Which do I choose? - Roksan Kandy K2, Cyrus 6XP or Marantz PM Ki Pearl Lite.

[admin_exported]

Choosing an amp at the mo. considerations are Roksan Kandy K2, Cyrus 6XP or Marantz PM Ki Pearl Lite.

Also I want to match a CD player to this kit.

Has anyone got any experience of these and what are your thoughts?

Am considering bi-wiring but don't know if the Cyrus accepts it.

 

[Anonymous]

If you haven't got the speakers to go with the amp and cdp you're choosing, check out the AVI ADM9.1s. They may not fit the bill for your needs but they're very good, exceptional at the price.

 

[plastic penguin]

learner:

Choosing an amp at the mo. considerations are Roksan Kandy K2, Cyrus 6XP or Marantz PM Ki Pearl Lite.

Also I want to match a CD player to this kit.

Has anyone got any experience of these and what are your thoughts?

Am considering bi-wiring but don't know if the Cyrus accepts it.

It's worth considering the Creek Evo MKII & CDP. The amp, in particular, is excellent and will run the others very hard indeed.

Listen to your short-list (home trial if possible) which will clarify things better.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

learner:
Choosing an amp at the mo. considerations are Roksan Kandy K2, Cyrus 6XP or Marantz PM Ki Pearl Lite.

Also I want to match a CD player to this kit.

Has anyone got any experience of these and what are your thoughts?

Am considering bi-wiring but don't know if the Cyrus accepts it.

Hi learner

Yamaha's AS-1000/CD-S1000, AS-2000/CD-S2000, Naim's Nait 5i/CD 5i or if budget allows Nait xs/CD5 XS are also worth consideration.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[jaxwired]

I've got a long standing bias against marantz equipment. Just one of those things I guess. I had a bad experience a long time ago and that bad taste never went away.

I've demoed the Kandy K2 and cannot imagine doing better for the money. That's what I would buy, but I've not heard the other 2. I have heard lots of gear though and the K2 is fantastic for the money to my ears...

 

[drummerman]

learner:

Choosing an amp at the mo. considerations are Roksan Kandy K2, Cyrus 6XP or Marantz PM Ki Pearl Lite.

Also I want to match a CD player to this kit.

Has anyone got any experience of these and what are your thoughts?

Am considering bi-wiring but don't know if the Cyrus accepts it.

Why consider bi-wiring when you dont even have clue yet what your future system will be or is going to sound like without?

Unlike Jaxwire (and most mags) I didn't enjoy the K2 system to much though the amplifier should be ok with well damped or small speakers. I like Marantz on the whole and the same with cyrus, both of which I either used to or still own.

Rather than personal experience with the particular models I can only comment from recent reviews, the Marantze KI Lites fairing decently well and, according to the reviewer, not verging to much off track from the typical Marantz house sound of smoothness and good dynamics. In this instance it was reviewed at the same time as the new roksan M2 amplifier which on the whole (but not exclusively so), was regarded as the better product though the price difference was significant so not necesseraly a surprise. The cyrus amplifier was, if I got this right (I haven't got the mag to hand), in one review regarded as slightly plodding with a slightly overblown, ill-controlled bass and a slight lack of detail compared to the others in the group. As always and as with my experience of the K2, it greatly depends on the speakers used and on what you personally prefer.

Good luck.

 

[eternaloptimist]

Although I love Cyrus kit (as you can see from my sig!), for this price point, I would definitely go for the Roksan Kandy K2. Excellent value for money. I think that the 6XP series doesn't have enough grunt for a lot of speakers... would be fine, though, in a small room with sensitive stand-mounts. I think Cyrus comes into its own with the 8 series...

 

[datay]

The 6XP can be biwired or biamped, to answer your question.

I bought 6XP with PMC DB1i speakers - for a small room. I bought a repro X Power not long after, did need more grunt as eternaloptimist says, and have now bought a PreXPd on ebay (I'm not suggesting you do this!) Having said that, I've been listening to just the 6XP as an intergrated for a few days and it sounds a lot more "grunty" than it did when I first got it. I think it might go well with Dynaudio Excite 12s or 2/6, 2/7s, depending on the size of your room.

 

[WishTree]

jaxwired:
I've got a long standing bias against marantz equipment.

I had some bias against Marantz Amps too but I figured out that it was primarily because I was looking at their entry Range (especially the PM 7003 and some of the other four digit siblings). They might be good value for money but somehow they never impressed me to have one. I heard Pearl Lite and it sounds brilliant almost as good as my PM11. I also have to say that, all the times I heard PM Pearl Lite it was always with SA Pearl lite and the combination is awesome. But with a good DAC, I guess Pearl Lite as an Amp would be awesome.

 

[audioaffair]

plastic penguin:learner:

Choosing an amp at the mo. considerations are Roksan Kandy K2, Cyrus 6XP or Marantz PM Ki Pearl Lite.

Also I want to match a CD player to this kit.

Has anyone got any experience of these and what are your thoughts?

Am considering bi-wiring but don't know if the Cyrus accepts it.

It's worth considering the Creek Evo MKII & CDP. The amp, in particular, is excellent and will run the others very hard indeed.

Listen to your short-list (home trial if possible) which will clarify things better.

Agreed - these are good choices within your budget. Personally, I would shortlist:

Creek Evo 2 amp/CD
Roksan Kandy K2 amp/CD (with the K2 speakers which are an excellent mathc)
Pure Sound A30/Pure Sound A8000 CD (something different if you'd consider a valve set-up!)

 

[WishTree]

audioaffair:
Pure Sound A30/Pure Sound A8000 CD (something different if you'd consider a valve set-up!)

I have tried Pure Sound A30 and it is very good sounding Valve Amp. It was only 30 min listening and was an instant jump over many other regular amps we were checking in that price range. But, I was not too sure whether I can handle the excessive warmness for long times and also Valve Amps are still new to me (I have no clue about Valve longevity and maintenance, if any). I draw the analogy of Valve Amps to Projectors with the lamp dieing after certain number of hours but do not know for sure. I was told that the Pure Audio valves need to changed once every 3000 hours.