Marantz PM4200 upgrade recommendation

[muljao]

I appreciate one should always test before they buy. It really is not an option where I live, but I will say that my ears are probably not as good as many here, and anything I ever saw on what hifi that got a good review was good enough for me.

I really like the sound of my system. My only issue is that at low volumes it isn't great (I assume this could be said of a lot of amplifiers) and at the moment a lot of my listening is done at night when I need to keep the volume down. Are there any options in the sub 300 pound catagory that work well at lower volumes. I'd prefer to buy new, I don't really want to use my headphones.

I had considered Yamaha because I believe the loudness control in them is exactly for this reason, but I have previously had a Yamaha receiver and though plenty of power, it wasn't very musical to me- I then read another poster here who had this experience with a Yamaha AS501.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[matthewpiano]

NAD amps tend to be good at lower volumes, including the C316BEE.

 

[insider9]

For me if you want to buy new Onkyo A9010 is great at sub £300, no dac in the UK version. Haven't tried it with your speakers though. The only speakers I've heard that didn't pair well with it were Q Acoustics including 2020i. About everything else from vintage MA, Mission, KEF to more modern MA, Dali, Roksan sounded very good. You may like that pairing though but I know it's the other system you're looking to upgrade now.

Unfortunately it's not the best at low volumes. You can always use loudness which helps if you don't go past 9 o'clock

What I would say though is that for the cost of new amp you can get a much better second hand one. Yes it may take more time to get what you want and yes it's unlikely you'll be able to demo but it's worth a try. By the way my NAD C320BEE even though lacks a bit of refinement is a very good amp and decent at low volume too. I only paid £86 delivered and if I wanted to sell it I wouldn't lose much.

EDIT: Since I've not heard your Marantz it's hard to say that my recommendation is actually an upgrade

 

[muljao]

Thanks, I will look into that

 

[muljao]

For me if you want to buy new Onkyo A9010 is great at sub £300, no dac in the UK version. Haven't tried it with your speakers though. The only speakers I've heard that didn't pair well with it were Q Acoustics including 2020i. About everything else from vintage MA, Mission, KEF to more modern MA, Dali, Roksan sounded very good. You may like that pairing though but I know it's the other system you're looking to upgrade now.

Unfortunately it's not the best at low volumes. You can always use loudness which helps if you don't go past 9 o'clock

What I would say though is that for the cost of new amp you can get a much better second hand one. Yes it may take more time to get what you want and yes it's unlikely you'll be able to demo but it's worth a try. By the way my NAD C320BEE even though lacks a bit of refinement is a very good amp and decent at low volume too. I only paid £86 delivered and if I wanted to sell it I wouldn't lose much.

EDIT: Since I've not heard your Marantz it's hard to say that my recommendation is actually an upgrade

Thanks.

I have read reviews of the Onkyo, didn't realise it had a loudness button. I do listen at moderate levels so probably would find the loudness button good as long as it is not a gimmick and adds a little at low levels.

I will also look at the Nad, it was your comment along with my previous experience that steered me away from the Yamaha. I'd prefer new as I am in Ireland, and the secondhand market here is small so if I have issues afterwards it's more expensive and awkward to ship stuff etc

To be honest I may keep the marantz, which is to me great for most things, maybe I'd be better off going the headphone route for night time listening

 

[muljao]

Sometimes I really do surprise myself by how dumb I can be

I often recommend the Denon 720 PMA as friend has one and its very good from what I can tell. When it was mentioned earlier about a loudness switch on an Onkyo I checked to see if there was one on the Denon (I thought this loudness was just Yamaha). Anyway there is one on the Denon, but not only that, there is one on my Marantz (yes I know, it doesn't need to be typed or said) that I never noticed. I am trying it out now, and there is a bit of a difference at low levels. I'll see how that works out, might keep the old amp yet.

Thanks for previous suggestions

 

[insider9]

Definite worth a try.

It would be a good idea to see whether you could get your friend to swap amps for a couple of days this way you'd know at no cost if it's worth "upgrading"

 

[muljao]

Definite worth a try.

It would be a good idea to see whether you could get your friend to swap amps for a couple of days this way you'd know at no cost if it's worth "upgrading"

My friend would no problem, the wife would probably strangle me if I upset the set up there now. I will give a bit longer but even now listening the music at low levels seems better. I would have thought a loudness switch was a gimmick but the boost is welcome, so I'd say I don't need to upgrade just yet

 

[ChrisIRL]

Rather than looking at the amp maybe a speaker change could do wonders. I found the Q accoustics concept 20s to be very good low volume speakers. Volume didn't seem to change their character much, if at all.

 

[gasolin]

Mabye your Cambridge Audio SX50 will sound good with a cambrigde amp

 

[muljao]

Rather than looking at the amp maybe a speaker change could do wonders. I found the Q accoustics concept 20s to be very good low volume speakers. Volume didn't seem to change their character much, if at all.

Due to my lack of even knowing there was a loudness boost switch for low levels on my amp, I never pressed it. Trying it out last night and it made a small difference, but enough to make the music a little more engaging at the night time (dial at 8 o clock or even lower position) levels. I never even noticed this switch, and to be fair would have probably been a bit to snobby to use it, due we always read "tone defeat" etc switches are better bypassing everything. Anyway, I am sure my amp (Approx 15 yrs old, and a budget amp even then) could be improved upon, and those concept speakers are likely the business, but I am sorted, at least for the moment, thanks

 

[muljao]

Mabye your Cambridge Audio SX50 will sound good with a cambrigde amp

Thanks. I am sorted for the moment, but when I get the urge again to upgrade I will look at a cambridge audio amp, though I'd say the cxa60 would show up weaknesses in the rest of my system.

 

[gasolin]

Mabye your Cambridge Audio SX50 will sound good with a cambrigde amp

Thanks. I am sorted for the moment, but when I get the urge again to upgrade I will look at a cambridge audio amp, though I'd say the cxa60 would show up weaknesses in the rest of my system.

What? Isn't the PM4200 a marantz budget amp?

How can a cambridge cxa60 show up weaknesses in the rest of my system

 

[muljao]

Mabye your Cambridge Audio SX50 will sound good with a cambrigde amp

Thanks. I am sorted for the moment, but when I get the urge again to upgrade I will look at a cambridge audio amp, though I'd say the cxa60 would show up weaknesses in the rest of my system. 

 

What? Isn't the PM4200 a marantz budget amp?

How can a cambridge cxa60 show up weaknesses in the rest of my system

My system is mainly entry level budget level. It all works reasonably well together. It gives a nice sound but higher tier gear would of course be better.

That Cambridge audio amp is likely better than any of my gear, my dac cost 50 pounds. There is a chance that the amp might be to revealing for the sources and encourage me to upgrade them

There is a reason why people generally put higher end gear with higher end gear and budget stuff with budget stuff, though I am aware one can go a lot higher end than the Cambridge audio amp