Replacement for ageing amp/speakers

[OneMoreDave]

I'm planning to buying a streamer, probably a Cambridge CXN, for streaming from a NAS. However, my current amp/speaker setup is a bit ancient - Musical Fidelity E101 Elektra amp, TDL RTL3 speakers (the original edition, not the inferior later model), biwired with Cable Talk Talk 3.1 Bi-wire).

It still sounds pretty decent (with CD) to my ears, but I'm wondering how current mid-range gear like a Cambridge CXA60 with suitable speakers would stack up? Obviously things will have moved on, but taking inflation into account, the newer gear will probably be cheaper than my current stuff was (from memory the E101 was £350 reduced from £500, and the RTL3s were either £300 or £400).

 

[CnoEvil]

What is the maximum budget you are prepaerd to throw at this?

What is the size of your room...and are you wanting Floorstanders?

What sort of music do you listen to and how do you like it presented ie. Warm and musical or more forward and detailed?

 

[OneMoreDave]

No fixed budget as such, it's more about getting something I'm comfortable with. However, I guess I'm thinking in the region of £2-3k for streamer, amp and speakers.

Room size is subject to change as I'll be moving house in the next couple of years, but let's say about 6mx5m, highish ceilings. I naturally lean towards floorstanders but that's not necessarily set in stone. Music is a range of different alternative genres from the late '70s until today - so the system would still need to be listenable with less than perfectly produced music. Ideally warm, open and detailed but without the risk of treble harshness - a bit of a balancing act, I know.

At the moment I'm not so much looking for specific kit recommendations, rather to get an idea of how current kit in that price range would compare with what I currently have - that will determine the budget and whether it's worth replacing my amp/speakers now at all, or waiting until they die (which they must do eventually, they're 20+ years old now).

 

[CnoEvil]

I suspect the only person who can make a comparison to modern kit, is you.

This will involve you going to hifi shops and hearing what different budgets will get you.

For me, it would be something like:

Linn Sneaky DS + Arcam A39 (at its now reduced price) + Kef R300 or LS50s....which would hit the top of your budget range, but should give a good step up.

 

[OneMoreDave]

Ok, thanks, I'll check them out. All brands I've heard and liked in the past. Obviously I'll audition stuff, but at the moment I'm trying to get a ballpark idea of what (if anything) I should be looking at.

Ideally it would be nice if it were fairly "living-room friendly" - hence considering the CXA60 to match the CXN visually. I'm trying not to get sucked back into the path of never-ending upgrades, I've been fairly happy with what I have for 20+ years ;-)

Does anyone have experience of both the CXA60, and decent mid-range British amps from the mid '90s?

 

[davedotco]

In very general terms, will sound sharper, more focused, tighter and less warm. Whether you like that or not will depend on you.

If I was buying a CXN, a good choice if it does what you want, I would pair it with a pair of Dynaudio Lyd 7 active monitors at about £1k pr.

A bit like the Acoustic Energy AE1a models, but with a bit more weight and scale.

Total cost is well under £2k, including stands and cables, if you want or need deeper bass, a decent sub could be added, the bass controls on the Lyd will help subwoofer integration.

 

[Pedro]

In very general terms, will sound sharper, more focused, tighter and less warm. Whether you like that or not will depend on you.

If I was buying a CXN, a good choice if it does what you want, I would pair it with a pair of Dynaudio Lyd 7 active monitors at about £1k pr.

A bit like the Acoustic Energy AE1a models, but with a bit more weight and scale.

Total cost is well under £2k, including stands and cables, if you want or need deeper bass, a decent sub could be added, the bass controls on the Lyd will help subwoofer integration.

Out of curiosity do you prefer the Lyd 7 to Adam A7x?

 

[rainsoothe]

Do audition the CXA60, but I don't like it. The CXN is very good, though, imo. +1 to all the above suggestions, and, if you don't mind SH or ex-dem, you might wanna look at Naim Nac N172XS + Nap200 (non-dr) or a Superuniti. Hegel Rost is also worth very serious consideration, for a nice, clean, one-box sollution. Or CXN + Hegel amp.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Naim uniti atom /proac tablet 10 (anniversary)or neat iota....that'd be a very fun and neat little system.

 

[OneMoreDave]

In very general terms, will sound sharper, more focused, tighter and less warm. Whether you like that or not will depend on you.

Thanks, that's the kind of info I'm after. "Less warm" doesn't sound too promising; above all the system needs to be listenable, rather than something that sounds impressive with well-produced recordings but horrible with older stuff . My old kit works quite well because the MF is quite clean/detailed, but the TDLs are pretty warm and have plenty of bass (they're reflex transmission line floorstanders, after all).

My only yardstick for more modern hi-fi is the Marantz kit (6003 series, I think) that I helped my partner choose a few years ago; that sounded surprisingly decent for the price, with the exception that for space reasons she had to have tiny bookshelf speakers (Wharfedale Diamonds), so the bass is a bit limited for me. It might be interesting to lug my TDLs round to her place to see what they make of the Marantz gear ;-) - but the point was that most of the other kit we auditioned, we both found too harsh for our tastes and source material.

 

[davedotco]

In very general terms, will sound sharper, more focused, tighter and less warm. Whether you like that or not will depend on you.

If I was buying a CXN, a good choice if it does what you want, I would pair it with a pair of Dynaudio Lyd 7 active monitors at about £1k pr.

A bit like the Acoustic Energy AE1a models, but with a bit more weight and scale.

Total cost is well under £2k, including stands and cables, if you want or need deeper bass, a decent sub could be added, the bass controls on the Lyd will help subwoofer integration.

Out of curiosity do you prefer the Lyd 7 to Adam A7x?

Not yet had the oportunity to try them side by side, so I really don't know.

I am an Adam user as you know and I rate the A7x very highly indeed. That said the Lyd models are a whole generation more advanced with the crossover and eq all done in dsp.

Midrange clarity is exceptional on the Lyds, but then I love the ribbon tweeter in the Adams, I would love to do a side by side at some time. Also I think it is fair to say that the Lyds are a little more room friendly, in a visual sense, they look quite tidy in black or white.

 

[CnoEvil]

"Less warm" doesn't sound too promising; above all the system needs to be listenable, rather than something that sounds impressive with well-produced recordings but horrible with older stuff .

Then my suggestion is worth a listen......musicality and listenability is always at the heart of my recommendations (unless the OP requests the characteristics listed by DDC).

 

[davedotco]

"Less warm" doesn't sound too promising; above all the system needs to be listenable, rather than something that sounds impressive with well-produced recordings but horrible with older stuff .

Then my suggestion is worth a listen......musicality and listenability is always at the heart of my recommendations (unless the OP requests the characteristics listed by DDC).

In many cases at this sort of level, I find that 'musicality and listenability' is actually manifested as 'woofle and bloat', the very thing that puts me off most 'mid-fi'.

My antidote to this at affordable price levels is the use of good active speakers. Bass is tight but full bodied, generally punchier and more defined than passive setups at similat cost, this is important to me.

Right now I am listening to Paul Chambers bass intertwining with Joe Jones drums, one of the greatest ever rhythm sections, something that is simply lost on so many setups especially at the quite low volume that I am currently playing at. A few nights back I was playing some much heavier modern recordings that left my friends somewhat agog at the bass power and punch delivered by my Adam Speakers, mind you, I did choose the recordings though.

Another great advantage of speakers of this type is that they will often have some very useable eq options, shifting the balance to suit either the room or the owners taste or helping with positioning with respect to room boundaries.

Edit. Sorry Cno, though I quoted you, my comments were not aimed at you but rather at the more 'mainstream' buyer who appear not to care as to whether the bass their system is producing has anything to do with the music being played or not.

 

[newlash09]

Might be most important in the new speakers, considering that they have to be listenable with older and some poorer recordings. I would recommend auditioning the qacoustics concept 40's. I play low bit rate mp3's, of old movie tracks which are bright. But the concept 40's are so smooth that they iron any shortfalls out. The result is a warm, slightly laid back but very refined sound. Do give them a try...

I haven't tried the CXN, so can't comment on that. But all it gets is praise everywhere. So maybe a safe bet.

As for the amp, I would avoid anything sounding lean or bright.

 

[newlash09]

Might be most important in the new speakers, considering that they have to be listenable with older and some poorer recordings. I would recommend auditioning the qacoustics concept 40's. I play low bit rate mp3's, of old movie tracks which are bright. But the concept 40's are so smooth that they iron any shortfalls out. The result is a warm, slightly laid back but very refined sound. Do give them a try...

I haven't tried the CXN, so can't comment on that. But all it gets is praise everywhere. So maybe a safe bet.

As for the amp, I would avoid anything sounding lean or bright.

 

[mond]

If you want a simple and living room friendly systemg that will sound good, how about Linn Kiko , a streamer system that includes speakers ?

https://www.whathifi.com/linn/kiko/review

You won't be able to upgrade anything so will prevent any temptation

Linn gear holds its value on used market so could sell on later if you did fancy a change in the future .........

 

[johnnyboy1950]

I have the CXN with the CXA80 and CXC cd transport.

You would think that compatability would be spot on from the same company yes? Together they look fab and can all be operated from the same remote. The speakers are where you should do a bit of head scratching. About 1 to 1.5K would be the right price. when comparing speakers you will get the most noticable sound difference. I have the MA silver 6s and although i like them they would be the kit i would consider changing if I had the dough. So keep it simple, buy the cambridge gear and then take your time with the speakers.

 

[Pedro]

Thanks Dave.

For some reason I can't quote you.

I'm really curious about those Dynaudios. I'm spending a few days in London this month, maybe I'll drop by at KMR Audio and check them out if I can.