Audiolab M-One or Marantz HD-Amp1

robdmarsh

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Uh-oh, so was just about to go ahead and order the Audiolab when I noticed this Marantz available also at a reduced price, albeit not as big a reduction as the Audiolab.

Pros and cons? Well, I think I may be a sucker for the Marantz house sound - relaxed but also enticing, and HD-Amp1 is supposed to have this in spades, being a product that Ken Ishiwata had input in the development of. I certainly try to steer clear of harshness and an unfatiguing sound has always appealed to me. What it doesn't have is the modern connectivity of the Audiolab, Bluetooth aptx and.... well, maybe that's it. Still, being able to play music directly from your phone is a plus.

The Audiolab on the other hand is even more heavily discounted and also well-reviewed. I'm also curious about the precision and uncoloured nature of the Audiolab sound and wonder if this wouldn't go well with the warmth of my Elac b5 speakers. The Audiolab also has bluetooth but maybe in the long run this might be a gimmicky feature and not one for "serious" listening.

Auditioning is going to pretty much impossible before people recommend it, but at these prices I don't think I would mind "trying after buying".
 

insider9

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I've not heard either amp nor your speakers. I'd suggest ordering one you prefer from a reputable dealer online with good returns and just give it a listen for entire returns period. Make your mind up at the last minute if you'd rather keep or return.
 

drummerman

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I have read numerous reviews and many seem to comment that the H1 amp sounds more neutral than other Marantz amplifiers. All good reviews but you may want to try first.
 

robdmarsh

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Auditoning is not possible I'm afraid. I think I'm going to go for the Marantz as I generally like their house sound but I'm just looking for more of it. Andrew Everard is full of praise and the way he describes the sound chimes well with what I'm looking for. I think the Audiolab would go in another direction - I've seen several mentions of a dry and analytical sound and that's not really me. In short not a wrong direction, but a different one to what I'm after.

Interesting that the Marantz is class D, a design which is not usually associated with warmth either in sound temperature. What amplification do you have may I ask?
 

paulkebab

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and I possibly didnt get it across, if your speakers sound warm I think the Audiolab might be better as my system ended up a bit on the dark side, and I love a warm sound. The MDAC brought the balance back without getting harsh or over-detailed. I've never owned any Marantz gear so I'm just trying to explain how the MDAC presents itself in a warm setup. Your problem might be whatever you plump for, you'll always be wondering what 'the other one' would've sounded like.
 

robdmarsh

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Interesting post paulkebab. I can't see what speakers you're using in your signature. But yes, I agree, warm plus warm could be too much.

As for your other point, I suppose I could order both and keep the one I'm happier with, especially at those prices, selling on should not be too difficult.
 

paulkebab

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IPL S2tlm's which are small floorstanders using a 2 way transmission line design. There's probably no issue selling on any of the kit you've been looking at, enjoy the auditions :)
 

paulkebab

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kit speakers and no, you don't really need any tech knowledge to make them. What made me buy them goes back to the 80's when WHF had a panel of experts you could actually write a letter to asking for advice, I think it was the grand sum of £2.00 per letter! The guy who replied to me suggested the Wharfedale E70 or E90 speakers and a firm called Wilmslow Audio (in Wilmslow then and not far from me) did quite a few kit speakers, the Wharfedales included for about half price of the genuine article. All their kits were ready built for audition and I was very impressed, as was everyone who heard them so since then I've been building my own. The advantage is you can tweak the bass, midrange and tweeter (albeit not by a great amount) to your preference and Ivan at IPL is very helpful regarding picking the right kit. Not for everyone but the prices make it almost irresistable to have a go.
 

drummerman

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The one problem I can see with Kit speakers is re-sell value.

Not that many will probably want to buy something built by an individual at home.

I may be wrong.
 

insider9

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I've seen IPL speakers selling for silly money on both ends of the spectrum. Some struggling to fetch £150 others going in excess of £1,000. Couldn't figure out why this would be other than luck and location. It definitely helps is you know what you're doing and the end product looks professional.
 

robdmarsh

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So, I've ordered the Marantz HD-Amp1. Excited.

Can someone tell me the best way to enable me to play my itunes library wirelessly on my new amplifier - when my iPod classic finally dies?

The iPod is not long for this world. A couple of hurdles are that the Marantz does not have bluetooth or wifi and I'm not using an Apple computer but a PC. I'm hoping to be able to do this for under £100 and have reasonable sound quality.
 

Gray

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robdmarsh said:
So, I've ordered the Marantz HD-Amp1. Excited.

Can someone tell me the best way to enable me to play my itunes library wirelessly on my new amplifier - when my iPod classic finally dies?

The iPod is not long for this world. A couple of hurdles are that the Marantz does not have bluetooth or wifi and I'm not using an Apple computer but a PC. I'm hoping to be able to do this for under £100 and have reasonable sound quality.

If reasonable is all you want, then this might be all you need. OK, it's not apt-x BT, but all I wanted was a way to transmit some non-critical audio from laptop or tablet to the hi-fi. Once this has been paired with (up to 2) devices, it works well.

I found its output to be slightly lower than standard line level sources, but no real problem. Otherwise, for the price (I paid £20, apparently it was £12 at one time) I've got no complaints. Doesn't look bad either, with its blue illumination.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01CZVCYU0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Or maybe see if you can find a receiver with apt-x and a decent DAC within your £100 budget.

Enjoy that Marantz Rob, I'm sure you will.
 

davedotco

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Apple chose not fo fully embrace Bluetooth, steering the user towards their proprietory Airplay system instead.

If you are going to buy a replacement iPod you should investigate this. A good cheap alternative is Neets 'compatible' Airstream device, only about £25.
 

davedotco

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drummerman said:
Chromecast?

Does that allow you to play music from your iPod/phone stored library, this is the users primary requirement?

My only experience is with CCV where our iPad is effectively the remote, the content is sourced 'direct' from Netflix (in our case).
 

robdmarsh

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Thanks for your replies everyone. They're all possible solutions but I'm looking to preserve best possible sound (difficult I know without spending hundreds).

I popped into Richer sounds and asked them. They thought the Yamaha wxad-10 might be a good solution but then I asked if I'd be able to use the DAC in the amplifier and they sound no because there's no digital out. Then the guy suggested Apple airport xpress. I thought you'd have to have a Mac to use this but he said if I use itunes it'll work. This might be a neat solution but I don't think I'd be able to use my phone to navigate but with the Yamaha I would. There's of course Sonos connect but that's hundreds. So... still looking.
 

robdmarsh

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Ah ha... so maybe I've found something which fits my requirements. That suggestion for a Neet thingie got me looking on Amazon and I found this, which has bluetooth aptx and optical out so I should be able to use the DAC in the amplifier. I think, also, that I should be able to control it with an app on my phone but I'm still looking into that. As you can see there are loads of other products available that do various things, some well-known and others not.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H8ONMGA/ref=psdc_617419011_t2_B00O0U37HO
 

davedotco

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robdmarsh said:
Ah ha... so maybe I've found something which fits my requirements. That suggestion for a Neet thingie got me looking on Amazon and I found this, which has bluetooth aptx and optical out so I should be able to use the DAC in the amplifier. I think, also, that I should be able to control it with an app on my phone but I'm still looking into that. As you can see there are loads of other products available that do various things, some well-known and others not.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H8ONMGA/ref=psdc_617419011_t2_B00O0U37HO

If you want to use Bluetooth then that will be fine. iPods, should you choose to buy another, work better with Airplay. The Neet device alluded to in my earlier post uses Airplay compatible technology, and is cheaper. Has a toslink output too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet®-Wireless-Receiver-wireless-streaming/dp/B00O0U37HO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519065876&sr=8-1&keywords=neet+airstream
 

robdmarsh

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Hi davedotco. So the Neet thing you were talking about uses Airplay and has the optical out? That sounds good. As for getting another ipod, I'm not sure about that. If I did, would I be able to use it to control my itunes library on my computer (PC not Mac) and stream it to the amplifier? Of course, the downside with the new ipods and the demise of the Classic is they have relatively small storage whereas my old Classic has 120gb.

Or, would I be able to control it with my Android phone?
 

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