I really like the Audiolab 8200CD, the Marantz PM6003 amp and the KEF Q300 speakers, all of which I have managed to hear, but never together. Would they work as a system for rock and reggae mainly ? Thanks
Thoughts on this Combination ??
- Thread starter Jacko
- Start date
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Hi Jacko
I recently heard the Audiolab and it's very good. Personally, however, I think the Audiolab with the aforementioned Marantz and Kefs would be a slight overkill.
Depends on your budget, but I'd be looking at Roksan Kandy, Creek EVO 2, Arcam FMJ A28... or something of that quality. Speakerwise, I'd be scanning the dealers for MA GS10, PMC DB1is, Spendor S3/5R...
Otherwise I'd be pairing the Marantz with its sibling CDP, Nad, Arcam DIVA range...
I recently heard the Audiolab and it's very good. Personally, however, I think the Audiolab with the aforementioned Marantz and Kefs would be a slight overkill.
Depends on your budget, but I'd be looking at Roksan Kandy, Creek EVO 2, Arcam FMJ A28... or something of that quality. Speakerwise, I'd be scanning the dealers for MA GS10, PMC DB1is, Spendor S3/5R...
Otherwise I'd be pairing the Marantz with its sibling CDP, Nad, Arcam DIVA range...
same as what penguin said.
I think the 8200cd would be overkill seeing as though the marantz amp is £300, speakers are £450 and the cd player is £700 odd. I think you would be better off buying a more expensive amp then a more expensive cd player imo.
Try demo all the stuff if you can
I think the 8200cd would be overkill seeing as though the marantz amp is £300, speakers are £450 and the cd player is £700 odd. I think you would be better off buying a more expensive amp then a more expensive cd player imo.
Try demo all the stuff if you can
JezBaker said:
A demo is a must, especially if you can get these components together. And I don't think the combination is as strange as it might appear. The Audiolab will major on clarity, and many have said that this aspect of it's performance can be a little overpowering. I can well see, however unlikely it may sound, that a budget amp may tone down the Audiolabs stark quality. The one thing you probably will be missing from the Marantz is a multi layered soundstage as far as the depth of image is concerned. Soundstage layering is not always a priority for some people.
Thanks for your inputs - I should have been clearer in my OP. This is very much budget driven. I believe this is the best I can do at the moment - my thought was to upgrade the amp next, and then the speakers. My logic was to get the best initial input I can to start with, knowing that the CD will be the last to be upgraded. In terms of the combination, I like the detail and clarity of the Audiolab at the start of the chain, but thought the Marantz might "warm it up" a bit ? Make sense ?
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
I see the sense in what you're doing. As far as the whole system goes, the amp and speakers (regardless of their budget or performance) can only reproduce what they're being given - if it's not there in the first place, whatever is placed after it won't make up for it. If the source is a little rough, the amplifier is only going to amplify that roughness, and that's what the speakers will convey.
As long as the KEF's are being driven well, which the Marantz does, using a higher quality source component than a budget one will only help the rest of the system to sound more civilised.
As long as the KEF's are being driven well, which the Marantz does, using a higher quality source component than a budget one will only help the rest of the system to sound more civilised.
Jacko said:
It would work well but as others said the Audiolab CDP is a bit OTT for the rest of the system
For me the weak link here is the amp; the Rotel RA04SE would be better suited but you're still in budget amp territory
The likes of a decent 2nd hand Roksan Kandy LIII integrated amp, Musical Fidelity XA200, Arcam Alpha 10 or Arcam DiVA A85 would work well.
If it has to be a new amp then consider the Rotel RA06SE, NAD C356BEE, Creek Evo II or the Marantz PM8003. Other CDP's to look at would be the Rega Apollo IMO
These would all work well with the KEF Q300's but the Monitor Audio RX1's and RX2's & B&W 685's would be very much worth demoing as well
WishTree
Well-known member
Jacko said:
For Rock, I would try to look for more options beyond Marantz & Rotel. They both are very clean and sounding a tad bright. They are really fit in place for Classical or Jazz.
I liked Audiolab's old 8000S and ofcourse Pathos for rock music.
I'm on a similar upgrade path to you, i.e. got tempted into over-blowing my budget on the 8200CD which gave me severe upgrade-itis that I'm still dealing with! At the moment the upgrade has also got me as far as getting some new Epos Epic 2 speakers, which I thought gave a slightly fuller bottom-end with the 8200CD than the KEF Q300, but still with a fantastic amount of detail. I'm considering an amp upgrade but at the moment FWIW I'm using a NAD 302 (16 year vintage, 25wpc) which is doing a fairly good job, so I'd suggest a modern day NAD within your amp budget would be worth considering.
cstanwhf
Well-known member
Hi Jacko, how long will it be before you do the next upgrade?
Assuming your budget is about £1450 (assuming the 8200CD is £700, the PM6003 is £300 and the Q300 is £450). You can get the 8200CD first, leaving about £750 left. You can get either a higher quality amp and budget speakers now. And upgrade only the speakers later. Or Get a higher quality speakers and budget amp, and upgrade the amp later. This way, you only need to upgrade one component.
Just my humble suggestion.
Assuming your budget is about £1450 (assuming the 8200CD is £700, the PM6003 is £300 and the Q300 is £450). You can get the 8200CD first, leaving about £750 left. You can get either a higher quality amp and budget speakers now. And upgrade only the speakers later. Or Get a higher quality speakers and budget amp, and upgrade the amp later. This way, you only need to upgrade one component.
Just my humble suggestion.
A colleague has just suggested the Marantz Pearl Lite Cd player as a more compatible front end. I haven't heard it - have any of you ?
Jacko, in my opinion there is no way that the Pearl is on a par with the Audiolab. And if I was you I'd stick to your original plan. I actually thought that the system you suggested could well surprise you with the quality. Sometimes you need a starting point, live with it for a while, and then decide where to go next. Better that, than spending a load of money and ending up with a sound you utterly hate. And unlike some, I think you can get a really good sound by mixing both low and high end components! And for the record, my DAC was engineered by the same guy that did the Audiolab, and my Marantz does warm the sound up!
Mr Morph said:
Yup and that's why it's such a personal thing, because I think the Marantz is on a par with the Audio lab.
The Pearl s now reduced.I think the Pearl with the PM6003 and the KEF speakers could be a good combo.
brittondave said:
Agreed, but what sways me on this is that the OP has already auditioned the components he wants to use. His opinion probably counts more than ours?
i think spending that much of your budget on a cdp is the wrong thing to do, if it were me i'd budget about £800 for speakers, £600 for an amp (that figure will buy you a very good one) and i'd get a 2nd hand cdp for £100, there's loads to choose from on ebay, a cdp has the least impact on a system, you could upgrade that last, and you probably wouldn't need to upgrade speakers or amp.
alternatively,you could look at getting a dac, i've got a v dac and when connected to my blu-ray player the sound produced is better than the marantz cd6003 that i had before. they can be got for about £140 and any transport, dvd/blu-ray player/ ps3 etc can be used with one.
alternatively,you could look at getting a dac, i've got a v dac and when connected to my blu-ray player the sound produced is better than the marantz cd6003 that i had before. they can be got for about £140 and any transport, dvd/blu-ray player/ ps3 etc can be used with one.
maxflinn said:
Hi Max, not sure I agree with you that the Cd player has the least impact on a system, I think the source is very important. in fact starting with the recording probably the most important. Anyway you might be right ,, such is life. Further more the Marantz and Audiolab can be used as a DAC as they have the right digital connections at the back.
D
hi dave, how i see it is.
a cd has the stored digital data that a dac converts, any spinner is more than capable of reading all that data and sending it to a dac, that's easy.
the dac then plays its part, the better it decodes the digital data the better the end sound, irrespective of amp and speakers. but i have my doubts as to how much dacs differ, in fact i believe they differ very little, so imo a decent cheap, used cdp makes more sense.
also, cheapish dacs like the vdac or spitfire are quite capable, the record spot has said that the spitfire gives better sound than his cd7001ki sig (which would be in the audiolabs class), so i personally don't see the point in the op spending north of £700 on the cdp when a different route will free up money for better componants that will deliver better sound immediately, no waiting for money for upgrading, no buying and selling either.
a cd has the stored digital data that a dac converts, any spinner is more than capable of reading all that data and sending it to a dac, that's easy.
the dac then plays its part, the better it decodes the digital data the better the end sound, irrespective of amp and speakers. but i have my doubts as to how much dacs differ, in fact i believe they differ very little, so imo a decent cheap, used cdp makes more sense.
also, cheapish dacs like the vdac or spitfire are quite capable, the record spot has said that the spitfire gives better sound than his cd7001ki sig (which would be in the audiolabs class), so i personally don't see the point in the op spending north of £700 on the cdp when a different route will free up money for better componants that will deliver better sound immediately, no waiting for money for upgrading, no buying and selling either.
maxflinn said:
Yeah cool, soon I think there will be more and more affordable Integrated stereo amps with built in DAC's using a USB input or all digital inputs. Infect if I was a betting man I would say Marantz and similar companies will have these products out this year or early next. And I guess around the £500 mark.
maxflinn said:
Hi Max, I do agree with you about the DAC's . I think you hit something pretty amazing for £250- 500 and then diminishing returns kicks in very steeply. One of my main cosideratiions about getting the HRT was the fact it is USB powered thus cutting down on another plug. For what it's worth I think the HRT is a great bit of kit.
D
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