Upgrade Amp from Cambridge Audio AM5 to Marantz 6005?

[seemiles]

Hi

I am a hi-fi newbie (so please excuse any naivities) and only recently started my first separates setup. I bought a Cambridge Audio Topaz AM5 a couple of years ago, running a pair of Q-Acoustics (sub £100 - cant remember model), and recently upgraded these to a pair of Tannoy Revolution DC6T SE.

The setup sounds 'nice' - but I have a gut feeling, being a knowingly budget amp, that this is something I feel an upgrade is necessary to get better from the speakers. I am looking at a Marantz 6005 - but I dont really know what to expect in terms of sound difference - will it be worth the upgrade? I mainly listen from an ipod (though a reasonable bitrate 192kbps or higher) and as such realise the sound has been compromised somewhat through compression anyway.

Any help, insight or guidance would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Miles

 

[NJB]

The iPod is a decent enough starting point, using high bit rate files and, better still, a lossless format like ALAC will retain much of the info in the music data stream. However, unless you use an external DAC then you will be reliant on the internal iPod DAC to convert the data into an analogue line output for the amplifier. This is ok, but can be improved upon.

The AM5 is fairly basic, I had one for a short time but found that it lacked punch and detail. A move to a better amplifier is going to give you a better sense of scale and you will probably quickly realise that you have been missing a lot of the music in the past.

The new speakers will probably make the AM5 sound worse than ever. Decent speakers really emphasise the good and bad points of the chain up until them. I suspect that a demo, at a dealer, will be a very illuminating experience.

 

[seemiles]

Thanks for your reply NJB. Interesting about the DAC - not something I have paid much attention to in the past (through not really appreciating what it did if I am honest). The AM5, while giving a nice sound, does seem now to lack precision and punch at the lower end specifically - I have also noticed a few times it struggles with some of the high end detail.

I read about people recommending matching the amp and speakers - and realise the AM5 is not a match for the Tannoys, but with a current budget of £400 absolute max - not sure where to turn. The Marantz seems to get good reviews for the price point, and I can get hold of one for £279 (new) currently - which by all accounts seems a fair price.

I think a trip to the nearest Richer Sounds is in order this afternoon

 

[Al ears]

The Marantz should prove to be a significant improvement on your current amp. It has a digital co-ax in socket. My suggestion to you is to get an ipod dock (that has its own inbuilt DAC) and use this to connect your ipod to the amp , thus taking the ipods own DAC out of the equation.

 

[NJB]

The Marantz should prove to be a significant improvement on your current amp. It has a digital co-ax in socket. My suggestion to you is to get an ipod dock (that has its own inbuilt DAC) and use this to connect your ipod to the amp , thus taking the ipods own DAC out of the equation.

This is what I did. Look at the Pure i20 dock, which has a built in DAC. I used this for a while and it is a step up. It will set you back around £70, IIRC, and I got mine from Richersounds.

edited: £50 now, a no brainer IMO.

 

[seemiles]

Great advice from both - thank you. Off to have a look (and listen) now!

Appreciate your help

 

[matthewpiano]

The Marantz PM6005 is a good buy at the price, but also try to hear the Cambridge 651A, which is a very capable amplifier. However, another option to consider would be a Marantz MCR610. This would be a significant improvement on the AM5, but also give you high quality access to a wide range of sources, and it should sound excellent with your Tannoys.

 

[seemiles]

Funnily enough, I went to the nearest Richer Sounds with the intention of trying out and probably purchasing the Marantz, but was recommended the 651A as an alternate. The main reason that the Marantz being quite a bright sounding amp, and the Tannoys being quite bright sounding speakers, may produce too much brightness. I was then given the opportunity to try out both with a pair of similarly bright speakers to compare - the Cambridge Audio sounded better to my ear - a more rounded sound with more depth audible at a variety of volume settings.

I managed to haggle a good deal, although couldn't get a Pure i-20 DAC (which by all accounts seems to be a pretty good DAC), so am now the proud owner of a CA 651A - which from the limited testing I have been able to perform so far, sound fantastic!