New system: MA RX6 or KEF Q700 with Denon 2312/3312?

[admin_exported]

Hi all, I am thinking of building my first set-up, because of budget constraints I will be buying only an AV receiver & floor-standing speakers at the beginning and may add subwoofer/speakers later on. The system will be used mostly for listening to music (I would say 80% music, 20% movies) and installed in a 6m x 8m room (high ceiling - half is a living room with sofas/TV and the other half is used as dining room). The speakers would be positioned against one of the 6m walls and 2/3m away from each other. Since I am very new to the Hi-fi world I would l love hear your views/suggestions on the short-list I have compiled below after reading through many threads: AV receiver: - Read a lot of goof things about Denon AVR 2312CI and 3312CI and Airplay is definitely a plus giving we are all Apple addicts at home. Plus, I have a friend in the US who can bring it for me for a 30% discount to MSRP so can save quite a lot money to invest in speakers. A couple of question: for the set-up I am building is it worth spending an extra £100 to upgrade from the 2312CI to 3312CI or is it better to allocate the £100 extra to the speakers? Do you know if Denon warranty work in the UK? Speakers: I am having a hard time deciding between the KEF Q700 & MA RX6 (both at same price: £800), any idea for what would be the best fit with my Denon AV receiver and stereo utilisation? Do you know where in London I can demo both? Please feel free to make any suggestion/recommendation. Thank you so much for your help, Ali PS: set-up would be Sky HD + Blue Ray + PS3 + Laptop

 

[CnoEvil]

Since music seems far more important to you, have you thought of getting a stereo amp with 2 speakers and a sub? IMO This would be much better for music, and with the sub, films would still have impact.

Then at a later date, you can add a cheapish AV amp with pre-outs (so it can work with the stereo amp) along with a centre and rear effects speakers.

Normally this would happen the other way round, but so would the music to film ratio (ie 20% music).

If this is of interest, it completely changes the advice you will need to get....what do you think?

Cno

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Cno for your input. I actually thought a bit about going for a stereo amp but maybe I dont realise the uplift in quality I would get for the money. My thinking was to go for a versatile AV receiver to make the most of all my equipment (TV/Blue-Ray/PS3) and features (like Airplay for iPad/iPhone but an Apple TV can plug the whole there) from day one.

I thought a mid-range AV receiver like the Denon 3312 (£1000) would be already good enough to make the most of any of the MA RX6 or Q700 (which let's face it are both at the entry level of MA/KEF products) and a dedicated stereo amp is more suited for making the most of higher range speakers. Is it a wrong reading? What stereo amp would you suggest?

Cheers,

Ali

 

[CnoEvil]

You will get different views on this, but IMO, an AV amp doesn't really get close to a 2 channel at the same money......if you think of all that an AV amp has to do for the price (7 power amps + processing etc), this is quite logical.

Don't take my word for it, but do a demo where you compare a £1k AV amp vs £1k 2 channel amp (eg. Musical Fidelity M3i), and see if you can live with the compromise.

Also, the money you would put into 5 speakers can now go into 2, bringing you up a level to something like Proac or PMC.

You should also demo what the stereo amp sounds like with better speakers. All you need to do, is make sure that the make you choose does a centre speaker, for upgrading in the future.

This is a different approach, and only you can decide if it's the right one. All I can say is it's the one I would take in your position, where 80% of my time is listening to music.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply Cno. You are raising a good point, I will try to get an audition of Denon 3312 vs. a stereo amp. Unfortunately, Proac /PMC speakers are out of budget (£800 speakers are already a stretch for me!)

Cheers,

Ali

 

[CnoEvil]

If you are prepared to look at standmounts:

PMC DB1i (might find ex-dem)
Spendor S35R2
Dynaudio 2/7

Floorstanders:

Rega RS3
MA RX6
Dali Lector 6

Demo as much as you can with an eclectic range of very familiar music. Violins, piano and female voice are good for checking naturalness.