After a decade of life and not having much spare cash, I'm getting back into audio and I'm looking for a new modern streaming setup to kit out my refurbished spare room / study.
Currently, in my living room mainly supporting the TV, I have a 15 year old NAD C325BEE and a pair of (even older) KEFF Cresta 10s which have served me very well. - they provide a great almost surround sound just from the 2 speakers, amazing channel separation and depth of sounds.
In terms of speakers I'm more or less sold on the idea of Dali Oberon 5s, but now for the (streaming) amp....
I'm looking at
- Denon PMA-900HNE (Like this has lots of inputs, and would go with my 2008 Denon CD player)
- Marantz PM7000N (Lots of good reviews)
- and at a stretch the Cambridge Evo 75. (Looks cool and expensive)
- or possibly the CX81 + CXN V2
My questions are
1) I paid £350 for the NAD in 2008, which puts it in the £700 bracket or so these days -so how does the sound quality compare to the Denon / Marantz? Will they be a step up / same league?
2) Some people have given the edge to the Denon over the Marantz, any other opinions or advice on what to look for?
3) Is it worth spending the extra for the Evo 75, (£1200 at RS right now)
4) Lots of people say that the CX81 is a great amp and they'd choose it over the Marantz - Should I just buy this, and plug in the CD player and PC, and then buy a standalone streamer next year when I have some more money...?
5) Other - suggestions on a postcard...
Sorry, lots of questions, I want to make the most of Black November deals, and hifi seems to have gone the same way as light bulbs; back in the day all you needed to worry about was how many watts you wanted!!
Feel free to answer any/all/none! I suppose the answer to 1) will help me decide how much money to spend.
Thanks in advance
Martin
Currently, in my living room mainly supporting the TV, I have a 15 year old NAD C325BEE and a pair of (even older) KEFF Cresta 10s which have served me very well. - they provide a great almost surround sound just from the 2 speakers, amazing channel separation and depth of sounds.
In terms of speakers I'm more or less sold on the idea of Dali Oberon 5s, but now for the (streaming) amp....
I'm looking at
- Denon PMA-900HNE (Like this has lots of inputs, and would go with my 2008 Denon CD player)
- Marantz PM7000N (Lots of good reviews)
- and at a stretch the Cambridge Evo 75. (Looks cool and expensive)
- or possibly the CX81 + CXN V2
My questions are
1) I paid £350 for the NAD in 2008, which puts it in the £700 bracket or so these days -so how does the sound quality compare to the Denon / Marantz? Will they be a step up / same league?
2) Some people have given the edge to the Denon over the Marantz, any other opinions or advice on what to look for?
3) Is it worth spending the extra for the Evo 75, (£1200 at RS right now)
4) Lots of people say that the CX81 is a great amp and they'd choose it over the Marantz - Should I just buy this, and plug in the CD player and PC, and then buy a standalone streamer next year when I have some more money...?
5) Other - suggestions on a postcard...
Sorry, lots of questions, I want to make the most of Black November deals, and hifi seems to have gone the same way as light bulbs; back in the day all you needed to worry about was how many watts you wanted!!
Feel free to answer any/all/none! I suppose the answer to 1) will help me decide how much money to spend.
Thanks in advance
Martin