NA7004/PM7004

[admin_exported]

Hello,

I'm planning to audition NA7005/PM7004 combo to be used with B&W 685 Speakers.

a) Do anyone have any thoughts in general on the combination and what they would compare against?

b) Does it make sense to buy an AV integrated amp like SR7005 instead, though I do not foresee upgrading to home theatre setup in the near future.

c) there seem to be a general lack of info/experience around PM7004, for example, in comparison with PM6003. Any ideas why?

comments and thoughts welcome.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The combination will work fine together, but do try a few different speakers to see which you prefer the sound of. Compariable to the Marantz, there's not a vast amount out there as many manufacturers don't make streamers. There's the Denon streamer, which is great value for money, but I think many would prefer the Marantz amplifiers.

If you're purely after 2 channel quality, stick with a 2 channel hi-fi amp - it's designed for one purpose only, rather than many.

there seem to be a general lack of info/experience around PM7004, for example, in comparison with PM6003. Any ideas why?

You'll probably find that there's a lot of dealers that won't stock products like the 7004, as some may struggle to sell that sort of product, especially if they don't have an up and running wireless system in store. Anyone can sell a £300 amplifier.

 

[chebby]

You'll probably find that there's a lot of dealers that won't stock products like the 7004, as some may struggle to sell that sort of product, especially if they don't have an up and running wireless system in store.

Ah yes, the ones with 'brand new' Dynatrons in the window (still priced in Guineas).

 

[Andrew Everard]

Find it amazing that any consumer electronics retailer hoping to do any business these days wouldn't have at least wireless (and preferably also wired) networking available to demonstrate products. After all, just about every exhibitor at last weekend's MIlan Show seemed to have managed to get a temporary network up and running in a hotel room...

 

[Frank Harvey]

I see we're shooting the messenger again. And I'm the one supposed to be stirring up trouble?

I think you'd be surprised at the amount of dealers that haven't got a wireless network running.

Toodle pip.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I see we're shooting the messenger again. And I'm the one supposed to be stirring up trouble?

No-one's shooting anyone: thought you were making a point about retailers missing an opportunity, and I was agreeing with you.

I think you'd be surprised at the amount of dealers that haven't got a wireless network running.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be at all surprised. Pretty woeful, isn't it? It's exactly the point Pro-Ject's Heinz Lichtenegger was making in his presentation in Vienna, on which I reported a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Apologies Andrew - I'd read yours and Chebby's replies as a little on the sarcastic side due to recent 'events'. I'll go away and come back when I'm refreshed

 

[Andrew Everard]

Apologies Andrew - I'd read yours and Chebby's replies as a little on the sarcastic side due to recent 'events'. I'll go away and come back when I'm refreshed

No probs – though of course I can't speak for other members' motivations!

 

[chebby]

Apologies Andrew - I'd read yours and Chebby's replies as a little on the sarcastic side due to recent 'events'. I'll go away and come back when I'm refreshed

No probs – though of course I can't speak for other members' motivations!

Unless FHH don't have the ability to demonstrate wireless/networked/computer audio (or really do have 40+ year-old Dynatrons in their shop), then my sarcasm could not have been aimed at them or their staff.

Rather it was aimed at hifi shops who doggedly trail behind consumer trends from misplaced snobbery or an inability to keep up.

I've seen the same thing before (sniffy little independent camera shops who sneered at digital photography just long enough to see it put them out of business!)

 

[Frank Harvey]

Three Dynatrons left. But we've plugged 7004's into them so they're fully up to date....

 

[chebby]

Three Dynatrons left. But we've plugged 7004's into them so they're fully up to date....

Those old Dynatrons had excellent attributes. A Royal Warrant, lots of polished wood, a "nice tone", and easily convertable into a drinks cabinet in a couple of hours with a bit of ply and some self adhesive mirror tiles.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Frank.

I auditioned a couple of speakers (but with varying setups - constraints I have to live with) - and I really liked the 685s and I felt confident to fix on that and then hunt for amps/dacs to match it.

The NA7004 seemed to marry convenience and a quality DAC, though I've heard some complaints against their UI.AirPlay would be useful, as would be FLAC streaming. I'm also planning to get a inexpensive BD player (s480 maybe) and use the digital out to the NA7004.

I felt the PM6003/4 may not have enough juice to get the best out of the 685s - so the 7004 could potentially be a good aesthetic and sonic match.

The listening test is coming up - but pragmatically I would like to narrow my choices a bit before going in.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Any good quality speaker, especially the B&W's, will respond well to more juice

 

[Aslan]

I recently bought the NA7004 and PM7004. I initially wanted to buy the Naim Unitiqute but the Naim dealers in Hong Kong are crazy expensive compared to the U.K. The PM6003 is not available out here so I opted for the PM7004.

Unfortunately, I do not have anything to compare my system to but I am very happy so far. A great thing about the combo is that you only need one remote control unit for both the amp and the streamer.

It was so easy to set up for a complete novice like myself. I started off by using the built-in AirPlay which was amazingly easy and I was enjoying my music within minutes of setting up my hifi. After a couple of weeks I worked out that I needed to install network software such as Eyeconnect in order to stream from my computer. That was simple too. A big factor in my decision in choosing this player was because all the reviews I read and have said it was easy to set up and I have not been dissapointed.

If the streamer did not have AirPlay I think it would have driven me insane for the first few days trying to work out how to stream music from the computer.

I am not sure if I am imagining it, but I find music sounds better when streamed using Eyeconnect rather than AirPlay.

Using the streamer to listen to Napster playlists I created on my computer is also a really brilliant feature and it works seamlessly. Internet radio is also great.

The only downside of the streamer is that the sound can sometimes be a bit bright as pointed out in the WHFSV review. But only on some tracks and not all. I plan on later buying the Rega Dac or something similar which I hope will improve the sound even more.

All in all in all I am very happy with the combination.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Asian, that's great feedback!

Quick questions, if I may:

1) What speakers have you paired them with?

2) I was getting the NA7004 primarily as a good DAC, secondarily for the airplay and streaming capabilities. Do you feel that the DAC does not perform so great?

I was looking at the Audiolab 8200 as well, but that was above my budget. Perhaps I should consider getting an airport express, with a digital out to the Rega DAC? Wouldn't look half as nice though

Regards,

Isac

 

[Aslan]

1) What speakers have you paired them with?

Dali Lektor 2.

2) I was getting the NA7004 primarily as a good DAC, secondarily for the airplay and streaming capabilities. Do you feel that the DAC does not perform so great?

The DAC is good and works well with most songs. However, there is the odd song which sounds a bit too bright and harsh. For example, I found that on George Michael's Ladies & Gentlemen album, every song sounded great except for the live version of Queen's Somebody To Love. It sounds excessively bright/brittle for my liking.

WHFSV's review of the NA7004 is spot on and I agree with the comment about how it "can occasionally sound rather brash and brittle". This has not been a problem or issue for me and hasn't hindered my enjoyment. The NA7004 + PM7004 is almost half the price of a Unitiqute in Hong Kong which leaves me with plenty of money to later buy a decent Dac.

I also considered the option of an Airport Express + Rega Dac. However, I did not go down this route for several reasons, such as being limited to using certain Apple software such as iTunes and Apple formats (can not use FLAC). Whereas the NA7004 can accept the large majority of music formats and can used with many different types of sources.

Also, the NA7004 feels like a proper piece of Hi Fi in my opinion. I would not like to be forced to control my music with an iPad, iPod or a computer all the time like you would if you were using an Airport Express. I can select Napster Playlists, radio stations and music stored on my computer just using Marantz's remote control which looks and feels like a normal remote that comes with a DVD player. Kind of feels more like hifi to me. Of course, you also have the option of using Apple's Remote app on an iPhone to stream music via AirPlay from your computer if it takes your fancy.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, anybody has any comments on a different amp that could moderate the brightness a bit?

If the difference isn't much, I'd prefer the one remote and aesthetic matching, but any suggestions on some alternate amps that may audition well are welcome.

 

[CraigDS]

What is the NA7005??? Is why the NA7004 has been discounted to £500?

 

[Anonymous]

Oops, no I meant NA7004 - I should probably try to edit the subject.

Looks like Denon streaming product is about to hit the market as well.

 

[CraigDS]

the denon has a 24/192 dac does that mean it can play stidio master like Linn and the updated Naim's coming soon or is it 24/92?

 

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