Need help with my first hi-fi setup

[jimitom]

Hello everyone!

I've been hanging around this forum for quite some time now and you guys have been immensely helpful. A huge thank you for that! But I would be very greatful for some more advice and thoughts.

So, I'm in the process of setting up a basic hi-fi turntable home setup. I've recently purchased speakers Q Acoustics 3020. Now i need an amp and a turntable. I currently own a cheap Sony usb turntable which i plan to sell. Then I'll probably try to go for something like Pro-ject debut III. Any other suggestions around £200 or €300 price range for a new quality tt would be appreciated (willing to go for a second hand, but for a smaller price).

Ampvise - I would like a "musical" amp that will work nicely with 3020-s. DAC is a must. I need it primarily for listening to music on my turntable, but i would also like the possibility of playing from digital sources, such as phone or pc. Connecting my TV to one channel would also be a prefferable option.

I know that Marantz PM6005 is a great value/quality amp, but it's out of my price range. So I've put my eyes on the recently awarded Onkyo A-9010. Do you think that it would be up to the task(s)?

With that outlining my ampget (amp budget 😀 ), I would also appreciate any wise suggestions, be it new or second hand.

Thank you so much guys!

Tom

 

[friendly_ghost]

If you can find a second hand Rotel 11 or 12 those also have dacs buit in, I have not heard the Q's so don't really know if they would be a good match though...

 

[lordsquirrel]

The European version of the Onkyo 9010 doesn't have a DAC (though I believe that the US one does). In the UK you'd have to go up to the 9050 for that (which is probably similar in price to the Marantz)

 

[jimitom]

If you can find a second hand Rotel 11 or 12 those also have dacs buit in, I have not heard the Q's so don't really know if they would be a good match though...

Thanks for the suggestion. But I believe that those exceed my budget possibilities, even on second hand market. But I will have my eyes open because they seem packed with functionalities and probably sound great as well.

Cheers

 

[jimitom]

The European version of the Onkyo 9010 doesn't have a DAC (though I believe that the US one does). In the UK you'd have to go up to the 9050 for that (which is probably similar in price to the Marantz)

lordsquirrel thank you for pointing that out! I was very confused when I read the What hi-fi review of 9010 and it said that there is no DAC, while the Onkyo website says that it's got one. I didn't realize there were two versions of the amp...

That indeed brings me to PM6005.

Do you have any other AMP+DAC suggestions that I could look into?

Thanks

 

[gasolin]

Onkyo TX-8050[/b]

 

[lordsquirrel]

Just seen that richer sounds have the yamaha s501 for £199 which seems a very good deal, that was over 300 when I was looking 6 months ago, and has DAC and phono input. (and was well liked by several forum members if I remember correctly)

 

[itsme]

sorry, dind't read your budget.....

Yamaha A-S501 (disounted)

Yamaha A-S701 (over budget)

Yamaha R-N500 (older model)

Yamaha R-N602 (new over budget)

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. You could check the Yamahas out, I personally find it wimpy sounding (at least the previous version). A great alternative and a good match is Denon PMA 720Ae(or 520). This has no dac, though, so you'd need to get a separate one. For pc only, look at Behringer UCA 202. For more sources, check. Schiit brand, but this will get more expensive.

For a tt, Rega RP1 or Project Debut Carbon are pretty much your only alternatives (if buying new). Or the Nad.

 

[itsme]

hi rainsoothe, could you be specific, which Yamaha model sounded wimpy?

thnx.

 

[matthewpiano]

In my experience I'd call the Yamahas more accurate, rather than wimpy.

Yamaha amps don't do initially impressive/wham bam fireworks stuff, bloated bass, or exaggerated treble. Instead they do what it says on the tin - produce a natural sound.

 

[rainsoothe]

I find the bass not bloated but muddy, like it drags somehow, it's not well defined. The midrange is ok, but a bit recessed and disorganized. The highs were ok I guess, but nothing to write home about.

To the OP as well, the above are in relation to Yamaha AS500, which was working with Musical Fidelity M1dac and Monitor Audio Bronze BX2. Also heard the Yamaha with Marantz CD6400 and B&W 602 s3 and had the same impression.

Two points, though: 1. I haven't heard the A-S501, which might be different, and 2. Some, like Matthew, like the Yammy, and there's no reason you shouldn't. So don't take it off your list, and try to audition.

 

[jimitom]

The Yamaha a-s501 was also a recommendation from a hi-fi store manager in my town. I've been reading and reasearching around the internet to see who's wininng in the pm6005 vs a-s501 duel, and my impression is that people prefer Marantz more than the Yamaha. Although things get really subjective, what I understand is that the general opinion is that Marantz has also got a better sounding DAC. What do you guys think about that?

Also, oredering from Richer sounds is not an option for me because they ship only to UK. But 199 pounds for the a-s501 seems like a nice bargain and, as I can see, it's still on.

 

[gasolin]

The Yamaha a-s501 was also a recommendation from a hi-fi store manager in my town. I've been reading and reasearching around the internet to see who's wininng in the pm6005 vs a-s501 duel, and my impression is that people prefer Marantz more than the Yamaha. Although things get really subjective, what I understand is that the general opinion is that Marantz has also got a better sounding DAC. What do you guys think about that?

Also, oredering from Richer sounds is not an option for me because they ship only to UK. But 199 pounds for the a-s501 seems like a nice bargain and, as I can see, it's still on.

Not shure about the Yamaha A-S501, but this i what i found, mabye it can help you deside

https://www.avforums.com/threads/marantz-pm6005-or-yamaha-as500-dac.1877662/

hi i think i can advice you as i had tried both in 1 week. if it still helps here it is, im sure it will help other people looking at this thread title.

i first bought pm6005 with tannoy v4i floorstanders last week, as i have med800x3d player, it has stereo and optical out, i had tried both and didnt notice any difference between the 2 output to my marantz pm6005, after 2 days of playing movies and music, i had decided to take it back to richer sounds and get the yamaha as500 instead because i will be using only stereo connection and no point in getting something with less power and might aswell go for the powerfull yamaha, so i got some money back from the pm6005. now when i took it home i was shocked!!!

the sound is too bass heavy, and mid range is very poor the dialogue in the movies are not clear, the loudness knob is useless, reduces sound as well as dialog, no difference between direct and normal mode, i had hoped getting a 85 watt per channel amp and with glowing what hi fi reviews i was in for a treat, but i was wrong, it sounded awefull compared to the pm6005, i watch 50/50 movies music, i went from 5.1 to 2.0 and i love it. i tried a scene from movie 2012 where the roads start turning over, on the pm6005 it was nice and crisp, you can feel the glass breaking and felt like i was in the cinema, but on the same scene on the yamaha it was full of bass/boomy and not nice in the ear, i have even reduced the bass all the way down but still i cant turn the volume up that loud without lowering the volume for loud scenes and turning it up for the quieter scenes.

but with the pm6005 the sound is so fluid,natural and crisp deep bass that sounds nice and wants me to turn up the volume even more, its very enjoyable and not dull. also the loudness button the the pm6005 is 100 times better than the as500, because with this function it boosts the treble and bass and dialog that you can enjoy at night time watching movies without using the remote to turn the volume up.down. it retains all the details which i found great.

i have tried on as500 the same thing on loudness setting but, it takes all the detail out specially the speech, the amp just didnt sound right at all, it felt wrong and i felt i had made a big mistake, and got worried if richer sounds will allow me to exchange again for the 2nd time, but they did and i got my pm6005 back and i couldn't be happier.

now maybe its the speakers that dont match with as500 but i thought it should but from my point of view as500 is very bad, yes it get loud and boomy but the sound is not quality, maybe it needed running in, but to me it sounded to harsh. but i was warned about the yamaha by someone on my thread but i learnt the hard way.

too me 45 watts and 85 watts per channel means nothing and id rather have great sound quality with a less powefull amp then poor sound quality with a much powerfull amp. and i still cant believe what hi fi gave this 5 stars, but next time i will demo first before buying it on reviews.

also i feel i dont need a sub with the tannoy v4i because the sound is so clean, bass clean/crisp and much better sound than when i had the vectors and q7000 speaker packages in a 5.1 config.

this is my first time going 2.0 from 5.1 and im happy i did, you get a sound quality you dont hear on £800 pacages for speakers.

in my opinion to match the same sound quality you will need to spend £1500 on a 5.1 speakers and av receiver to even come close to the sound quality for stereo route.

 

[gasolin]

A short review of the yamaha A-S501 from richersound http://www.blog.richersounds.com/yamaha-as501/

 

[jimitom]

A short review of the yamaha A-S501 from richersound http://www.blog.richersounds.com/yamaha-as501/

@gasolin

Thanks for posting those links. I've already stumbled upon the thread on the av forums, and the review on the richer sounds confirms the conclusion that user liamgdr there came to - Marantz is a better option.

Yamaha has more watts in the bag but that's not my priority. I prefer listening to music at moderate volume leveles so I believe 45w should be enough for me..

 

[jimitom]

After hours of research I think I should go for an amp that has no DAC. Please let me know what you think.

Why do I want a hi-fi setup and what for? Primarily for listening to my vinyls (hopefully via Rega RP1 or Pro-ject Debut III), and this is where I want as much sound quality as my budget will allow. The second (and the last) reason is is to occasionally play music from my laptop and phone (here I won't pursue the best possible sound).

A soultion that I see fit would be a solid amplifier for around 150-200 UK pounds (no dac needed) and Arcam miniBlink which seems to me as a nice solution for casual listening.

Please let me know what you think about that +

- amp suggestions; new or used; no dac; 150-200 pounds

- anyone has any experience with miniBlink?

Thanks

 

[matthewpiano]

My advice would still be, don't rule out the Yamaha until you've heard it with the source and speakers you plan to use. If you don't like it then you know it isn't for you. If you do, then you'll be pleased you didn't deny yourself the opportunity.