And Finally........

Page 7 - Seeking answers? Join the What HiFi community: the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
I was interested in the Kef 201/2, but my dealer didn't had them in store. They had a pair of 203/2 which I had the chance to audition with the Linn and the Audiolab 8200 system.

In the end, I decided I was happy with the Tannoy dc8. The amp on the Linn DSM probably doesn't do justice to the Kef, which means I would have to extend my budget on all other components, which I could not afford with the mortgage and all. :shame:

I started playing the lottery, so who knows one day... 😛ray:
 
bigmoose said:
I was interested in the Kef 201/2, but my dealer didn't had them in store. They had a pair of 203/2 which I had the chance to audition with the Linn and the Audiolab 8200 system.

In the end, I decided I was happy with the Tannoy dc8. The amp on the Linn DSM probably doesn't do justice to the Kef, which means I would have to extend my budget on all other components, which I could not afford with the mortgage and all. :shame:

I started playing the lottery, so who knows one day... 😛ray:
Click to expand...

Very nice....and I agree with you about the Linn amp driving the Refs (it would do for a while though!!). >)

I take it you saw the Home Cinema Centre's clearance offer on the 203s (£2750).....very tempting indeed!! :shifty:
 
Oh, they're probably the pair I auditioned! What's not mentioned is there is a bad chip on the side of the speaker... It's not visible from the front, but this would bother me in the long term..
 
bigmoose said:
Oh, they're probably the pair I auditioned! What's not mentioned is there is a bad chip on the side of the speaker... It's not visible from the front, but this would bother me in the long term..
Click to expand...

Oh Blatherskytes (as my old Granny used to say)!
 
Hi Cno,

nice system you have. I'm just wondering how do you configure your cables & wires for both stereo music use and home theater use. Do you reconnect the cables/wires everytime you want to listen to stereo music since you use MF stereo amp for music?
 
perseus said:
Hi Cno,

nice system you have. I'm just wondering how do you configure your cables & wires for both stereo music use and home theater use. Do you reconnect the cables/wires everytime you want to listen to stereo music since you use MF stereo amp for music?
Click to expand...

Hi there, and thank you for your comments.

At the time the picture was taken, it worked as follows:

STEREO.

It is used as any independent 2 channel set up ie. Linn DS -> AMS 35i -> Kef 205/2s. The AV amp could be left off.

HOME THEATRE

The Pre-Outs (Front L&R) of the AVR600 were connected to the AMS 35i.....so for 5.1, the AV amp did the processing and was directly connected to Centre + 2 Rears + Sub. The Front Left and Right channels were sent to the 2 channel amp (via pre-outs), so the 2 channel amp had to be switched on, and the correct input selected.

My amp doesn't have HT Bypass, so there are 2 volume controls at play. This means you have to choose a position (often 12 o'clock) for the volume on the 2 channel amp, and then set up the AV amp with it in this position. Once set up, every time you want 5 channels, the 2 channel amp has to be returned to the setting (eg. 12 o'clock), and the AV amp then works as normal. Nb. Remember to turn the volume back again from the 12 o'clock position before playing 2 channel.

If the stereo amp has HT Bypass, it avoids the double volume problem, as the pre (ie volume control) in the AV amp directly controls the power section in the stereo amp.

I have now purchased Kef LS50s to cover Front L&R from the AV amp, which means the two systems are now totally independent of each other.
 
Thanks for the info Cno. 🙂

I'm looking to add a multi channel power amp to my system as I find my R900s' bass performance for music is lacking compared to when I demoed them with MF M8PRE and AMS series stereo power amp. Do you think adding a power amp will solve my bass problem? If yes, what amp do you recommend from your experience?

Arcam P777, P 1000, NAD M25, Cary 7.125, Parasound Halo A52, Parasound 5250, Rotel 1575, Marantz MM8077 are available to me.

Sorry if my questions are off the topic. Thanks for helping a newbie here.
 
perseus said:
Thanks for the info Cno. 🙂

I'm looking to add a multi channel power amp to my system as I find my R900s' bass performance for music is lacking compared to when I demoed them with MF M8PRE and AMS series stereo power amp. Do you think adding a power amp will solve my bass problem? If yes, what amp do you recommend from your experience?

Arcam P777, P 1000, NAD M25, Cary 7.125, Parasound Halo A52, Parasound 5250, Rotel 1575, Marantz MM8077 are available to me.

Sorry if my questions are off the topic. Thanks for helping a newbie here.
Click to expand...

The R900s are certainly not short of bass, so this is either an amp issue (power / set up), or a room issue (eg. Suspended wooden floor / size / decor).

The AMS Power amps produce seismic bass, so it's a tough act to follow (which did you hear?).

I haven't heard all the above amps, but I was very impressed by the P777, and would strongly suggest you give it a demo.

Let us know how you get on.
 
The amp was MF AMS100.

Here is my experience.

I demoed Parasound A52, NAD M 25 & Cary 7.125 power amps at home today because they are being sold by the same dealer. As I suspected, the top of the line Yamaha AVR RXA3020 is capable driving R900 to its full potential. That's why the bass was lacking. I guess the AVR doesn't have enough current for the R900. With all three power amps I demoed with the Yamaha as a pre/pro the missing bass reappeared. Parasound sounded rather harsh at the top end in some music I played. Cary was warmer and the bass performance was the same like parasound but less bassy compared to NAD. NAD M25 was able to deliver more bass compared to the rest.

With Yamaha & KEF combination I found rock music (Bon Jovi, etc.) is not enjoyable but with the addition of Cary enables me to enjoy rock music more with my KEF. But there is one annoying problem with Cary amp, everytime the media player switch to next song, the amp creates a thud sound on my speakers. M25's rock music performance on R900 is not as good as Cary's.

So for now I'm keeping the NAD M25 demo unit. The dealer offered me to try Cary's bigger brother 7.250 when they have it in stock so I can compare it with M25 when they deliver the new NAD amp. They hope that I will pick the Cary because it's almost double the price of NAD. I just hope Cary 7.250 amps have no thud noise problem.
 
@ Perseus

The AMS 100 is one hell of a power amp.

Can you get to hear the P777......it has a Class A type sound (from it's Class G amps) and big controlled bass......I suspect it might be exactly what you are looking for.
 
Sorry, correction on my post above: "As I suspected, the top of the line Yamaha AVR RXA3020 is "not" capable driving R900 to its full potential. I don't see how to edit my previous post."

Unfortunately I didn't audition P777. After reading several bad user experiences on some forums, I decided not to consider P777. Besides the price offered by the dealer was too high (50% more than NAD) for the amount of power specified (with the same power rating as M25). I have paid for the M25, and I am waiting for the delivery of the new unit while the dealer lend me the demo unit as a replacement as he gave me an option to switch to Cary 7.250 when it arrives.

I can't agree more on AMS100. I was surprised that it's only rated at 100 watts/channel output for the size. When I bought my R900, I also demoed Q900, R700 and Blade with all Musical Fidelity setup (M8PRE, MF CD player, AMS100). My only regret now that I didn't ask to hear the reference 207/2 that was standing there in the same room. :doh:
 
perseus said:
Sorry, correction on my post above: "As I suspected, the top of the line Yamaha AVR RXA3020 is "not" capable driving R900 to its full potential. I don't see how to edit my previous post."

Unfortunately I didn't audition P777. After reading several bad user experiences on some forums, I decided not to consider P777. Besides the price offered by the dealer was too high (50% more than NAD) for the amount of power specified (with the same power rating as M25). I have paid for the M25, and I am waiting for the delivery of the new unit while the dealer lend me the demo unit as a replacement as he gave me an option to switch to Cary 7.250 when it arrives.

I can't agree more on AMS100. I was surprised that it's only rated at 100 watts/channel output for the size. When I bought my R900, I also demoed Q900, R700 and Blade with all Musical Fidelity setup (M8PRE, MF CD player, AMS100). My only regret now that I didn't ask to hear the reference 207/2 that was standing there in the same room. :doh:
Click to expand...

I thought the trouble was mostly with the Pre/Pros rather than the Power amps, but it's academic as you've made your choice.....the Nad should be good, so I hope you will be happy with it.

I have the AMS 35i, which sounds more a 200W amp than a 35W one.....it's to do with doubling it's power as impedance halves (right down to two Ohms).

The Blades must have sounded magnificent on the end of that system, and would have put the 207/2s rather in the shade.
 
safetygav said:
sorry, it was the only reply i could think of that didn't contain any swearing. love the system!
Click to expand...

Thank you.

Have you heard any of it on your travels?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom