Amplifier around 500£ for Tannoy revolution DC6T

[admin_exported]

Hi all, I want to build my first HIFI system. Mainly listening classical instrumental music. My room is a long sharp which is 3.5m * 7m. And the system will be placed on the long side of the room.

After go through the reviews and discussions on the web and have some demos in local dealers, I decide to buy Tannoy revolution DC6T's and Marantz CD6004 (I need the iphone link feature) as the speakers and CDP. But I'm a little hesitate on the amp. Although WHF recommend the pair with Marantz PM6004, I'm worry about the power output of it for the room size and the floorstanding speakers. And my budget is about 500£. So I'm searching a better AMP for my setup/room/music.

Currently in my list is:

Rega Brio-R

Marantz PM7004

Rega Mira 3

Can you guys give me any idea which one is better for me? And if there is a better choice in budget, you can recommend here.

Very appreciated!

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Thae Marantz should be fine unless you play at 'club levels'. For something with a bit more oomph this will see you right.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roksan-Kandy-KA-1-MkIII-integrated-amplifier-/110903297971?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item19d25a07b3

It is 120 watts per channel and has power to burn. Heard the LIII version. Both are fun-packed amps.

 

[matthewpiano]

The Roksan PP suggests will give you much more depth than the Marantz. Roksan kit works very well with classical music in my experience, as well as being flexible enough to do other styles justice when required.

 

[poldo]

Marantz PM 7004 is ok

 

[matthewpiano]

I would also suggest it is worth looking at NAD. Their amps are excellent for classical music. They image well, are very good with orchestral timbres, and can make large-scale works sound impressively cohesive with the right speakers. Worth an audition with the Tannoys.

I nearly bought a Rega Brio-R a few months ago but, although I found it good for small scale works, I had serious concerns about its ability with larger scale music. It just didn't seem to make sense of large-scale textures to me, and the top end could be sweeter.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Thae Marantz should be fine unless you play at 'club levels'. For something with a bit more oomph this will see you right.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roksan-Kandy-KA-1-MkIII-integrated-amplifier-/110903297971?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item19d25a07b3

It is 120 watts per channel and has power to burn. Heard the LIII version. Both are fun-packed amps.

Thank you PP! It's really a good deal. Unfortunately, I'm in China. The Roksan AMPs here is much more expensive. The Kandy K2 is about 1000£ equivalent here.

So back to Marantz, PM7004 should be definitely better than PM6004 for my system right?

 

[plastic penguin]

No problem. If you could give us more information about which makes are available, apart from the Marantz, in your neck of the woods then we can offer some alternatives.

 

[Anonymous]

I would also suggest it is worth looking at NAD. Their amps are excellent for classical music. They image well, are very good with orchestral timbres, and can make large-scale works sound impressively cohesive with the right speakers. Worth an audition with the Tannoys.

I nearly bought a Rega Brio-R a few months ago but, although I found it good for small scale works, I had serious concerns about its ability with larger scale music. It just didn't seem to make sense of large-scale textures to me, and the top end could be sweeter.

Thank you Matthew! The NAD amplifiers in the range should be C356BEE. But according to my searching, the sound of NAD ones are not so smooth and a little fatter which is not I wanted. Maybe I should give it a try with classical.

It's also appreciated for the comments for Brio-R, it seem more . As WHF said it "is a clear level better than the best of the budget amplifiers"(should be PM6004), so I want to compare it with PM7004. Also the Rega Mira3, which is the upper level Rega amplifier but old generation.

 

[Anonymous]

We have most brands here, I can list some of them have the products in the budget:

Arcam, Audio Lab, Cambridge Audio, Creek, Denon, Marantz, Myryad, NAD, Onix, Onkyo, Pioneer, Rega, Rotel, TEAC, Yamaha

 

[plastic penguin]

We have most brands here, I can list some of them have the products in the budget:

Arcam, Audio Lab, Cambridge Audio, Creek, Denon, Marantz, Myryad, NAD, Onix, Onkyo, Pioneer, Rega, Rotel, TEAC, Yamaha

Nad should sound fine. They are very smooth and quite warm and offer a good dose of bass which may suit the Tannoys. Have heard from a couple of people on here say the DC6 can be a little bright in the treble.

Out of the other makes I've heard Creek Evo2 should also match well, along with Yamaha. Ordinarily I'd suggest Arcam, but can lack pure volume for filling a large room.

The only sure way is to audition a couple of amps and see which ones sound the best with the Tannoys.

 

[hoopsontoast]

A random selection:

Rega BrioR (New)

Denon PMA-2000AE (S/H)

Sony TA-F770ES (Or any other big Sony ES integrated like the TA-FA5ES etc) (S/H)

Audiolab 8200A (Ex-Demo or S/H)

Naim Nait 5i (If you like that kind of thing) (S/H)

 

[Anonymous]

We have most brands here, I can list some of them have the products in the budget:

Arcam, Audio Lab, Cambridge Audio, Creek, Denon, Marantz, Myryad, NAD, Onix, Onkyo, Pioneer, Rega, Rotel, TEAC, Yamaha

Nad should sound fine. They are very smooth and quite warm and offer a good dose of bass which may suit the Tannoys. Have heard from a couple of people on here say the DC6 can be a little bright in the treble.

Out of the other makes I've heard Creek Evo2 should also match well, along with Yamaha. Ordinarily I'd suggest Arcam, but can lack pure volume for filling a large room.

The only sure way is to audition a couple of amps and see which ones sound the best with the Tannoys.

Yes, we should trust our ears. But most local dealers only have 2 or 3 brands. It's hard to audition different combinations. E.g. the Tannoy dealers only have Yamaha, Rega and Accuphase. And it only have accuphase one for demo. So I try to get some direction from the forum.

So accroding to your recommandation and budget, they should be NAD C356BEE，Creek EVO2 and Yamaha A-S700, right? Are they more suitable for me than PM7004 and Brio-r?

 

[plastic penguin]

We have most brands here, I can list some of them have the products in the budget:

Arcam, Audio Lab, Cambridge Audio, Creek, Denon, Marantz, Myryad, NAD, Onix, Onkyo, Pioneer, Rega, Rotel, TEAC, Yamaha

Nad should sound fine. They are very smooth and quite warm and offer a good dose of bass which may suit the Tannoys. Have heard from a couple of people on here say the DC6 can be a little bright in the treble.

Out of the other makes I've heard Creek Evo2 should also match well, along with Yamaha. Ordinarily I'd suggest Arcam, but can lack pure volume for filling a large room.

The only sure way is to audition a couple of amps and see which ones sound the best with the Tannoys.

Yes, we should trust our ears. But most local dealers only have 2 or 3 brands. It's hard to audition different combinations. E.g. the Tannoy dealers only have Yamaha, Rega and Accuphase. And it only have accuphase one for demo. So I try to get some direction from the forum.

So accroding to your recommandation and budget, they should be NAD C356BEE，Creek EVO2 and Yamaha A-S700, right? Are they more suitable for me than PM7004 and Brio-r?

Without doubt if you can get the Creek within budget, it'll certainly be my choice. The Nad is really good amp but too bass-heavy for my tastes. IMHO, these two are a step up from the Marantz (similar to the Roksan Kandy)

 

[Anonymous]

The Creek EVO2 should be less bass-heavy than Nad 356, right? The WHF review said NAD 356 is a little "boisterous amplifier". But I want to listen to music in peace and relax.

Also how about the sound of Yamaha A-S700?

Thank you!

 

[plastic penguin]

The Creek EVO2 should be less bass-heavy than Nad 356, right? The WHF review said NAD 356 is a little "boisterous amplifier". But I want to listen to music in peace and relax.

Also how about the sound of Yamaha A-S700?

Thank you!

Yes, the Creek has a more balanced signature. It won't have the crunching bass of the Nad but compensates by having a punchy and detailed sound. The Evo2 is one of my favourite sub-£1,000 amplifiers.

Haven't heard the latest Yamahas, however, if they replicate the older models they will be smooth and quite sweet sounding. This is just guesswork on my part. The Creek would be top of my 'listen to' list.

 

[Anonymous]

I just found second hand Arcam A90 and A32 under 600£ in local forum. Should I try one of them? Is the build quality of Arcam good?

 

[peterpan]

Marantz!

 

[plastic penguin]

I just found second hand Arcam A90 and A32 under 600£ in local forum. Should I try one of them? Is the build quality of Arcam good?

If in good condition certainly Arcam A32 will do the trick. Avoid the A90. It's a okay amp rather than a very good one. Has plenty of power but lacks the control of the better Arcams.

 

[Anonymous]

Marantz!

Thank you! I've not give it up. I need to audition to compare Creek or Marantz is my favor.

 

[Anonymous]

If I decide to buy Creek EVO2 amp, should I pair it with EVO2 CDP. Is it a big improvement on Marantz CD6004? If the sound quality is much better, I can give up the iphone usb link which is important on CD6004 for me.

 

[plastic penguin]

If I decide to buy Creek EVO2 amp, should I pair it with EVO2 CDP. Is it a big improvement on Marantz CD6004? If the sound quality is much better, I can give up the iphone usb link which is important on CD6004 for me.

It's an excellent amp. Not heard the Creek CDP but would imagine it'll match really well. The other bonus is you'll only need 1 remote control.

 

[DIB]

With regard Creek, there are new Evolution models being launched in a couple of months time. At current prices, they will be roughly £200/£250 less than the Evo 2 models. It will be interesting to see how they review. If they are as good as the Evo 2 range then they will be very good indeed. Here's a link..

http://www.creekaudio.com/news.php

.

 

[Anonymous]

With regard Creek, there are new Evolution models being launched in a couple of months time. At current prices, they will be roughly £200/£250 less than the Evo 2 models. It will be interesting to see how they review. If they are as good as the Evo 2 range then they will be very good indeed. Here's a link..

http://www.creekaudio.com/news.php

.

Yes, it looks attractive. The DAC function included in the CDP. But the AMP only has 50W, not sure it is enough for the floorstanding DC6T.

 

[pkerai]

Have you tried Rotel. They supposedly make superb amps if nothing else.

They are supposed to be very musical, but all this is subjective to person, type of music, component pairing, age of product and even temperature!.

Its the age old issue of having to audition items in different places and circumstances.

Rotel have just launched a new range of amps here in UK.

Some of them even have inbuilt DAC's. Im sure they will rate highly.

But really, does NAD provide a good amp for large orchestra-possible string instruments.

I personally listen to this kind of music, and judge all amps by this gauge to see how much detail is conveyed.

Sorry, to but in, but.... can anyone tell me what amp is best for under £500 given my musical choice above.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, the Rotel RA-12 looks nice with DAC in it. I'm not sure whether it is available local. Is anyone compare the Rotel and Creek AMPs in the price range? Which will be better pair with the Tannoy DC6T?

Otherwise, for the large scale classical, it's really the most hard part for the HI-FI system IMO. It need the control, dynamic, detail, layer, high and low. It's hard to do all good in this price range for both AMP and speakers. You only can find some one is comparable better in the budget.