im thinking of upgrading my wharfedale 8.2 speakers to B&W DM602S3's.
Is it worth it?
more so, which should i upgrade first, my Yamaha AV receiver to a Rotel RA-03 integrated amp while retaining the wharfedales, or the wharfedales for the b&W 602s, while retaining the Yamaha AV receiver?
im wondering which setup would maximize my listening pleasure, as upgrading both AV receiver and speakers would drain my budget.
choosing whether to get the rotel or the marantz pm7001 as well.
Right now you are far more likely to be hearing the limitations of your Yamaha AVR than your speakers. The Rotel would go a long way toward helping you figure out if you need speakers or not.
The contest between the Rotel and the Marantz is a no contest. The Rotel bests the Marantz in every way. The new Marantz integrated doesn't match the performance of the model it replaces.
The Rotel RA 1062 is an able integrated with a good phono section, good looks and fabulous all around performance. With the Wharfedales or especially with B&W 600 series speakers that would be my choice for an integrated (on a budget).
oh, my yamaha's an RXV520 home theater AVR. it sounds too bright to my ears. besides, i think id rather have a stereo than a home theater now.
my wharfedale are the 8.1 and the 8.2. well, the wharfedale's are kinda clear but kinda bright, though im not sure which gives it brightness, the yamaha or the speakers themselves.
so you guys would suggest that i upgrade the integ amp first before the speakers?
actually the idea came to mind when i took out from the basement my dad's old fisher audio component system which sounded better, albeit warmer than my present set-up.
Amplifiers would modify the way 8.2s sound, especially at higher frequencies. It should be possible to achieve sound that is not bright. You might want to borrow speakers to try with the Yamaha to see if it is the source of brightness. Next important is the source...
As Srivinas is illuding to, you're ignoring a significant part of the chain here - the source. The source is just as important as any other part of the chain in my experience. For some reason, we get too hung up on amplification and speakers and tend to ignore the source. No offense to anyone, but you didn't mention what you were using, and no one asked.
I probably shouldn't assume, but... You've got a Yamaha home theater setup. Do you have a Yamaha or similar universal player? I would investigate this as the problem just as much, maybe even more, than the speakers and AVR.
I started to see the light when I added a turntable to my system. The sound completely changed (for the much better, BTW). I didn't put much stock in digital players until I auditioned a few by accident. I thought they all sounded more or less the same (the 1's and 0's arguement).
While auditioning a Naim Nait 5i, I heard the Naim CD5i, CD5x, and Rega Planet 2000 in the same system. The differences between them was drastic. They were all very good, but each one drastically changed the system. From there, the salesman changed the Nait 5i (integrated) for Naim seperates, and the differences weren't anywhere near what they were with the CD players. For example, the Nait 5i/CDx combo was better than the seperates (112x/NAP 150x) and CD5i combo. The 112x/NAP150x/CD5x combo was better than the Nait 5i/CD5x combo, but not that much better. Sorry if I'm losing you here...
In your shoes, this is what I would do -
Listen to complete systems. Don't just audition an amplifier. Don't just audition a CD player, etc. Listen to a good amp/CD player combo. Try your best to stick with one brand. Synergy between them goes a very long way. For example, NAD and Rotel both sound very good. Together, they lose a lot.
After you've got an ideal amp/CD player combo in mind, the rest takes care of itself somewhat. There are far more choices and variables in speakers IMO. Not that speakers aren't just as important as any other component, their's just more wiggle room.
So... I'd got to a few Hi-Fi shops and hear systems. Once you know exactly what you want, start putting it together. Buy the best pieces you can individually. Depending on what your budget allows, start with the piece that best fits it. I'm assuming that you liked the Rotel integrated. What about the CD player? If you liked them and know the competition to them, start putting together that system.
From my experience, Wharfedale speakers are somewhat warm. I've never heard them described as bright. Rotel can be interpreted as bright by some people. You may want to look into NAD to see if they're more of what you're looking for.
NAD should match the Warfedales better than Rotel. However, the B&W's should match up better with Rotel. Once again, it's all about synergy. If you like the Rotel gear, another speaker option would be Paradigm. They sound great together.
That was a mouthful. Hope I helped more than I complicated the issue. To make a long story short, listen to complete systems, not just parts. Then put the complete system together piece by piece. At the end of the day, you should have a complete system that sounds better than the sum of it's parts.
I have an older rotel setup myself, driving maggies in a bright room with fairly plush furnishings, the extra treble can be a welcome bonus. However, if I were to take the couch out, OUCH!