Marantz 6003 - speakers?

[matthewpiano]

The Manchester Show was a revelation for me, and has solved my restless pursuit of the unobtainable. Hearing the Marantz 6003 electronics alongside all the high end esoterica made it clearly obvious how dramatically the law of diminishing returns sets in, and I am absolutely convinced that the best thing I can do now is buy a good quality budget set-up and just settle on enjoying the music. Even after hearing thousands of pounds worth of valve system in the UKD room, I went back to the Marantz and found it completely satisfying. I love its musicality and the even-handed approach across the frequency range.

Now I'm wondering which speakers to go with. The Aviano 2s sounded superb on the end of the 6003s and I wasn't taken with the Diamond 10.1s in the Quad/Wharfedale room, but I am very conscious of the recommendations throughout WHFS&V for pairing the Marantz electronics with the Wharfedales. I wonder how much my perception of the Diamonds was affected by the Quad electronics.

So, (bearing in mind that I'll have to audition as well) I'd be grateful for any thoughts from the WHFS&V team or other forum users on this. Do the Diamonds sound nice and open and even handed with the Marantz electronics, and would this combination work with my electic musical tastes?

Any comments/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I've been going round and round in cirlces for too long. I don't want to carry on messing around with 30+ year old electronics that need re-capping etc. and having a collection of different combinations taking up space. I also know, thanks to a brilliantly organised and presented show, that you have to spend vast amounts of money to make even quite small improvements over a budget system and that, as someone with limited finances, this just can't be justified. Its time to get a grip.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

matthewpiano:The Manchester Show was a revelation for me, and has solved my restless pursuit of the unobtainable. Hearing the Marantz 6003 electronics alongside all the high end esoterica made it clearly obvious how dramatically the law of diminishing returns sets in, and I am absolutely convinced that the best thing I can do now is buy a good quality budget set-up and just settle on enjoying the music. Even after hearing thousands of pounds worth of valve system in the UKD room, I went back to the Marantz and found it completely satisfying. I love its musicality and the even-handed approach across the frequency range.

Now I'm wondering which speakers to go with. The Aviano 2s sounded superb on the end of the 6003s and I wasn't taken with the Diamond 10.1s in the Quad/Wharfedale room, but I am very conscious of the recommendations throughout WHFS&V for pairing the Marantz electronics with the Wharfedales. I wonder how much my perception of the Diamonds was affected by the Quad electronics.

So, (bearing in mind that I'll have to audition as well) I'd be grateful for any thoughts from the WHFS&V team or other forum users on this. Do the Diamonds sound nice and open and even handed with the Marantz electronics, and would this combination work with my electic musical tastes?

Any comments/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I've been going round and round in cirlces for too long. I don't want to carry on messing around with 30+ year old electronics that need re-capping etc. and having a collection of different combinations taking up space. I also know, thanks to a brilliantly organised and presented show, that you have to spend vast amounts of money to make even quite small improvements over a budget system and that, as someone with limited finances, this just can't be justified. Its time to get a grip.

You've had more changes this year than Kylie at an awards ceremony. The 6003 will be replaced within 6 months Matthew!

 

[Simon Lucas]

Depends how far you want to take it, Matthew. We've got a pair of Aviano 2s on site for review in the December issue so I can't really comment on those yet - although if they're as capable as the Aviano 1s they'll be well worth consideration. It's worth hearing the Diamond 10.1s with the 6003s if at all possible, as they really get on like a house on fire. But I'd be tempted to put £470 EB Acoustics' way and have a 30-day home trial of its outstanding EB1s. If you don't like them you can get a refund, but I don't reckon you'd return them.

 

[matthewpiano]

Gerrardasnails:matthewpiano:The Manchester Show was a revelation for me, and has solved my restless pursuit of the unobtainable. Hearing the Marantz 6003 electronics alongside all the high end esoterica made it clearly obvious how dramatically the law of diminishing returns sets in, and I am absolutely convinced that the best thing I can do now is buy a good quality budget set-up and just settle on enjoying the music. Even after hearing thousands of pounds worth of valve system in the UKD room, I went back to the Marantz and found it completely satisfying. I love its musicality and the even-handed approach across the frequency range.

Now I'm wondering which speakers to go with. The Aviano 2s sounded superb on the end of the 6003s and I wasn't taken with the Diamond 10.1s in the Quad/Wharfedale room, but I am very conscious of the recommendations throughout WHFS&V for pairing the Marantz electronics with the Wharfedales. I wonder how much my perception of the Diamonds was affected by the Quad electronics.

So, (bearing in mind that I'll have to audition as well) I'd be grateful for any thoughts from the WHFS&V team or other forum users on this. Do the Diamonds sound nice and open and even handed with the Marantz electronics, and would this combination work with my electic musical tastes?

Any comments/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I've been going round and round in cirlces for too long. I don't want to carry on messing around with 30+ year old electronics that need re-capping etc. and having a collection of different combinations taking up space. I also know, thanks to a brilliantly organised and presented show, that you have to spend vast amounts of money to make even quite small improvements over a budget system and that, as someone with limited finances, this just can't be justified. Its time to get a grip.

You've had more changes this year than Kylie at an awards ceremony. The 6003 will be replaced within 6 months Matthew!

LOL!! I wouldn't expect you to think anything different because I have changed an insane number of times. Its amazing what a sense of perspective can be gained from visiting a show though. Its the first time I've really had the opportunity to hear quality budget kit alongside top end stuff and I was very surprised by the relatively small performance gaps. Its all about that sense of perspective and I think that had I attended an event of this type earlier I might well have stuck with one of the better systems I've had here.

 

[matthewpiano]

Simon Lucas:Depends how far you want to take it, Matthew. We've got a pair of Aviano 2s on site for review in the December issue so I can't really comment on those yet - although if they're as capable as the Aviano 1s they'll be well worth consideration. It's worth hearing the Diamond 10.1s with the 6003s if at all possible, as they really get on like a house on fire. But I'd be tempted to put £470 EB Acoustics' way and have a 30-day home trial of its outstanding EB1s. If you don't like them you can get a refund, but I don't reckon you'd return them.

Thanks Simon. It will be the end of the year when I finally take the plunge so I'll be able to read your review of the Aviano 2s first. I'll also consider the EB Acoustics speakers although I'm trying not to spend too much and would be happy if I could achieve satisfying results with either the Avianos or the Diamonds. I notice Richers are doing the 6003s with the Diamonds for £599 which effectively makes the speakers free - very tempting if I can be convinced that the Diamonds are the way to go. I've already got Chord Crimson and Rumour 2 and decent Atacama Nexus 6 stands so the accessories are sorted.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't forget Matthew. Electronics and their market produced derivatives (PC's, TV's, Home Cinema, Hi-Fi, etc) are continually improving fields. After having found your perfect speakers, CD player etc in 3 months (possibly less) something allegedly better will be out.

But as you say its time to stop procrastinating and go and buy what you like the sound of & what you can comfortably afford. Magazines like WHSV by their very nature focus on newer products, but that doesnt mean to say what you buy today will suddenly start sounding rubbish tomorrow. It will still sound as good. I bought a marantz cd player, amp and mordaunt short speakers 13 years ago and they still sound good. I also bought all the kit you see in my signature in June this year. And in the short time since then products have come out and are apparently even better than my once 5-star products. Does my kit still sound & look brilliant? Absoloutly. Am I tempted to upgrade? Well not unless it cost me no money (so no then).

As an aside I loved the sound (and look) of the wharedale 10.1's and if i could spare the money I would love to audition them (with the marantz combo) with a view to replacing my old marantz/mordauntshort kit. But only if they sound better than what I have.

 

[DIB]

Like Matthew I went to the show and was impressed with the Marantz set-up. I run a CD6002/PM7001 Marantz set up and play them through my Quad 12L2's. I absolutely love this set up, and am now at the stage where I just sit down and enjoy the music rather than think what can I buy next. I'm also very pleased with the phono stage on the 7001. I bought myself a secondhand Pro-Ject Debut 2 TT and it sounds great through the Marantz amp.

One small point from the show. I remember a thread a few weeks ago asking what music would you take to an in-store demo, and I replied Gomez's "Bring It On". Walked in the Marantz room and what was playing? Gomez. Great minds and all that...

.

 

[matthewpiano]

DIB, how would you say the set-up at the show compared to your own system? It would be interesting to know because there are a few decent deals around on CD6002s still, and plenty of PM7001s knocking around.

 

[Anonymous]

DIB:
Like Matthew I went to the show and was impressed with the Marantz set-up. I run a CD6002/PM7001 Marantz set up and play them through my Quad 12L2's. I absolutely love this set up, and am now at the stage where I just sit down and enjoy the music rather than think what can I buy next. I'm also very pleased with the phono stage on the 7001. I bought myself a secondhand Pro-Ject Debut 2 TT and it sounds great through the Marantz amp.

One small point from the show. I remember a thread a few weeks ago asking what music would you take to an in-store demo, and I replied Gomez's "Bring It On". Walked in the Marantz room and what was playing? Gomez. Great minds and all that...

.

Nice setup!

 

[matthewpiano]

Marco, how would you describe the sound of your set-up? I was very impressed with some Focals at the show and would be interested in some ideas as to how they match with your Marantz electronics.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:DIB, how would you say the set-up at the show compared to your own system? It would be interesting to know because there are a few decent deals around on CD6002s still, and plenty of PM7001s knocking around.

Haven't heard the PM6003/CD6003 combo, but my guess is it will be very similar. I prefered the PM7001 over the PM6002 because it was a bit "warmer" and smoother - it gives me a lovely kind of refined musicality, the extra power is handy as well. I had to get Rothwell inline attenuators though as there was too much gain with my setup. (The CD player outputs at 2.35V!) As an added bonus I think the headphone out is excellent on the PM7001, my Headbox II only just beats it for openness and outright clarity, and I actually prefer the sound of some CDs through the Amp because they sound warmer. (Yes I've got a thing about warmth. lol)

Edit: The Focals give me a lovely soundstage and a beautifully natural sound. Guitars and pianos in particular are ultra realistic on good recordings. The dynamics are really good if you use dynamic sounding cables too. I use Chord Silver Siren to connect the CD and amp and Silver PLus speaker cable.

Marco.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:Marco, how would you describe the sound of your set-up? I was very impressed with some Focals at the show and would be interested in some ideas as to how they match with your Marantz electronics.

I'd say it was a tiny bit too refined and smooth until I upgraded the mains cables and interconnects. Now I can play anything from Amy Winehouse to Led Zeppelin and it sounds just right with just about any genre of music. I can fall asleep to the Blade Runner soundtrack, or get my heartrate going with some Clash. It suits me because I've got such a wide range of musical tastes.

Marco.

 

[matthewpiano]

Thanks Marco. I also have extremely wide-ranging tastes from classical, through folk and jazz, to classic rock and some pop music so your views are a great help.

 

[DIB]

matthewpiano:DIB, how would you say the set-up at the show compared to your own system? It would be interesting to know because there are a few decent deals around on CD6002s still, and plenty of PM7001s knocking around.

To these ears it sounded much the same.

The CD6002 is a great player IMHO, and not sure how much better the 6003 could be, if at all? I bought mine for £150, ex-demo from Sevenoaks in Manchester which I thought was a good deal.

I originally had a PM6002, but then a PM7001 came up for £175 off eBay so I bought it. Just a bit more grunt than the 6002 but both really good budget amps.

I'd demo'ed some new Quad 11L2''s against the B & W 685's and preferred the Quads to be honest, plus they were about £75 cheaper. However, a pair of half price ex-demo Quad 12L2's came up on eBay for £240 so I went with them, and I'm so glad I did, they look and sound sweet. Connected them up with some secondhand Chord Odyssey 2 again off eBay, and so a budget system was put together for around £625 which I'm more than happy with.

.

.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

matthewpiano:The Manchester Show was a revelation for me, and has solved my restless pursuit of the unobtainable. Hearing the Marantz 6003 electronics alongside all the high end esoterica made it clearly obvious how dramatically the law of diminishing returns sets in, and I am absolutely convinced that the best thing I can do now is buy a good quality budget set-up and just settle on enjoying the music. Even after hearing thousands of pounds worth of valve system in the UKD room, I went back to the Marantz and found it completely satisfying. I love its musicality and the even-handed approach across the frequency range. Now I'm wondering which speakers to go with. The Aviano 2s sounded superb on the end of the 6003s and I wasn't taken with the Diamond 10.1s in the Quad/Wharfedale room, but I am very conscious of the recommendations throughout WHFS&V for pairing the Marantz electronics with the Wharfedales. I wonder how much my perception of the Diamonds was affected by the Quad electronics. So, (bearing in mind that I'll have to audition as well) I'd be grateful for any thoughts from the WHFS&V team or other forum users on this. Do the Diamonds sound nice and open and even handed with the Marantz electronics, and would this combination work with my electic musical tastes? Any comments/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I've been going round and round in cirlces for too long. I don't want to carry on messing around with 30+ year old electronics that need re-capping etc. and having a collection of different combinations taking up space. I also know, thanks to a brilliantly organised and presented show, that you have to spend vast amounts of money to make even quite small improvements over a budget system and that, as someone with limited finances, this just can't be justified. Its time to get a grip.

Isn't it funny....I was at the show too, and thought the Wharfedale's sounded truely amazing, and the Aviano's were ok but not as good.

This is why auditioning equipment is so important!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Matthew ... have read your post with much interest ... I was in the same dilema a few month's back ... buy new budget gear or go the 2nd hand route? ... after much deliberation, I opted for the 2nd hand option

How much better is the Marantz amp than your Sansui? .... and how much more does it cost? ...

If you need to recap, it can be done professionally for cheap (I was quoted £60 plus P&P to recap my SA-9800 which includes a full service) ... What good 2nd hand vintage amp (in good condition) can you purchase for the cost of the Marantz amp?

As for speakers, I still feel that really good 2nd hand gear is the way to go ... as for the CDP I feel exactly the same

suppose it boils down to what is the best quality you can get for your money, and I seriously think that with the budget you have, you can get a really good system.

I think that I would have to spend a lot of money to better the sound produced from my system (paid £495 for mine) ... excluding the hifi cabinet

Had I bought new low budget items, I would continuosly be looking at upgrading, as I would know that I bought cheaper low budget gear

I know many may disagree, but just giving my 2 cents worth ... but good luck with your new purchases!

 

[matthewpiano]

Thanks for your input dim_span.

I've been all over the place with my hi-fi over the last couple of years. I've been through all of the following in different combinations:

Marantz CD63MkII KI-Sig; Cambridge Audio 640C; Marantz CD52MkII SE; Denon DCD1500AE; NAD C521BEE; Arcam CD73; Sony SCD-XA1200ES; Cambridge Audio 740C; Rega Apollo; Sansui AU2900; Naim Nait 3; Denon PMA1500AE; Technics SU-V55a; Technics SU-A600MkII; Technics SL-PS670A; Pioneer A400; Pioneer SA-508; Sansui AU-X111; Pioneer SX450; Cambridge Audio 540A; Arcam A65+; Cyrus 7; Arcam A70; NAD C325BEE; JVC JR-S301; Cambridge Audio 640A V2.0; Cambridge Audio 740A; TEAC Reference 380; Mordaunt-Short MS902i; Mordaunt-Short MS914i; Quad 11L; Wharfedale Diamond 9.1; Wharfedale Diamond 8.3+; Monitor Audio B2; Monitor Audio BR2; KEF Coda III; KEF C30; Mordaunt-Short Mezzo 2; Mordaunt-Short MS25Ti; Tannoy Sensys 1; Tannoy F1 Custom.....

That is a RIDICULOUS amount of swapping and changing and far too much time spent selling unwanted kit on Ebay. True, its given me a wide ranging experience of lots of kit, but I don't want all this messing anymore. Both financially and musically it is time to have a single system on which I can simply enjoy listening to the music, to the point where I just don't want to be messing around with any of the servicing and repairs that older kit implies.

One of my favourite set-ups from the above was the CD63MkII KI-Sig with the A400 and the Quad 11Ls but I just wasn't comfortable with running such an old CD player, knowing that laser diodes don't last forever and that transports also reach the point of no return. I want to be totally settled.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I have the Marantz CD63 MKII KI, that i bought off ebay 3 years ago.....

So far it's worked perfectly, but you can get new transports off ebay...there is a shop on there that still sells them.....

 

[Anonymous]

some good gear there Matthew, I always read your posts with interest and you always have good advice to people's questions, especially when it is related to older gear ...

so good luck with your new system!

however, IMHO think that you will buy new, be happy for a while, then upgrade shortly thereafter ...

that's how it works especially when you have owned so much good gear ...

just read the forums ... some people upgrade continuosly, be it a cable, or a new cdp or a dac or a ....

 

[Anonymous]

Matthew, have you ever considered just buying an iPod Touch with a pair of decent Shure headphones? It's almost as if hifi per se isn't working for you. Maybe an iPod would give you the speed, resolution, dynamics and balance without the baggage. I've wondered about this for myself sometimes!

 

[Tibor]

Hello

ÿI think the Aviano will not be better than Mezzo 2(you had it), and Aviano with Marantz can be on the analitical side, they lack some warmth and musicality.

Keep your system and add Musical Fidelity V-Dac, or save for a Leema Pulse, Musical Fidelity A 1 or Naim Nait 5i amps, they are very musical.

 

[matthewpiano]

Thanks Tibor. I've actually got a V-DAC and I've been using it for some time. Excellent bit of kit, but I felt the CD6003 sounded better - more open, particularly in the midrange.

There really is no point in me saving for a Nait 5i or similar because I won't be able to invest in the speakers necessary to get the best out of it. I need to stick to my system budget and end up in a situation where I haven't then got to start saving up for another upgrade or another bit of kit.

 

[link]

i think you'd better stick with aviano as it's that what blew you away in the first place

heard the 10.1 with a cayin integrated and found it to have more bass than highs (dont know the exact term). i ended up with a 9.1 again (the anniv edition though).

audition them side by side and pick what suits you best. just limit it to aviano and 10.1 though as adding othe speakers will confuse you more.

just my opinion.

 

[Cypher]

I use the CD6002 and the PM6003 with some Dali Lektor 2 speakers. Works very well. In the beginning it sounded a bit harsh but now 4 weeks later the harshness is gone.

I'm still curious if the Wharfedale 10.1 wil sound better than the Lektors with my setup.............

 

[stephennic]

Hi Matthew,

Are you saying the marantz cd6003 is better than your marantz cd63KI. I listened to the marantz cd6002 and I thought that it wasnt as good as my marantz cd63se. Im interested in your sound comparison. Also I would think the rega apollo would be a step up to the marantz cd6003 in sound.

I still have my marantz cd63se and after many comparisons with various cd players I bought a consonance cd-120 linear as an upgrade. It has that nice musicalmidband of the marantz cd63se but with that added smoothness and also being more open and deeper soundstage and a fuller bass, and a little more natural sounding too. The rega apolllo sounded lean compared to the consonance its richer smoother and more dynamic.May I suggest the B&W cm7 or 9 as a good speaker with marantz or are you after bookshelf speakers.

Cheers

Steve.