3s...? Am I right in thinking these are lower on the budget scale to pair with a £1k amp?
If people don't have any experience of the above combinations, would anybody have any other speaker recommendations, please?
I am looking to upgrade my amp and speakers in the near future and am looking for some advice, please. Unfortunately, I moved home (and country) a few years ago and my geographical location now rules out auditioning components as I have done previously, and so it's a little "uncomfortable" figuring out what I want.
The system I am looking too replace is quite old and on the lower end of the budget scale - Yamaha A-S500 and Monitor Audio BX2 Bronze bookshelf speakers. This combo has that "sparkle" which I didn't get from the others I auditioned, and so I am looking to keep that kind of sound.
I am running a Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) as my source and am interested in pairing it with a CXA81 MkII.
I had considered the Arcam A15, but I just can't stand the way it looks - this might sound ridiculous to some, but there's definitely a visual asthetic that I am looking to go for (I'm a bit OCD), and the Arcam is just not for me... the CXA81 MkII matches the CXN (V2) and I am keen to go with that for that reason (and it still sounds to be a great amp in it's own right).
Onto the speakers... I am looking for some floorstand speakers this time around. Would the Cambridge pairing work well with the Q Acoustics 5040 or 5050? I note they can be tricky to pair with components and I couldn't find any specific reviews online. The room the current system is in is fairly large, so shouldn't be any issues there.
Or would I be safer going with the Wharfdale 12.3s...? Am I right in thinking these are lower on the budget scale to pair with a £1k amp?
If people don't have any experience of the above combinations, would anybody have any other speaker recommendations, please?
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