First thoughts after some very brief demos

[BillDay66]

Hi all

I have been asking everyone the ins and outs of every product made for the last few weeks, so thought it only fair to share my thoughts on a few things after a very brief demo today. I'm no expert in these things but I'll convey what I thought as best as...

Incidentally strolled into Audio T and found the chap in there, Paul to be very helpful, I hadnt booked a demo or anything but as he wasn't that busy, he set up as much as possible in the 45 minutes I was there.

I have decided on a sonos system (lossless ALAC - hardwired zp90 - hardwired NAS - iPhone controller) also want to hook up an optical out from an LG TV and a PS3 so digital inputs are important.

Initially wanted to have a look at the Peachtree Nova as it ticks all the boxes above very well indeed (including the hole for a zp90) First impressions are that it is pig ugly! (IMHO) and cheap looking, when it was set up with some Kef Q300s and a cyrus cdp, have to say wasnt overly impressed -seemed to have no midrange with lots of highs and lows, swapping in some MA RX6s improved the sound but not much.

Then tried a Cyrus 8xpd qx with the same songs (Adele and Coldplay - I didnt plan this demo so didnt have anything of my own with me). With the Kefs - I nearly left the room! All I can say is that it was incredibly detailed but the female voice in particular was unbearably 'screaching'! gives me a headache thinking about it.The MA RX6 s made a dramatic improvement - still loads of detail and precision but with the highs toned down massively, being an ex arcam owner not sure if I could get used to this or not but it was certainly involving, still a bit bright though.

Didnt get time to play with the digital sections of either amp or the valve on the Peachtree so can't comment. My conclusions of today were that the Peachtree did nothing for me to justify putting up with its appearance. The cyrus however does need further investigation with a booked demo slot and my own music + maybe some different speakers? (EB1s are what I like the 'look' of sadly not gonna hear them unless I buy them) I read on here that MA are perhaps more suited to Arcam than Cyrus?

None of the above combos gave much separation or soundstage but we were sat very close to them in the demo room?

The Missus took a real shine to the admittedley great looking MAs though so might be stuck with them! Will try and listen to them again with an A28 or A38 and get an rDac for the digital bit. Havent given up on the *xpd just yet though, it was by far the best 'quality' sound on offer in this brief test[]

I realise Ive not tested anything here with the sources that I intend to use but still feel a lot more enlightened than I did this morning, apologies if these comments arent technical enough to convey what I heard properly, Im just not that clever!

As a last minute afterthought, we connected a Naim UnitQute to the MAs, again with Cyrus cdp, I didnt think it would drive the speakers well with only 30wpc, but the guy in the shop assured me that was nonsence - having listened to it albeit briefly I'd have to disagree with him, it sounded slow and out of it depth to me and my better half.

So thats another option off the list, which might have saved a few quid!

 

[Anonymous]

If you can, auditon the AVI ADM9.1T. I don't think you'd be disappointed and the price for performance makes a lot of seperates look a bit silly. Just a thought.

 

[chebby]

BillDay66:As a last minute afterthought, we connected a Naim UnitQute to the MAs, again with Cyrus cdp, I didnt think it would drive the speakers well with only 30wpc, but the guy in the shop assured me that was nonsence - having listened to it albeit briefly I'd have to disagree with him, it sounded slow and out of it depth to me and my better half.

I have to agree that the UnitiQute is a bit of a snooze. Just a shame you didn't get to hear the NaimUniti (with something like PMC DB1i or GB1i speakers). That is a completely different matter!

Feeding a Naim UnitiQute with a Cyrus CD player is a bit 'eccentric' given that the NaimUniti exists.

(And why did everything have to be demo'ed with MA RX6s? One of the last brands I would hang off the end of a Naim.)

 

[BillDay66]

Thanks for the idea igglebert, Am I looking at the right speakers though, only 2 optical inputs? I aim to connect the sonos - TV and PS3 all digitally.

Just a thought but if I were to connect the tv via optical and just leave the PS3 connected to the TV by HDMI would the signal pass through the optical cable whilst the TV was off? Not a biggy I suppose only wanted the PS3 to have its own connection to the dac/amp so we could stick the very occasional cd on it without turning the TV on

 

[BillDay66]

Chebby

As I said we literally walked in off the street on the off chance, mainly to get a look at the Peachtree in the flesh but they had it set up already with kefs and the MAs were stood next to them - Sonos in the shop wasnt working and they couldnt quickly find any other source than the cyrus cdp. As we hadnt arranged anything in advance, just went with it.

Appreciate the problems, but was still a very worthwile exercise for me as Ive never heard any high/mid range hi fi other than my old Arcam gear - which I'm beginning to wish I'd kept

 

[chebby]

BillDay66:Thanks for the idea igglebert, Am I looking at the right speakers though, only 2 optical inputs? I aim to connect the sonos - TV and PS3 all digitally.

The AVI Netron 5.2.1 system (about £1300) gives you an analogue RCA input and four digital inputs. It has an active subwoofer box (containing 3 x 100 watt amps and the DAC and the remote controllable pre-amp section) and a pair of Neutron V bookshelf speakers.

One of the 100 watt amps drives the sub and the other two drive the (passive) Neutron Vs.

 

[BillDay66]

Thanks Chebby

 

[Anonymous]

Chebby's suggestion is a good one if the ADMs aren't adequate enough in the bass or you can't push another £800 for the ADM sub. (The ADMs are superb in the bass on their own BTW).

I solved the input problem with one of these boxes of tricks. I got it today in fact. It's super cheap and ideal for switching to a more occasional use device.

My ADMs have an Airport Express into D1 and the switch into D2. The switch is left on the TV but can be switched to the CDP. There's one other input on it too, perhaps for a DVD player, console, etc. Works for me!