Which to keep: Kandy K2 or PM7001 Ki

[drummerman]

plastic penguin:
Gerrardasnails:plastic penguin:Quick addition: drummerman tested the K2 with RS6's and wasn't impressed. Drummerman is never impressed with the RS6s!

It's a shame, poor ole sausage. . .

No I was'nt. It was a combination of things though and the speakers were'nt entirely to blame though they certainly did'nt help. Both speaker and amplifier had soft bass. Initially impressive ... soon wearing. Arcams A38 seemed to do a better job afterwards. More precise and better allround (with those speakers).

Why not sell both and buy a better amplifier? With increased price comes more authority, precision and other hifi niceties if you choose wisely. Of course those speakers have to go eventually too ...

As always, my opinion only.

 

[lordmortlock]

igglebert:lordmortlock:igglebert:
For me the RS6 struggled to articulate bass very well resulting in muddiness, and the tweeter is a bit enthusiastic. Always wondered how they'd sound with a Quad 909.

To these ears - the same!
Haha, cheers for that. I'm trying to ignore the Wilson Benesch Curves that I saw today. I'm sure they whispered my name...speakers eh, can't trust 'em...

You could always audition them - and I know of a lovely new place in Gloucestershire for your spendors to live. They'd feel right at home in no time!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Steve, thanks for the detailed response!

You've a made a good case for these S6e's... Meanwhile I found this in a thread:

Spendor's Philip Swift: "Spendor A5 has the same cabinet dimensions as the well known Spendor S5e and the A6 has the same dimensions as the S6e - but that is where any resemblance ends .." Thread here

I could get the S5e (or S6e) now, which would be heavy on the wallet unless I sell the Marantz soon, or I can live with RS6s and get the A6s (or other speakers) later on...

 

[Anonymous]

Poor you, having to live with the RS6's! "contains envy just!"

 

[Anonymous]

Ok Ok... Pardon for snob-like comment.

I meant live with 'bright' rock music...

 

[SteveR750]

chainrock:

Steve, thanks for the detailed response!

You've a made a good case for these S6e's... Meanwhile I found this in a thread:

Spendor's Philip Swift: "Spendor A5 has the same cabinet dimensions as the well known Spendor S5e and the A6 has the same dimensions as the S6e - but that is where any resemblance ends .." Thread here

I could get the S5e (or S6e) now, which would be heavy on the wallet unless I sell the Marantz soon, or I can live with RS6s and get the A6s (or other speakers) later on...

If it helps sevenoaks brighton have some 5e's at £899 and 6e's at £1199 on ebay...bargain!

 

[Anonymous]

yep, those are the deals i have been looking at... wondering if A5s are worth the £600 over award winning S5e's. (Or A6s worth the £800 over S6e).

 

[Anonymous]

The A5 might be considered an improvement over the S5 but for £600? It'd have to be a lot better! £600 is quite a lot to go towards something else like a really nice rack, etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Igs. That's what I am thinking but called some retailers and they are trying to convince me the new line is that much better. (Or rather badmouthing the old S line.... which won awards in 2004, how bad could it be). I started a new thread on the Spendors to not confuse with my amp decision...

 

[SteveR750]

igglebert:The A5 might be considered an improvement over the S5 but for £600? It'd have to be a lot better! £600 is quite a lot to go towards something else like a really nice rack, etc.

Absolutely! Though I have not heard the A5/S5e nor the A6 but it would surely have to be super special to warrant an £800 premium.

 

[Anonymous]

Spent another few hours comparing the two amps with the RS6s - played 8-9 tracks via both. Honestly, I couldn't tell any difference. Last time maybe I was looking for something that wasn't there (placebo effect?). Presentation was very similar, with similar sound, same amount of bass, treble detail. Vocals maybe even sounded better on the Marantz. Only difference was that K2 got confused with some rock vocals - whereas Marantz behaved better.

This is really confusing as I was almost decided to keep the K2... now its all up in the air.

 

[JoelSim]

chainrock:

Having had a weekend to compare my two amps I am now even more divided between the two.

Kandy K2 is a brilliant amp like the reviews say. Most acoustic/folk/jazz/electronic tracks sound amazing with it. The amp digs up detail across the entire frequency range and the soundstage is wide and spacious(no toe-in on the speakers).

The 7001Ki is a real champ, probably one of the best Marantz amps of late. It is not much behind the K2 as back to back test tracks showed. The Marantz is a tad more neutral and inoffensive - Roksan shows a tad more excitement and detail, both in bass and in higher frequencies. Differences between the amps are noticable but really tiny.

However, additional detail turns into a bit harsher rock music listening with K2, especially at higher volumes. I echo sewage man's experience as most rock recordings exhibit harshness - some brightness is present with 7001Ki as well (mostly due to poor recordings) but its somewhat amplified with K2 (hadn't really bothered me before with 7001Ki). I know this could be the fault of my speakers (MA RS6s) but after buying this amp and a new camera lens I can't afford a speaker upgrade/change anytime soon. My room has a lot of reflective surfaces (furniture, large sliding glass doors) which makes things a bit tough acoustically. I will be changing flats soon but at the moment this adds to the problem.

I have to decide whether to keep one amp or the other, and if keeping the K2, what to tweak to tame some of the brightness...

The simplest thing to do is to buy a new flat with no windows and carpeted walls. Sell the camera lens and buy 2 for £7.50 disposables at Boots. Sell the camera body for an instant profit. Sell all your 'rock' albums and just listen to Katie Melua and The Beautiful South. Problem solved.

Oh and get some Zapperators.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

JoelSim:

The simplest thing to do is to buy a new flat with no windows and carpeted walls. Sell the camera lens and buy 2 for £7.50 disposables at Boots. Sell the camera body for an instant profit. Sell all your 'rock' albums and just listen to Katie Melua and The Beautiful South. Problem solved.

Oh and get some Zapperators.

Joel, posting on the forum after a few glasses? Just stay away from ebay

 

[JoelSim]

chainrock:JoelSim:

The simplest thing to do is to buy a new flat with no windows and carpeted walls. Sell the camera lens and buy 2 for £7.50 disposables at Boots. Sell the camera body for an instant profit. Sell all your 'rock' albums and just listen to Katie Melua and The Beautiful South. Problem solved.

Oh and get some Zapperators.

ÿ

Joel, posting on the forum after a few glasses? Just stay away from ebay ÿ

It's hard...the Kudos C2s are pulling at my heart strings.ÿ

 

[matthewpiano]

Chainrock

The thing is, the PM7001 Ki is a very very capable amplifier and a very gregarious partner. I personally think, as with my CA 740, you would have to spend at least double to see any worthwhile improvement. The K2 is an excellent amp, but I am not at all surprised that you don't hear a big difference. My experience of the 7001 KI is that it organises the sound effortlessly and that it doesn't lose composure when things get complicated. In common with most Marantz amplifiers it is also very strong tonally and reveals all the emotion in a vocal.

Personally I would sell the K2 and concentrate on finding the right speakers to partner the Marantz so that you really get the best out of it.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Matthew. Initially I did expect to hear a big difference..with K2 winning WHF awards and all. I knew 7001Ki was a capable amp but I now realize it's an underrated gem.

I bought Spendor A5s (haven't arrived yet) so I will try to test both amps with the new speakers. If Marantz still sounds better with hard rock (and on par on everything else) I will sell the K2.