Wow, those are some excellent speakers. I think we'd need to know more. What are you intending to use them with and for? Music/movies, jazz/hip hop, Bryston/Sony.....
Dear, Art, thank you for your interest. I spent A LOTS of time tring to pick the right speaker. Originaly my choice was VA Haydn Grand. However, I've found them somewhat dark and a bit "cloudy" sounding, but otherwise quite musical. They do need to be spaced further aprt than many other speaker brands to minimize the a thickness or warmth. Bit of muddiness in the mid-bass if i may say. Since my room is small (10X13) i can not do this. Plus my stuff is on the warm side too. I use Marantz cdp 4300 and Marantz sr 4320 receiver. I listen to all kinds of music .That could be a trouble for VA as well , since i wes told they are not good with HMR. :-) Classical solo instruments and jazz on one day and some rock on the other. I plan to get ML Dynamo if i need.
George, you picked speakers that are more difficult than average to drive. Especially the Era's. They are great speakers but at 84-85db sensitivity the Marantz simply won't have the oomph to drive them. I hope that you plan to upgrade your receiver sometime in the future to match any one of these fine speakers. Based on your current system I would have to say that the Epos M12.2 is the best match. Not the best speaker of the bunch as they are all good but I believe that it is the most efficient and is the easiest to drive.
Again the above mentioned speakers really are a little out the league of your other gear. You won't get the most out of them, but owning them may inspire other upgraditis....god forbid.
Focal and Tannoy make speakers that may be easier to drive and may be a better match for your gear. It has alot to do with what you intend to do in the future with your system. Have a great evening.
Well, thank you one more time. Just so we clear - addind Nad 272 and using Marantz as preamp wouldn't be good ? I do love Era 4 . Curved enclosure reduces standing wave and so on and on ......
..And one more post and i am finished Era is 8 Ohm with 84-85 db while Epos is 4 Ohm. Given choice, wouldn't be better stick to Era since my Marantz is rated into 8 Ohm. I do not listen to the music loud. 85 % of the time its - 50....-60 db on Marantz with my 90db 8 Ohm current speakers.
Most Epos speakers are 4 ohm but not the M12.2 and that is why I felt that it would make a good match. If you are going to use an external power amp that does change the ball game. Honestly though you would be better off buying a good integrated amp rather than using the C272 with the Marantz