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Bronze Member Username: ZzzxtremePost Number: 12 Registered: Aug-08 | Hi, I'm about to buy Marantz PM4001 (USD270) + Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 (USD240) this weekend. PM4001's specs : http://www.marantz.com/pdfs/e_pm4001.pdf Hopefully they are not too pricey even though they are discontinued. Any thoughts? I have some questions. 1)For music listening, do you think this Marantz will sound better than a $400-$500 AV receiver? 2)Is the wharfedale good for music listening? (clear bass, not punchy, good vocals) 3)It supports MM phono. I have an old turntable from the 70's, how do I identify whether mine is MM or MC? 4)According to the marant'z specs: SYSTEM 1 : 4-16 OHMS SYSTEM 2 : 4-16 OHMS SYSTEM 1+2 : 8-16 OHMS the wharfedale is 6 Ohms. I'm confused about System 1+2. does it mean, if i want to hookup 4 speakers, I can't use the wharfedale ? |
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Silver Member Username: AfjGaboroneBotswana Post Number: 111 Registered: Jan-08 | hey nick youre all over the place. listen to it and see for yourself |
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New member Username: BatonwielderPost Number: 7 Registered: Jun-08 | The Wharfedale 9.1's are my favorite budget speakers. Warm and clear, they are amazing with classical music. The Marantz should be a very good match. Just go and have fun listening to them. Don't be afraid to be critical. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 12985 Registered: May-04 | . "1)For music listening, do you think this Marantz will sound better than a $400-$500 AV receiver?" Since most AV receivers suck with music, there's a good chance the Marantz will sound better than a budget AV receiver. However, your ears are the deciders in this case. I would urge you to go listen to some live music so you can begin developing a reference for what the real deal sounds like. Making stuff up from a non-existent memory of live music only leads you to choose what you like at that instant over what might actually sound more like the real thing. Don't focus on frequency response - how much bass or treble the system produces, those are all things that can change when the speakers are placed in a different position within the room. Begin listening for the actual qualities of how the musicians produce the music, how they hit a note or hold a note or how they produce large dynamics and not so loud dynamics. Listen for the sound of the instruments in a real space or in a space created within the confines of the recording studio and post production manipulation of the recording. You'll hear people say this hobby is all about "what you like" - and it is - but it should be what you like about real music and not just what you like at the moment about the component you are hearing with the music you are listening to. What you like might not be the same as what I like but we should both be able to agree on what makes a system sound musical as opposed to just sounding like a more expensive hifi. Make this about the music and exploring what it is about live music that you find interesting and involving. It should not be just about the equipment. Following the first path should lead you to smart decisions that do not waste money chasing the sound of the latest or the next most expensive component or speaker. It's fine to get interested in why your chosen components sound the way they do but, if you make this about the music as nothing more than a way to audition equipment, you'll usually find yourself chasing the new, bright, shiny thing for a long time without ever finding anything of substance. An old adage is a true music lover has a system that costs less than their music library while someone who only loves the equipment has more tied up in the gear they have gone through than they do in the music they own. Figure out why you want a decent system and pursue the music not the gear. 3)"It supports MM phono. I have an old turntable from the 70's, how do I identify whether mine is MM or MC?" More than likely your cartidge is a MM. Put its manufacturer and model number in a search engine and do some reading. Search engines will gain you tremendous amounts of information. Some of it will be useful and some will be dreck. Learn to distinguish between the two. Don't get caught up in what something is. Be interested in how it reproduces music. There will always be something better than what you own, find out what it is about what you have that makes it worth owning. "the wharfedale is 6 Ohms. I'm confused about System 1+2. does it mean, if i want to hookup 4 speakers, I can't use the wharfedale?" Speakers are not just 8 Ohms or 6 Ohms or any other number. The impedance of a speaker is a complex set of values that change with frequency. So a speaker can be 6 Ohms at one point and 32 Ohms at another - or 2 Ohms at another. You need to be aware of what the lowest and highest values are for the speakers you wish to combine. Find this either with a search engine - the values for the 9.1 should be fairly easy to access - or by calling the manufacturer. It is the combined total impedance of the pairs you are combining that will determine how you should use the speakers with any particular amplifier. When you connect two pairs of speakers in parallel, which is what happens when you have a "A+B" connection on an amplifier, you will take half the lowest value of the combined pairs and use that as your guide for what the amplifier will deal with. So two speakers that dip to 4 Ohms in one case and 3.7 Ohms in the other will present the amplifier with a roughly 2 Ohm load. Your amplifier will not be happy with that combination. If you like your music loud, you should also know the impedance of the speaker changes as the components within the speakers are heated with power from the amplifier. This will make any speaker or any combination of speakers a more difficult load for the amplifier. If you like your music loud, build in some headroom for the amplifier by keeping the total impedance of the speaker system(s) as high as possible at all times. Amplifier manufactuers will always recommend the highest total impedance value since this protects their product. It's wise to listen to their advice in this case but since speakers are not stricly one impedance value sometimes you need to try the combination and listen for and be aware of potential problems. A essential bit of information is useful here, when you hear distortion from the system, turn down the volume. Distortion has already set in when you turn the volume control and the system does not continue to get any louder. At that point, turn down the volume a good deal. An amplifier that runs hot at moderate volumes when driving two pairs of speakers is not suited to drive the two pairs of speakers you are using. That doesn't mean the amp won't drive a different two pair of speakers. Read the archived threads about amplifiers and receievrs and you'll get a much better idea of how to use your amplifier and speakers. . |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 10782 Registered: Dec-04 | http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/loudspeaker-power-handli ng |