Disappointed with a new Denon PMA-720AE amplifier and Tanny Revolution DC6 speakers

kidloco said:
Tis always the way with hi-fi. I did the same 6 months ago. Set a budget of £500. After demoing loads of gear ended up spending £1200. Good hifi will last for 20-30 years though.
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I wish they did !

My Marantz KI Sig amp's balance knob went after about 8.

The Pioneer (£1k) went pop after 2 years and 1 month.

Strangely enough my second hand Musical Fidelity X-A2 is over 12 years old and still going strong, probably because of the simple design and feature set.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I wish they did !

My Marantz KI Sig amp's balance knob went after about 8.

The Pioneer (£1k) went pop after 2 years and 1 month.

Strangely enough my second hand Musical Fidelity X-A2 is over 12 years old and still going strong, probably because of the simple design and feature set.
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Yep simple well made equipment should stand the test of time. I have a Trio Kenwood KA-1500 in the garage that was made in the 70s and has never missed a beat :)
 
Perigee said:
In my personal experience hi-fi purchases have rarely been satisfying. One is always hoping that the next upgraded component will provide this transformational listening experience, which invariably never happens.
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That means you haven't found the right dealer yet. I went through something quite similar in the mid to late 90's.

I had started my Hi-Fi buying in the mid 80's by visiting some good "old school" dealers; ones that adhered to the Linn-type single speaker tune dem philosophy. I was really happy with my system to the point where I couldn't wait to get home each day and play music.

By the mid 90's other things were going on in my life and I took my eye off the Hi-Fi ball, so to speak. Next time I picked up a mag I got seduced by the discounters: So much stuff, such big 'savings'. But it ended up costing me more in wasted time and money for equipment changes that were unsatisfying. The dealers weren't interested in doing dems. They just wanted a sale at any price, and I'm the one who paid dear for those 'savings'.

By the late 90's I had a job that meant I visited most of the Hi-Fi and AV dealers in the UK. It became abundantly clear that old school dealers were in the minority as the world was focusing more on DVD and surround. I hadn't realised, but my home territory of the North West of England is particularly well served by some excellent Hi-Fi dealers. The same can't be said for the rest of the country. Good dealers are there; they just take a little more work to find.

Finding the right dealer is crucial. My local dealer is a 50 minute drive away and sells gear starting at under £200 per item. That's hardly esoteric by any standards. There are shops closer, but none that give the same quality of advice or offer the demo service.

A good yardstick for measuring dealer quality is if after a demo they advise you to purchase nothing. No change is better than a bad change. A dealer with your best interests in mind won't be afraid to tell you "No" rather than let make a bad choice.
 
Perigree> You do raise a valid point there are so many variables when putting together a hi fi setup and as you stated it does come down to personal preference.

Is there a emperor new clothes syndrome more than likely but that could be said of any endeavour.

THe thing with Hi fi is you can achieve a great sounding system within a set budget. Just spend a little time doing research and then go taking demos are reputable dealers. You don't need to spend thousands and thousands unless you want to. There is a setup for everyone at given budgets and you can get very good decent hifi for reasonable budget.

And the worst thing you can do...buy what hi fi and cobble a setup that has won awards. That will get you everytime.
 
Thanks for the continued replies

To give Richer Sounds credit they're very helpful on the phone and are happy to take the kit back (amp and speakers) as I'm not happy

I've arranged a demo on Sunday of the Cambridge Audio 351A, Cambridge Audio 651A and Marantz PM6005 amplifiers with the Tannoy Precision DC6 and DC6T speakers. I can then see which I prefer when mixing and matching this much

GoRedwings19's last comment resonates with me - this is exactly what I did and I got myself in a right old mess!
 
Aj>The last comment wasn't aimed at you or anyone this is me talking from personal experience. I have been there.

A long time ago somewhere between 10-12 years ago when I thought I knew it all and wouldn't listen to reason and logic I decided to build a setup one for home cinema and one for hi fi. At the time I was I can only describe as a what hi fi buff taking every word and review as it was scripture.

So for the home cinema setup because it won "award of the year'' I bought tag mclaren av processor and power amp. For the home cinema speakers I bought the miller&kriesel mini speaker setup and all interconnects were by nordost...

Now there is no swearing allowed on this board but if you would want me to describe the sound well I can only describe it as sterile, cold and bright as 'insert expletive here' and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse I built a hifi setup at the same time to go with it.

At the time Cyrus setup were winning awards so off I went again...

Cyrus Cd7, Cd7.5 preamp, 2 cyrus monoblocks and if I remember correctly about 2 psx-r or was it 4 I can't remember and of course no hifi setup would be completed with the '5 star winner' speaker Dynaudio contour 1.3 mk 2. Completed with nordost red dawn speaker cable which at the time was like 300 quid a meter.

And the sound well to put it crudely it was dryer than a nuns crotch. The most musically uninvolving system I ever had. I have owned components I didn't like but not a full setup.

So like I said had I taking the time to do the research and spend extensive time demoing when spending this sort of money I could have saved myself a lot of headaches. The total cost of this mistake probably in the region of 10-12k.

You don't recover from that and it leaves a bitter taste...

Funnily enough I stopped reading what hi fi for some strange reason after that.
 
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lucid said:
That means you haven't found the right dealer yet. I went through something quite similar in the mid to late 90's.

I had started my Hi-Fi buying in the mid 80's by visiting some good "old school" dealers; ones that adhered to the Linn-type single speaker tune dem philosophy. I was really happy with my system to the point where I couldn't wait to get home each day and play music.

By the mid 90's other things were going on in my life and I took my eye off the Hi-Fi ball, so to speak. Next time I picked up a mag I got seduced by the discounters: So much stuff, such big 'savings'. But it ended up costing me more in wasted time and money for equipment changes that were unsatisfying. The dealers weren't interested in doing dems. They just wanted a sale at any price, and I'm the one who paid dear for those 'savings'.

By the late 90's I had a job that meant I visited most of the Hi-Fi and AV dealers in the UK. It became abundantly clear that old school dealers were in the minority as the world was focusing more on DVD and surround. I hadn't realised, but my home territory of the North West of England is particularly well served by some excellent Hi-Fi dealers. The same can't be said for the rest of the country. Good dealers are there; they just take a little more work to find.

Finding the right dealer is crucial. My local dealer is a 50 minute drive away and sells gear starting at under £200 per item. That's hardly esoteric by any standards. There are shops closer, but none that give the same quality of advice or offer the demo service.

A good yardstick for measuring dealer quality is if after a demo they advise you to purchase nothing. No change is better than a bad change. A dealer with your best interests in mind won't be afraid to tell you "No" rather than let make a bad choice.
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This^ in a nutshell, so sad when Linntone audio went bust here in the NE :mad:
 
Hi GoRedwings19

My apologies - that wasn't meant as a response to you at all :) It felt just like you were explaining my experiences

I'm sorry to hear about your problems! Thankfully my mistake of just reading What Hi Fi and grabbing a system blind hasn't cost me as they'll take the system back so I can get something that I like (and have listened to!)
 
Prob the main reason you are finding the new kit very bright is the old MX2's are a very soft sounding speaker from what I remember of mine.

Don't think the Cambridge is the most forthright sounding amp either, hence you may find the newer gear a bit of a shock.

The marrantz might be a good pairing, they tend to be a bit softer in sound.
 
Glad you got sorted.

Tell us a little about the gear you demoed and what you thought of the various combos before settling on the Marantz/MA combo.
 
Thanks

I focussed on the Cambridge Audio Azur 651A and Marantz PM6005 amplifiers

I tried the following speakers:
Dali Zensor 3
Monitor Audio MR4
Monitor Audio MR6
Tannoy Revolution DC6T

I quickly discounted the Dali speakers as even though they are good speakers I personally found that their mid range response was not as good as the other speakers

It was a more difficult decision between the Marantz and Cambridge Audio amplifiers. I was very happy with both but found that the Marantz offered a more relaxed listen and had clearer treble definition. It also featured optical and coaxial inputs (so I could connect my XBox One via the optical input and my CD player via the coaxial input) and it was £100 cheaper as it was on offer

The speakers were more difficult to decide between. I spent an awful lot of time agonising between the Tannoy DC6Ts and the Monitor Audio MR4s. The definition and clarity of the treble on the Tannoys was outstanding. Muse absolutely came alive even at very high volumes. The Monitor Audio MR4s just couldn't match this - the treble sounded confused and indistinct.

When I played some house, dance and techno music my findings were completely reversed. The Monitor Audio MR4s came alive - lovely, punchy, heavy but tight and controlled bass. Even with heavy drum and bass tracks they excelled. The Tannoys on the other hand sounded loose and soft in comparison.

The MR6s sounded just like the MR4s but with more bass - not necessarily something they needed

I spent about an hour at a café in Birmingham discussing this with the other half as we tried to decided between the two. We ultimately decided on the Monitor Audio speakers as the difference was prounced at higher volumes which is what we'll be playing the house music at rather than Muse (house parties!)

When I went back to purchase the MR4s I noticed that the BX5s were on offer. These are the next model up in Monitor Audio's range. They were more expensive though and I didn't have time to demo (the shop was about to close at this point). The salesman said that they offer the taught bass of the MR4s but the clarity of the DC6Ts (which sounded perfect!)

He offered a 14 day no quibble exchange on the BX5s so I took the plunge. I'm thrilled I did. Even though I have only been listening to them for a few hours (so neither are run in) they sound amazing. Lovely bass with clear defined trebles
 
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