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".
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".