I'm done with Quad – again!

[newlash09]

Hi

I have the concept 40's in my living room which is a open floor plan and slightly bigger than your present room. I run these with a basic marantz SR6011 AV amp as this is my home theatre system also. And they sound bloody lovely for the money. I spend a lot of evenings listening to my friends B&W nautilus setup, and the Qacoustics concept 40's have a very very similar sound signature. Very smooth, inviting and non fatiguing delivery. So a marantz with the concept 40's would be my recommendation. They will sound lovely on jazz and will also justify pop for the rest of the family.

I haven't heard the Dali oberion speakers in question here. But I've heard their zensor 7 speaker in 2014 I think. I choose the concept 40's over the Dali as I found the dali to be too bright at times. And will need very sympathetic partnering in the amp

 

[newlash09]

Hi

I have the concept 40's in my living room which is a open floor plan and slightly bigger than your present room. I run these with a basic marantz SR6011 AV amp as this is my home theatre system also. And they sound bloody lovely for the money. I spend a lot of evenings listening to my friends B&W nautilus setup, and the Qacoustics concept 40's have a very very similar sound signature. Very smooth, inviting and non fatiguing delivery. So a marantz with the concept 40's would be my recommendation. They will sound lovely on jazz and will also justify pop for the rest of the family.

I haven't heard the Dali oberion speakers in question here. But I've heard their zensor 7 speaker in 2014 I think. I choose the concept 40's over the Dali as I found the dali to be too bright at times. And will need very sympathetic partnering in the amp

I forgot to add that my main 2 channel system sits in a separate room. That is a really serious system, with lots of money stuck in there. But my wife still prefers the concept 40's over the main rig.

And to give an alternate option, if you don't need CD player and can get along by streaming. Then also please consider a blue sound powernode 2i. When I first got my concept 40's I was running them with the first gen blue sound power node, and they made a good pairing with streaming inbuilt. Was very easy for my wife to operate too.

 

[Bromiley]

Hi

I have the concept 40's in my living room which is a open floor plan and slightly bigger than your present room. I run these with a basic marantz SR6011 AV amp as this is my home theatre system also. And they sound bloody lovely for the money. I spend a lot of evenings listening to my friends B&W nautilus setup, and the Qacoustics concept 40's have a very very similar sound signature. Very smooth, inviting and non fatiguing delivery. So a marantz with the concept 40's would be my recommendation. They will sound lovely on jazz and will also justify pop for the rest of the family.

I haven't heard the Dali oberion speakers in question here. But I've heard their zensor 7 speaker in 2014 I think. I choose the concept 40's over the Dali as I found the dali to be too bright at times. And will need very sympathetic partnering in the amp

Thanks very much for your input. It's most welcome I found a dealer in Ireland that ships to Germany. Would you believe that I can get the Concept 40's for 500 Euros cheaper than anywhere in Germany!

 

[eazyryder]

I'd also like to upgrade my speakers (B&W 685 S2) for something with more room filling presence as I have quite a large room and I feel I'm lacking a bit more bass.

The first thing I'd like to do is get the Marantz amp. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read that Marantz amps are a good match with B&W. If this is true, I can add the amp to my existing speakers for the time being. Any thoughts?

As far as speakers go, I'm looking at the Dali Oberon 7 or Concept 40's.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

You could also look at NAD amps as they go well with B&W too.
If you really like the sound signature from your B&W 685s I would stick with B&W and look at a pair of their floorstanders.
Although i wouldn't switch to many parts of your existing system all at once as this could confuse things, maybe for the worse.

Personally I would get the new amp first and get used to the new sound before you change your speakers.
This would also allow more funds for a higher powered/spec amp which in turn would give you a far wider choice when you eventually change the 685 S2s

I think your Digital Quad Vena had 45 WPC
Your B&W 685 S2 have a sensitivity of 87db, which is Not the easiest load for a 45WPC digital amp.
A amp with more power (at the very least a 50wpc solid state) would have greater control of the 685 S2s and maybe give you that extra presence and bass your looking for.

What speaker stands are you using with the 685 S2s? As this can greatly affect bass and soundstage.

 

[Bromiley]

I have the B&W STAV24 stands filled with sand and Blu Tack under the speakers.

The B&W 685 S2 and Quad Vena was my first Hi-Fi adventure. I liked the sound but my experience is very limited with other amps and speakers . For my ears, playing Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchel and even Nile Rodgers (Chic) sounded good to me and I could happily listen all day.

I think getting the Marantz PM7000N first and seeing how that drives my B&W 685 S2 speakers for now may be the best step forward. Maybe the amp will get more out of the speakers than the Quad Vena.

 

[eazyryder]

I think getting the Marantz PM7000N first and seeing how that drives my B&W 685 S2 speakers for now may be the best step forward. Maybe the amp will get more out of the speakers than the Quad Vena.

Marantz are usually smooth/warm sounding amps and at 60wpc should give plenty of dynamic headroom to drive the 685 S2s

I have not demoed the Marantz PM7000N but have demoed older models in the past.
I did find Marantz not as exciting or dynamically expressive as the likes of NAD.

I too prefer a warm sounding system with an expressive/powerful bottom end, but with the addition of speed, clarity and dynamic excitement.

I have previously owned both the B&W 601 S3s and the original 685s
The B&W 685 S2s are a highly regarded standmount and will take an expensive floorstander speaker upgrade to better them.
You will get more bottom end (not necessarily better sounding bass) and usually a bigger/wider soundstage with a floorstander but at a considerably higher cost than your 685 S2s

 

[Deleted member 188516]

In order to create any perceivable audible difference a considerable deviation from the desired ruler flat response will be required, and the components added to facilitate such an aberration will be exceedingly obvious in the schematic of the amplifier and any measurements. In short you are talking nonsense. You can have ‘house sound’ speakers, but not house sound amplifiers. House sound amplifiers might well be found in a Bose system, but they are not found in any amplifier that can be described as high fidelity. You might as well add a multi frequency equaliser to a system.

so do all (solid state) amps sound the same when level matched ?

this was something that was repeated constantly by one poster, i noticed, when the forum was running previously.

 

[Deleted member 188516]

If the speakers are a difficult load you can tell by the specs whether the amplifier is suitable by the quoted power at 4 ohms compared with 8 ohms. The closer the amplifier can get to doubling the 8 ohm power at 4 ohms the better it is at low impedance speakers. The frequency response is invariably quoted too and is usually flat well within audibility limits, so bang goes the house sound nonsense too. It would be nice if What hifi did proper testing instead of talking nonsense about 'timing' and what it sounds like on a Chemical Brothers CD.

Of course I'm only talking about SS amplifiers, not valve rubbish.

is this beauty an example of valve rubbish ?!

Unison Research Absolute 845| Integated Amplifier | Audio Emotion

Unison Research Absolute 845 Integrated Amplifier The popular American magazine The Absolute Sound first picked the Absolute 845 as the best product

www.audioemotion.co.uk

 

[TrevC]

is this beauty an example of valve rubbish ?!

Unison Research Absolute 845| Integated Amplifier | Audio Emotion

Unison Research Absolute 845 Integrated Amplifier The popular American magazine The Absolute Sound first picked the Absolute 845 as the best product

www.audioemotion.co.uk

Only 40 W per channel yet consumes a huge amount of power, costs a huge amount of money and looks ridiculous.
So yes.

I was brought up on valves by the way. Built my own 6L6 / 6SN7 amplifier using a box of valves my dad had.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

That looks like something from Flash Gordon's cockpit!

 

[Deleted member 188516]

Only 40 W per channel yet consumes a huge amount of power, costs a huge amount of money and looks ridiculous.
So yes.

I was brought up on valves by the way. Built my own 6L6 / 6SN7 amplifier using a box of valves my dad had.

the trevc amplifier - would like to of heard that !

 

[Deleted member 188516]

That looks like something from Flash Gordon's cockpit!

it does look a bit "strange" but seems highly rated...despite the daft price !

 

[Dom]

The AQ Forest USB C reduces a lot of brightness, so with careful system matching you could get that brightness down.

 

[Bromiley]

Marantz are usually smooth/warm sounding amps and at 60wpc should give plenty of dynamic headroom to drive the 685 S2s

I have not demoed the Marantz PM7000N but have demoed older models in the past.
I did find Marantz not as exciting or dynamically expressive as the likes of NAD.

I too prefer a warm sounding system with an expressive/powerful bottom end, but with the addition of speed, clarity and dynamic excitement.

I have previously owned both the B&W 601 S3s and the original 685s
The B&W 685 S2s are a highly regarded standmount and will take an expensive floorstander speaker upgrade to better them.
You will get more bottom end (not necessarily better sounding bass) and usually a bigger/wider soundstage with a floorstander but at a considerably higher cost than your 685 S2s

I'm going to demo the PM7000N and Dali Oberon 7 speakers tomorrow. If I like the combination, the amp will come first (for budget reasons) and be used with my existing B&W 685 S2s for a while.

BTW, you mention that it will take an expensive floor stander to better the B&W 685 S2s. Can you give me any examples that would suit the PM7000N?

 

[eazyryder]

I'm going to demo the PM7000N and Dali Oberon 7 speakers tomorrow. If I like the combination, the amp will come first (for budget reasons) and be used with my existing B&W 685 S2s for a while.

BTW, you mention that it will take an expensive floor stander to better the B&W 685 S2s. Can you give me any examples that would suit the PM7000N?

I would really try the Marantz on a home demo with your B&W 685 S2s first.
You know what to expect from the B&Ws and introducing the Marantz into your home system should highlight the sound signature and differences with that amplifier.
And if you like the change or improvement in sound you can later move along from there to demoing floorstanders or even try a greater selection of amps first.

It took me over 2 months of constant home and dealer demoing to make a final decision just on replacing my standmount speakers to floorstanders.
This is something you want to take your time with and enjoy, demo as many different brands and price levels as you can.
The more you demo the more you will learn about what sound you want from your system and the very different sound signatures between brands.
And more expensive is not always better.

I demoed many floorstanders at home and at various dealers over the past few months.
I found they all sounded completely different when added to my system at home, rather than the heavily acoustically treated demo rooms of many dealers.
Before you seal the deal, insist on a home loan demonstration first.

 

[Dom]

I agree, home demo for as long as you need. However it should be obvious when you have found the sound you are looking for.

 

[eazyryder]

However it should be obvious when you have found the sound you are looking for.

Sometimes you do have to make small compromises.
I suppose if money was no object

 

[Dom]

Sometimes you do have to make small compromises.
I suppose if money was no object

Yeah if money was no object I would buy an island and throw a party.

 

[Bromiley]

I would really try the Marantz on a home demo with your B&W 685 S2s first.
You know what to expect from the B&Ws and introducing the Marantz into your home system should highlight the sound signature and differences with that amplifier.
And if you like the change or improvement in sound you can later move along from there to demoing floorstanders or even try a greater selection of amps first.

It took me over 2 months of constant home and dealer demoing to make a final decision just on replacing my standmount speakers to floorstanders.
This is something you want to take your time with and enjoy, demo as many different brands and price levels as you can.
The more you demo the more you will learn about what sound you want from your system and the very different sound signatures between brands.
And more expensive is not always better.

I demoed many floorstanders at home and at various dealers over the past few months.
I found they all sounded completely different when added to my system at home, rather than the heavily acoustically treated demo rooms of many dealers.
Before you seal the deal, insist on a home loan demonstration first.

Thanks, eazyryder.

I had a quick demo today at a local store here in Cologne (Germany) that has Marantz, NAD, Dali and B&W.
To be honest, after reading the reviews about the Marantz PM7000N, I went into the shop expecting this to be what I was looking for. I was wrong.

The sales guy listened very carefully as I tried to explain what sound I was looking for and set up the PM7000N and the NAD 368 with Dali Opticon 6 and B&W 704 S2 speakers. (The Dali Oberon 7s were not available)

The Marantz and B&W 704 S2 speakers sounded good to begin with. Then things changed when the NAD was connected. Much better for my ears.

So, having listened to both amps with B&W, we moved on to the amps with the Dali Opticon 6 speakers. For me this combination was far better. In the end, the NAD 368 and Dali Opticon 6 combination was amazing.

I'll be arranging a home demo very soon to test the combination at home.

 

[eazyryder]

Thanks, eazyryder.

I had a quick demo today at a local store here in Cologne (Germany) that has Marantz, NAD, Dali and B&W.
To be honest, after reading the reviews about the Marantz PM7000N, I went into the shop expecting this to be what I was looking for. I was wrong.

The sales guy listened very carefully as I tried to explain what sound I was looking for and set up the PM7000N and the NAD 368 with Dali Opticon 6 and B&W 704 S2 speakers. (The Dali Oberon 7s were not available)

The Marantz and B&W 704 S2 speakers sounded good to begin with. Then things changed when the NAD was connected. Much better for my ears.

So, having listened to both amps with B&W, we moved on to the amps with the Dali Opticon 6 speakers. For me this combination was far better. In the end, the NAD 368 and Dali Opticon 6 combination was amazing.

I'll be arranging a home demo very soon to test the combination at home.

I have owned a couple of NAD amps over the years including the great 3020.

NAD amplifiers have a warm, exciting and dynamic sound with plenty of bottom end grunt.
Marantz are a slightly smoother sounding amp, but I found them lacking in dynamics, a little too laid back and not as fast or musically engaging as NAD.

I also home demoed a pair of Dali rubicon 6s and can understand why you prefered Dali with NAD.
Those 80 conservative WPC from the NAD will easily drive the Opticons to their full potential.

You have to take online reviews as a shortlist guide only.
We are all have different expectations and listening rooms, systems, cables, ect.

I hope all sounds well when you get them home in your listening space.

Keep us updated on how things go