Question New HiFi - Amp/Streamer/Speakers

[Nico69]

Hi All,

Looking at treating myself to some new hifi since mine is now 27 years old and I fancy some new toys. Also need a better streamer than an iPhone and a Echo DOT. RS are my easiest and most local HiFi shop around so I'm looking to audition there. Room layout is typical Victorian terrace with a bay window. The speakers will be situated either side of the bay. Quite fancy some floorstanders. My wife hates my current Tannoys on Atacama stands. They will need to be unfussy in their placements i.e. I don't want them out in the room so they will have to be closer to the walls/outer corners of the bay.

One source that is staying is a Linn Axis turntable.

My shortlist (long list) is as follows:

Amps:
Cambridge Audio CXA61
Denon PMA-900HNE
Denon PMA-800NE
Denon PMA-600NE
Marantz PM7000N
Marantz PM6007

Speakers:
Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 (I believe these are easy to site)
Q Acoustics Q3050i
Fyne Audio F302i
Mission LX-4 MKII

Phono Stage - if I go with the Cambridge Audio
Cambridge Audio Solo (MM)
Pro-Ject Phono Box MM/MC

CD Players:
Not decided yet - depends on Amp as some have DACS etc

Streamers:
Totally clueless. most likely streaming from Amazon Music.

Budget around £1500-1800 all in.

What do you think? What goes with what? Obviously I can't demo all the combinations at RS as they'd get sick of me quite quickly.

Much thanks

 

[Al ears]

Hi All,

Looking at treating myself to some new hifi since mine is now 27 years old and I fancy some new toys. Also need a better streamer than an iPhone and a Echo DOT. RS are my easiest and most local HiFi shop around so I'm looking to audition there. Room layout is typical Victorian terrace with a bay window. The speakers will be situated either side of the bay. Quite fancy some floorstanders. My wife hates my current Tannoys on Atacama stands. They will need to be unfussy in their placements i.e. I don't want them out in the room so they will have to be closer to the walls/outer corners of the bay.

One source that is staying is a Linn Axis turntable.

My shortlist (long list) is as follows:

Amps:
Cambridge Audio CXA61
Denon PMA-900HNE
Denon PMA-800NE
Denon PMA-600NE
Marantz PM7000N
Marantz PM6007

Speakers:
Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 (I believe these are easy to site)
Q Acoustics Q3050i
Fyne Audio F302i
Mission LX-4 MKII

Phono Stage - if I go with the Cambridge Audio
Cambridge Audio Solo (MM)
Pro-Ject Phono Box MM/MC

CD Players:
Not decided yet - depends on Amp as some have DACS etc

Streamers:
Totally clueless. most likely streaming from Amazon Music.

Budget around £1500-1800 all in.

What do you think? What goes with what? Obviously I can't demo all the combinations at RS as they'd get sick of me quite quickly.

Much thanks

i would demo as much as you can and don't worry about becoming a pain at RS, they need your money.....
If your wife hates Tannoys on stands why are you not looking at slim floorstanders?
Are the items you have listed all available to audition at RS?
Streamer could be something as simple as the iFi Zen Stream but they are pretty much of a muchness when this cheap.
Get the speakers sorted first then worry about the rest.
Amplifier wise the Denon 900HNE is a good choice but I prefer to keep things simple and get a good amp with a separate streamer to make future upgrades simple.
If you do go for an amp with inbuilt dac then CD wise the Audiolab 6000CDT is a no brainer....
I assume Linn Axis is fitted with a moving magnet cartridge.??
Denon inbuilt phono stages are quite good...

 

[Gray]

At my suggestion, a mate has just taken delivery of Wharfedale 12.3 to go with a Marantz PM44SE amp.
May be of interest to you that he asked and got RS to match a price of £450 that he found online.
Apparently he intends to use them in a bay window.
When he gets some cable, I'm expecting a sound quality report from him.
Anything of note and I'll mention it here.....although nobody else can tell you what is right.

(He tells me that his wife has looked carefully at the speakers - and she likes the 'feet' 🤨).

 

[Gray]

....just got the report and he describes the sound as "absolutely fantastic".

He lives in a detached house and he's using them in a large room.
I wondered if the 45-50 watt Marantz would be adequate, but he's found a third of the way round on the volume control is more than loud enough.
Bass is important to him - no problem there apparently.

Like I said, he can't choose for you but...
The PM44SE is several generations back.
I reckon you could do a lot worse than try the 6007 with the 12.3s.

Enjoy whatever you audition.

 

[RJW232]

I think you can't go wrong with anything on your shortlist.

 

[Nico69]

Great! Thanks for all the replies. Seems like I've got a good selection. I'll just have to see what I can audition.

Now for the dreaded 'C' word - Cables! I'm going to need a run of at least 9m for one of the speakers and I guess the same for the other. What's not going to cripple me in terms of price?

 

[Al ears]

Great! Thanks for all the replies. Seems like I've got a good selection. I'll just have to see what I can audition.

Now for the dreaded 'C' word - Cables! I'm going to need a run of at least 9m for one of the speakers and I guess the same for the other. What's not going to cripple me in terms of price?

Any cheap multistrand with a decent thickness,

 

[npxavar]

I would just buy a Cambridage Audio CXN V2 and call it a day. That will give a monumental improvement. Everything else is probably marginal.

 

[Al ears]

I would just buy a Cambridage Audio CXN V2 and call it a day. That will give a monumental improvement. Everything else is probably marginal.

the OP wants a system, not sure where a CXN comes into it?

 

[npxavar]

He is clueless about the streamer. The rest of the money can go to the CD player. The amp+speaker part of the equation won't see much improvement with this budget.

 

[Al ears]

He is clueless about the streamer. The rest of the money can go to the CD player. The amp+speaker part of the equation won't see much improvement with this budget.

I understand that but spending £800 out of his budget on one might not be wise

 

[npxavar]

My point is that it is better to focus all the budget in buying high quality sources. That will give a better end result.

 

[Al ears]

My point is that it is better to focus all the budget in buying high quality sources. That will give a better end result.

i would agree sources are important but thats a huge chunk from the OPs budget.
Assuming he spends similar on speakers, the other end of the system , it doesn't leave much for an amp....

 

[robdmarsh]

I am a massive fan of the Denon pma 800ne, it still amazes me how much performance I've got out of this amplifier. It's solid, retro looking with tone controls and a button to shut off the digital circuits and it doesn't even have a detachable power cord (shock, horror!).Every time I make a tweak to my system the Denon faithfully reproduces what that tweak has done and I don't think I've got to the end of its capabilities. I was kind curious over the summer about an amp upgrade and heard an Arcam sa20. I preferred the sound of my Denon.

Speaker wise I'm not a fan of the Wharfedale Diamond series. I heard the 12.3 and thought they sounded particularly meh.

 

[kit1cat]

If you went for the Marantz PM7000N amp, you would not need a streamer or phono stage, all built in.

 

[WayneKerr]

Now for the dreaded 'C' word - Cables! I'm going to need a run of at least 9m for one of the speakers and I guess the same for the other.

9 metres each side! You must have a very large room... that length would put one speaker in my back garden and the other one in the front garden

 

[Nico69]

If you went for the Marantz PM7000N amp, you would not need a streamer or phono stage, all built in.

I like the sound of the Marantz PM7000N amp. One I'll certainly audition as long as it has a good phono stage. Any idea if it is any good? I listen to a lot of vinyl.

9 metres each side! You must have a very large room... that length would put one speaker in my back garden and the other one in the front garden

Yes, 9m a side does seem a lot. But I've measured it out. The amp is actually in the 'other room' of our knocked through lounge-dining room layout as per the attached photo. And yes, it is abot a 9m run allowing for wiggle room at either end.

 

[Nico69]

Any cheap multistrand with a decent thickness,

So what would I notice between QED XT25 @ £5.99/m VS QED 79 Strand @ £1.99/m apart from about a £70 difference in cost? They are both similar gauges.

 

[Al ears]

I like the sound of the Marantz PM7000N amp. One I'll certainly audition as long as it has a good phono stage. Any idea if it is any good? I listen to a lot of vinyl.




Yes, 9m a side does seem a lot. But I've measured it out. The amp is actually in the 'other room' of our knocked through lounge-dining room layout as per the attached photo. And yes, it is abot a 9m run allowing for wiggle room at either end.

What's stopping you moving the amp?

 

[Al ears]

So what would I notice between QED XT25 @ £5.99/m VS QED 79 Strand @ £1.99/m apart from about a £70 difference in cost? They are both similar gauges.

probably not, and there are others like Van Damme you could consider.
Also note you don't need to buy equal lengths and have all that spare cable going to the LH speaker

 

[WayneKerr]

I like the sound of the Marantz PM7000N amp. One I'll certainly audition as long as it has a good phono stage. Any idea if it is any good? I listen to a lot of vinyl.




Yes, 9m a side does seem a lot. But I've measured it out. The amp is actually in the 'other room' of our knocked through lounge-dining room layout as per the attached photo. And yes, it is abot a 9m run allowing for wiggle room at either end.

Marantz tend to have reasonable phono stages, I've had three of their amps and each one was/is fine to my ears.

Cable, ah, I see

 

[WayneKerr]

So what would I notice between QED XT25 @ £5.99/m VS QED 79 Strand @ £1.99/m apart from about a £70 difference in cost? They are both similar gauges.

Agree with Al. If you're fitting under carpet then probably go for the flattest profile you can find.

 

[Nico69]

What's stopping you moving the amp?

Moving Stonehenge might be an easier option in this case!
- Purpose built cabinet for hifi and wall mounted turntable above it. Records in cabinet below and wall mounted CD racks above. I did have the speakers either side of the chimney breast in the front room but bigger TV and room shuffle means I need to reposition the speakers in front of the bay. Hence my quest for better speakers and amp etc. I do have some decent speaker cables currently connected but they are not long enough. They are whatever WhatHiFi recommended in 1997. Flattish blue things of decent thickness.

I'm liking the idea of the Marantz with included phono stage and built in streamer as this means I could stretch to a new CD player to add to it. My current Technics SL-PG 480 or whatever it is was bought in 1997 along with the rest of it.

What playes nicely with the Amp? Does it have a built in DAC? Would this be better than the CD DAC? Why are external DAC considered better than built in? Surely using a DAC in the AMP is the same as using a DAC in the CD player?

 

[Nico69]

Agree with Al. If you're fitting under carpet then probably go for the flattest profile you can find.

The cables will be run under the floorboards and come up behind the speakers at an appropriate point.

Anyone know of any nice ferrules to finish off a 19mm hole in floorboards? Hate the look of a raw, drilled hole. A brass fitting would look nice.

 

[Al ears]

Moving Stonehenge might be an easier option in this case!
- Purpose built cabinet for hifi and wall mounted turntable above it. Records in cabinet below and wall mounted CD racks above. I did have the speakers either side of the chimney breast in the front room but bigger TV and room shuffle means I need to reposition the speakers in front of the bay. Hence my quest for better speakers and amp etc. I do have some decent speaker cables currently connected but they are not long enough. They are whatever WhatHiFi recommended in 1997. Flattish blue things of decent thickness.

I'm liking the idea of the Marantz with included phono stage and built in streamer as this means I could stretch to a new CD player to add to it. My current Technics SL-PG 480 or whatever it is was bought in 1997 along with the rest of it.

What playes nicely with the Amp? Does it have a built in DAC? Would this be better than the CD DAC? Why are external DAC considered better than built in? Surely using a DAC in the AMP is the same as using a DAC in the CD player?

if you are talking about the the PM7000N then you could simply add a great CD transport like the Cambridge 6000 CDT and connect with an optical cable, thus using the AKM dac in the amp.
I dont see much point in having kit with facilities that aren't being used, like everything having it's own dac, doesn't seem a good way to spend money.
DACs are very much fine tuning devices and some people like the ability to upgrade just the dac so tend to buy external ones.
They are not necessarily better than inbuilt ones, just offering slightly different filters for sound or maybe offer more types of connections.
And no the DAC in amp is not necessarily the same one as the dac in a CD player even if these are from the same manufacturer in some instances