As promised on the “How do you know which speakers your amp is best suited to?” thread here is my report on some kit that I auditioned today. It reflects my subjective opinion and is based on my choice of music and recordings. Other opinions are available!
This is the music I used (in no particular order):
· Bellini – “I Capuleti E I Montecchi” DG 00289047708031
· Shostakovich Symphony 5 RPO Ashkenazy – Decca 421 120 2
· Grieg Lieder Von Otter – DG 437 521-2
· Dowland Lute Music Vol 1 – Naxos 8.557586
· John Armatrading – Classics – AM 982 3506 – Track – “Love and affection”
· Shostakovich Piano Concerto 2 – Leonskaja – Apex 8573 89092 2
· Joan Baez “Joan Baez” – Vanguard 79594 – Track – “John Riley”
· Jimmy Hendrix – “Experience” – MCD 11692 – Track - “All along the watchtower”
· Brahms Piano Concerto 1 – Grimauld – DG 479 1058
· Beethoven Violin Concerto – Faust – HMC 902105
· Tallis – “Spem in Alium” – CDGIM 006
· Cream – “Wheels of fire” – Polydor 531 812-2 – Track – “Those were the days”
As you can see this is a mixture of classical and 60s “pop”.
The kit I listened to didn’t turn out to be quite all that I meant to but circumstances change cases and I did cover quite a lot of stuff. Here it is:
· Kef R500 speakers
· Kef R700 speakers
· Marantz PM8005 / SA 8005
· Audiolab 8200CD
· Musical Fidelity M3i / M3CD
· Cyrus 8SE / 8DAC
I specifically didn’t listen to the Marantz 6005 / Kef Q500 to get a comparison to my current kit as it was clear immediately that this new kit was in a different class.
My notes are quiet long so I won’t reproduce them all but here are the highlights. All the kit produced excellent soundstages with instruments and voices clearly separated and stable. Everything sounded like it should, pianos like pianos, voices like voices, etc. So my detailed comments are on top of that!
Marantz + Marantz + R700
· Dowland – Clean and clear, good “image”
· Shostakovich PC2 – Very good piano tone, percussion well defined, ravishing string tone
· Baez – Brilliant! Voice clearly defined, guitar clear and separate
· Tallis – Slightly muddled voices, a bit disappointing
· Hendrix – Exciting but very well controlled
· Cream – Ginger Baker’s drumming stood out (as it should)
· Bellini – Excellent – opera as it should be heard. I can’t easily express how beautifully this was reproduced; two of the greatest opera voices of our time were there in the room with me!
Audiolab + Marantz + R700
I only really tried this to see if would render the Tallis better (the salesman thought it might) but it didn’t. Indeed I couldn’t really hear any difference to the Marantz on any recording
Musical Fidelity + Musical Fidelity + R700
· Dowland – Very impressive, fingers on strings more clearly heard. Maybe just louder?
· Shostakovich PC2 – A bit edgy, piano notes a bit “cracked”
· Baez – No! Shouty!
I stopped listening after the Baez as it was just horrid. Sorry MF fans. May of course be fine with other speakers.
Cyrus + Cyrus + R700
· Dowland - Clean and clear
· Shostakovich PC2 – Clear piano but slightly edgy
· Baez – Very good indeed but a little harsh in the loud passages
· Bellini – Excellent, as good as the Marantz
· Hendrix – Edgy
· Tallis – Slightly muddled voices
My summary of all that was:
· The Shostakovich PC2 recording is bright, close to the point of being over-bright. (It’s a standout performance though!) However, only the Marantz was able to present it properly.
· The Tallis is a mystery as it has always been seen as a fine recording. However, it is an old recording (1985) and it may be that this kit exposes its deficiencies. None of the kit reproduced it exactly as I would wish to hear it. It is fine on my current kit. Make of that what you will!
· The Baez proved to be a fierce test. This is a very old recording (1960) but is IMO one of the finest recordings of the female voice (and what a voice!). In loud passages it sounded harsh on everything except the Marantz.
· The Hendrix also proved tough and again the Marantz controlled it better.
· The R700s are wonderful with the human voice. Whatever the electronics used they absolutely shone.
I don’t know exactly what was happening; maybe the Marantz “rounds off” the harsh edges where the other kit exposes them? What I do know is the Marantz was much more “musical”. It is interesting that I asked the salesman his opinion on each track (and I asked him before I expressed an opinion) and he agreed with me without exception. So it wasn’t just me! He actually said “the Marantz is more musical”. (This was the first time he had heard it as it isn’t a stock item for them.)
I then repeated the listening tests with the Marantz kit and the R500s. These are also fine speakers and I found no fault with them and indeed would be happy to own them. However, when it came to voices the R700s were much better. To quote the salesman “Joan was really in the room with us” and indeed she was.
It is not for me to recommend kit to anybody other than myself but if you are a classical music fan and looking at this price point then the Marantz 8005 range is something you should listen to. If you like the human voice and especially bel canto opera then you really should hear the Kef R700s.
Chris
PS I can comment on the other recordings if anybody is interested.
This is the music I used (in no particular order):
· Bellini – “I Capuleti E I Montecchi” DG 00289047708031
· Shostakovich Symphony 5 RPO Ashkenazy – Decca 421 120 2
· Grieg Lieder Von Otter – DG 437 521-2
· Dowland Lute Music Vol 1 – Naxos 8.557586
· John Armatrading – Classics – AM 982 3506 – Track – “Love and affection”
· Shostakovich Piano Concerto 2 – Leonskaja – Apex 8573 89092 2
· Joan Baez “Joan Baez” – Vanguard 79594 – Track – “John Riley”
· Jimmy Hendrix – “Experience” – MCD 11692 – Track - “All along the watchtower”
· Brahms Piano Concerto 1 – Grimauld – DG 479 1058
· Beethoven Violin Concerto – Faust – HMC 902105
· Tallis – “Spem in Alium” – CDGIM 006
· Cream – “Wheels of fire” – Polydor 531 812-2 – Track – “Those were the days”
As you can see this is a mixture of classical and 60s “pop”.
The kit I listened to didn’t turn out to be quite all that I meant to but circumstances change cases and I did cover quite a lot of stuff. Here it is:
· Kef R500 speakers
· Kef R700 speakers
· Marantz PM8005 / SA 8005
· Audiolab 8200CD
· Musical Fidelity M3i / M3CD
· Cyrus 8SE / 8DAC
I specifically didn’t listen to the Marantz 6005 / Kef Q500 to get a comparison to my current kit as it was clear immediately that this new kit was in a different class.
My notes are quiet long so I won’t reproduce them all but here are the highlights. All the kit produced excellent soundstages with instruments and voices clearly separated and stable. Everything sounded like it should, pianos like pianos, voices like voices, etc. So my detailed comments are on top of that!
Marantz + Marantz + R700
· Dowland – Clean and clear, good “image”
· Shostakovich PC2 – Very good piano tone, percussion well defined, ravishing string tone
· Baez – Brilliant! Voice clearly defined, guitar clear and separate
· Tallis – Slightly muddled voices, a bit disappointing
· Hendrix – Exciting but very well controlled
· Cream – Ginger Baker’s drumming stood out (as it should)
· Bellini – Excellent – opera as it should be heard. I can’t easily express how beautifully this was reproduced; two of the greatest opera voices of our time were there in the room with me!
Audiolab + Marantz + R700
I only really tried this to see if would render the Tallis better (the salesman thought it might) but it didn’t. Indeed I couldn’t really hear any difference to the Marantz on any recording
Musical Fidelity + Musical Fidelity + R700
· Dowland – Very impressive, fingers on strings more clearly heard. Maybe just louder?
· Shostakovich PC2 – A bit edgy, piano notes a bit “cracked”
· Baez – No! Shouty!
I stopped listening after the Baez as it was just horrid. Sorry MF fans. May of course be fine with other speakers.
Cyrus + Cyrus + R700
· Dowland - Clean and clear
· Shostakovich PC2 – Clear piano but slightly edgy
· Baez – Very good indeed but a little harsh in the loud passages
· Bellini – Excellent, as good as the Marantz
· Hendrix – Edgy
· Tallis – Slightly muddled voices
My summary of all that was:
· The Shostakovich PC2 recording is bright, close to the point of being over-bright. (It’s a standout performance though!) However, only the Marantz was able to present it properly.
· The Tallis is a mystery as it has always been seen as a fine recording. However, it is an old recording (1985) and it may be that this kit exposes its deficiencies. None of the kit reproduced it exactly as I would wish to hear it. It is fine on my current kit. Make of that what you will!
· The Baez proved to be a fierce test. This is a very old recording (1960) but is IMO one of the finest recordings of the female voice (and what a voice!). In loud passages it sounded harsh on everything except the Marantz.
· The Hendrix also proved tough and again the Marantz controlled it better.
· The R700s are wonderful with the human voice. Whatever the electronics used they absolutely shone.
I don’t know exactly what was happening; maybe the Marantz “rounds off” the harsh edges where the other kit exposes them? What I do know is the Marantz was much more “musical”. It is interesting that I asked the salesman his opinion on each track (and I asked him before I expressed an opinion) and he agreed with me without exception. So it wasn’t just me! He actually said “the Marantz is more musical”. (This was the first time he had heard it as it isn’t a stock item for them.)
I then repeated the listening tests with the Marantz kit and the R500s. These are also fine speakers and I found no fault with them and indeed would be happy to own them. However, when it came to voices the R700s were much better. To quote the salesman “Joan was really in the room with us” and indeed she was.
It is not for me to recommend kit to anybody other than myself but if you are a classical music fan and looking at this price point then the Marantz 8005 range is something you should listen to. If you like the human voice and especially bel canto opera then you really should hear the Kef R700s.
Chris
PS I can comment on the other recordings if anybody is interested.