Amps for classical music

[hortensio]

Dear all,

Which are the best budget amps for hearing classical and jazz music: CA Azur 650a, Nad 326bee, Marantz pm6003 or Yamaha s-500?

Please suggest also its best cd player and speakers....

Thx

 

[chebby]

Out of that list, I would personally go for the Yamaha (and it's matching CD player), but really any good amp should be able to handle all musical genres and all the amps you mentioned are good.

Speakers are different. So much will depend on size of room and furnishings, your taste, whether they are floorstanders or 'bookshelf' speakers, whether they are ported to the front or rear (or sealed), how much you are prepared to spend, whether they are required to blend in domestically (size, finish) and a lot more besides.

I would advise that you allocate a bigger budget for the speakers than the amp or CD player. (For better speakers not necessarily bigger.)

How much did you budget for the speakers?

 

[the record spot]

What Chebby said, except to not go overboard on the speaker budget. IMO the amp is king in digital systems as it controls the speaker. The better and more powerful the amp, the better it will do this. Hooking a £300 amp onto £700 speakers or the like is a non-starter for me. Probably better the other way round. For a good CD source, check out Harman's HD990 on offer with £200 off at Edinburgh's Home Cinema Centre for £299. Heard it last year and was very impressed, plus it offers a DAC you can use with other sources too.

 

[chebby]

The better and more powerful the amp, the better it will do this. Hooking a £300 amp onto £700 speakers or the like is a non-starter for me. Probably better the other way round.

I was thinking more along the lines of 'speakers like Monitor Audio RX1 (£425) or RX2s (£525) for their extra refinement.

I was careful to say...

"I would advise that you allocate a bigger budget for the speakers than the amp or CD player. (For better speakers not necessarily bigger.)"

I am pretty sure that any of the amps in the OP's list will drive MA RX1s (or any similarly efficient speakers). I am convinced the Yamaha A-S500 (especially) will have no problems driving a wide range of speakers with it's 90watts per channel. (120 wpc into 4 ohms).

However, it is interesting to note that Alan Sircom recommended using speakers costing up to £1000 with a CA 650A/650C system (in the HiFi+ review of the CA 650A and in the award for 'System of the Year' for 2009)...

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=373

Anyway, I am suggesting more money spent on better quality speakers (not bigger or harder to drive).

 

[hortensio]

Thanks for all the coments and answers...

I've heard that CA Azur is good for classical music...

Any comments from CA Azur owners please.....

 

[hortensio]

Thanks for all the coments and answers...

I've heard that CA Azur is good for classical music...

Any comments from CA Azur owners please.....

 

[lindsayt]

For classical, I'd go for Quad electrostatics. All day, every day, no problem. You can buy ESL 57's or 63's for about £500.

For Jazz I'd go for horns or horn hybrids from Klipsch, JBL, Altec, EV, Urei, Vitavox. I'd expect to pay from £500 upwards - depending on model and cosmetic condition - for a pair of classic speakers from these manufacturers.

You can buy quite decent 2nd hand amps for under £100. Best new amp for classical for £350 might be one of those Chinese valve amps - especially if mated with valve friendly speakers.

For CD playing on a budget, I'd simply hook my PC / laptop / Mac up to a DAC or audio interface.

 

[matthewpiano]

Of the amps you mention the Marantz PM6003 works superbly, particularly partnered with Dali Lektor 2s - a combination which gives surprising depth and good portrayal of instrumental timbres. Its a very natural sounding combination but with plenty of ability in larger dynamic swings. Its cleaner at the bottom end than the NAD C326BEE (which can get muddy with the cellos and double basses), and its more natural sounding than the CA 650A. If I HAD to go back to one of my previous amp/speaker combinations the Marantz/Dali one is what I would choose, although I'd miss too much of what my current system does! The Yamaha A-S500 works well and would probably be my second choice out of those.

If you can find a used Creek 4330 it would be a huge step up from any of them. Although only 40wpc (or 45 for the 'R' version) it has loads of current in reserve and handles dynamic changes easily and without strain. Partnered with the M-S Aviano 2 speakers it has depth in spades, combined with excellent soundstaging, very natural reproduction of instrumental timbres and loads of detail without ever displaying any hints of edginess in the upper strings. The Aviano 2s are brilliant speakers and somewhat of a bargain in my book. I've auditioned the MA RX1s and RX2s but I personally think the Avianos are better all round than either.

I'd also consider the outgoing Rega Brio 3 which can be had for less than £300 although it doesn't have the same control and grip as the Creek. What it does have is a very fluid, organic sound.

Whilst people often suggest that you need a smooth and warm sounding set-up for classical music I'd be careful. Big orchestral works and the like need as much, if not more, current in reserve than a lot of other music. The dynamic swings can be more extreme and the equipment is called upon to reproduce a vast range of colours within complex textures. Whilst avoiding edginess and false brightness you also want to retain some openess and a certain element of detail retrieval to make longer term listening satisfying.

 

[shooter]

^^ Good post.

 

[shooter]

Double post !

 

[amcluesent]

For classical and jazz, scout around for Audio Analogue Puccini/Paganini pair and a set of Sonus Faber Concertino speakers.

 

[Rethep]

Considering you want an amp for classical/jazz, you might as well look for tubes, as i did. The excitement of getting so deep "inside" the music makes up for the somewhat lack of bass/slam compared to a trannie. How much money is there to be spend ?