Amplifier to match or bring back to life MA Silver 8

[insider9]

Haha, just the way you phrased it 🙂 I agree a better amp would help. And yes they will play any genre just some better than others.

I've had a number of MA Bronze and Silvers and imho none of them could do Rock or Metal convincingly. No matter what amp was used. Please note OP said he was happy with other genres of music.

 

[jimmy1]

oh i see must have missed the bit saying he's happy with other genre's, i think a lot of metal has just been recorded badly which doesnt help, i love reign in blood by slayer but sq wise its not so good.

 

[paulkebab]

however I was using a Yamaha AS500 for a few years with IPL TL's and they could rattle things upstairs. It wouldn't surprise me if they use the innards in the N500 - as you say though WHF pointed that flaw out but some stuff does sound better than others.

 

[johnnyboy1950]

I have The MA silver 6 partnered with the Cambridge CXA80. Although I am generally happy with the SQ I think part of your problem maybe with the types of music you play. My overall preference is rock music but its the hardest genre to get to sound decent. I remember a mate who spent 3 times what I ever did on his system and I always thought when playing rock, well yes its ok but is it that much better than my gear. But when he played some acoustic driven music (even Dylans early albums) the difference was very noticable. Regardless of your taste in music just compare Dada's first album, Puzzle with say led Zepplins first. (Both on Spotify). I'm sure you will hear a difference worthwhile. So where do you go from here?

 

[plastic penguin]

Having heard the older RS8, they were power hungry. They also sling out a welter of bass and they'll need an amp that can control the LFs, so IMHO the ideal amps would be: Arcam A29, Creek Evo range, Leema Pulse, Roksan Caspian, Audio Analogue, newer Cyrus 8.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I would hold fire on buying a new amplifier just yet as insider9 will be coming round mine in February to listen to my setup as my taste is classic rock , metal , thrash , blues , some classic music so most probably he will say what he thinks of my setup .

but basically the Yamaha A-S2100 is very good with the above music but also I think your problem is your speakers as well as I think they are polite sounding speakers yes Arcam is a good match for the monitor audio speakers but you would have to look at the higher models to make it worth while like the Arcam A49 , A39 or Yamaha A-S2100 , Yamaha A-S3000 , naim .

then hear some Dali opticon 6s or 8s even better because the 8s are big speaker cabinets so you be shifting lots of air but both speakers are good with this kind of music but you find it hard to find the perfect setup just for metal music but you can get the right combination of components to get near what’s good for metal music .

or look at class A I had a demo yesterday with a sugden 21se £2900 good with metal music and using the opticon 6s as part of the demo too but get a demo with the Yamaha A-S2100 first because your feel your getting your money’s worth out of this amplifier and you could buy now for £1649 new but used to be a £3000 amplifier .

The Yamaha has a excellent phono stage , head phone stage , full balanced inputs , excellent build quality and its heavy

 

[Beppep]

I have had Dali, Zensor 7, well the woofers were bigger than mine in MA SIlver 8, half inch probably, they sounded really good with blues, reggea and rap, terrible with rock, drivers were not precise, missing notes etc.. now for what I understood speakers sound differently with different typo of music, some of them are more friendly with a genre then others.. what is am expecting is a decent balance, good soundstage, drivers controlled and dynamic. I tried for instance the Focal Air and I preferred my MA, have more personality.

One of the issue i have in Yamaha is probably the internal DAC that is not able to convert well the Digital into Analogic, it lack of refinements, sometime voices are covered by instruments, there is no dynamic at all and sound is not engaging. Pluggin my turntable in sounds is tiny, but this can be as well related to the cartidge that must be replaced.

Going for a demo today, got a retailer who sell MA and Tannoy so I will try MA silver there and Tannoy XT8F paired with Arman a39, Candridge, Rotel, Marantz amplifiers. I will bring my songs with me to see how digital musics sounds in different setup.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

The Yamaha A-S2100 has no onboard Dac only it’s matching CD player does and that will convert 12/24 bit as I use the Dac on my CD player to run a wxc50 streamer .

 

[newlash09]

I have had Dali, Zensor 7, well the woofers were bigger than mine in MA SIlver 8, half inch probably, they sounded really good with blues, reggea and rap, terrible with rock, drivers were not precise, missing notes etc.. now for what I understood speakers sound differently with different typo of music, some of them are more friendly with a genre then others.. what is am expecting is a decent balance, good soundstage, drivers controlled and dynamic. I tried for instance the Focal Air and I preferred my MA, have more personality.

One of the issue i have in Yamaha is probably the internal DAC that is not able to convert well the Digital into Analogic, it lack of refinements, sometime voices are covered by instruments, there is no dynamic at all and sound is not engaging. Pluggin my turntable in sounds is tiny, but this can be as well related to the cartidge that must be replaced.

Going for a demo today, got a retailer who sell MA and Tannoy so I will try MA silver there and Tannoy XT8F paired with Arman a39, Candridge, Rotel, Marantz amplifiers. I will bring my songs with me to see how digital musics sounds in different setup.

Never realised you were using the onboard dac till now. Even the dac could be the problem. Do you have any other music sources with their own dac or even an Chromecast audio. Just to see if having an external dac sorts the problem.

 

[Beppep]

Went for a demo, I had the opportunity to test MA Silver 500 (new model) with Arcam A39, NAD C326BEE, Marantz PM8600 and Yamaha a-s1100. As streaming we used Bluesound Node 2, this should be a good DAC/Streamer, 32BIT 192Khz.

Unforunately I didnt had time to play so loud as there was not a separate demo room in the shop..

Arcam A39: narrowed sound, for my personal point of view not a wide soundstage, not so many details, good dynamic, no warm with MA.

NAD C326BEE, more detailed than Arcam A39, better soundstage, more details, low dynamic.

Marantz PM8600, it add a personal touch in the music, refined high and louder then others, wide soundstage, but when it comes to play Metallica, it couldnt reproduce drums, no presence of this instrument, it might be that we should adjust some level with equalizer..I have no clue.

Yamaha A-S1100, little bit better than my RN500, I would say not a difference night/day, more detailed for sure, play louder, but as mine it color the tracks, exacerbating bass presence when it is not needed so sometimes you have to adjust with equaliser to have a neutral reproduction.

Shop assistance didnt want me to try Tannoy as for his own opinion doesnt sound well, so I havent waste my time asking.

I would say that there is a difference between MA silver 500 and MA Silver 8s, it is not due to the half inch in the drivers, they sound differently, high frequencies/tweeters are exactly the same, but bass in 500 is more controlled than mine, however it sounds more flat at the end, low and middle range are less detached than silver 8s, however they are less engaging then mine, I had no fun playng them.

I will do anothe rtry to pair my MA with Cambridge amplifier as my neighbour own one, if I cannot find what I am looking for I will buy the NAIM I auditioned years ago.

 

[drummerman]

Me thinks you are not finding the right amplifier because the speakers are too flawed?

Too many things for an amp to correct.

Start again?

 

[rainsoothe]

Me thinks you are not finding the right amplifier because the speakers are too flawed?

Too many things for an amp to correct.

Start again?

I say two brands of speakers, same issues, same amp, and people still pointing in other directions than the Yamaha's?

(just tongue-in-cheek comment, OP should'nt disconsider going back to the drawing board and starting from scratch, if that is a hassle and cost-free option. But given the current situation and the fact that he liked his speakers with other amplification, changing amp (and source maybe) might be the only thing that needs to be done).

 

[Muddywaterstones]

With respect to the Marantz amp not being able to reproduce Metallica's drums, there are many who would pay extra for such a feature. I say this as a huge Metallica fan, just not a great fan of Lars' abilities.

 

[rainsoothe]

Hahaha 🙂

 

[Beppep]

good point about MA that are probably too flawed, starting to think that these speakers will never be able to have the dynamic I am looking for and a well controlled punch in the low and middle. I am little bit sad as I really like them, sounds is very open, high are well refined, but pairing yesterday night with my friend amplifier from Cambridge CXA80, once again he had the same impression than me.

Compared to his speakers, here paid half price mine, pair of Sonus Faber venere 1.5, they are more dynamic than mine. Start to think at this point to look for something else..