Musical Fidelity M6i and Monior Audio GS10?

[Kevin Stephens]

Hi

I'm putting together a budget for an upgrade; logical step is to replace the amp with an M6i; aiming for more presence and emotion, rather than the rather dry presentation from my A3.5. It will also be interesting to try some alternatives like the Supernait. I'll also be replacing the tuner with a second hand MF A5 tuner, then sometime in the distant future a new DAC

Would I also need to consider upgrading the speakers to do justice to the M6i, (keen to try options like Proac d18, Wilson Benesh Square 2, Monitor Audio GX200 etc) or would the GS10s rise to the challenge?

I want deeper bass hence floor standers, but due to room layout speakers are in corners, approx 0.5 m from walls and I already have to be careful positioning the GS10s to manage their bass; If i keep the GS10s I could get a Monitor Audio RXW12 Sub centrally placed and avoid the corner issues, I assume i could If I get tune the sub to meld seamlesly with the GS10s.

So should i budget for new floorstanders, new sub, or spend the money on more CDs instead?

 

[CnoEvil]

Can you give a little more detail about max budget, type of music you like and the size of your room. Do you like a clean, neutral speaker, or one that's a little more forgiving?

 

[toyota man]

Hi Kevin I bought the m6i in Dec 2011 and have been living with my old mission 752s I am going to start listening to new speakers Nov/ Dec time I am going to listen to pro ac d18 spender a6s atc scm 40s to start with if you get an m6i take a little time to get used to it I found that the amp has so far made more difference than the cdp I used to have an audiolab 8000a + 8000px + marantz 17 ki sig cdp:cheers:

 

[Kevin Stephens]

Hi Cno

Well the room is 3.5m x 5m (system against short wall with speakers 0.5m in from corners, listening couch approx 4 m back) , carpeted over wood and big couches; (not enough space to disipate heat from AMS )

Classical wide range: string quartets, concertos, Mahler symphonies, choral stufff. Rock: Led Zep and mostof the pre punk classics etc, vocals Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchel, Beth Orton and lots of similar stuff I'm yet to discover.

Everybody believes their own preference is the definition of "neutral" but I guess I enjoy my music with warmth and emotion (hence the "dryness" reference to my current amp

Budget? Well that's really the aim of the OP - I want to reach some sort of final destination rather than coming back on here every 2 years anguishing over the next upgrade (ok, I know...) I guess minimum 1k if I go for the sub to support GS10s or up to 3k for something really worthwhile (obviously will take longer to save up for) Fortunately I think the size of my room will restrict benefit of much bigger and costly floor standers, and quality of source limit the benefits of more expensive smaller speakers.

 

[CnoEvil]

That's great. It looks like you want a system that conveys emotion.

Would you consider a Hybrid amp from the likes of Pathos or Unison Research.

The MF is great, but you should also hear what Audio Analogue, Creek and Electrocompaniet can do.

Speakers to look at would be Kef R Series (possibly Ref 201/2), Spendor A series, Proac, PMC Twenty Series and Focal....which one depends on personal taste, or synergy with whatever amp is chosen.

Where possible, I would go with a floorstander, rather than a standmount + sub.....but it's very personal.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi

I'm putting together a budget for an upgrade; logical step is to replace the amp with an M6i; aiming for more presence and emotion, rather than the rather dry presentation from my A3.5. It will also be interesting to try some alternatives like the Supernait. I'll also be replacing the tuner with a second hand MF A5 tuner, then sometime in the distant future a new DAC

Would I also need to consider upgrading the speakers to do justice to the M6i, (keen to try options like Proac d18, Wilson Benesh Square 2, Monitor Audio GX200 etc) or would the GS10s rise to the challenge?

I want deeper bass hence floor standers, but due to room layout speakers are in corners, approx 0.5 m from walls and I already have to be careful positioning the GS10s to manage their bass; If i keep the GS10s I could get a Monitor Audio RXW12 Sub centrally placed and avoid the corner issues, I assume i could If I get tune the sub to meld seamlesly with the GS10s.

So should i budget for new floorstanders, new sub, or spend the money on more CDs instead?

Along similar lines to Cno. If the M6 is the nailed-on choice I would at least audition MA PL100 rather than GS10s. Or perhaps PMC 22, or maybe one of the higher end Focals, Wilson Benesch Square Two, Vienna Acoustics...

 

[CnoEvil]

Right, I'll try and put a bit more meat on the bones of what I said last night.

I don't know what other amps you've listened to, but I think it is a mistake to narrow your choice down to one amp (even one as good as the M6i), without checking some of the serious competition.

Amps to consider are - Creek Destiny 2; Electrocompaniet ECI-3 or 5 Mk11; Audio Analogue Maestro Settanta Rev.2; Sugden A21 SE; Pathos Classic one Mk.3; Unison Research Unico 50, ATC SIA2-150

Speakers to consider - Kef R700; Kef 201/2 (it may be a standmount, but it's more powerful than most); Spendor A6; Proac D18; PMC FB1i or Twenty 23/24; Focal 836 VW UK SE; Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand; Opera Qunita.

IMO. All the above products are very musical, but need to be heard to see which work:

Sugden + Proac are a good match;

Creek and Electrocompaniet go with almost anything;

Spendor give a smoother presentation;

The new Twenty series give a very clean presentation, with the Kef R series being a touch fuller sounding;

The Kef 201/2s need plenty of power like with the M6i, Electro or Unico 50.

 

[Kevin Stephens]

Cno, many thanks for the time in putting together such an informative and thought provoking response.

What i tried to say in the OP is that I had set the M6i as a logical upgrade, but also a price/performace point to try other amplifiers to find one that suites me best, which may well mean a change of brand. I would particualry like to try the Creek Destiny 2, as it would make a nice package with the Destiny FM tuner (alternative to s/h MF A5t).

Unfortunately dealers who stock most of your suggestions seem very thin on the ground here in Manchester/Merseyside area and it looks like I would have to make a number of 100 mile or more trips to try them out seperately (no problem locally if I wanted to go Naim or Linn :wall: ) I am beginning to understand why some people outside London risk making blind internet purchases on the basis of reviews.

Once I get round to choosing an amp and shortlisting appropriate speakers I would choose on home demo

I'm still really interested to see how my existing GS10 speakers would raise their game with a more expensive amplifier (eg direct comparison to PL100), this would be a big help in setting a budget.

 

[CnoEvil]

Cno, many thanks for the time in putting together such an informative and thought provoking response.

Unfortunately dealers who stock most of your suggestions seem very thin on the ground here in Manchester/Merseyside area and it looks like I would have to make a number of 100 mile or more trips to try them out seperately (no problem locally if I wanted to go Naim or Linn :wall: ) I am beginning to understand why some people outside London risk making blind internet purchases on the basis of reviews.

Do report in with your findings, and what you end up with. If I gave a little food for thought, it was worth the effort. Very often, if you trawl through the respective websites, you can often find there are dealers closer than you think.

Cno

 

[Kevin Stephens]

Thanks Cno Another option that has appeared on the radar is the UK made Sonneteer Orton integrated amp. Has anyone listened to this?

 

[bluebrazil]

doug brady off of the warrington do sonneteer and proac plus others, so you could have your own listen

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks Cno Another option that has appeared on the radar is the UK made Sonneteer Orton integrated amp. Has anyone listened to this?

I have certainly heard of Sonneteer (though not listened to one), which by all accounts is very musical and just the sort of thing you should be sniffing out. Give it a listen and tell us what you think.

Cno