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New member Username: DanludVaasaFinland Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-09 | Hi Guys. I'm new here in this forum, and this is my first thread. So I'm not shure if this should be under "speakers" or "amps". I would like to ask about your opinion. I have a H/K AVR330 amp with a wharfedale 9 series surround system with diamond 9.6 in the front. I'm considering buying a separate power amp for the front speakers. The system gives a nice smooth sound and there is enough low range bass, but it's lacking in the mid bass. I'm loosing details becuse of this and I was thinking maybe the speakers would would do better with a bit more power. In that case what could be a good choice? NAD or Rotel? I'm don't want to spend any more than 1000€. Second alt. would be to sell the AVR330 and upgrade to a new AV amp to get HDMI and HD DTS and DOLBY compability. In that case I would maybe be able to spend a little bit more. I use the system for 2 channel music (mostly rock and heavy) but also for movies. Thanks for any suggestions/answers. |
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Silver Member Username: EdisonGlendale, CA US Post Number: 861 Registered: Dec-03 | You might want to buy it at www.audiogon.com - used - this way, you will end up with more quailty for the same price. Also, if you don't like it, you can resell it for the same price. You can get good bargains there. Take a look at this one. http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1237829788&/Audio-Refinement--Yb a-Complete-Alpha |
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Silver Member Username: AfjGaboroneBotswana Post Number: 175 Registered: Jan-08 | the wharfedales are generally warm speakers. nad being warm too - i dont think you would want to go that route. check out some of the marantz amps. they apparently pair well with the diamonds |
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New member Username: DanludVaasaFinland Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-09 | Thanks for the tip, I have to try to listen to some Marantz amps. Btw. How would you describe Marantz sound compared to H/K? |
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Silver Member Username: AfjGaboroneBotswana Post Number: 176 Registered: Jan-08 | its been quite a while since i've listened to the marantz. but its a lot better than the hk. puts the sounds all together a lot better and definitely more musical. its not as warm as the nad - perhaps a little thinner in the mids (and if i remember right slightly tighter bass). all in all tends to be more towards neutral than the nad. havent listened to them with the diamonds but have heard from a lot of owners that they pair well. |
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New member Username: DanludVaasaFinland Post Number: 3 Registered: Jan-09 | Ok, thanks a lot! Really appriciate all comments and thoughts! |
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Silver Member Username: AfjGaboroneBotswana Post Number: 178 Registered: Jan-08 | let us know how it comes together |
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Bronze Member Username: GregorytWhite Plains, New York United States Post Number: 17 Registered: Jan-09 | I`m late to this discussion, but you need to know something. No two people hear the same. nd yes, if you ear is trained, you can tel the difference between amplifiers, but you still may not here, what I do. One thing i will say is, in this day of surround and Blu-Ray, it makes no sense not to go with a receiver that does not have the current codecs for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-Master Audio. That, should be a given. |
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New member Username: DanludVaasaFinland Post Number: 4 Registered: Jan-09 | I agree with you, to buy a new reciever today without the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-Master Audio codecs are a waste of money. About the difference between amps, I think the only way to find out is to listen and compare different amps and see which one has got what you're looking for. Francis: I still haven't had the time to go and listen to the Marantz. |
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Silver Member Username: AfjGaboroneBotswana Post Number: 184 Registered: Jan-08 | let us know how it sounds when you do daniel |
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Bronze Member Username: GregorytWhite Plains, New York United States Post Number: 18 Registered: Jan-09 | Thats right Daniel. Bring your own music and movies, listen and compare. |
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New member Username: DanludVaasaFinland Post Number: 5 Registered: Jan-09 | Hi Everybody. I have finally made my decision. I'm now an proud owner of 2 Audiolab 8000M monblocks. I kept my Harman Kardon AVR330 and use it as a preamp for the front speakers. The reason for not changing only the AVR was that I really don't have any use for HDMI and all the fancy HD decoders at this time since I don't have any LCD TV or Blueray. I got the possibility to try out a Rotel RB-1080 and a pair of Audiolab monoblocks at home. (Thanks to my great HIFI dealer for allowing this) This is my first time I have the chance to actually compare 2 different products at home. I must say that I was suprised when I found out that you actually hear a lot of difference in the sound between Power amps... The Audiolab compared to the Rotel was more detailed in the mid register and also a bit sharper in the treble. I would say that the bass/midbass sounded quite the same although the Rotel is quite a lot more powerful than the Audiolabs. (200W/ch vs. 125W/ch in 8 ohm) Compared with using the H/K AVR330 I have now more punchy bass and a lot more detail in treble, mid and more puch in the lower register. Downside with the Audiolabs are that in som cases I think they are almost too detailed, Albums like Follow the leader by Korn, All hope is gone by Slipknot, doesn't really like to much mid, there Rotel won, but otherwise the Audiolabs are great. |