well i opened a thread last week and came to the conclusion that my arcam cd72 was going to be the first thing to be upgraded .after selling everything thats not bolted down on ebay i have enough money (nearly) to replace amp aswell .i have spoken to synergyav about home trial ofthe apollo and was thinking of adding the mira 3 the the order ,but is there other options on the amp at £600 or even the cd and amp at about £1100
mira 3 for rega apollo or another £600 amp
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matthewpiano
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Have a listen to the Brio 3 first IMO Paul as it has a better soundstage than the Mira IMO and it gels nicer with the Apollo
As for other amps I agree re the Creek Evo II but also see if you can get a listen to a NAD C355BEE or even the Rotel RA06SE (even if just to rule them out). when I demo'd the NAD with the Rega Apollo it wa sa superb soundstage!
The Audiolab 8000S would be worth considering as well and withy them at fairly low prices the matching 8000P power amp could be a consideration as well.
I found the M/A RX1's and RX2's did very well when bi-amped
As for other amps I agree re the Creek Evo II but also see if you can get a listen to a NAD C355BEE or even the Rotel RA06SE (even if just to rule them out). when I demo'd the NAD with the Rega Apollo it wa sa superb soundstage!
The Audiolab 8000S would be worth considering as well and withy them at fairly low prices the matching 8000P power amp could be a consideration as well.
I found the M/A RX1's and RX2's did very well when bi-amped
so you you think the £350 brio is better that the the mira.im not bothered about loads of power my nad has never been over 1/3 volume , not a fan of deafening music .i do find it a little annoying that the nad needs at least quarter volume before really coming alive
I just found the Brio mar articulate and a better, overall wider soundstage.
The Mira was good but I thought it was a little laid back at times.
They both do really need a demo side by side with the Apollo as they are both good ampss; just different characters
The Mira was good but I thought it was a little laid back at times.
They both do really need a demo side by side with the Apollo as they are both good ampss; just different characters
the preamp stage in the Mira is that bit better, with more attack and control. The power amp is more capable of driving more difficult loads too. Both have very similar phono stages (which makes it ridiculously good value in the Brio). Overall, yes, the performance from the Brio is excellent value for money, and arguably better value than the Mira 3- until you go for more difficult speakers when it becomes easier to stress the Brio
I opted for the mira 3 for the additional power to run my speakers but if thats not what your interested in then go for the brio/apollo combo,
but to be sure i would recommend you have both systems demonstrated to you, that way you can judge for yourself.
I opted for the mira 3 for the additional power to run my speakers but if thats not what your interested in then go for the brio/apollo combo,
but to be sure i would recommend you have both systems demonstrated to you, that way you can judge for yourself.
i went to sevenoaks (reading) yesterday listened to the rotel pair and the arcam pair through my rx1 .im going to go against the general thoughts here but the rotel over my present system + better treble. -lack of bass, bland. i just sat there thinking this just doesnt come close to the arcam/nad pairing .
the arcam i found better more attack tighter bass a little more like i have but less bass driven. but still not worth the £1200 out lay.
the thing that annoyed me a little was sevenoaks pricing they would do the arcam system for £1050 with my cd72 as trade when they advertised price on line is about £998 without any trade in. i dont think i will be returnig .
so i will be looking forward to the apollo/brio/mira turning up for my home trial this week
the arcam i found better more attack tighter bass a little more like i have but less bass driven. but still not worth the £1200 out lay.
the thing that annoyed me a little was sevenoaks pricing they would do the arcam system for £1050 with my cd72 as trade when they advertised price on line is about £998 without any trade in. i dont think i will be returnig .
so i will be looking forward to the apollo/brio/mira turning up for my home trial this week
Given you'll find the Leema Pulse and Harman Kardon HK990 coming down in price in some places, you probably ought to be adding these as matter of course. £1300 and £1000 amps respectively. Ignore at your loss. Might not be what you want, but you can't look at the Rotels, Marantzes, Audiolabs, NADs and the like without also checking out what these two can do as well. Might be they don't tick the right boxes, but you'll at least have tried and can decide from an informed position.
but where do you stop with the spending ,at what point am i spending more than my speakers are capable of doing justice to .this is a serious question people throw the twice the amount on speaker as kit and spend the same amount but how good can a £400 pair of speaker sound ??
but i will add them to the list it doesnt hurt to have a listen
but i will add them to the list it doesnt hurt to have a listen
pauladamss:
but where do you stop with the spending ,at what point am i spending more than my speakers are capable of doing justice to .this is a serious question people throw the twice the amount on speaker as kit and spend the same amount but how good can a £400 pair of speaker sound ??
but i will add them to the list it doesnt hurt to have a listen
I agree with what youre saying as I was in a similar situation before I bought my new system below.
I was prepared to spend £1k on each item but didnt want to do that unless I really felt it was right. Once I heard the combo below after going through many other combo's it ticked all boxes so I bought it. The lower prices werent the winner; it was the overall sound and synergy!
As I've said before the NAD C352 amp is still a highly regarded amp and is hard to beat unless you spend close to £1k IMO.
I dont think that the Rega Mira or Brio3 (even though they're good amps) will blow you away; I feel that obvious step to replace the NAD would be a Roksan Kandy K2 or the Rotel 1520; the Leema Pulse would be a worthy upgrade as well and they'd all work VERY well with your M/A speakers.
Why dont you give your system a bit more time to bed in so you can get used to the sound before you start changing the amp. The Rega Apollo is very capable of working with a wide range of amps from the lower end to the higher end; with ease!
My friend has the Rega Apollo with a NAD C320BEE and the M/A RX2's and it's a stunning system; brilliant soundstage with great bass weight thats deep and taut but it works so well with classical through to Dubstep!
The NAD amps are very agile for their prices and they sit well with a lot of different gear...
but where do you stop with the spending ,at what point am i spending more than my speakers are capable of doing justice to .this is a serious question people throw the twice the amount on speaker as kit and spend the same amount but how good can a £400 pair of speaker sound ??
but i will add them to the list it doesnt hurt to have a listen
I agree with what youre saying as I was in a similar situation before I bought my new system below.
I was prepared to spend £1k on each item but didnt want to do that unless I really felt it was right. Once I heard the combo below after going through many other combo's it ticked all boxes so I bought it. The lower prices werent the winner; it was the overall sound and synergy!
As I've said before the NAD C352 amp is still a highly regarded amp and is hard to beat unless you spend close to £1k IMO.
I dont think that the Rega Mira or Brio3 (even though they're good amps) will blow you away; I feel that obvious step to replace the NAD would be a Roksan Kandy K2 or the Rotel 1520; the Leema Pulse would be a worthy upgrade as well and they'd all work VERY well with your M/A speakers.
Why dont you give your system a bit more time to bed in so you can get used to the sound before you start changing the amp. The Rega Apollo is very capable of working with a wide range of amps from the lower end to the higher end; with ease!
My friend has the Rega Apollo with a NAD C320BEE and the M/A RX2's and it's a stunning system; brilliant soundstage with great bass weight thats deep and taut but it works so well with classical through to Dubstep!
The NAD amps are very agile for their prices and they sit well with a lot of different gear...
pauladamss:
but where do you stop with the spending ,at what point am i spending more than my speakers are capable of doing justice to .this is a serious question people throw the twice the amount on speaker as kit and spend the same amount but how good can a £400 pair of speaker sound ??
but i will add them to the list it doesnt hurt to have a listen
Nobody is saying "spend the money". What I am saying is that for the price you are looking to spend, then you have the opportunity to try out two amps normally out of reach of your budget. How good are you speakers with a £1300 amp? God knows. Mine are picky, so's my CD player and I'm trying out three amps right now - two of my own and the Pulse - so it's no easy task.
You make your choices based on what the extra £100 gets you (i.e. your budget of £600 against £700 or so for the HK or £750 for the Leema). Stop where you feel comfortable, if your budget is £600 and you don't want to go over that, job done (mine is £699).
But you mentioned buying two items for £1100 all in, and that would likely get you a deal on the HD990 CDP and either the Leema or the HK990 amp. It's a great CDP by the way, punched well above its weight I thought and did well with the four recordings I took along.
EDIT: I should add that Noel Keywood at Hi Fi World reckons the Q Acoustics 1050i (formerly a £370 floorstander) worked well with the Leema Pulse (formerly a £1300 amp). I think that kind of answers your question about how far you can go with lower priced speakers and more expensive kit. No idea what your RX1 capabilities are, but you'll be in a position to decide if you take them along for a demo, or get the kit home to try.
but where do you stop with the spending ,at what point am i spending more than my speakers are capable of doing justice to .this is a serious question people throw the twice the amount on speaker as kit and spend the same amount but how good can a £400 pair of speaker sound ??
but i will add them to the list it doesnt hurt to have a listen
Nobody is saying "spend the money". What I am saying is that for the price you are looking to spend, then you have the opportunity to try out two amps normally out of reach of your budget. How good are you speakers with a £1300 amp? God knows. Mine are picky, so's my CD player and I'm trying out three amps right now - two of my own and the Pulse - so it's no easy task.
You make your choices based on what the extra £100 gets you (i.e. your budget of £600 against £700 or so for the HK or £750 for the Leema). Stop where you feel comfortable, if your budget is £600 and you don't want to go over that, job done (mine is £699).
But you mentioned buying two items for £1100 all in, and that would likely get you a deal on the HD990 CDP and either the Leema or the HK990 amp. It's a great CDP by the way, punched well above its weight I thought and did well with the four recordings I took along.
EDIT: I should add that Noel Keywood at Hi Fi World reckons the Q Acoustics 1050i (formerly a £370 floorstander) worked well with the Leema Pulse (formerly a £1300 amp). I think that kind of answers your question about how far you can go with lower priced speakers and more expensive kit. No idea what your RX1 capabilities are, but you'll be in a position to decide if you take them along for a demo, or get the kit home to try.
i am still considering the s/h route for cdp maybe arcam192 then that would leave me with around £ 800ish for the amp
That would be a very good game plan (i.e. there's an Arcam CD192 on eBay currently and it ends v soon so keep your eyes on that). There is also a Rega Apollo on eBay as well which finishes in a few days!
It could also be worthwhile look on eBay for matching amps and see what comes up on there but IMO I think getting a better, more detailed CDP like the above and letting that settle with your NAD amp and RX1's for a while would give a very good insight into where you think you might take your system next
OR
It'll show you just how good the NAD amps is with the RX1's
It could also be worthwhile look on eBay for matching amps and see what comes up on there but IMO I think getting a better, more detailed CDP like the above and letting that settle with your NAD amp and RX1's for a while would give a very good insight into where you think you might take your system next
OR
It'll show you just how good the NAD amps is with the RX1's
pauladamss:yer i know dont tell everyone (lol) i intend on bidding on it see how it goes fingers crossed
Haha
Let us know how you get on
Haha
Let us know how you get on
plastic penguin
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pauladamss:anyone know what cdp would go with the leema pulse
Arcam is very good with Leema, likewise, Rega Saturn, Moon. Ideally, the CDP needs to be either neutral or smooth or warm to counteract the Leemas slightly boistrous character.
Arcam is very good with Leema, likewise, Rega Saturn, Moon. Ideally, the CDP needs to be either neutral or smooth or warm to counteract the Leemas slightly boistrous character.
Yup
The Rega Saturn would be a very good fit as would the Moon CD-1 but what about the Leema Stream?
I have heard the Leema Pulse a while back with Monitor Audio GS10's and it sounded great but it was a little light in the bass section so a CDP with good bass depth and control would be in order IMO
Again the Arcam CD192 would play in this very well
The Rega Saturn would be a very good fit as would the Moon CD-1 but what about the Leema Stream?
I have heard the Leema Pulse a while back with Monitor Audio GS10's and it sounded great but it was a little light in the bass section so a CDP with good bass depth and control would be in order IMO
Again the Arcam CD192 would play in this very well
plastic penguin
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d_a_n1979:Yup The Rega Saturn would be a very good fit as would the Moon CD-1 but what about the Leema Stream? I have heard the Leema Pulse a while back with Monitor Audio GS10's and it sounded great but it was a little light in the bass section so a CDP with good bass depth and control would be in order IMO Again the Arcam CD192 would play in this very well
I would personally avoid the Stream with RS6 speakers - may just be too edgy.
The CD 192 is a great match for the Pulse - it really does play on the Leema's strengths...fabulous!
I would personally avoid the Stream with RS6 speakers - may just be too edgy.
The CD 192 is a great match for the Pulse - it really does play on the Leema's strengths...fabulous!
i didnt get the 192 part of me doesnt really like buying s/h i bid more than the last one went for but didnt get it .if i went for a pulse id only have about £500 for cdp
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