Marantz & B&W 685

[admin_exported]

Considering the Marantz combo of the CD6002 and the PM6002, combined with the B&W 685's which will sit nicely on Soundstyle Z2's, any thoughts on this system? What would be the weakest link here? I do not currently have any sound system and listen to music through a pair of free dell speakers that came with my pc. (I used to have a midi system which broke) So this will be my FIRST set up.

If I can't convince the Mrs to let me have a LG HT903TA (follow up to the very popular LG HT902TB) then I will also be running mt TV sound (PS3 included) through the amp and speakers using Red and White cables from the TV out. What kind of quality do you get using this method?

I like a wide selection of music from House and R&B to Classical. This is about as far as my budget stetches and I havelaminate flooring in my liunge which is about 8m x 5m.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[d_a_n1979]

IMO i dont feel the marantz set-up will gel well with the B&W speakers and/or your music tastes.

Im a massive fan of house music (hed kandi etc) and also alot of modern electronic music and have always loved the B&W sound for this music.

IMO the NAD C352 integrated amp and NAD C542 CDP combo on superfi.co.uk would be a better choice.

This will offer you a much better soundstage compared to the Marantz gear

 

[Anonymous]

Cant find the NAD C352 integrated amp and NAD C542 CDP combo on superfi.co.uk

 

[Clare Newsome]

I disagree - having heard it on several occasions, I think the Marantz/B&W combo is an excellent all-round one. The speaker stands could do with being slightly more heavyweight to make the most of the 685s, though.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Ah... Apologies. It appears they have withdrawn that offer 🙁

Shame really as it was a cracking set-up.

The NAD C355BEE integrated amp is also a very VERY good amp and would again suit your music tastes well.

Clare - Fully appreciate where you're coming from re the Marantz set-up. With thr right music and speakers i feel they are good separates but with B&W speakers and some bassy music; i just dont think theyre up to par at all.

All IMO obviously. As i've always said; my hearing is different to everyone elses as well as my music tastes!

All i can say is get demo'ing as much as you possibly can!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not a proffesional by any means but I listened to the PM7001ki with B&W's and didnt find it a good match. I just didnt feel it.
Maybe the 6002 is more suited to it, I dont know.

If you can up the budget a bit look at the Roksan Kandy too.

 

[Anonymous]

d_a_n1979 and Clare, thanks both for your comments, very much appreciated.

I too am in to Hed kandi etc... now the NAD combo isnt available what else would you recommend that would sound good with my music tastes and the 685's?

Any thoughts on my other question relating to how good things would sound through my TV out? (PS3 and Freeview etc..)

Clare, what would you recommend with regards to speaker stands if the Z2's are a bit weak?

 

[Clare Newsome]

The 6002 Marantz pair do differ from the more traditional Marantz sound. We'd normally, for example, suggest Rotel amps with their B&W siblings (and that's still a good combo), but the PM6002 is, as I said, a great all-round listen with the B&W 685s. And as the OP mentioned listening to a wide range of music....

Re speaker stands. If you can bear the industrial looks, Partington's SuperDreadnoughts are the business. A more aesthetically pleasing (but very solid) solution is Atacama's Aurora 6.

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately I don't think I can stretch to the price of a Roskan Kandy. In fact the Marantz and B&W is at the very top end of my limit, especially when factoring in good quality stands and a hi-fi rack! 🙁

So my question to everyone .....is the sound really worth close to £1000? Sceptical me who has never had a hi-fi worth more than £200 (in midi land).

Thanks

 

[professorhat]

carl62:So my question to everyone .....is the sound really worth close to £1000? Sceptical me who has never had a hi-fi worth more than £200 (in midi land).
That really is a question only you can answer. In my mind, my circa £3,500 home cinema set up is worth every penny, but I'm sure a lot of people would balk at the price and wouldn't consider spending anywhere near as much, no matter how good it sounds - it's all a question of priorities. You need to go somewhere where you can sit down and listen to a few different components before you commit to spending that much money.

 

[drummerman]

I am sure it is a nice little system and does everything reasonably well. This mag has been raving about it for some time. I dont think much of the speakers but the marantzes are fine budget stuff and what can be expected these days.

If you want something that is outstanding in some respects and perhaps subjectively lacking in some others ie. a bit idiosyncratic (you would have to listen to it yourself) try AVI's ADM9.1 for just a little bit more than your suggested system. Really in a completely different league althogether imo.

http://www.avihifi.co.uk/avid/avid.html

 

[Anonymous]

I heard you mentioned hifi stands. If you like glass shelves, I found this from Argos of all places.
It looks nice, solid build, and I've seen similar tables at about 3 times the price:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500001151/partNumber/5345643.htm

 

[Anonymous]

carl62:
So my question to everyone .....is the sound really worth close to £1000? Sceptical me who has never had a hi-fi worth more than £200 (in midi land).

Thanks

Although the sound will generally be better, spending that much money on hifi will only be as good as everything else that makes up your listening experience.

For example, if you have a really good hifi system and paid lot's of money but have a badly shaped room, furniture in the way, you could end up with a sound that is muffled, not a balanced sound, too much echo, too little or too powerful for the sized room, etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi I have this very setup at home. I'm using QED Anniversary XT speaker cables and some Qunex Interconnects. It's extremely good. I find it handles bass very very well.