new system comments please

[admin_exported]

Hi all would like your opinions on the following set up

Marantz SA7001

Rotel RA05

B&W 685

cables not sure

comments please and any other suggestions budget are £1000

 

[Anonymous]

Those speakers tend to be a bit divisive... some love them, whilst others find that they send them to sleep. Personally I would audition them alongside some alternatives, such as similarly priced kit from Mordaunt Short, Acoustic Energy (discounts available) and my true love Epos. You might find that the B&Ws are unbeatable for your tastes however.

Isn't the RA05 the same amp as the much cheaper RA04 but with a remote control, or am I confused? That always made it feel like slightly poor value to me.

Edit: People have also been making quite a lot of noise about the Dali Lektor 2...

 

[Anonymous]

What about:

Marantz CD6002

Marantz PM6002

B&W 685

Don't forget to allow some money for good, sturdy, loudspeaker stands.

Speaker cables - The Chord Company Silver Screen

RCA analogue interconnects - The Chord Company Crimson

 

[Anonymous]

hi tractorboy yes the ra05 is the ra04 with remote and yes £100 more for the remote is a bit steep

 

[Anonymous]

hi dantan want to go with the sa cd player as i have a fair collection of sa cds. having owned a sa7001 ki pre divorce i have found a good priced sa7001 so though i would start there.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Good CDP; i'd aim to match that with the NAD C352 integrated or the NAD C355BEE integrated and the B&W 685 speakers.

At a minimum Atacama Nexus 5/6i stands but IMO its worth punting the extra £££ to some Partington Super Dreadnought stands and the aforementioned cable (Chord Carnival Silverscreen speaker cable and Chord Crimson or Atlas Equator interconnects).

What would be handy to know is what music do you listen to and what is your budget?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi d_a_n1979

i listern to rock, folk and blues type music lot of floyd neil young etc my budget is in the line of £1000

 

[d_a_n1979]

I think you could do better than the Rotel RA05 amp then; i'd say the NAD C355BEE would be a very good choice as would be the NAD C352 integrated.

Both have bags of power and would drive the B&W 685's hell of a lot better than the Rotel.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks dan

shop where i have demo booked only has c135bee avaialable so may have to look else where for the 352 or 355

 

[Anonymous]

Nope I wouldn't bother with NAD amplification, they won't go well with the 685's. Too flat sounding. Neither the marantz. Look out for a Rotel 1062 integrated maybe. Also test out other speakers.

 

[d_a_n1979]

To be completely on the opposite Captain; the NAD amps gel superbly with the B&W 685 speakers and you'd find a lot of other folks on here saying that as well.

Im a huge Arcam fan as well as a massive NAD fan and both suit the 685's very well but the NAD amps (more so the C352 and the C355BEE) drive the 685's better than the Arcams.

My Arcam Alpha 9 system (integrated, power and CDP) worked superbly with the 685's but it just lacked that 'oomph' that the NAD provides.

I have to say to the OP that he MUST demo as much as he can; everyones hearing is different so everyone has their own views on separates and speakers etc...

I agree that the Marantz separates done gel well with the 685 speakers but again, thats IMO!

If you can; demo the 685's with as many of the above mentioned amps and CDP's and see what your views are; then go from there!

I feel that Captains opinion in his post may come across to strong and put people off without trying it for themselves!

 

[Anonymous]

Well I tested the C352, at home in my current system and wasn't impressed. So yeah it's my opinion but that's based on some experience. Bass was more prominent with the NAD, but detail in the midrange and treble was lacking in comparison, Of course it might not have gelled with the Arcam CDP. Quite likely in fact since they both are very warm sounding.