Upgrade advice required

[whaleway]

Hi,

I curently have the following setup, Arcam CD73 CD player, Marantz PM6002 Amplifier. Monitor Audio BR5 speakers, AKG702 Headphones.

I wanted to upgrade my CD player to a CD192 but upgrade is no longer available. I have been told that the CD transport is excellent and should retain that , so the upgrades I am considering at the moment ar the following:-

Rotel RA12 Amplifier (This has built in DAC)

Monitor Audio RS6 speakers.

This way I can retain the CD transport but upgrade my speakers and amplifier.

Is this a good route to go dowm?

 

[plastic penguin]

Yes, keep the CDP... for now at least. The weak link is the amp IMO. Still a very amp for the money but the CDP will sound so much better on the end of a pricier amp. I would be looking in the region of Arcam FMJ A19 or Creek Evo, Roksan Kandy K2, Exposure 2010S.

The BR5s are good speakers but the RS6s will up the game a little more. Obviously you are aware of MAs metal domed tweeters can be provoked, so avoid any amp that is likely to unbalance the MAs top-end. (Cyrus, Naim, Rotel are prime examples of amps to miss)

 

[camcroft]

Yes, keep the CDP... for now at least. The weak link is the amp IMO. Still a very amp for the money but the CDP will sound so much better on the end of a pricier amp. I would be looking in the region of Arcam FMJ A19 or Creek Evo, Roksan Kandy K2, Exposure 2010S.

The BR5s are good speakers but the RS6s will up the game a little more. Obviously you are aware of MAs metal domed tweeters can be provoked, so avoid any amp that is likely to unbalance the MAs top-end. (Cyrus, Naim, Rotel are prime examples of amps to miss)

Hi plastic penguin.Sorry to hijack this thread.I see you have a Project turntable and presume you use the built in phono stage of your amp.Do you think that I would benifit by getting a seperate phono stage that would inprove the sound against the Marantz own built in phono stage .If so have you any suggestions in or around the £100 mark.Thanks and sorry again

 

[plastic penguin]

Yes, keep the CDP... for now at least. The weak link is the amp IMO. Still a very amp for the money but the CDP will sound so much better on the end of a pricier amp. I would be looking in the region of Arcam FMJ A19 or Creek Evo, Roksan Kandy K2, Exposure 2010S.

The BR5s are good speakers but the RS6s will up the game a little more. Obviously you are aware of MAs metal domed tweeters can be provoked, so avoid any amp that is likely to unbalance the MAs top-end. (Cyrus, Naim, Rotel are prime examples of amps to miss)

Hi plastic penguin.Sorry to hijack this thread.I see you have a Project turntable and presume you use the built in phono stage of your amp.Do you think that I would benifit by getting a seperate phono stage that would inprove the sound against the Marantz own built in phono stage .If so have you any suggestions in or around the £100 mark.Thanks and sorry again

No problem. I'm not familiar with your particular Marantz but the brand, generally, have very good phono stages. The only advice I can give, to be on the safe side, is to take your amp and turntable to a local dealer and do a side-by-side test. I would guess, however, the difference would be minimal and not worth the investment.

What I did find worthwhile, though, was upgrading the cartridge. Mines been upgraded to a ClearAudio Classic Wood (retails now around £350), but I would advise, should you try that route, to go for a lesser cart: http://www.whathifi.com/review/grado-prestige-silver or http://www.whathifi.com/review/goldring-2100. I'm a big fan of Goldring cartridges...

Hope this helps.

Cheers, pp

 

[camcroft]

:cheers: .Alex

 

[BigH]

If you want good phono then a Rega amp would be a good choice, their cheapest one is about £500. You may want to consider adding a Rega DAC to improve your cd sound.

 

[plastic penguin]

If you want good phono then a Rega amp would be a good choice, their cheapest one is about £500. You may want to consider adding a Rega DAC to improve your cd sound.

Think Camcrofts point is to tweak rather than spend substantial money on a new amp. His receiver is a very good budget offering.

Arcam and Rotel also produce fabulous built-in phono stages - their integrated amps ain't 'alf bad either. He asked a specific question about his existing amp.

 

[BigH]

Well yes but the Rotel RA12 is over £500 so about the same as the Rega but does have built in DAC, just suggestion another option esp. as mentioned phono which is meant to be great on the Rega. From what i have read I would keep the cd transport and look at adding a DAC. Only way is to go and hear them.

 

[plastic penguin]

Well yes but the Rotel RA12 is over £500 so about the same as the Rega but does have built in DAC, just suggestion another option esp. as mentioned phono which is meant to be great on the Rega. From what i have read I would keep the cd transport and look at adding a DAC. Only way is to go and hear them.

Fair play about the RA-12 but Camcroft only asked about the phono stage - and has a budget of around £100. That may cover the knobs on the Brio-R.

 

[whaleway]

Somehow the thread seems to have drifted off of what I was asking.I wish to upgrade my speakers and amp. I have been told that the Rotel RA12 is a very good amp and also contains a DAC, so would be able to retain my Arcam CDP transport while also being able to make use of the USB connection on the amp so as I can plug in my PC as I use spotify. I still prefer CDs' though. I have heard that the MA RS6' are very good speakers but can be a little bright. I like a bright sound but not overly harsh. I currently have the BR5's which I like but would like to upgrade. What else could I consider other than the MA RS6's. I also want floor standers.

 

[BigH]

Yes sorry this thread has become a bit mixed up I was answering the OPs question really but the other post about phono through me off course a bit. From what I have heard the Rotel is a good amp and has a dac but it can be a bit bright. Or you can keep what you have and add a DAC like Arcam, Rega, Cambridge not sure what would be best, can you try a demo locally?

 

[plastic penguin]

Somehow the thread seems to have drifted off of what I was asking.I wish to upgrade my speakers and amp. I have been told that the Rotel RA12 is a very good amp and also contains a DAC, so would be able to retain my Arcam CDP transport while also being able to make use of the USB connection on the amp so as I can plug in my PC as I use spotify. I still prefer CDs' though. I have heard that the MA RS6' are very good speakers but can be a little bright. I like a bright sound but not overly harsh. I currently have the BR5's which I like but would like to upgrade. What else could I consider other than the MA RS6's. I also want floor standers.

If you're set on the Rotel, definitely look at B&W 684 or CM7 or the older 603s. Similar dimensions to the RS6s and they manufactuer out of the same building as Rotel - and they are tested to match Rotel. The natural partner.

Otherwise look at Epos, Kef 'IQ' range (IQ50 or 70), or if budget allows older PMC GB1s.

 

[camcroft]

Happy new year everyone :cheers:

 

[whaleway]

I am not set on a Rotel amp but I do still want to retain a seperate Bass/Treble controls. I know people say you don't need this the more expensive an amp you buy, but I still like to set my own levels, personel choice. Also would like to improve CDP so the Rotel had an inbuilt DAc but would also consider an external Dac, but would like to upgrade my amp. Budget for amp is about £600 and speakers about £800 but would streach to more if suitable reccommendation came along.