Well, well, well...
Not the conclusion I was expecting at all.
My day started with the Marantz CD6003, PM6003 and B&W 686 speakers. This sounded very good. It was full sounding, fluid and with excellent performance at the frequency extremes. The tonal reproduction was very good with a good sense of the sound of the piano in Claudio Arrau's recording of the Grieg Concerto and there was plenty of punch and swagger to 'White Man' by Queen. Occasionally I felt that vocals could sound a little airless, as on Oyster Band's Big Session album, and bigger works needed slightly more definition between orchestral sections. However, the basics were all there and this set-up represented a fine start.
Switching the amp to a Rotel RA-04SE really opened things up. Suddenly the scale of Karajan's orchestra, and the atmosphere of the performance, in a Richard Strauss extract, became much more tangible and real. The Rotel was also more natural in the mid-range than the Marantz, allowing vocals to breath and communicate more effectively. At the bass end there was more punch than with the Marantz and a greater sense of rhythm. Roger Taylor's drum playing in the Queen track came across with a much better sense of the contrasting sounds of different parts of the kit and the sound was tighter and more rhythmic. The only slight criticism of the Rotel was in re-producing the piano. Like a lot of open sounding budget amps it spread the sound out too wide, almost making the piano sound like 2 or 3 different instruments.
Next stop was the Marantz 6003 combo with the Monitor Audio BX2s. I was extremely disappointed with this. The BX2s (which have been run in very thoroughly by the store) sounded shallow, lacking insight into the music and lacking also in bass performance. I don't like too much bass, but I do like to have enough so that it is in proportion with the rest of the sound. Even the fairly thick recording of Neil Young's Harvest album (specifically 'Heart of Gold') failed to exhibit any gravitas. Furthermore the midrange and treble sounded thin and the system just didn't gel together to create a satisfying musical experience.
Going back to the B&W 686s resolved things but by this time the better sound of the Rotel amp had spoilt the Marantz for me. Good though the PM6003 is, the Rotel is substantially better IMO.
So next up was the Rega Brio 3. Having heard this amp with the Apollo CD player and RS1 speakers in the past I left the Marantz CD player and B&W speakers in place to enable me to judge the amp in comparison to the Rotel and Marantz. Initially I was very impressed. 'Brio' is a good word to describe the sound. There was lots of life in the sound and it was exciting to listen to but, as I found when I last heard the all-Rega system, things get less comfortable when the music becomes more complex. The Brio 3 struggled to control the bass of the B&Ws, which was rectified by tuning the ports on the rear of the speakers. Overall there was a lot to be positive about but the 100 mph presentation and the slightly euphonic presentation could become harder to live with long term.
Finally, a bit of a wild card. Step in Arcam with the A18. This beautifully built amp is quite a bit more than the others so it means keeping the Marantz CD63SE a little longer but it really is worth it. The Arcam wipes the floor with the Marantz, Rotel, and Rega. It grips the little 686s brilliantly and really makes the best of them. The detail and stability of soundstaging are in another class and there is a sense of naturalness whilst retaining plenty of punch and dynamism. Even at low volumes it enables the B&Ws to communicate effortlessly and it is continuously evident that you are listening to an altogether higher class of system. Going back to the other amps and the MAs after the Arcam/B&W combination only shows how far I travelled this morning.
I have decided to go with the Arcam A18 and B&W 686s. I actually prefer the 686s to the 685s. They are fabulous little speakers and it helps that they won't dominate the room as much as the larger model would. In time I'm going to add an Arcam rDAC to use with my Squeezebox and I'm going to be on the look-out for a good pre-owned Arcam CD player in time too. In a few days I should have the new amp and CD player and I think I'm going to be re-visiting a lot of CDs I haven't heard for ages.
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