Stereo amp advice needed to pair off with Q Acoustics 2050i

[davedotco]

Paul and Audioaddict.

Ok you like your systems and think they are great, no problem.

Is the idea that someone else may actually choose to pay a little more money and buy something better so difficult to understand?

I really don't get why you seem to have a problem with that.

 

[tonky]

I have two great sounding relatively low powered amps rega brio 3 and a pioneer A400

The 100+ watt cambridge 840A v2 is the one that stays connected! All that natural unforced dynamic that is present in the music comes to the fore. And I don't mean it as being louder - it seems LESS loud because no part of the music seems strained.

It sounds great at lower volumes too!

Cheers tonky

 

[PAULCHRISTOPHER]

Paul and Audioaddict.

Ok you like your systems and think they are great, no problem.

Is the idea that someone else may actually choose to pay a little more money and buy something better so difficult to understand?

I really don't get why you seem to have a problem with that.

I really don't have a problem with people spending more on equipment. It was just a thought on pricing. I am over the moon with my system because it represents such a leap forward over what I had before, thats all.

 

[Cypher]

Paul and Audioaddict.

Ok you like your systems and think they are great, no problem.

Is the idea that someone else may actually choose to pay a little more money and buy something better so difficult to understand?

I really don't get why you seem to have a problem with that.

Have you ever heard a PM6004 amp or a Pioneer A-30 ? Budget amps are very, very good these days.

 

[audioaddict]

daved .........i have no problem with someone spending a fortune on a system but it seems the op is thinking that chucking more money at his will be the solution which isnt always the case especially if hes happy with the sound thats all i.m saying.........i just think there comes a point where the returns on sq stops .......i have no doubt that if he bought a more expensive amp he.d have what would be classed as better sound better build etc .....but what if he spends more and cant tell the difference ? i.m just speaking from my own expensive mistakes i guess ...i think the post just before the one i.m writing now says budget hifi is much better than most people think and it is .......spend more by all means, maybe i would again but only when i think its gonna be worth it, and the op should make sure hes spending his hard earned the right way he sees fit. hifi aint cheap. when i bought my cheapo i read up on here on all the posts i could find and the one that stands out the most is someone saying the naim uniti is better than the marantz cr603 but not two grand better

 

[davedotco]

It has become the percieved wisdom in hi-fi, and on this forum in particular that budget hi-fi equipment is now so good that the law of diminishing returns sets in very early and that you have to spend a lot of money to get anything that sounds better, which is, after all the point of the exercise.

Some people, of which I am one, think otherwise. My view is that there is a lot of very much better equipment available at relatively low cost that performs way better than the usual mass market product that is routinely recommended and approved by this forum.

Bit of a mouthful but that's it. Sure most of the components I suggest are a little more expensive but I feel the difference is demonstrable by any compedent dealer. More importantly in cost terms I see the importance and value of the different components rather differently and would, generally speaking, spend more on the amplifier and less on the speakers than is usual in todays market.

As I say different views, and as an ex dealer, my criteria is always 'is it demonstrable', simple as that.

 

[audioaddict]

i,m not disagreeing with you cos the more you pay yes you will in most cases get better quality .....i.m just saying dont go payingmore unless youre absolutely sure otherwise he could be chopping and changing forever

 

[davedotco]

i,m not disagreeing with you cos the more you pay yes you will in most cases get better quality .....i.m just saying dont go payingmore unless youre absolutely sure otherwise he could be chopping and changing forever

Agree entirely.

As a dealer we had ways of making sure that this rarely happened, well known and well thought out methods that would reliably improve a system if that was the owners requirements.

A series of steps forward that was based on knowledge and experience and that provided demonstrable improvements that the customer could hear and appreciate was very much the order of the day, a lot of very satisfied customers gained along the way.

This all started to change in the nineties when many customers stopped believing the dealer and their own ears and started believing the magazines and the internet.

 

[Broner]

This all started to change in the nineties when many customers stopped believing the dealer and their own ears and started believing the magazines and the internet.

Interesting. I work for a consumer organisation and as you know consumer organisations tend to compare products and suggest which ones are to be preferred. I think this works well for a large number of products. For example, if you buy a washing machine there really is no way you can test yourself which one does the job properly. An independent organisation that tests washing machines for you is then very useful.

For hifi it could be a completely different story as you say.

 

[davedotco]

This all started to change in the nineties when many customers stopped believing the dealer and their own ears and started believing the magazines and the internet.

Interesting. I work for a consumer organisation and as you know consumer organisations tend to compare products and suggest which ones are to be preferred. I think this works well for a large number of products. For example, if you buy a washing machine there really is no way you can test yourself which one does the job properly. An independent organisation that tests washing machines for you is then very useful.

For hifi it could be a completely different story as you say.

There is much to what you say, but hi-fi is fundamentally different, your new washing machine is not going to interact with your undercounter freezer in anything remotely like the way hi-fi components interact, and that is the rub.

The one person who does know is a competent dealer, though their seem to be few of these around these days and those that are seem strongly alligned with one or two particular brands. If you like those brands, those dealers can serve you well, but if you have specific needs or want something a bit different, it gets quite difficult.

The big problem, as I see it is in my neck of the woods, is that at the budget and entry levels, the independent retailers tend to avoid this market, for I hink, obvious reasons. This leaves the market in the hands of the mass market chains and their style of retailing has come to dominate, this makes it particularly difficult for first time buyers in particular.

 

[audioaddict]

well yeah you can test hifi or test drive a car which can only be a good thing , the reviews can be a good pointer though not gospel listening is vital, though i have read on here that some dealers do try and push certain products and i have also been to one or two dealers that have tried to talk me out of certain products even though theyve had a good review, again this can only be the dealers opinion i guess as they hear the equipment on a daily basis

 

[davedotco]

well yeah you can test hifi or test drive a car which can only be a good thing , the reviews can be a good pointer though not gospel listening is vital, though i have read on here that some dealers do try and push certain products and i have also been to one or two dealers that have tried to talk me out of certain products even though theyve had a good review, again this can only be the dealers opinion i guess as they hear the equipment on a daily basis

Thanks for the post aa, you have absolutely proved my point.

Modern buyers, particularly at the budget end of the market do not trust the dealer, even though the dealer is in a position to prove his point by demonstration. Buyers will 'trust' a reviewer they have never met, rather than allow the dealer to prove what he says.

That says it all, and explains why most mass market dealers no longer bother with proper demonstrations, it is much easier to agree with the customer (validating his choice) take the money for the latest 5* wonder and move on.

 

[TrevC]

These are pretty sensitive speakers. I would expect the Marantz to work fine with them.

 

[the record spot]

Yes, I'd have thought so too. The Qs are about 92 or 93db, so a 55 watt amp, as long as it's not pushed hard, will be fine.

 

[PAULCHRISTOPHER]

Trev C & The Record Spot

Hurrah!

They do!

See post 1

 

[danbeatles78]

Hi all,

i ended up going for a used amp on ebay

Pioneer A-300R, I read up on what i could find on google etc and it seems to be a decent amp

seller I bought it from says it's in as new condition and for £55 it seems on paper a bargain

now i'll wait for it to turn up and test it out : )

and i forgot to say the 2050i's only cost me £220 - bought them on ebay but still under warranty

they sound amazing with films when going through the yamaha RXV673