matthewpiano

Well-known member
I have been listening to my recently acquired Marantz electronics through my longer standing Bronze 2s quite a bit over the last few days, and its been sounding like cotton wool, with no airiness in the sound and no real sense of attack. Realising that this is a synergy issue, I tried a pair of old (original 1970s) KEF Coda III speakers. Instant improvement. Tonally excellent, with bags of punch, detail and good soundstaging. The only problem is, these are far too large and ugly for my lounge and I need to find some modern budget speakers that will do the same. I've tried MS902is (of which I have a pair) and found them harsh and brittle, so this is a difficult balancing game that I'm playing. It seems to me that the stumbling block with the MAs is their 6 ohm impedance. The Marantz is 8-16 ohms and the KEF Coda IIIs are 8 ohms so a better electrical match. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can somebody make some suggestions?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
your marantz amp should not have much difficulty in driving 6ohm speakers i would have thought. 6 ohm is not that tricky to drive.I recently heard the BR2's but have not that particular marantz amp.The BR2's are not exactly what i would call punchy and raucous. I would suggest trying your speakers on a different decent amp and if you still have the same problem then you will know its a speaker issue.
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
I think its more a matter of synergy than 'a speaker issue'. Warm amp with warm speakers = recipe for disaster and I should have thought about that and auditioned the gear before I purchased it. The amp drives the MS and KEF speakers fine but I find the MS harsh and the KEFs are just plain ugly now. Any speaker suggestions?
 

Cypher

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Jun 8, 2007
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You could also sell the Marantz PM4001 and buy the Rotel RA-04. I did that and the improvement is unbelievable. The Rotel has more power, more detail, more clarity and has definitely more punch. Just try it.
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Thanks for all the ideas. I've been and had a chat with my local Richer Sounds and have got a pair of KEF Cresta 10s to try, with a 2 week window in which I can return them. They were extremely helpful and spent quite some time discussing the differences between all the speakers at the budget price point, and the ways in which they would interact with the Marantz stuff. Very impressed. Will let you know how I can get on with the KEFs after some detailed listening.
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Initial thoughts about the Cresta 10s. I've listened to a good initial selection tonight including Johnny Cash, Rachmaninov, Fleetwood Mac, Herbie Hancock, BJH, Les Miserables, and Mahler. First thoughts are that these are very very under-rated speakers at this price point. The sound is very alive and punchy but without the harshness and unstable imaging of the Mordaunt-Short MS902is or the syrupy thickness of the Bronze 2s (in the context of my system). More extended listening session tomorrow and further thoughts then.
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Looks like Cypher's diagnosis was accurate - thanks!!
I listened further to the Crestas and continued to enjoy the attributes mentioned above, but their distinct lack of bass became a real problem for me so I went back to RS where the very helpful asst. manager suggested trying the Cambridge Audio S30s. Several pairs of speakers later it was fast becoming apparent that the Marantz amp was mostly at fault. A try of the S30s powered by an old Cambridge A4 amp I had lying around brought them to life. I'll be keeping the S30s. They are awesome speakers and now just need some electronics that are up to making the most of them. Here we go again!!
 

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