Yamaha, Denon, Marantz for my KEF Q300 Suggesations!!..

[admin_exported]

I ordered KEF Q300 speakers last wednesday from PROFX and got them for Rs 30k ($575) all inclusive, which I think is a pretty good price and I will get them this week hopefully. Now to get an amp for them.

Before I being, Amps here in Kolkata is very limited. Looking for various band for several months and was only been able to find Yahama and Denon, and one NAD 326BEE which i didnt liked.

Atfirst, I contacted Yamaha dealers, as I was willing to get Yamaha AS500 amp to go with the speakers, said they will get me the amp in few days. Now, they are saying its out of stock and dont know when they will have in stock. So I contacted a dealer in outside my city, who has a stock ready and has agreed to send me via courier.

So Before I order it I want to clarify few points.

The first thin I want to know is that, since I didnt get any chance to audition them due to unavailibility, please let me know if they will be a good match. I will prefer a neutral sounding amp so that if needed I can tune the bass and treble setting to my taste. I want more opinions on this thats all.

Secondly, should I consider Marantz PM6004 over Yamaha AS500 with these speakers? Marantz amp have only 45W @ 8ohms per channel and Yamaha have 85W @ 8ohms per channel. I dont know any Marantz dealers here so have to get them from outside my city. I saw both the internal circuit designs of the amps (Yahama, Denon, Marantz), and I think Yahama has done a better job and its more professional looking. But, ofc sound can be different.

Thirdly, I was also informed from Yamaha that AS700 amp and RX-V671 reciever both from Yamaha was better than AS500. I have no idea regarding this. So i need clarifications on this if they will go well with my KEFs and how they compare with AS500 in music reproduction.

I listen to mosty pop/soft rock, classical, country, orchestra, DJ so I concentrate mostly on vocals, instrumentals & clean tight bass.

To note, for now my input source is from my PC having ASUS Xonar STX sound card with left and right analog outputs for speakers which I think is very best that can be found in PC and has a Ti Burr Brown DAC. Later will get a CD Player. Below are its spec:

Xonar STX:
------------
DAC:
1x Burr-Brown PCM1792A (stereo mode) - 127dB Dynamic Range - THD+N: 0.0004%
Supports 16-20-24bit up to 192kHz
SSOP-28 package

So, if they are all good together I will order the Yahama AS500 amp. I will not be able to replace it once bought so please advice.

Almost forgot to mention PROFX have Denon PMA-710AE Amp which I auditioned with these speakers. Well this was the only amp I audiotioned and to me they sounded really well. But ofc cant say how good it is compared to Yahama AS500 or Marantz PM6004. Should I also take Denon PMA-710AE Amp into consideration also?

Thanks

 

[bigboss]

I was also informed from Yamaha that AS700 amp and RX-V671 reciever both from Yamaha was better than AS500. I have no idea regarding this. So i need clarifications on this if they will go well with my KEFs and how they compare with AS500 in music reproduction.

Whoever said that the RX-V671 is better than the AS500 is talking non-sense, wanting to make a sale of a more expensive receiver. Remember that most of what you're paying for an AV receiver is for the video components, & very little is spent on audio. The AS500 has superior audio components & do not have to deal with interference from video circuitry.

I was part of the Big Question feature on What HiFi 2 years ago where we compared a stereo amplifier with AV receivers at different price points. The modestly priced amplifier was superior to AV receivers even 5 times its price.

On paper, the AS700 is superior to the AS500, but I'm not sure if your speakers are revealing enough for you to notice a sonic improvement.

AS500 is a brilliant amplifier (I can't remember which speakers I heard it with). Marantz 6004 is definitely worth a consideration too. The sonic performance is just beautiful.

 

[Anonymous]

AS500 is a brilliant amplifier (I can't remember which speakers I heard it with). Marantz 6004 is definitely worth a consideration too. The sonic performance is just beautiful.

Yamaha AS500 is rated at 85W @ 8ohms per channel and Marantz PM6004 is rated at 45W @ 8ohms per channel. If you just compare them on power output will it make good noticable difference in audio quality reproduction just coz of power difference? And do you think on Yamaha the speakers will retain its tonal balance even on low volumes than Marantz? Please let me know your view on this.

 

[bigboss]

AS500 is a brilliant amplifier (I can't remember which speakers I heard it with). Marantz 6004 is definitely worth a consideration too. The sonic performance is just beautiful.

Yamaha AS500 is rated at 85W @ 8ohms per channel and Marantz PM6004 is rated at 45W @ 8ohms per channel. If you just compare them on power output will it make good noticable difference in audio quality reproduction just coz of power difference? And do you think on Yamaha the speakers will retain its tonal balance even on low volumes than Marantz? Please let me know your view on this.

I wouldn't get hung up on power outputs. The amplifier we tested in the Big Question was Rotal RA-04SE which is rated at "just" 40 watts but was simply effortless in its performance.

The Marantz PM6004 did beat the Yamaha AS500 to win the WHF award this year.

http://www.whathifi.com/awards/2011/stereo-amplifiers

http://www.whathifi.com/review/marantz-pm6004

 

[audipheonix]

Hi!

Good 2 have one 4m kolkata. Its been very lonely out here.

If you r online Contact me @ 9836141241.

I think I can help U out.

 

[Anonymous]

I just found someone selling Cambridge Audio, should I get CA Azur 650A instead of all the above amps? Please advice i need some fast decissions.

 

[the record spot]

Hi, perhaps it'd be worth sitting down and listening to some. Are you in a position to do this? Buying blind can be risky (though it can be done successfully with the right research which I did with my Onkyo amp) but if you do go down this route, try and ensure that you can try at home and return/exchange for something else.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi just returned auditioning my KEF Q300 with the following Amps:
1. Denon PMA710AE
2. Cambridge Audio Azur 650A
3. Cambridge Audio Azur 550A
4. Cayin A-50T integrated amplifier (Valve set)
5. Creek Evolution 2

Note: My speaker is brand new and was unpacked before my eyes, so no brunin so far.

Tested on the song Hotel California.

To me, the wow moment was with Cambridge Audio Azur 550A which was the last one I audiotioned after Cayin A-50T integrated amplifier. Was really a funny moment coz I almost over looked it and was about to leave the store after auditioning the valve set when my eyes catched the 550A. I was really lucky to actually hear it coz its in my budget.

Best of these were ofcourse Cayin A-50T integrated amplifier (Valve set). It was awesome. I can identify every clap so clearly and they had that sweet clap sound in them. In that few second it blew away all the amps I heard so far. It had that great high f, perfect mids with clear voices and the base was just right, clean, tight and had that warm feeling in it.

Next, after hearing the valve set, I audiotioned the 550A and it caught my attention immediately. Please note that this set they used for couple of days and it had good burn in time. The claps from the song was almost close to the valve set from Cayin, but still the valve set was the best ofc. The bass was warm just the way I wanted it and better than the CA Azure 650A (which is brand new as well, so cant say how it is after burnin time).

First one I heard amongst these were the CA Azure 650A. To me, in a few sec I was able to identify that this amp was far better than what denon 710AE reproduced. This amp didnt have that blur, uncanny feeling of what denon sounded. Denon is rather warm and muddled. In denon I was really trying to separate the instruments in the song, but with CA it is so much clear, as if someone removed a curtain over my ears. But, if I compare it with CA Azur 550A, I wound say 550A have a bit warmness added to the sound fidelity of CA 650A, though this may be cause of the 550A has under gone some burn in and 650A is brand new. So guys please let me know your thoughts regarding this amps from CA.

And for denon, I dont want to compare it with all these

This is my 2 cents. Tomorrow I will go to the store again with my speakers as it was already late there and they closed down. I will be testing CA Azur 550A brand new one with that CA 550A burnin one and want to see the difference.

Guys let me know if I should go with CA 650A or CA 550A and if CA 650A will sound better than 550A after burn in.

Thanks

EDIT: Forgot to mention about Creek. It was a really good amp, but had a bit warmer sound compared to CA 650A amp. I personally prefered CA sound more and liked 550A's warmness more than Creek Evolution 2 amp. Its as if my KEF Q300 matched perfectly with the CA 550A. Also, Creek Evolution 2 priced @ 59k ($1113) and is out of my budget.

 

[ear]

not heard tje 650A only the 550A wich i liked very much.prefered it to CA840,yamaha a-S700

 

[matthewpiano]

Think carefully about how the combination might work in your own room at home. I'd imagine the Cambridge/KEF combination has the potential to sound slightly tiring over a long listening session, especially in the wrong room.

 

[Anonymous]

Finally got my system setup done and running Went to SKS Traders and listened to CA Azure 550A & 650A for few hours with different tracks and finally decided to go with CA Azure 650A coz of its great Hi and Mid Fidality. I dont know why 550A sounded great the other day, prolly coz I just listened to one track and may be also coz of hearing so many amps at once.

Now with my system up and running, with the sound clarity i am getting with it attached to Xonar STX is just what i wanted and perfect. It is reproducing almost exactly the songs/music as I wanted and to my taste. I am really glad to get this system.

Now I am using "XLO Test & Burn-In CD" to burn in my system with 20% volume. Thanks for all the suggesations 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Nice one! It's very satisfying when you find the right one for you

Matt