Hi all,
It's been a while since I've posted on here and after donwsizing my system and moving house I am ready to start building a system from scratch.
My listening space is around 4.5m x 6m and I will be sat between 2m and 4.5m away depending on whether I am sat on the sofa or at the table behind the sofa. Speakers can be either right up against the wall or 30cm away.
I tend to listen at fairly low to medium levels as I now live in a 2nd floor apartment although we don't have anyone above or any of the sides, just below.
I listen to all genres of music. Indie rock, ambient, electronic, chill, trance, acoustic. Pretty much everything but those are the main ones.
I will be using the Sonos connect to stream all my music so will be needing speakers, amp and a DAC. I really want to be getting a full, thick sound from low/med volumes, lots of detail, a good weight to the bass without being boomy and a good separation and sense of spaciousness. One thing I don't like is overly forward treble or anything that becomes fatiguing.
On Friday I demo'd some MA RX1s in gloss white with the Arcam A19 and Audiolab 8200CD at Frank Harvey in Coventry. I wasn't too prepared for the demo so I didn't have any of my own music with me but David leant me one of his CDs which was perfect for my tastes. (AES Dana) Very laid back electronic ambience.
I found the level of detail amazing. Everything seemed to be there and the speakers seemed to just disappear and I found myself not able to or wanting to move from my seat. It was almost as though I had taken some relaxants and was having a massage at the same time.
I then tried some other tracks, Ocean Colour Scene and Foo Fighters. Although they sounded very good, I was able to tell they were coming from a small speaker. Some of the more complex guitar and drum sections when it got going seemed to sort of get a bit mixed up.
Although, this was still one of the best sounds and combinations I've heard from hifi I am still wondering if there is a better combination.
I am going back in on Saturday to try the MA RX1, RX6, audiolab 8200p, Roksan Kandy K2 integrated and Arcam A19 in different combinations.
I think that the RX6 might provide that little bit extra that I was looking for in terms of scale and depth but they come in at over twice the price I can get the RX1 for. The RX1s might actually give me the extra warmth and depth when I get them into my small furnished living room.
Does anyone have any advice on other speakers or amp combos I could look at? I do want a good quality integrated or pre/power that I won't have to upgrade if I ever want to replace my speakers for something slightly better. I was thinking of the Audiolab 8200CDQ/P combo but starting with the 8200P with the Sonos as the pre until I can afford the CDQ. Or if I prefer the sound of the A19 or K2 saving for one of those instead.
I will be able to buy the amp once I've sold my beloved Epos ELS3 7.1 setup which is just sitting in their boxes at the moment. :doh:
It's been a while since I've posted on here and after donwsizing my system and moving house I am ready to start building a system from scratch.
My listening space is around 4.5m x 6m and I will be sat between 2m and 4.5m away depending on whether I am sat on the sofa or at the table behind the sofa. Speakers can be either right up against the wall or 30cm away.
I tend to listen at fairly low to medium levels as I now live in a 2nd floor apartment although we don't have anyone above or any of the sides, just below.
I listen to all genres of music. Indie rock, ambient, electronic, chill, trance, acoustic. Pretty much everything but those are the main ones.
I will be using the Sonos connect to stream all my music so will be needing speakers, amp and a DAC. I really want to be getting a full, thick sound from low/med volumes, lots of detail, a good weight to the bass without being boomy and a good separation and sense of spaciousness. One thing I don't like is overly forward treble or anything that becomes fatiguing.
On Friday I demo'd some MA RX1s in gloss white with the Arcam A19 and Audiolab 8200CD at Frank Harvey in Coventry. I wasn't too prepared for the demo so I didn't have any of my own music with me but David leant me one of his CDs which was perfect for my tastes. (AES Dana) Very laid back electronic ambience.
I found the level of detail amazing. Everything seemed to be there and the speakers seemed to just disappear and I found myself not able to or wanting to move from my seat. It was almost as though I had taken some relaxants and was having a massage at the same time.
I then tried some other tracks, Ocean Colour Scene and Foo Fighters. Although they sounded very good, I was able to tell they were coming from a small speaker. Some of the more complex guitar and drum sections when it got going seemed to sort of get a bit mixed up.
Although, this was still one of the best sounds and combinations I've heard from hifi I am still wondering if there is a better combination.
I am going back in on Saturday to try the MA RX1, RX6, audiolab 8200p, Roksan Kandy K2 integrated and Arcam A19 in different combinations.
I think that the RX6 might provide that little bit extra that I was looking for in terms of scale and depth but they come in at over twice the price I can get the RX1 for. The RX1s might actually give me the extra warmth and depth when I get them into my small furnished living room.
Does anyone have any advice on other speakers or amp combos I could look at? I do want a good quality integrated or pre/power that I won't have to upgrade if I ever want to replace my speakers for something slightly better. I was thinking of the Audiolab 8200CDQ/P combo but starting with the 8200P with the Sonos as the pre until I can afford the CDQ. Or if I prefer the sound of the A19 or K2 saving for one of those instead.
I will be able to buy the amp once I've sold my beloved Epos ELS3 7.1 setup which is just sitting in their boxes at the moment. :doh: