New Amplifier

[Sparta Cat]

Hi All,

New to the forum and need some advice.

Been looking to upgrade my amp for while but not sure which one to go for. At the moment i have a Denon PMA-520ae which i find ok but looking for something a bit warmer. I listen to alot of rock and acoustic music and really enjoy vinyl. I have a sony turntable and IMO the amp does not do it justice.

Looking at spending upto about £700 max.

I've been looking at the Rega Brio R and the Arcam FMJ A19. I've had a listen to both a local hifi dealers. I listened to the Brio and really enjoyed it however the system it was playing through was worth alot more than what i have. The Arcam on the other hand i listened to with the speakers and similiar source and it sounded ok but didn't blow me away.

At the moment i have q-acoustic 2020i speakers and a Yamaha streamer/cd player and i also have a DenonCD players.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Hi All,

New to the forum and need some advice.

Been looking to upgrade my amp for while but not sure which one to go for. At the moment i have a Denon PMA-520ae which i find ok but looking for something a bit warmer. I listen to alot of rock and acoustic music and really enjoy vinyl. I have a sony turntable and IMO the amp does not do it justice.

Looking at spending upto about £700 max.

I've been looking at the Rega Brio R and the Arcam FMJ A19. I've had a listen to both a local hifi dealers. I listened to the Brio and really enjoyed it however the system it was playing through was worth alot more than what i have. The Arcam on the other hand i listened to with the speakers and similiar source and it sounded ok but didn't blow me away.

At the moment i have q-acoustic 2020i speakers and a Yamaha streamer/cd player and i also have a DenonCD players.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

the arcam fmj a19 is not a warm sounding amp well i did not think it did anyway and most of your budget will be spend on both amps unless you go secondhand on this 2 amps that you are looking at but you would be better looking at the marantz or the cambridge amps for a nice warm sounding amp . also you will get the phono stage with cambridge / marantz amps so lets say you went for a marantz pm6005 amp £250-£300 new and then this will give you £400 left over budget for a record player .

 

[splasher]

Hi.

What makes you think the amp is the weak link in the system (not saying it isn't, just curious)?

Also, which turntable and cartridge would be helpful to know.

 

[jonathanRD]

Why don't you take your source and (if necessary) your speakers to listen to them with the Brio - especially if you liked it so much. And if you like the Brio with your current kit, it also gives you good idea of an upgrade path in the future.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

If this is the start of an extended upgrade path then I think I'd maybe split the budget of your £700 .I'd say only get the rega or arcam if you're planning to upgrade the other components of your system sooner rather than later,or else I'd think about speakers in the £400 ish region and amp with the rest of the budget,I'm not going to give names as there's so much to choose from at this level,but that should keep you going until funds allow you to bring the source('s) up to scratch.lots of people will tell you to get the source first,but if the amplification isn't up to scratch a good source is a waste if the amp can't retrieve the best from it.also the second hand market has a lot to offer,lots of people move on the upgrade path with not much use of there current electronics,so look out for nearly new kit on the bay at some attractive prices.ps,you'll get a few bob also for your existing amp and speakers,put that to the new amp also.

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. I personally find that the Brio R has nothing on the A19, which is a pretty warm sounding amp. Its only weakness imo is a not-so-tight bass section, but soundstage and musicality are very nice. But to each his own.

Anywho, in your case, I think it's mainly your sources. You should try hearing your amp and speaker combo with a musical fidelity v90 dac or ifi nano (or micro, I forget) dac. Also, check if your tt is setup properly and you're not using a bright sounding cart. Or use an Onkyo C-N7050 as your digital source.

Most likely the Brio you auditioned was partnered to like-priced components, so should you decide to invest 4-500 pounds per component, then you will indeed have a decent upgrade.

FWIW, consider Marantz PM6005 with Dali Zensor 3 or Q Acoustics 3020, use the digital out of your denon cd player into the PM6005 dac - or get Onkyo C-N7050 if you want an all-in-one solloution. Partner that with Project Carbon Esprit SB and you might have the upgrade you seek.

 

[Sparta Cat]

Hi. I personally find that the Brio R has nothing on the A19, which is a pretty warm sounding amp. Its only weakness imo is a not-so-tight bass section, but soundstage and musicality are very nice. But to each his own.

Anywho, in your case, I think it's mainly your sources. You should try hearing your amp and speaker combo with a musical fidelity v90 dac or ifi nano (or micro, I forget) dac. Also, check if your tt is setup properly and you're not using a bright sounding cart. Or use an Onkyo C-N7050 as your digital source.

Most likely the Brio you auditioned was partnered to like-priced components, so should you decide to invest 4-500 pounds per component, then you will indeed have a decent upgrade.

FWIW, consider Marantz PM6005 with Dali Zensor 3 or Q Acoustics 3020, use the digital out of your denon cd player into the PM6005 dac - or get Onkyo C-N7050 if you want an all-in-one solloution. Partner that with Project Carbon Esprit SB and you might have the upgrade you seek.

Sorry i haven't replied,

My turntable is a Sony PS -1350 and its fitted with Sony VL-34G cartridge, I don't want to replace this unit as it took me a while to get a hold of a vintage turntable in very good condition. I'm noticing though when i'm using this with my Denon amp i have to really crank up the volume to get it to sound ok. Got one of my friends to give alone of his Phono pre-amp however didn't really make much of a difference.

Since posting i've been into my local Hifi dealer again and had a listen to the Marantz 6005 with Dali Zensor 3's and thought the sound was excellent to my ears. Sounded alot warmer than my Denon amp and there was little bits of detail that i was able to pick out from songs that i regularly listen too and haven't noticed before.

Listened to the Arcam again with my speakers (2020I) and i would agree i would need to be looking at upgrading other components to make the Arcam truely shine which is not affordable to me at the moment.

I still like the Brio-r but just like the Arcam i reckon i would need to look to spend alot more on other components which i don't have the money to do at the moment.

Although i reckon i may go with the Marantz i'm still a bit unsure. My local dealer said he will do the Marantz 6005 and Dali Zensor 3's for £500.

Thoughts?

 

[gasolin]

Hi. I personally find that the Brio R has nothing on the A19, which is a pretty warm sounding amp. Its only weakness imo is a not-so-tight bass section, but soundstage and musicality are very nice. But to each his own.

Anywho, in your case, I think it's mainly your sources. You should try hearing your amp and speaker combo with a musical fidelity v90 dac or ifi nano (or micro, I forget) dac. Also, check if your tt is setup properly and you're not using a bright sounding cart. Or use an Onkyo C-N7050 as your digital source.

Most likely the Brio you auditioned was partnered to like-priced components, so should you decide to invest 4-500 pounds per component, then you will indeed have a decent upgrade.

FWIW, consider Marantz PM6005 with Dali Zensor 3 or Q Acoustics 3020, use the digital out of your denon cd player into the PM6005 dac - or get Onkyo C-N7050 if you want an all-in-one solloution. Partner that with Project Carbon Esprit SB and you might have the upgrade you seek.

Sorry i haven't replied,

My turntable is a Sony PS -1350 and its fitted with Sony VL-34G cartridge, I don't want to replace this unit as it took me a while to get a hold of a vintage turntable in very good condition. I'm noticing though when i'm using this with my Denon amp i have to really crank up the volume to get it to sound ok. Got one of my friends to give alone of his Phono pre-amp however didn't really make much of a difference.

Since posting i've been into my local Hifi dealer again and had a listen to the Marantz 6005 with Dali Zensor 3's and thought the sound was excellent to my ears. Sounded alot warmer than my Denon amp and there was little bits of detail that i was able to pick out from songs that i regularly listen too and haven't noticed before.

Listened to the Arcam again with my speakers (2020I) and i would agree i would need to be looking at upgrading other components to make the Arcam truely shine which is not affordable to me at the moment.

I still like the Brio-r but just like the Arcam i reckon i would need to look to spend alot more on other components which i don't have the money to do at the moment.

Although i reckon i may go with the Marantz i'm still a bit unsure. My local dealer said he will do the Marantz 6005 and Dali Zensor 3's for £500.

Thoughts?

Normally both go for £550 the amp has everything you ever need good sound enought power for 87 db or higher sensitive speakers, bass/treble eq/tonecontrols,phono stage i'm following a guy on youtube,facebook he uses the amp with a marantz TT 15S1 (not cheap) and he thinks it sounds good, dac both coaxial and optical (cdplayer and pc) good price

https://youtu.be/3ZWp85drpjs?t=10m49s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-U8DyiYvrY

 

[Blacksabbath25]

this is way i said the marantz pm6005 as its a warm sounding amp . sorry i did not think you had a record player but as you have then £400 on what ever speakers you go for but the dalis do work well with the marantz anyway so you can not go far wrong here . have you looked secondhand for both the amp + speakers as you can save even more doing it this way and the money you save get the matching cd player cd6005

 

[grimharry]

If its the same as mine I think it's not a bad player. But if you get the marantz amp you could play it through the amp's dac.

 

[jonathanRD]

Take your time - you don't want to be sat listening in 6 months time and wondering whether you should have gone for something that sounded the best at the time, but you went with what you could afford rather than think about the long-term goal (if there is one).

 

[Sparta Cat]

this is way i said the marantz pm6005 as its a warm sounding amp . sorry i did not think you had a record player but as you have then £400 on what ever speakers you go for but the dalis do work well with the marantz anyway so you can not go far wrong here . have you looked secondhand for both the amp + speakers as you can save even more doing it this way and the money you save get the matching cd player cd6005

i've had a look at the second hand market but i would prefer to buy brand new. I may actually buy the CD player as well if it does make a big difference. At the moment I've got the yamaha cdn 301, streaming on the model I reckon is really good but prefer to use the denon dcd520 to play CDs.

As mentioned I've got the Q's at the moment and I've heard the dalis. Any other speakers in this price range I should look at?

I listen to a variety of different music so an all arounder would be great.

Thanks again.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

the dali 3s are good for there money and they are good all rounders but you could try the marantz pm6005 amp with your old speakers first before changing them to something like the dali 3s but in the future you might have a bigger budget to play with then you would be open to more of a choice of what you want but if your kind of person who will stick with things then you can not go far wrong with the marantz pm6005 + dali 3s as a setup but if your like me say 12 month or more down the road you will be looking out for something bigger and better and a bigger budget that's how the hifi bug goes but i can not comment on any other speakers as i have only owned the dali 1s , dali 3s and now dali optcons 6s which are £1300 to buy so i like dali speakers but sure you would be happy with the dali 3s but hopfuly someone will come a long and comment and say a diffrent speaker to you . or you can keep saving for you really want .

 

[matthewpiano]

Having owned both Q Acoustics 2020i and Dali Zensor 3, I'd say the Dalis are a sideways step at best. The Qs are outstandingly talented speakers, and I wouldn't be so hasty to change them.

Marantz works well with Q Acoustics, but you might also want to try either the NAD C316BEE or C326BEE. NAD amps are about as musical as budget ones get, and they work very nicely with Qs.

 

[Sparta Cat]

Having owned both Q Acoustics 2020i and Dali Zensor 3, I'd say the Dalis are a sideways step at best. The Qs are outstandingly talented speakers, and I wouldn't be so hasty to change them.

Marantz works well with Q Acoustics, but you might also want to try either the NAD C316BEE or C326BEE. NAD amps are about as musical as budget ones get, and they work very nicely with Qs.

i was looking at nad amps, unfortunately none of the hifi shops where I am stock them so I cannot listen before I buy. I did listen to the dalis and the Q's with the marantz and I thought the dalis were better however as mentioned I want to upgrade my system not go sideways.

Ive had my system at the moment for about 3 years so if I am very happy with the sound i cannot see me changing my system for a while after this.

 

[gasolin]

this is way i said the marantz pm6005 as its a warm sounding amp . sorry i did not think you had a record player but as you have then £400 on what ever speakers you go for but the dalis do work well with the marantz anyway so you can not go far wrong here . have you looked secondhand for both the amp + speakers as you can save even more doing it this way and the money you save get the matching cd player cd6005

i've had a look at the second hand market but i would prefer to buy brand new. I may actually buy the CD player as well if it does make a big difference. At the moment I've got the yamaha cdn 301, streaming on the model I reckon is really good but prefer to use the denon dcd520 to play CDs.

As mentioned I've got the Q's at the moment and I've heard the dalis. Any other speakers in this price range I should look at?

I listen to a variety of different music so an all arounder would be great.

Thanks again.

I have the CD5005 and it has the same dac as the CD6005 and the PM6005 so you don't get an advantage of using the dac in the amp, i know the CD6005 is able to play music from a usb stick other then that i cant se any difference, where i live theres a 100£ difference (150/250£)so the choice with the same internal dac wasn't difficult (update if i look at the marantz website i do se a little diffrence just not shure it have better sound for the 100£ in difference)

 

[gasolin]

Having owned both Q Acoustics 2020i and Dali Zensor 3, I'd say the Dalis are a sideways step at best. The Qs are outstandingly talented speakers, and I wouldn't be so hasty to change them.

Marantz works well with Q Acoustics, but you might also want to try either the NAD C316BEE or C326BEE. NAD amps are about as musical as budget ones get, and they work very nicely with Qs.

Just remember the dalis have much more bas, the q acustics are not bassy speakers

Getting the dali's you won't in the same way be tempted to buy a subwoofer as you would do with the q acoustics 2020i

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Only you can make your own mind up with what sounds right for your ears as everyone on here has there own expectations on what sounds good to them . Just go back to the hi fi shop with a load of your own CDs and listen to both sets of speakers again before you hand your money over

 

[Sparta Cat]

Only you can make your own mind up with what sounds right for your ears as everyone on here has there own expectations on what sounds good to them . Just go back to the hi fi shop with a load of your own CDs and listen to both sets of speakers again before you hand your money over

This is what I'm going to do.

Going to take some of my favourite CDs and I'll make my decision. I know everyone has the own opinions on what sounds nice and it's always great to hear other people's opinions and advice.

in an ideal world I would love to have a few thousand pound to buy a top of the line system but il still get a quality piece of kit on a budget.

much appreciated advice and il update the thread when decision is made.

 

[Sparta Cat]

Only you can make your own mind up with what sounds right for your ears as everyone on here has there own expectations on what sounds good to them . Just go back to the hi fi shop with a load of your own CDs and listen to both sets of speakers again before you hand your money over

This is what I'm going to do.

Going to take some of my favourite CDs and I'll make my decision. I know everyone has the own opinions on what sounds nice and it's always great to hear other people's opinions and advice.

in an ideal world I would love to have a few thousand pound to buy a top of the line system but il still get a quality piece of kit on a budget.

much appreciated advice and il update the thread when decision is made.

Just giving a quick update.

Took my CD's into my local dealer and had another listen, Had a listen to the Monitor Audio Bronze 2, Dali Zensor 3 and Dali Ikon 1 MK2 with the Marantz PM6005. I really liked both Dali's, Defo going for the Marantz. Really like this Amp as it feels Warm and with the music i listen to makes me want to sit in one place for many hours. My local dealer also let me hear the Amp with the Project Essential 2 Turntable and its got me thinking i should update my turntable as well. Guess ill need to wait until i try my turntable first and take it from there.

Once again appreciate the advice, Especially with the Marantz and Dali Zensor 3.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Only you can make your own mind up with what sounds right for your ears as everyone on here has there own expectations on what sounds good to them . Just go back to the hi fi shop with a load of your own CDs and listen to both sets of speakers again before you hand your money over

This is what I'm going to do.

Going to take some of my favourite CDs and I'll make my decision. I know everyone has the own opinions on what sounds nice and it's always great to hear other people's opinions and advice.

in an ideal world I would love to have a few thousand pound to buy a top of the line system but il still get a quality piece of kit on a budget.

much appreciated advice and il update the thread when decision is made.

Just giving a quick update.

Took my CD's into my local dealer and had another listen, Had a listen to the Monitor Audio Bronze 2, Dali Zensor 3 and Dali Ikon 1 MK2 with the Marantz PM6005. I really liked both Dali's, Defo going for the Marantz. Really like this Amp as it feels Warm and with the music i listen to makes me want to sit in one place for many hours. My local dealer also let me hear the Amp with the Project Essential 2 Turntable and its got me thinking i should update my turntable as well. Guess ill need to wait until i try my turntable first and take it from there.

Once again appreciate the advice, Especially with the Marantz and Dali Zensor 3.

glad you got sorted out you made a good choice