Critique/Advice on HiFi purchases please.

Soldato
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Hi people :)
I am thinking of splashing out on some HiFi gear, not having had any for a decade or so, listening through my current AV 4k player and amp (Panasonic UBD820 player Denon AvR2400H Amp and Q Acoustics 3020 speakers).

I was thinking of Cambridge Audio AXA35 Amp (may want the phono input at a later date) and AXC25 CD player with Fyne Audio 302 floor standing speakers.

They all seem to be well regarded, and I want the Amp/CD to have matching aesthetics.
Any thoughts on A: would I notice much difference over the current AV setup, and B: will these work well together ?
 
Man of Honour
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I haven't a lot of time, so I'm going to keep things brief.


Will I hear a difference? In theory yes, and often in practice too. However, several factors can get in the way: the room, the equipment choices, the way the gear is set up and the comparison to the gear you already own. There's also personal preference in sound.

Will this 5 star gear work all well together? There's no guarantee of that at all. You really need to go and listen for yourself.

Bear in mind that magazine reviews are not unbiased. They're in the business of selling copy and driving ad revenue, so the companies that are placing their Hi-Fi gear adverts within the publications have a loud voice. Here's a practical example of that: BK subwoofers are sold direct, and mostly by word-of-mouth. You can't buy a new subwoofer from another brand that's better for less money. The company doesn't spend much on advertising. They consistently get 4-star reviews in What Hi-Fi. Why do you think that is?

Are my product choices good? Individually, yes. But as above, there's no guarantee they'll make a happy marriage. Listening in a demo is the key to finding your truth.


What should I be looking for in a demo?

Amp: Two product questions to answer here; 1) does my extra £100 over say the Onkyo 9010 give me noticeably better performance? 2) There are amps from Marantz and NAD with more power and low-down grunt. Can I hear the difference that this makes?

Phono input: A good phono stage can be added to any amplifier as an external box. It's just a more expensive route. Also, there's no guarantee that the built-in phono stage will be as good as an external one. For some brands it is (Rega), but for others it's simply following the trend for vinyl. So the question you need to ask is whether limiting your choice to amps with a phono stage also limits the quality of the amp or the range you can choose from.

Speakers: Making low-cost floorstanders (under £500) is hard. Getting the box construction right so that the cabinets don't resonate is far easier with the smaller side panels of stand mount speakers. This translates to a greater ability of stand mount speakers to follow the upper bass and midrange, so they articulate far better. The additional bass extension of the larger cabinet (If noticeable) can often be at the cost of this articulation.

The other thing to consider is space. When speakers put out more bass energy they need more space around them to avoid boominess. This means a certain additional distance from the side walls in your room. Do you have space for this?

So, in your demo, the question is whether going for a floorstander at this sort of price point helps or hurts the sound over-all.



The Denon amp is good for movies, but I don't rate them for music. AV is often a peg below for music. Sometimes the gap isn't that big, other times it's very apparent. I think that with your Denon you should hear a difference that a Hi-Fi amp makes most clearly.

Your player; some Panasonic are actually decent transports but that doesn't mean to say that the situation can't be improved.


Arrange some demos. It's your money. Make the dealer prove to you that you can get better sound for that money, and then work with them to find the magic combo that gets your foot tapping and you reaching for the next disc and the next and the next. If the music doesn't excite you, then the system isn't yet right.
 
Soldato
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Thanks for that Lucid.
The speakers are spoken of very highly, even to the extent subjectively they are as good as a lot costing nearer 1k … but that is a review and as you say not always unbiased.
I will ring the local RS and hope they have the components in stock to demo together.
I have had someone mention Cambridge Audio are a sort of RS own brand, no idea if that's the case as I can find them available elsewhere.

Bearing in mind I prefer uncluttered and simple aesthetics , and (also aesthetically) to keep the amp and CD player the same brand/range, are there other worthy components for similar money (£500) for both) ?

BTW my Sub for AV is a BK Gemini 2 bought as my very expensive one gave up the ghost after 7-8 years and the local-ish manufacturer wanted to charge me nearly £100 to look at it with no guarantee they could fix it and would only refund the fee if I bought another similarly expensive model from them if they couldn't.
The BK isn't as quite musical as the old one, but does the job excellently for movies and at around a third the price of the outgoing MJ Acoustics unit (and that was 7-8 years previous) so a win in my books. Besides I prefer not to use a sub for Music :)
 
Soldato
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Bk makes subs for mj acoustics. It's lacking for movies only small driver and low power.

No problem mixing brands cd p and amp.

Lots of good brands but chucking out names but useless as may prefer one sound presentation over another
 
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The speakers are spoken of very highly, even to the extent subjectively they are as good as a lot costing nearer 1k … <snip>

I have had someone mention Cambridge Audio are a sort of RS own brand
<snip>

Bearing in mind I prefer uncluttered and simple aesthetics , and (also aesthetically) to keep the amp and CD player the same brand/range, are there other worthy components for similar money (£500) for both) ?

I've heard plenty of speakers that have had rave reviews. Some I liked. Some I thought were passable. Others I hated. Sound is subjective. We all have our own ideas how things should sound, and unless someone helps us to listen differently, then we gravitate towards what meets our expectations.

I know the Fyne brand and Dave Waters, the rep. He is doing a good job with them, and I think the brand is moving in the right direction.

I would take comments such as speakers being as good as £1000 speakers with a pinch of salt. Are we talking about average or the best £1000 speakers? What about those £1000 speakers that are as good as £2000 speakers? Does that make the £500 speakers as good as £2000 speaker? Do you see? If some speakers at £X amount really do punch above their weight in all aspects, then why still sell them for £X... why not increase the price or reduce the build quality so that they're a closer match for their peers at the price?

There can be elements of what a speaker does that surprises a reviewer for its price. However, always listen for yourself.

Alternative electronics; have a look at Marantz and NAD.
 
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Soldato
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Yep, I see were you are coming from :)
I actually have been looking at the NAD and Marantz as alternatives.
And may be rethinking the speakers as floor standers are not going to work for my space as I hoped. So as I am consigned to "bookshelf" speakers the B&W 607's are on my shortlist.
 
Soldato
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I never did listen to the CA stuff, I Demo'd the Marantz 6006 UK edition amp and CD player and the NAD 316BEE with C538 and various speakers.
For me, the NAD blew the Marantz away for clarity, but I wasn't content with its volume, pushing it up it seemed to pull back on the sound.
This was why I didn't even try the CA stuff, The amp was rated lower output than the NAD, and generally they are conservative.
So I came away knowing which speakers I liked, but not knowing what to do about the rest.
After some thinking, I decided to listen to the NAD D 3045 and NAD C 368 Amps with the hope they had the same sort of sound as the 316Bee.
As they cost considerably more I planned to use my Sony X800 4k Player, that was in the loft after being replaced by a better machine, as a CD Transport.
So back to the shop for a listen of the cd/amps and speakers, and I was much happier with them both.
The supplier already had a nice combo deal on the Amp/Speaker package I wanted, so after a bit of haggling, I decided on the C368 as the deal wasn't that much more over the 3045, and the extra inputs and power couldn't hurt ;)
Once set up at home and busy running in the speakers I wasn't convinced the Sony was doing as good a job as the NAD player I had heard on demo.
As luck would have it, a small windfall came my way and I have spent the morning installing and playing with the C538 CDP, after ordering it online, and very pleased I am too :)

NAD C 538 CDP
NAD C 368 AMP
B&W 607 Speakers
 
Soldato
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I don't know, I just went with what I liked the sound of :o
Admittedly after I heard the NAD I didn't look at any other make as that just sounded right to me.
 
Man of Honour
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I don't know, I just went with what I liked the sound of :o
Admittedly after I heard the NAD I didn't look at any other make as that just sounded right to me.
Well done. If you've got yourself something that makes you smile, and has your toes tapping, and you reaching for the next album and the next and the next, then you've succeeded admirably. Enjoy :D
 
Soldato
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Well done. If you've got yourself something that makes you smile, and has your toes tapping, and you reaching for the next album and the next and the next, then you've succeeded admirably. Enjoy :D
Best HiFi advice ever! Buy something that makes you smile and don’t chase the perfect sound or what anyone else tells you is the perfect sound my 20 year old Marantz, Arcam and b&w setup still makes me smile every time I press play. It cost a fortune but was worth every penny looking back!
 
Caporegime
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I'm not sure it is tbh... in reality you're taking about uncontrolled sighted tests, there are a whole range of things that actually affect this and it's probably not differences in sound quality between amps.... still people in the hi-fi industry and dedicated enthusiasts carry on pushing the nonsense.
 
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