Curently I have a Yamaha DSP-AX620 surround amp running music from my Ipod (through a dock) to Mission 700s. Which sounds fairly decent for a mongrel system culled from the bits and pieces I could fit in the car to uni.
However, having finished uni I want to upgrade to a solely hifi system. I'm thinking of keeping the ipod (budget restraints) and getting the NAD352 and some Wharfedale diamond 9.1s.
So, if using the ipod as a source, is it pointless to get such expensive kit? Will it be an big improvement from the surround amp anyway? And any thoughts on the amp/speaker match.
I use the iPod on my system occasionally (AAC recordings at 192k) and it's not half bad. It won't be disgraced into a 352 by any means. As to speakers, I'd have a look at B&W DM600s as well.
if you switch to an NAD amp, $500pr magnepan MMG planars will give you a HUGE bang for your buck. i wouldn't use them with the yamaha though as nearly all sub $1000 recievers hate 4 ohm loads. NAD is the cheapest route to using maggies.
the strengths of planars are: lighning fast transients they kick reality butt on vocals their midrange sounds so flat and coherent they move ALOT of air in the midrange (scale) they stay clear at high volumes they have no box resonances at all and you can chose from 3 wood finishes and 3 grille cloth colors when ordering.
hearing $1200 maggies locally, i've totally given up on my 20 year long "only acoustic suspension minimonitors will do" priorities and now want speakers that sound more like the actual sounds they're playing... vocals, piano and metallic percussion etc.
planar shortcomings are: extremely power hungry they are ositioning fussy they don't image as well as smaller speakers (but their higher level of sonic realim more than comensates for image localization) they are amplifier fussy (4 ohm output) and they don't have the bass extension of dynamic speakers (but you've NEVER heard a bass drum sound so tight! LOL)
it's surely no coincidence that something like 90% of stereophile readers report they own maggies.
if you're a bass freak... plan on getting a subwoofer. personally, i'd love to GET RID OF my 12" sub and use a planar as a more refined subwoofer with the rolled off bass that i prefer.
you won't FEEL planar bass, but you will hear it clearly.
as to B&W DM600s, they've only gotten lukewarm reviews from what i've read and i actually like the sound of my $200 pr. NHT super zeros MORE than $1000 B&Ws which have sloppy ported bass and don't image as precisely as my tiny speakers. B&W tweeters have super speed and extension though.
that is one area where B&W surprised me actually. i didn't expect a dome tweeter to sound more extended than a magneplanar ribbon, but it did. still, the $1200 maggies i auditioned walked all over the B&Ws for midrange speed and clarity. their bass was several times faster and more detailed than those B&W boom boxes. LOL
from everything i've read, smaller maggies sound just like bigger ones only with less bass. that should make $500 MMGs a steal then. as smaller speakers, they probably image more precisely than the bigger models, and MMGs actaully have MORE treble extension than their bigger brothers until you hit the $3700 mark.
if you can, go listen to maggies yourself to see if they float your boat.
i liked $1200 maggies on simarly priced gear MORE than $20,000 B&Ws on outrageosly expensive mcintosh gear.