Can somebody please help me I have a naim cd3, Arcam 7 amp and a pair of B&W 603s2 speakers. I want to upgrade the sound without spending a fortune on a new amp so I thought of adding a pre or poer amp but I cant remember which I need I could also use some suggestions on what might match up. I am looking at second hand due to a tight budget. Also any good recomendations on a decent hi fi stand.
Thanks in advance
tristian UK
born2die
Unregistered guest
Posted on
sorry forgot to say I listen to anything from jazz through to rock and some old heavy metal. I like decent bass and midrange with a refines treble. Not much to ask really.
Hi. Do you have an integrated amplifier at present - ie just the one box between your cdp and speakers? If so you can add either a pre or power amp to it. Your integrated has a pre & a power section so you can use one or the other. Changing the pre amp may not have such a profound effect on the overall sound. Why not consider another, better integrated amp?
arcam is pretty well respected and was the darling of the british hifi press the last time i checked.
is there something that your system isn't doing right? naim and B&W are also pretty well respected entry level brands.
if i were to recommend anything, it would be trying magnepan MMGs ($550 pr.) as i liked the sound of their $1200 bigger brothers (MG12s) more than the sound of $20,000 B&Ws on mc intosh gear.
the B&Ws had more bass, more trble extension and imaged better, but the budget maggies were so much faster, unboxlike and coherent (even in the bass) that is isn't even funny.
i just liked the way that maggies don't sound like speakers, they sound like real vocals & piano etc.
i'm still trying to acquire amplification (my onkyo can't cut it at 4 ohms) to try MMGs myself.
you might not like maggies though if you're a bess freak. the cheaper models roll off and could stand a sub, but what is there is lightning fast and totally clear. i'd love to get rid of my pudgy 12" sub and use a maggie for it's bass clarity myself.
another nice thing about maggies, even if they are power hungry is that they can play pretty loud without any distortion. they kick butt on percussion because they're so darned fast.
born2die
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I like the sound of the setup the b&w's taming the fast past nature of the cd3 with the arcam giving a warm natural sound to compliment the reveling nature of the cd3 but what I am after is just that bit more clarity (and a good excuse to bring another big black ugly box into the house)and drive that can take the sound to the next level. If I was to upgrade to another intergrated amp I would be in the £500+ to replace as it is my budget would just about stretch to £300 max hence second hand and the reason for a pre or power as I fell that the more expensive sound of a better intergrated could be achieved with either a seperate pre or power amp. You might think and tell me different and any suggestioons are welcome
If you want more clarity, that's usually a preamp issue. There are many very well respected integrated amps around nowadays that allow you to get a lot of bang for your buck. In the old days, it used to be said you had to go pre/power to get serious performance, but nowadays you can get seriously good fidelity from integrated amps which cost a fair bit to boot.
In my view, your quest for clarity suggests a better preamp. I can't remember if the alpha7 allowed you to use it as a power amp. If so, you could investigate some of the less expensive preamps such as Rotel's RC-02. However, I think you'd be better off saving your money until you can get something like a Naim Nait. As you're in the UK, you could buy one 2nd hand from someone like Tom Tom Audio and that would be closer to your current target.
Going on your taste of music Franks right the Naim Nait is right up your alley they have the best pace and timing on the market.The 603s would love that match up it would be very nice,see if you can trade your Arcam in,the Alphas have a legondary following in the UK,lots of fans think their sound is the best thing since sliced bread,so you shouldnt have a problem trading it in,Good Luck!
maybe you should try to find reviews for your gear to find out exactly what does what and how it compares to other gear.
i'd still ditch the B&Ws and go maggie. the ONLY thing i like a B&W is it's outstanding treble extension and clarity, but other than that, they're ported speakers and as far as i'm concerned, ported speakers are evil distortion boxes! LOL
i've always liked acoustic suspension better for speed and clarity (who cares about efficiency? not me) but planars are on a whole other plane of clarity.
B&W - magnepan is like night and day.
if you only want to rock... then stay with B&Ws, if you want vocals that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, pianos that sound like pianos and bass drumps that pop instead of "whump" try maggies.
$20,000 B&Ws are nice... but $1200 maggies are better i tell ya. at least to my ears. they just get out of the way and let sounds be sounds.
if you can, try to give them a listen at a dealer and hear for yourself just how diffrent they are.
CeasarTheJet
Unregistered guest
Posted on
How come my stereo doesnt have a remote plug and my amp does
CeasarTheJet
Unregistered guest
Posted on
How come my stereo doesnt have a remote plug and my amp does
because it doesn't. what exactly do you mean by "remote plug"? a removeable power cord? outlets to plug other gear into it?
if that's the case... it's because those options add more money to a product.
are you talking about RCA jacks? many home systems are designed as closed systems and not components. amplifiers are seperate components that need RCA in jacks to work.
no idea what you mean by "remote plug" remote control jack? never heard of that in a home system, but have seen it once in a while for on off control on some electronics.