Marantz 6004 amp with kef ls50 or r100?

David Parkes

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Will my amp do these speakers justice? My room is 26' x 12' with the speakers firing across the small dimension 6' apart. They need to be close to the wall. I don't mind an amp upgrade, but want tone controls in case the bass gets overwhelming. Most amp at the £800 price point seem to have none! i have a pair of ms 1-XR currently. They are good, but I feel i can do better, I have the bass turned down a little to reduce boom.

Any advice all you experts? Thanks
 
David Parkes said:
Will my amp do these speakers justice? My room is 26' x 12' with the speakers firing across the small dimension 6' apart. They need to be close to the wall. I don't mind an amp upgrade, but want tone controls in case the bass gets overwhelming. Most amp at the £800 price point seem to have none! i have a pair of ms 1-XR currently. They are good, but I feel i can do better, I have the bass turned down a little to reduce boom.

Any advice all you experts? Thanks

Tricky without home deming one or the other. Having seen (not heard ) the R100 and R300 I'd say they are way too deep, thus would need, IMO, a good 18" from the wall to avoid any possible boom. The LS50s would be better suited sizewise to your room.

A dem will tell you whether they are the way to go or perhaps something like Focal 706V or Totem dreamcatchers might be better suited to room dimensions.
 

CnoEvil

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I can't speak about the match with the Marantz, but I have extensively demoed R100 vs LS50 (with Majik DSM and Sneaky DS + Arcam AVR600).

The result was that even though I really wanted to get the R100s, the LS50s are so much better that (imo) for the £200 difference, they were a no brainer (for me).

If you have thoughts towards upgrading your amp in the future, the LS50s will (imo) give you far more. Now please bear in mind that this is my subjective opinion, which is no substitute for personally listening and making your own judgement call.
 

Frank Harvey

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David Parkes said:
Will my amp do these speakers justice? My room is 26' x 12' with the speakers firing across the small dimension 6' apart. They need to be close to the wall. I don't mind an amp upgrade, but want tone controls in case the bass gets overwhelming. Most amp at the £800 price point seem to have none! i have a pair of ms 1-XR currently. They are good, but I feel i can do better, I have the bass turned down a little to reduce boom.

Any advice all you experts? Thanks

To answer your question directly, I'd say the R100s. They'll be an easier load for your existing amplifier. The LS50 is a better speaker (obviously open to debate, but most people seem to feel that way - in my opinion, way better), and if you really wanted this speaker after hearing it, I'd look more towards the Marantz PM Pearl Lite amp, which will do a far better job. You could also consider the Rotel RA12.
 
David Parkes said:
Will my amp do these speakers justice? My room is 26' x 12' with the speakers firing across the small dimension 6' apart. They need to be close to the wall. I don't mind an amp upgrade, but want tone controls in case the bass gets overwhelming. Most amp at the £800 price point seem to have none! i have a pair of ms 1-XR currently. They are good, but I feel i can do better, I have the bass turned down a little to reduce boom.

Any advice all you experts? Thanks

Hi David Parkes

What source component/s are you using?

Your listening distance?

General listening level?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 

David Parkes

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My source is a marantz cd6003, but mostly these days I am streaming flac files via a denon dnp 720ae at normal cd bit rate I.e. lossless. I sit around 12' away with the speakers directly opposite around 100mm from the wall. I am assuming I will get a significant improvement over my ms 1-XRs.

interestingly i also still have so ms 20i pearl in their box in the loft. Assume these wont be as good as the kef's or my 1-XRs?

i'd upgrade the amp but do worry about lack of tone controls if I went for a kandy k2.
 

CnoEvil

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David Parkes said:
i'd upgrade the amp but do worry about lack of tone controls if I went for a kandy k2.

Try it with a variety of music and see if you feel you need Tone controls. Personally, I don't think something like Arcam A19 + LS50s need them.
 

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