Question Oberon 5 ampli choice Marrantz vs Denon

[newbiegeek]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the Hi-Fi world and really struggling with all the technical details. I’ve read so many forum threads trying to make the best choice for my first setup, but I still can’t quite synthesise everything. Instead of relying on ChatGPT, I thought I’d ask for recommendations from you experts.

My room is about 30 m², and I’ve just bought a pair of DALI Oberon 5 speakers. Now I need to choose an amplifier. My budget is a maximum of €500. I mostly listen at low to medium volumes, only rarely at high volume. I don’t have a specific music genre — I listen to everything but mostly electronic and jazz. I’ll also use the system for movies (connected to a projector), though that isn’t a priority in my decision. I will maybe buy a turntable in a year or so but not certain.

During Black Friday in France, I’m considering these three amplifiers:
1. Marantz PM6007 (€450)
2. Denon PMA-600NE (€390)
3. Onkyo A-9110-B (€200)

Which one do you think would deliver the best sound experience with my setup and listening habits? A short explanation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot!

 

[Fandango Andy]

The Marantz is the go to in that price bracket. Rotel A8 is also excellent, but has no DAC or digital inputs so you will need an external or source with a decent DAC if you plan to use anything digital. Finally, not sure if they have sell in France, but the Audiolab 6000a was replaced this year, the outgoing model has been sold off at around half price recently.

 

[Al ears]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the Hi-Fi world and really struggling with all the technical details. I’ve read so many forum threads trying to make the best choice for my first setup, but I still can’t quite synthesise everything. Instead of relying on ChatGPT, I thought I’d ask for recommendations from you experts.

My room is about 30 m², and I’ve just bought a pair of DALI Oberon 5 speakers. Now I need to choose an amplifier. My budget is a maximum of €500. I mostly listen at low to medium volumes, only rarely at high volume. I don’t have a specific music genre — I listen to everything but mostly electronic and jazz. I’ll also use the system for movies (connected to a projector), though that isn’t a priority in my decision. I will maybe buy a turntable in a year or so but not certain.

During Black Friday in France, I’m considering these three amplifiers:
1. Marantz PM6007 (€450)
2. Denon PMA-600NE (€390)
3. Onkyo A-9110-B (€200)

Which one do you think would deliver the best sound experience with my setup and listening habits? A short explanation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot!

How much is the Advance Paris X-i50BT??

 

[newbiegeek]

The Marantz is the go to in that price bracket. Rotel A8 is also excellent, but has no DAC or digital inputs so you will need an external or source with a decent DAC if you plan to use anything digital. Finally, not sure if they have sell in France, but the Audiolab 6000a was replaced this year, the outgoing model has been sold off at around half price recently.

Rotel A8 is at 390 EUR but with DAC (don't know how ,uch a decent one costs) it will be more expensive.
Audiolab 6000a is still around 1kEUR here, so outside my budget.
Marantz doesn't have a bluetooth built-in but i guess easy/cheap to add one.

 

[newbiegeek]

How much is the Advance Paris X-i50BT??

I found a deal with 285 EUR. I haven't seen this model before in any forum discussions. If it will match well with Oberon 5, price-wise it looks good! Do you have any experience with that ?

 

[Al ears]

I found a deal with 285 EUR. I haven't seen this model before in any forum discussions. If it will match well with Oberon 5, price-wise it looks good! Do you have any experience with that ?

I have heard one. For its sound and functionality it gets Five Stars from HiFi Choice magazine and that was when it was £500.
Advance Paris make some good products and, if you can get one for that price, it's where i would be spending my money.
If you do not need Bluetooth then the more expensive X-i75 is a better bargain.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

Hi-fi choice give the advance Paris a very favourable review, comparing it with the Electrocompaniet eci80d, high praise indeed, that is a cracking amplifier and way more expensive than the Advance Paris, I'll concur with Alears and say that is also where I'd spend my cash, get a demo first if you can though.

Advance Paris X-i50 BT

Affordable high-end is a familiar phrase from the hi-fi handbook. Trouble is, it sounds like an oxymoron with little chance of being realised in the truest sense. And why should it? While it would probably never occur to the amply minted customer to weigh the pros and cons of a value-based...

www.hifichoice.com

 

[RoA]

The Audiolab would certainly be my choice but of the three you mention I would get the NAD 316BEE v2 😃

 

[newbiegeek]

The Audiolab would certainly be my choice but of the three you mention I would get the NAD 316BEE v2 😃

Price wise (420 EUR) it's inside my budget. But here we go, I am having more options instead of narrowing down 🙂 I guess because this choice remains very personal. I understand the ideal is to listen them all but in reality not possible in where I live.

 

[RoA]

Price wise (420 EUR) it's inside my budget. But here we go, I am having more options instead of narrowing down 🙂 I guess because this choice remains very personal. I understand the ideal is to listen them all but in reality not possible in where I live.

Forums are rarely helpful 😃

 

[Al ears]

Price wise (420 EUR) it's inside my budget. But here we go, I am having more options instead of narrowing down 🙂 I guess because this choice remains very personal. I understand the ideal is to listen them all but in reality not possible in where I live.

Note that the Advance Paris recommended is French so dealers shouldn't be an issue.
And yes, sometimes forums are actually the wrong places to go to make up your mind.... 🙂

 

[newbiegeek]

Not the Advance Paris recommended is French so dealers shouldn't be an issue.
And yes, sometimes forums are actually the wrong places to go to make up your mind.... 🙂

And could you explain why you would recommend NAD 316BEE v2 over other amplifiers ? Because I think I have seen this model mentioned several times

 

[Al ears]

And could you explain why you would recommend NAD 316BEE v2 over other amplifiers ? Because I think I have seen this model mentioned several times

It wasn't me that recommended the NAD, it was @RoA

 

[daytona600]

Rega IO 639/439

Rega IO

L'ampli stéréo Rega IO délivre 2 x 30 watts de puissance sous 8 ohms et possède 3 entrées RCA (dont une phono MM). Il peut alimenter une paire d'enceintes compactes…

www.son-video.com

 

[Al ears]

Rotel A8 is at 390 EUR but with DAC (don't know how ,uch a decent one costs) it will be more expensive.
Audiolab 6000a is still around 1kEUR here, so outside my budget.
Marantz doesn't have a bluetooth built-in but i guess easy/cheap to add one.

So Bluetooth has now been mentioned.
It wasn't originally.
This is the reason it's a good idea to state exactly what you require in your initial post as many of those mentioned including those on your original list do not have it.
Amplifiers are awkward to recommend because good ones will last many years so it's a good idea to think ahead. Do I want a phono stage inbuilt? Do I want an internal DAC,? Do I want Bluetooth facility? Do I want a dedicated subwoofer out?
You see what I mean?
Have a good think about the years to come before parting with your cash.

 

[newbiegeek]

So Bluetooth has now been mentioned.
It wasn't originally.
This is the reason it's a good idea to state exactly what you require in your initial post as many of those mentioned including those on your original list do not have it.
Amplifiers are awkward to recommend because good ones will last many years so it's a good idea to think ahead. Do I want a phono stage inbuilt? Do I want an internal DAC,? Do I want Bluetooth facility? Do I want a dedicated subwoofer out?
You see what I mean?
Have a good think about the years to come before parting with your cash.

Yes indeed, it's complicated because of too many criteria to consider for now and future. But that's valid with many tech devices. I think I will learn along the way more what I need from an ampli. For now, what I need is to get the max pleasure out of my Dali speakers from my digital playlist (maybe will add turntable in a year). Built-in bluetooth is good but getting an external bluetooth connector stick is easy to solve this (unless it might reduce the music quality?).
Overall looking at what I read here and their prices, Advance Paris PlayStream A1 looks like the way to go. I am hesitating with NAD 316BEE v2 a bit but not sure if +140 EUR would be justified.

 

[Al ears]

Yes indeed, it's complicated because of too many criteria to consider for now and future. But that's valid with many tech devices. I think I will learn along the way more what I need from an ampli. For now, what I need is to get the max pleasure out of my Dali speakers from my digital playlist (maybe will add turntable in a year). Built-in bluetooth is good but getting an external bluetooth connector stick is easy to solve this (unless it might reduce the music quality?).
Overall looking at what I read here and their prices, Advance Paris PlayStream A1 looks like the way to go. I am hesitating with NAD 316BEE v2 a bit but not sure if +140 EUR would be justified.

Adding Bluetooth isn't always easy and it has it's limitations that could effect sound quality.
Where is your digital playlist stored and in what format?
Originally you only mentioned a turntable.
The Playstream doesn't mention an inbuilt Phono stage and its twice your original budget..... If it does have an inbuilt phono stage then it doesn't have an earthing point.
Not too sure why I bother replying in some instances.

 

[matthewpianist]

The NAD is a good, solid all-rounder, with a robust sound and plenty of dynamic headroom unless you’re looking for party levels. It also has a fine phono stage and a decent headphone output. If you can live without digital inputs, it’s the most engaging option for the money, more so than the Marantz PM6007 or equivalent Denon. I would even take one over the Rega io, which whilst a solid little amp, isn’t as refined.

If you can take a step up, perhaps by going secondhand, the Audiolab brings true flexibility and greater all-round refinement, something which can also be found in the Mission 778X, up to a point.

 

[Jasonovich]

I appreciate you're based in France and some of the suggestions are UK bias, but also extend your search to second hand, it's likely you'll find a much superior amp for roughly the same costs.

To illustrate eBay is selling second hand NAIM integrated amp for £450, it's an absolute steal.



or used 2025 NAIM NAIT reasonably priced at £720.70!



Also, I'm a big fan of French Atoll amps, I have my IN100 powering the Dali Oberon 3's, sound absolutely fantastic, the Dali's and Atoll work well together. They also sell with optional built in DAC.
Mine has DAC and I output my Marantz SACD player to it, really good quality digital input.

This is what I found on eBay, worth considering second hand.

 

[Al ears]

I appreciate you're based in France and some of the suggestions are UK bias, but also extend your search to second hand, it's likely you'll find a much superior amp for roughly the same costs.

To illustrate eBay is selling second hand NAIM integrated amp for £450, it's an absolute steal.

View attachment 10361

or used 2025 NAIM NAIT reasonably priced at £720.70!

View attachment 10362

Also, I'm a big fan of French Atoll amps, I have my IN100 powering the Dali Oberon 3's, sound absolutely fantastic, the Dali's and Atoll work well together. They also sell with optional built in DAC.
Mine has DAC and I output my Marantz SACD player to it, really good quality digital input.

This is what I found on eBay, worth considering second hand.

View attachment 10363
View attachment 10364

You obviously missed the recent Bluetooth requirement....

 

[Al ears]

You obviously missed the recent Bluetooth requirement....

And so far only obe person has responded to his original post......
Ho hum.
Ain't forums wonderful!

 

[Jasonovich]

You obviously missed the recent Bluetooth requirement....

Atoll does come with a Bluetooth option but if I'm truthful.
Yes I did miss that! 😎


Bluetooth?
What?
It's like forcing England Rugby team to eat quiche, when they can have ribeye - I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about!🤣

 

[newbiegeek]

Adding Bluetooth isn't always easy and it has it's limitations that could effect sound quality.
Where is your digital playlist stored and in what format?
Originally you only mentioned a turntable.
The Playstream doesn't mention an inbuilt Phono stage and its twice your original budget..... If it does have an inbuilt phono stage then it doesn't have an earthing point.
Not too sure why I bother replying in some instan

With digital playlist I meant Spotify/Apple Music..
For Playstream, I meant ADVANCE PARIS X-i50BT (confusion coming from some websites)
Sorry, somehow i pissed you

 

[newbiegeek]

I appreciate you're based in France and some of the suggestions are UK bias, but also extend your search to second hand, it's likely you'll find a much superior amp for roughly the same costs.

To illustrate eBay is selling second hand NAIM integrated amp for £450, it's an absolute steal.

View attachment 10361

or used 2025 NAIM NAIT reasonably priced at £720.70!

View attachment 10362

Also, I'm a big fan of French Atoll amps, I have my IN100 powering the Dali Oberon 3's, sound absolutely fantastic, the Dali's and Atoll work well together. They also sell with optional built in DAC.
Mine has DAC and I output my Marantz SACD player to it, really good quality digital input.

This is what I found on eBay, worth considering second hand.

View attachment 10363
View attachment 10364

Thanks for sharing these. But my budget is 500 EUR. And buying second hand worries me especially these are sensitive machines for the logistics with difficult return conditions.