I just bought a pair of JMLab Chorus 716S, center cc70S, and a rear pair of 705S. I will use the system 80% on music and 20% on movies. can anyone please recommend any receivers that would match the speakers?
I have heard them with the NAD T742 and thought they sounded great. I am currently considering the Chorus and Cobalt Series very seriously. The dealer I am looking at JM Labs with generally recommends the NAD receivers with the JM Labs.
thanks John. I like Cobalt Series too, but it is much more than my budget. actually, I bought NAD T752 as well. They do sound great. but I'm going to return the NAD T752 to the dealer. I paid for the price of brand new receiver, but the machine I got appeared to be a used one as most of gold-plated connectors has been worn out. the dealer said they ordered directly from NAD distributor. believe it or not, there was an intact "NAD opened & inspected" seal outside the box. I'd never thought it was a used machine inside the box!! I don't know what's going on with the NAD distributor. i just felt fooled by either the distributor or the dealer. so i don't think I'd would buy any NAD here, and won't buy anything from that dealer either. any other receiver would match JMLab chorus?
I am sorry to hear about your experience with the T752. I have been very happy with my T762, if I can just decide on some speakers, I am sure I will be even happier. (I'll be demoing the Cobalts starting tomorrow for a few days, even though I can't afford them). What is your budget for your new receiver? If you could step up to Rotel, I understand those to be quite neutral. The Arcam receivers I have listened to have been relatively neutral as well. Good luck!
I've been thinking to get Marantz 7300 or 7300ose. Rotel sounds a good choice too. thanks for your suggestion. I've ever been to an audio shop, and they got both Rotel and Marantz. the sales told me not go for Rotel as its sound was a little bit bright, and his favorite was Marantz. i think that's his taste, but still don't know if Marantz or Rotel matches Chorus S speakers.
Both Rotel and Marantz are good brands. However, I think your salesman is correct that the Rotel will sound a little bright with the JMlabs.
JMlabs speakers such as the Chorus and the Cobalt line are rather bright sounding. Brightness is the result of an elevated upper midrange in the 2-4Khz range. Gives the JMlabs the incredible detail that they are so famous for. However, with the wrong receiver, that is, one that is also bright, this can really exaggerate this upper midrange and make the sound rather strident, leading to listener fatigue. I once had a system like that and I couldn't even get through an entire side of an album (20-25 minutes) before I had to turn it off.
Now, I do not consider the Rotel to be bright (I think it is very close to neutral), but, it is a little lean sounding and is a bit cool. The Marantz, on the other hand, is a rather warmer sounding receiver, which can temper the brightness of the JMlabs speakers. It is not that the Marantz is better than the Rotel, but it is a better match with those particular speakers, IMO. However, it is your opinion that counts as it is the system you will be listening to!
I think it is great that you have a store where you can audition both the Rotel and the Marantz together (usually, buyers are not so lucky). If you need to, take your speakers in when the store is not too busy and I am sure they will hook them up so that you can hear both receivers driving a pair of your JMlabs. That is the best way to know what is best for you. You may be among those who can tolerate and enjoy a bright sounding system (everyone hears things differently and that may be your taste). Or, you may find you like the more balanced system with the Marantz. Either way, spend a good hour or two trying out different CDs to see which receiver you prefer with your speakers.
As always, Hawk is right on the money. When you audition in the store, be certain to bring your OWN CDs. You want to listen to "your" music on the system. I find that most stores don't carry the variety that I like. (I like everything from classical to pop... Oletta Adams to Janet Jackson... I think I especially like female vocals and orchestral pieces with lots of strings (piano mostly).) But, then again... I listen to movies mostly on my system!
I got a T763 three days ago. it's a demo unit, but the dealer (not the original one) agreed to swap it with a brand new one once they got the stock this week. i couldn't resist it so i took it home. the unit is awesome. the toroidal transformer, which is T753/T752 doesn't have, looks beautiful. btw, T753 won't be available here in australia until end of January. now i wonder if T763 is too powerful for my speakers, T763's power output stereo mode is 130w x 2, and my chorus 716S maximum power handling is 130w. i can't find recommended amplifier for chorus 716S on JMlab website. but they do recommend amplifier 25 - 100w for Cobalt 816S which has 125w maximum power handling. i just want to know if i'm wasting money on T763. is T753 powerful enough for my speakers when listening on low volume (i haven't test it on low volume when I had the T752)? T753's power output stereo mode is 90w. i haven't got a subwoofer yet, maybe i should get T753 instead of T763 and save the money for a nice subwoofer. please help!
Hi Johnny, I have a T762 and the Cobalt 826S (as of a week ago) I got demo 826S's for about 20% under retail and they were broken in very well... (got them from a small audiophile type dealer) and I love them. I have pushed my receiver all the way to +15 one time to see what would happen and eventually, because of the impedance of the speakers dropping below 8 ohms, they required more power than the 762 could create. Needless to say, this was louder than I could stand to listen to, but they still sounded very clear. I would say that you could get away with a T753 with 716 or 816s, but more power is never a bad thing.... IMHO.
thanks Johnny. much appreciate your comments.I knew it's not a too powerful amplifier that may damage a speaker, but rather a lack of power. it's the first time I heard the impedance might change under different situation. as a newbie, i thought it didn't change theoretically. how come does it change? btw i love 816 and 826. i had a chance to listen to them side by side with chorus series. just had to get budget under control and 716s is already good enough for my ears :-)