Sony TA-FE370 + Qed Silver Ann XT + Mordaunt 904i - Suggest Upgrade Please

[bemaniac]

So I bought the amp cable and speakers new a couple of years ago in a closing sale for about £300 and I've found I'm lacking the powerful sound I crave for in the styles of music I listen to. I'm looking for floorstanding speaker upgrade suggesstions for my new flat which will have a very big empty living room to play around in.

To give an example of what lossless flac files I'm playing through my Asus Xonar D1 soundcard via a cambridge audio 3.5mm to phono cable:

The Album Leaf, The Chemical Brothers, Anamanaguchi, Aphex Twin, Pendulum, Jurassic 5, Lemon Jelly

My Current setup sounds best with the mellow stuff like Album Leaf live stuff but tends to be very confused when the fast clicks pops and thumps of Aphex Twin gets going and I really want the heavier dance to swirl around my new living room.

I'm hoping for some good speaker suggestions and the mordaunt short 908l is the first thing I tried to buy on ebay and just lost the auction so I'm paying £100-250 please suggest away thanks! I've got some Bose on-ear headphones and a cowon player too for flacs and wish my speakers were as good as my headphones.

 

[matthewpiano]

Your speakers are fine. Its the amp you should be changing, and I'd be looking at Cambridge Audio or Marantz. A used CA 640A V2 , used Marantz PM6002/PM6010ose or similar will bring those speakers to life. The Sony is very second rate.

 

[bemaniac]

Wow could it really be the sony amp, I thought by buying a brand new Sony I'd be taking a safe bet. So upgrading to any of the above amps would be better than upgrading to any speaker including all the old mission models I've been browsing on ebay?

 

[matthewpiano]

The Sony is an extremely budget amp and won't be getting the best out of the 904i speakers which are actually very good as compact floorstanders go. Upgrading your speakers further is only going highlight more deficiencies in the Sony amp. I'm not anti-Sony, and used to work for a Sony Centre, but the TA-FE370 just isn't that good.

 

[JoelSim]

Sony aren't well known for their amps.

 

[matthewpiano]

Not entirely true Joel. Some of the ES and QS series stereo amps have been VERY highly regarded over the years, and Sony are generally near or at the top with their AV amps. Its just the TA-FE370 was very much built to a price and is a very basically built amp.

 

[bemaniac]

fabulous idea then from matthewpiano i'm looking at secondhand amps on ebay now and can't seem to find a good enough example of a cambridge audio 640a v2 but can find the original 640a but there is marantz ones there too. will be upgrading to mission speakers afterwards too tho so what i choose needs to fit those more than the ms904is.

 

[matthewpiano]

Marantz amps usually work very well with Mission speakers but also well worth following Record Spot's example and looking at older Sansui amps. A good AU217 (or anything in that series) would be a big improvement on your Sony. Try searching the forums for further info on these and the various Marantz models. Also worthy of consideration, if the budget can accomodate it, is the Marantz PM6003 at £249 in Richer Sounds. Stunning amp.

 

[bemaniac]

thanks i'm looking at tht marantz and thinking that might be the one but what about arcam alpha amps and is there any competition from nad. thinking 2nd hand on both for upto £140 inclu shipping.

 

[jdp1962]

Pretty much echoing what the others have said, I had a Sony TAFE370 as one of my first amps about 8 years ago, and it is very very limited. I always found it sounded strained and weak. I replaced it after barely six months with a TAFB740, which was much much better. But that is also history, having been replaced last year by a Marantz PM6003. I really do think you'd struggle to spend £250 more wisely than on one of these.

 

[shreddedmeat]

Back in the day, Sony was right up there with the best of them:

http://www.avland.co.uk/sony/sacd/sacdproductsbig.jpg

Yes please.

BTW, you'd be very happy with a 640A v1. I certainly am