Pre-amp Section for CM9 - Denon 4310 vs M6i

WishTree

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May 18, 2010
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Hi, I am having a re look at my entire audio gear as I currently sense that there is some amount of cleanliness in sound is missing. Though my current system sounds very nice, it feels as if all the layers of music are getting mixed up in a muddled way. I mostly listen to Rock and top charts but not so much of classical.

With this background, I am planning for the following upgrade.

Home theatre - Denon AVR 4310 + B& W CM9 + CMC (No Sub)

Hifi - PreOuts of 4310 + Rotel RB 1080 + CM9

I am fine with the Home Theatre that I do not need surround and Center is the only main reason for which I need to AVR 4310. I have some queries on this but I will post in HT section.

Regarding Hifi - I want to know if the Pre-amp section of 4310 is good enough to have a very resolved music experience or will it make sense to go for M6i which has got a DAC and integrated Amplifier. (as all my music comes from Mac Mini) Any experiences here in the related areas which can help me?

any other Power Amps or Integrated Amp suggestions for CM9 are welcome too!
 

jockey.wilson

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Jan 27, 2009
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Generally, a dedicated hi-fi amp will be far superior to an AV amp for purely music. I assume you mean by M6i; Musical Fidelity? In which case there will be no comparison between a 'bells and whistles' AV amp against a very powerful and dynamic, stripped bare hi-fi amp.

I can't comment on the MF amp in detail since I have not heard it, but I cannot imagine that the Denon will be able to sound anywhere near as good in a back to back comparison. You wouldn't need tp spend half of the cost of the MF to get much better results than the Denon for music either (think Cyrus 8XPd if you want a DAC also, for example)...

FWIW, the CM9s would be wasted on the end of the Denon if music is a priority, in my opinion.
 

WishTree

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May 18, 2010
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Thanks Jockey for the reply.

For me Music is the priority right now but when I watch movies I can not live with out a center speaker and hence the AVR comes in place.

Yes, M6i is the Musical Fidelity integrated amp.

If I get this right, for pure music purpose this could be the performance order in my short list

First Place - M6i (with internal DAC) and acting as Integrated Amp with CM9 will sound the best

Second Place - Denon AVR 4310 pre out M6i in HT bypass mode

Third place - Denon AVR 4310 pre out with Rotel RB Power amp (like RB 1080)

Fourth place - Denon AVR 4310 pure music mode with internal amps

The most important question is how bad the DAC+Pre-amp section of 4310 could be when compared to M6i's DAC + Preamp ?

If it is going to be very bad then I need to find an alternative which accommodates the center speaker.

Any advice?
 

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