Newbie: Does this combo work?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I am quite new to this and looking to buy a amplifier and 2 speakers (floorstanding)

Will be used for bedroom dj-ing and also general music listening from heavy bass like dubstep/grime to electro house! Also as an output for my tv/ps3 for watching blu ray discs and possibly for some basic audio production on a pc.

I don't really have a set budget but I want to spend enough to get something good but don't want to go over the top. I have been considering:

1 x Harman Kardon HK 3490 stereo receiver

2 x Intimidation S3000 speakers

The HK reviews are generally very good but I am more concerned about the lesser known brand Intimidation although the reviews I have seen appear to be very positive.

So; my 2 main questions are:

1/. How well do they potentially go together?

2/. How does the Marantz PM6003 compare with the amp as I have seen it advertised for £220 (compared to the £280 HK)

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

 

[Paul.]

Not heared of those speakers sorry. A great party speaker that is also great for AV use is the Mission M35. They pop up on eBay for sub £200 if you are prepared to collect.

 

[the record spot]

Not heard of the speakers, but the amps differ significantly; the Mission is yer typical vanilla integrated, albeit a very good one. The HK offers additional facilities (onboard DAC, additional connections, AM/FM radio, etc.,) that might be useful if you might have need of them. Power-wise, the Marantz is around 45wpc, the HK 120wpc. Both review well, though the HK not in WHF to date and you'll need to dig around for the (generally positive) feedback on that one.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, If you havent heard them personally but do the watts/freq look like they will be suitable for use with the HK 3490 receiver?

• HTFR Catalogue ID: MR318895 - http://www.htfr.com/p/349173/intimidation_s3000_600_watt_speakers_black
• Home use
• 300 watts (rms) per speaker (each)
• 119db Max spl
• Frequency response 38hz - 20,000hz
• 4 way
• Dual 10" woofers
• 6" polyplas midrange transducer
• 1" tweeter
• 5-way binding post inputs (bi-wirable)
• 8 ohms
• black finish

The other set I have been looking at are these Infinity by Harman Home:

• HTFR Catalogue ID: MR391941 - http://www.htfr.com/p/391931/infinity_primus_250_300_watt_speakers_beech
• Home use
• 150 watts (rms) per speaker
• 19Hz - 20kHz frequency response
• 3 way
• Dual 5.25 inch MMD woofers
• 4 inch MMD mid range woofer
• 0.75 inch MMD tweeter
• Bare wire binding post inputs
• 8 ohms impedance
• Beech wood finish
• Patented Infinity Metal Matrix Diaphragms
• Constant Acoustic Impedance tweeter mounting
• Optional black cloth front grille

 

[Gareth82]

Hi, if you want speakers for home DJ'ing and want something with a good bass response and that goes loud then i would recconmend the Wharfedale Xaurus 5000 speakers. They were £450 when they first came out but are now £150 from Amazon.co.uk You can Bi-Wire them and they have got two 8" Bass drivers, one 8" Mid and a Liquid dome tweeter per speaker. I was also thinking of getting the Intimidation speakers but decided on the Wharfedales instead. They are really good speakers, they just take a couple of weeks to run in before the real low bass kicks in but once they have been run in you won't be dissapointed. I currently run them off of a Sony STRDH 1000 which is 100watt per channel which seems to do a pritty good job and they go very loud without distorting. I would also recconmend the Yamaha AS 500 as it's a meaty 80watts per channel and you can switch the independance from 8ohms to 6ohms as the Wharfedale's run at 6ohms but i haven't had a trouble running them on my 8ohms Sony amp.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, Thanks Gareth for that, why did you not go for the intimidation speakers: was it becasue of the lack of reputation?

Do you think then that this amp is overkill for what I need, when the sony one at half the price will be jsut as good?

 

[Gareth82]

Hi, yes the reason i went for the Wharfedales was because the Intimidation didn't really have any reviews, i asked on this forum about them and no one had heard of them, i e-mailed loads of sites that sold them to ask them some questions about them and no one botherd to e-mail me back, i even e-mailed Intimidation themselves and they didn't bother e-mailing me back. So i went for the Wharfedales as i was buying the speakers without hearing them (a risk i know) and they had very good reviews and having owned many different models of Wharfedale speakers in the past i knew they would be good and i was right. The Wharfedale is really more of a DJ speaker i guess then a real Hi Fi speaker but they are good and are quiet big speakers and i'm abit of a bass head and needed something that went loud and had a good bass response.Check out their reviews on Amazon and also the videos on Youtube to see how big they are.

The Marantz amp is a really good Hi Fi amp and is better than the sony and would most probably will do a good job with the Wharfedales, but the Sony amp i currently use with them does a very good job with them. I guess it comes down to your budget and what your gonna use the amp for and what type of music you listen to. I reckon that if you just want a amp that has alot of power, can go loud without distorting and just want to bang out dance music all day and not listen to Adele than the Sony/Wharfedale combo would be fine. The sony and the Wharfedale can play stuff like Adele quiet good, but if you want sheer bass, power and loudness they are very good for that.

Hope that helps

(and sorry for the whafferling lol)