Hi-Fi upgrade advice.

[TCaprotti]

Hi everyone. I know a lot about music and vinyl in particular, but very little about Hi-Fi systems and components. I have what I think is a pretty good setup, but have come across some interesting components at auction, so was looking for some advice. My current setup is as follows:

Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3 speakers
Rotel A14 MKII amplifier
Rega Planar 6 with the Ania Pro MC cartridge, with Rega Fono MC Phono Stage.

Now, I've come across the following three components:

Marantz Model 1250 Integrated Stereo Amplifier
Adcom GFP-750 Nelson Pass Preamp/Passive Controller GFP750 Preamplifier
Audio Research LS15 Tube Stereo Preamplifier

As I mentioned, I don't have much of a clue whether it would be worth investing in any of the above. The Marantz apparently sounds amazing and might be a good upgrade from my Rotel. The Adcom and Audio Research preamps I'm not even sure would be suitable with the Marantz and my speakers, or if they'd be compatible with my Planar 6.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Tommaso.

 

[Al ears]

Hi everyone. I know a lot about music and vinyl in particular, but very little about Hi-Fi systems and components. I have what I think is a pretty good setup, but have come across some interesting components at auction, so was looking for some advice. My current setup is as follows:

Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3 speakers
Rotel A14 MKII amplifier
Rega Planar 6 with the Ania Pro MC cartridge, with Rega Fono MC Phono Stage.

Now, I've come across the following three components:

Marantz Model 1250 Integrated Stereo Amplifier
Adcom GFP-750 Nelson Pass Preamp/Passive Controller GFP750 Preamplifier
Audio Research LS15 Tube Stereo Preamplifier

As I mentioned, I don't have much of a clue whether it would be worth investing in any of the above. The Marantz apparently sounds amazing and might be a good upgrade from my Rotel. The Adcom and Audio Research preamps I'm not even sure would be suitable with the Marantz and my speakers, or if they'd be compatible with my Planar 6.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Tommaso.

Welcome to the forum.
With your amplifier I am not too sure why you would be interested in separate preamps.
The 1250 is ancient and a potential money pit if it hasn't been serviced recently.
The Audio Research is good kit if you want to get into valves but really needs to be matched to an Audio Research stereo power amplifier.
I don't know much about the Adcom but same thing applies regarding a power amplifier match.

 

[matthewpianist]

You have an extremely competent system, so making any worthwhile upgrade is going to take careful thought, auditioning and a decent budget. I agree that real care needs to be taken to avoid money pits if you're looking at vintage options.

If you enjoy your current system but still hanker after some upgrade, I'd suggest looking at Rotel's higher end amplifiers (including the MICHI ones) and also the new Audiolab 9000A.

Be very sure before you part with your cash that an upgrade is necessary. Your current system is no slouch.

 

[nopiano]

Welcome to the forum!

Good advice above. It’s one of those things where if you have to ask, it’s not a good idea! What I mean is, there’s a certain mythology around many vintage components. Whether you can find a decent example, whether it works well for you, and whether you can fix it if it breaks are all imponderables.

I felt the same when first approaching streaming almost a decade ago. In the end I just needed to buy some kit and try it myself. If you research well and buy carefully you can often get your money back, or even turn a small profit.

Once you got some personal experience you can decide if it’s for you. But it’s almost impossible to advise somebody else!

 

[TCaprotti]

Thank you all for your advice! The Marantz looks like it's in good condition, but as you suggest if it were to have some problems down the line I imagine it would be costly to service. The Audio Research looked cool to enter the valves arena but I had no idea it would have to be paired with a matching power amp, so thank you for pointing that out!

I guess I'll stick with my setup for now, and might check out the higher-end Rotel down the line.

Thanks again!