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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 2 Registered: Nov-05 | My equipments: Pioneer DV578A DVD/CD/SACD player Pioneer VSX-D814S reciever PSB Alpha B x4 and Alpha C x1 Sony subwoofer For home theater, they work fine for me. However, when I listen to music, the sound quality is not good. Recently, I decide to improve my system(only for music). There are three options that are considered. 1. NAD L53 or L70 $600 ~ $800 2. ARCAM A65 amp. (still use my pioneer dvd player) $600 ~ $750 3. ARCAM Solo $1300 up Which one is the best solution(value) for me? Which one will get the best sound quality? Please help me. Thanks. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1046 Registered: Sep-04 | I am not a big fan of the Solo as I find it is very dependant on a benign speaker load so it doesn't suit as many situations as I'd like. I've also heard that the NAD L53 is very close in performance. Of course, the A65 is a better amp but you lose surround sound with this option. If you still want full surround sound, the only option you have given is the L70 which I haven't heard. If you intend to keep your Pioneer receiver and add a stereo amp, the A65 is fairly good, but for real improvements in performance you may have to look higher up the range. The A90 is very good for example. Regards, Frank. |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 3 Registered: Nov-05 | Thanks. Usually, I use two front speakers to listen music, so I will consider the A65. I checked the A90's price that is around $1800. That is a little expensive for me, but it seems very good. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1055 Registered: Sep-04 | Hi there, Now I see - you want a stereo amp for the job. I do not know the PSB Alpha speakers at all. The A65 is an OK amp, but it does not benefit from huge reserves of power. If the PSBs are not easy to drive then, this may not be the best course of action, and I would wait until you could go for something a little more capable if possible. Sorry, just not a fan of the A65... Regards, Frank. |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 4 Registered: Nov-05 | Thanks for the suggestion. Yesterday, my friend told me the Primare I21 that is very good. Sound is very sweet and clear. However, I cuold not fine a dealer to listen to. Is this a good choice? How can I find a online dealer for cheaper price? |
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Silver Member Username: CheapskatePost Number: 525 Registered: Mar-04 | i love my panasonic SA-XR55 reciever ($220 delivered). it's super relaxed and detailed sounding. it beats both my NAD and onkyo recievers by a clear margin. vocals sound so much smoother on a class-d amp. i won't go on about it. read more in one of the panny threads here or in recievers. i don't know what your speakers sound like. usually, speaker changes make the biggest differences in sound. PSB speakers are pretty well respected in the bang for the buck category. what EXACTLY is wrong with your sound. "it isn't good" is extremely vague. the best way to improve it is to identify exactly what is wrong. dynamics? resolution? tonal balance? imaging? power output? speed? and so on. what exactly do you want to improve on? if you were looking to spend a full $1300 on upgrades, i'd say get a panasonic reciever and 2 pairs of magnepan MMGs which is what i bought my panny for, but it sounded so much better than my other two speakers that i canceled my plan to get 2 pairs of MMGs at $550 each. read this review... great bang for the buck that you can test drive (but i wouldn't use your pioneer on them as they're 4 ohm loads) http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/magnepan_mmg.htm if you want a really cheap upgrade for just stereo listening, you might look into a behringer room correction unit to tune your current speakers for a flatter response to within .5dB for only $250 + a $50 mic http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0705/behringerultracurve2496.htm you'll need to buy XLR to RCA connectors in a home system this is my next upgrade. seeing that my sony DVD player's analogue outs sound crisper than the panny's A/D converters, i might even get a second behringer for 4 full channels of room correction and SACD use via analogue. the behringers are supposed to have nice D/A converters. i'll have to A/B straight digital to straight analogue (with an SACD if i ever get one) to see if it's worth getting 2 units. i'm only looking at straight digital stereo use for now. by the way, if you're listening to SACDs, your coax out most likely is only sending 16/48 digital and not full resolution. you'll probably get better high res sound via analogue. darn copy protection BS! LOL |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 5 Registered: Nov-05 | Thank you. My speakers' sound is not good because they are vague. It is not clear. I like the sound that is clear and sweet. I know my speakers are good enough for me and I understand the point is on my Amp , so I just want to add a stereo Amp for right now. I will consider your suggestion. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 760 Registered: May-05 | Sheng-Chieh Hsueh, If you're looking to upgrade your performance, you're best bet would be to upgrade your speakers. This isn't a knock on PSB by any means - I have owned PSB speakers for about 10-15 years now. The Alphas are a good budget speaker, but they will not do justice to any of the components that have been mentioned here (except the awful Panasonic). Their is no point in buying an Arcam, Primare, etc unless you have better speakers. You may hear an improvement if you bought a new amp, but most likely a very small one. The Sony subwoofer should be replaced as well. If you plan on replacing the speakers and sub in the near future, then disregard my advice. |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 6 Registered: Nov-05 | I understand what you said. Let me think about your point. Thanks. |
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Daniel34 Unregistered guest | If you're buying on a tight budget (which doesn't seem to be case as you're mentioning some $1300 components) NAD 320BEE is very difficult to beat given the price range. Although I'm not familiar with your speakers at all, looking at different speaker never hurts ;-) especially if the dealer will alow you to demo them at home. So instead of potentially spending $1300 on amp. you'd be better off splitting it between an amp and improved speakers. Just my opinion of course. |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 7 Registered: Nov-05 | These days I research many references. I design to upgrade my amp first because many good speakers, it needs an good power amp or integrated amp to support. (such as PSB Image 7PT, 65T, B&W 600s or Revel M12) After that, I will upgrade my front LF speakers. I will spend around $800 to buy an amp, but I have not decided to buy a stereo integraded amp, power amp, or multi-channels amp. Which one is good for me right now? |
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Daniel34 Unregistered guest | Power amp will improve things, but you'll still depend on Pioneer VSX-D814S processing, so I don't think that's the best solution. Personally I'd go for integrated, there is tons of good ones out there for less than what you're willing to spend. Rega, NAD and Arcam products, and I'm sure many more I'm not as familiar with. BTW, B&W 600 is good, but B&W 602 bookshelf is way better speaker, for not that much more money |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 8 Registered: Nov-05 | I will choose one of these products. Arcam: A65+, A80, A85 Rotel: RX-1052 NAD: C320BEE I consider to buy the second hand to save money, and then to buy a pair speakers. |
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New member Username: Schsue01Louisville, KY Ue Post Number: 9 Registered: Nov-05 | I already found the A65+ and C320BEE in good price. However, I want to ask about A65+. Is it able to run B&W DM603 s3 or B&W LCR600 s3 properly? Because the A65+'s power seems a little lower. |
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Daniel34 Unregistered guest | 40W should be plenty of power. Don't compare this with your receiver's power, it's night and day power rating. Generally, you'd always go for more power assuming your budget allows it. NAD's 320BEE 50W is more than most home users will need, but if you're want more NAD's c352 has 80W per channel and is not much more expensive than 320BEE. Both are really good amps, c352 being better amp IMO. Not sure how big a difference in price is between A65 and A85 (they do look much nicer than NAD if that's the kind of thing you care for ;-) But A85 is rated at 85W or power (A75 is 50W I think). Going for more power is in general recommended, even if you're not going to listen to your music very loud, but Arcam's 40W is plenty for most home users. Rega Brio is rated at 38W and you'd be pleasantly surprised if you tested it. |
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Silver Member Username: NuckParkhill, Ontario Canada Post Number: 581 Registered: Dec-04 | Sheng, the alpha's were designed to be fronts. A little small,granted, but with your new power, I would want to check them out, as is. A sub would fit in here, if to your liking, I run sometimes 1 pr Alphas with the sub for concert dvd's, and prefer them to my main fronts(in some cases, like joni Mitchell and Diana Krall) They give my great space for female vocals and piano A great little speaaker, given the power to run them, and you seem to be getting that! |