System for classical music

[admin_exported]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. Greetings from Portugal!

I'm looking for a system (speakers, amp and CD player) on a 4.000 £ budget, for listening to classical - everything from chant and song to Mahler's 8th. My room is medium size, with lots of wood and sofas. I´ve visited the few dealers here who offer demonstrations, but the choice was limited, as was the advice. I liked the BW CM9 speakers, - 2009 award winning Spendor A 6 isn't available here - but am completely lost regarding amplifiers, especially the valve-trans issue. I've thought about the Cyrus 6 XP amp and 6 SE CD, which also got awards from What Hi-Fi. I'm looking for the most realistic sound. Is that possible on my budget? Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there. Welcome and a nice first post.

It all depends on what kind of sound you like really, and regarding the valve vs trans issue, there is another thread going on the very same issue. However, for your budget I think you might want to think trans, the Cyrus kit you mention is a lean mean combo and very clinical/detailed. Why not try the 8 series instead?

You haven't stated a preference for standmount or floor standers either, but with your room being 'medium' we need approx sizes to give you some idea.

 

[batonwielder]

Classical listener here.

Contrary to what anybody says there's very few that can render classical music well.

Harbeth and Spendor Classics are two of the most musical available followed closely by Proac that offers incredible soundstaging.

Power these speakers with amplifiers such as Sugden, Primare, Atoll, and Electrocompaniet, you will have a sound that's truer than many.

Ignore this advice at your own peril. That's a lot of money to taste.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I like a warm sound, but also definition in the medium frequencies, but don't want anything unrealistic.

My room is 6 x 5 meters, and I'm looking for floor speakers.

 

[batonwielder]

antoniolopes:
Thanks. I like a warm sound, but also definition in the medium frequencies, but don't want anything unrealistic.

My room is 6 x 5 meters, and I'm looking for floor speakers.

If you want floorstanders, then the Harbeth's and the Spendor Classic's are ruled out. The Spendor SA's are very good, and the Roksan Kandy K2 matches really well with the SA's for some reason, so be sure to give it a listen along with Cyrus.

Proac floorstanders are also very good, but keep in mind that they prefer warmer sounding amplifiers such as Primare since they are rather tilted at frequency extremes. Audio Analogue would be another brand that's serious about classical music.

 

[the record spot]

Work out what sound you like as opposed to what works well with classical music. It's so easy to become hung up on which components work best for one musical genre. What classical music do you listen to, any particular period? Baroque, contemporary, minimalist, romantic...? Does Shoenberg's early tonal works cut it, or does his atonal stuff work best. John Adams or Bach? Or both?

Work out the kind of sound you like to hear, then take the music you know very well, get a bunch of good kit and start listening.

Check out Exposure's updated 3010 range, also Unison Research, Roksan Caspian, Eastern Electric, Icon Audio, Sugden and Audio Analogue as mentioned for amps. For speakers, check out Martin Logan's Source also Revolver RW45s (which may now be their Music range...? Check.) and do see if you can find a pair of Usher Be-718 floorstanders to hear. Lastly, the Edgar CD-1, Eastern Electric Minimax, Rega's Saturn and Stello's T100/SA100 transport/DAC combo would all be worth eyeballing if you can land them.

Your choice really isn't restricted to just Cyrus, Spendor or B&W - there's some truly magnificent gear out there going a-begging.

 

[Anonymous]

Spendor hasn't a dealer here, but Roksan Kandy, Proac, Primare and Audio Analogue are. Would you recommend Proac speakers over the B&W CM9? What Proacs would you suggest, and with what amp/pre-amp from Primare or Audio Analogue?

 

[matthewpiano]

the record spot:Work out what sound you like as opposed to what works well with classical music. It's so easy to become hung up on which components work best for one musical genre. What classical music do you listen to, any particular period? Baroque, contemporary, minimalist, romantic...? Does Shoenberg's early tonal works cut it, or does his atonal stuff work best. John Adams or Bach? Or both?

Work out the kind of sound you like to hear, then take the music you know very well, get a bunch of good kit and start listening.

Check out Exposure's updated 3010 range, also Unison Research, Roksan Caspian, Eastern Electric, Icon Audio, Sugden and Audio Analogue as mentioned for amps. For speakers, check out Martin Logan's Source also Revolver RW45s (which may now be their Music range...? Check.) and do see if you can find a pair of Usher Be-718 floorstanders to hear. Lastly, the Edgar CD-1, Eastern Electric Minimax, Rega's Saturn and Stello's T100/SA100 transport/DAC combo would all be worth eyeballing if you can land them.

Your choice really isn't restricted to just Cyrus, Spendor or B&W - there's some truly magnificent gear out there going a-begging.

Excellent advice.

 

[Anonymous]

I listen to all genres and periods, a bit more late Romantic (Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler) and tonal XX century orchestral music (Sibelius, Vaughan-Williams, Prokofieff) and all opera, a cappella, piano (my instrument) and song, and also a cappela Renaissance and Baroque vocal.

 

[batonwielder]

antoniolopes:Spendor hasn't a dealer here, but Roksan Kandy, Proac, Primare and Audio Analogue are. Would you recommend Proac speakers over the B&W CM9? What Proacs would you suggest, and with what amp/pre-amp from Primare or Audio Analogue?

Proac Studio 140 or Response D18 with Primare I30 will go a long way. The Verdi Settanta from Audio Analogue will also work well.

Find the speakers you like, first. This might take a long time, but you have no reason to rush.

 

[the record spot]

Always puzzled by the "speakers first" rationale. It's as if they represent the barometer of how your system will sound. Rest assured that after several years of experience, they're not.

Changed a bunch of my kit in the last two years - everything, speakers, CDP, amp, interconnect, the lot. Well, bar one thing, which was a QED Qunex cable that's still in the DVD player.

In terms of the end sound heard, the speakers made a difference, the amps all made a difference, the four CDPs made a difference.

I sometimes think that speakers are taken to be the biggest influence on sound as that's what people hear their music through much of the time. Yet, if you keep the same speakers and put my current CDP in to replace an Exposure 2010, original version, you'll hear a big difference. But one example.

Check out all the options and don't restrict yourself to just a few brands. Not sure what you can get in Portugal, but look around. In your pursuit of B&W, Cyrus, Primare and the other couple, you might miss out on something that will really float your boat.

Not saying those aforementioned brands aren't worth considering, they're good, it's just they're not the be all and end all in hifi. Case in point, those Revolver speakers I mentioned, or the Eastern Electric CDP for instance...

 

[Anonymous]

I've spent some time listening and narrowing down to the following:

Speakers - Proac Studio 140 or Epos M16i

Amp - Audio Analogue Verdi Settanta, Cyrus 8 XP or Primare I30

CD - Cyrus 6 SE, Audio Analogue, Rossini Rev 2.0. or the new (and cheaper) Crescendo.

Are there some obvious drawbacks or incompatibilities between these components I should be aware of ?

Also, at the start of my journey, I listened to a pair of Totem speakers, and they were the only ones I listened to that were able to clarify a rather nasal forte woodwind passage at the start of Mahler's 8th Symphony (Sinopoli, DG). Being a musically experienced but hi-fi-naive listener, at first I thought that should be a good indicator of what good speakers sound like, but after listening to very good ones, I decided the passage really sounds nasal, and the speakers rearrange the sound so that it must be unreal. Interesting...

 

[batonwielder]

They are all great choices.

If I were you, I would be more than happy with the Proac's and Audio Analogue.

You will soon go through your entire collection rediscovering many great performances, but bad performances will irritate you more than ever. That's the only downside, I guess.