Two weeks ago my 20+ years old Sony stereo set announced its retirement. Since then I have been searching internet(forums) like a maniac to find the optimal replacement. After a listening session at a local hifi specialist (www.hifisolutions.nl) my girlfriend and I placed an order for an amplifier, speaker set and turntable this afternoon. Hereby I write my experiences, as it could help others in comparable situations. Remind that I am no expert at all, but this holds probably for most people 
.
My online investigation eventually led to the following stereo set on my wish-list:
- Marantz PM6005
- B&W 685 S2
- Pro-ject Debut Carbon
I bothered lots of friends and family with my quest. The advice I got was that the Marantz may not be powerful enough for the B&Ws, and that these speakers would be too small to provide decent bass. As an alternative I found the Yamaha A-S501 within the same budget, but the B&Ws stayed on the wish-list. As also adviced on almost every forum, I was told to go to a store an listen to different combinations. Although I first wanted to rely on the online reviews I am really glad we actually went.
To summarize, we listened to the following items (in different combinations) in the store:
- Amplifiers: NAD C316BEE, Rotel RA-12, Riga Brio R (we did not try the Yamaha, and the Marantz was out of stock)
- Speakers: B&W 685S2, KEF LS50, Dali Zensor 5, Focal Chorus 714
- Test music: Bruce Springsteen / Jazz
To my great disappointment we did not like the B&Ws. Before listening I was convinced that I would go home with these speakers, especially because they are praised online. We tried them combined with all three amplifiers. We missed clarity, and the sound was tiring. I did not recognise the online reviews at all. Maybe an other amplifier would make a change? The KEFs were a huge inmprovement, with more detail and control. Although more expensive, these are definitely worth listening to. Because a little more oomph was appreciated we switched to the floorstanding speakers.
The Dali's sounded great, very clear sound. The combination with the Rotel was (at least in our opinion) a real good one, however a (very little) bit on the shrill (Dutch: schel) side. Therefor we also tested the Rega, that should sound a little warmer. This difference became clear when trying the Focal Chorus 714. The Focal speakers provided more detail and performed better on low tones. We ended up with two favorite combinations: Dali/Rotel and Rega/Focal. We switched back to the KEF LS50s once more, but decided that both floorstanding speakers were more in line with our taste. In the end, the detailed sound (listening to jazz) convinced us that the extra investment in the Rega/Focal was worth it.
We also bought the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, based on the advice of the store the DC 2m Red Esprit version. We did not listen to different turntables. We trusted hifisolutions in that the Pro-ject is difficult to beat in value for money. I do however believe that the person responsible for the name of this turntable should be fired.
Our final choice:
- Rega Brio R
- Focal Chorus 714
- Pro-ject Debut Carbon Esprit DC 2M-Red
My experience-based consumer advice: 1) do as everybody says: go to a hifi-store to listen, and don't (solely) rely on internet reviews. 2) Bookshelve / Floorstanding speaker is probably a matter of taste, but our listening session showed clear differences in clearity versus more powerful sound.
.My online investigation eventually led to the following stereo set on my wish-list:
- Marantz PM6005
- B&W 685 S2
- Pro-ject Debut Carbon
I bothered lots of friends and family with my quest. The advice I got was that the Marantz may not be powerful enough for the B&Ws, and that these speakers would be too small to provide decent bass. As an alternative I found the Yamaha A-S501 within the same budget, but the B&Ws stayed on the wish-list. As also adviced on almost every forum, I was told to go to a store an listen to different combinations. Although I first wanted to rely on the online reviews I am really glad we actually went.
To summarize, we listened to the following items (in different combinations) in the store:
- Amplifiers: NAD C316BEE, Rotel RA-12, Riga Brio R (we did not try the Yamaha, and the Marantz was out of stock)
- Speakers: B&W 685S2, KEF LS50, Dali Zensor 5, Focal Chorus 714
- Test music: Bruce Springsteen / Jazz
To my great disappointment we did not like the B&Ws. Before listening I was convinced that I would go home with these speakers, especially because they are praised online. We tried them combined with all three amplifiers. We missed clarity, and the sound was tiring. I did not recognise the online reviews at all. Maybe an other amplifier would make a change? The KEFs were a huge inmprovement, with more detail and control. Although more expensive, these are definitely worth listening to. Because a little more oomph was appreciated we switched to the floorstanding speakers.
The Dali's sounded great, very clear sound. The combination with the Rotel was (at least in our opinion) a real good one, however a (very little) bit on the shrill (Dutch: schel) side. Therefor we also tested the Rega, that should sound a little warmer. This difference became clear when trying the Focal Chorus 714. The Focal speakers provided more detail and performed better on low tones. We ended up with two favorite combinations: Dali/Rotel and Rega/Focal. We switched back to the KEF LS50s once more, but decided that both floorstanding speakers were more in line with our taste. In the end, the detailed sound (listening to jazz) convinced us that the extra investment in the Rega/Focal was worth it.
We also bought the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, based on the advice of the store the DC 2m Red Esprit version. We did not listen to different turntables. We trusted hifisolutions in that the Pro-ject is difficult to beat in value for money. I do however believe that the person responsible for the name of this turntable should be fired.
Our final choice:
- Rega Brio R
- Focal Chorus 714
- Pro-ject Debut Carbon Esprit DC 2M-Red
My experience-based consumer advice: 1) do as everybody says: go to a hifi-store to listen, and don't (solely) rely on internet reviews. 2) Bookshelve / Floorstanding speaker is probably a matter of taste, but our listening session showed clear differences in clearity versus more powerful sound.
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