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New member Username: TimharrelsonPost Number: 1 Registered: Jun-10 | i recently bought Rotel RCD-06 and RA-04SE in order to start my audio system. I hooked them up with a pair of Mission M31i speakers borrowed from my home theater set, burned them in for a few days but the results still werent satisfactory. I'm sure you all know why. And that started the search for a pair of bigger speakers. one of my targets are the MA BR5 (Nominal Impedance is 6 ohms and Recommended Amplifier Requirements is 30-120 Watts). I demo'ed them at the store yesterday and they sounded fantastic for my taste but the system they used at the store is very Hi-End (MOON CD player and int amp). so, to save my embarrassment, please tell me whether i should go back there with my tiny Rotel Int Amp (40W/ch) to demo BR5? Thanks! |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 12875 Registered: Feb-05 | Why not? If you can, go ahead and take your amp in and test drive the speakers. It won't be the same as listening at home but it may give you an idea as to whether a home demo is worth your time. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 14941 Registered: May-04 | . "I'm sure you all know why." I don't have a clue. Nor do I know why your dissatisfaction with one speaker/amp combination would automatically set off a search for a "bigger speakers". "Bigger" IMO oftens means nothing more than opportunity for "bigger" problems. I get the feeling you have some fairly well set thoughts on how a sound system should sound. Dump them! Forget about how a speaker or an amplifier should sound and open yourself to how music should sound. If you do not understand the difference between how a system sounds and how music sounds, I would suggest you spend some audition time at your dealer. If you're hestitation with your current speakers is their size, then you should investigate what is holding your current speakers back before you begin changing components on a wholesale swap out of your present system. I can think of nothing which leads to more tail chasing than a knee jerk decision to buy one new component after the other once you've introduced a new amplifier, CD player or speakers to the mix. If your hesitation is due to the speakers' size, then possibly the best thing you could do is learn the good points of your new amp with your current speakers while you search for a new subwoofer or a new source player. Assuming speakers are at fault due only to their size is itself faulty thinking IMO. "Nominal 6 Ohm" means you could have difficulties driving such a speaker and would explain why the dealer located these speakers in the same room with some high end gear. Yes, if these are speakers you think you must have, then you should audition them with your amplifier before you make a purchasing decision. That's a no brainer since you can tuck your amplifier under our arm and head off to a quiet weekday afternoon audition. However, I would first recommend you learn more about how amplifiers and speakers operate together and then do some more thinking about why the new amp and your current speakers aren't performing as you would like. Allow the impulse to have another something new subside for the moment until you're satisfied you really know your set up and have done everything possible to make it work. I've heard speakers no bigger than a shoe box do things larger speakers couldn't manage. Unless your dissatisfaction comes down to shear volume don't sell small speakers short or assume a larger speaker will automatically be better. If your dissatisfaction is with volume you still aren't looking for the right speaker. https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/628565.html . |
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New member Username: TimharrelsonPost Number: 2 Registered: Jun-10 | eJan, I couldn't thank you enough for taking the time to give me the much-needed reality check. i think probably failed to clarify my reasons though when i asked for y'all's comments. i already have a home theater system that i'm satisfied with for movies and dvd concerts in my living room (Yamaha AVR + Mission speakers). after doing some research, i bought the aforementioned cd player/integrated amp for the bedroom without speakers because i thought i wanted to test them with the speakers from the home theater set first. however, i wasn't satisfied with the Rotel/Mission combination simply because i felt the bass and the mid coming out of the speakers isn't as realistic as i hope it would be. i mostly listen to old jazz/ bebop and i go to jazz bar pretty often so i have a pretty good idea what a double bass sounds like and the mission speakers didnt give me that. so i blame it on the speakers. hahaha. but yeah it could be because i didn't try hard enough to figure them out. Still, i'm a pair of speakers short. that leads to my thinking of getting a pair of floorstanders hoping that it would allow me to get what i want. but again, Jan, it's very nice of you to point out what i could do before i find myself wasting my time and money buying components after components and end up not getting what i want. Thanks again, very much appreciated. i'm gonna bring my amp to the store tomorrow and take my time auditioning those speakers i shortlisted. |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 4034 Registered: Feb-07 | The Rotel will drive the MA's just fine. |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 3078 Registered: Jun-07 | Just my personal opinion, but I feel Rotel and MA speakers go together like chocolate and tuna...ewwww. Make sure you take your gear in for a listen. |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 12878 Registered: Feb-05 | Normally I would agree with you on this Nick. However if there were ever a Rotel and an MA that would have a chance it would be these two...I agree listen carefully. |
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New member Username: TimharrelsonPost Number: 3 Registered: Jun-10 | haha nice analogy, Nick. i brought my Rotel amp to the store yesterday but it turned out to be a waste of time because i thought i didn't have to tell them that i was coming. so when i got there the audition room was occupied by another customer who was about to audiotion some high-powered home theater system. since i was already there, i thought i settled for an audition outside the audition room anyway because the shop was still fairly quiet. i first paired it with MOON cd player and KEF iQ-50 and the result was ok. but i need to compare them with MA BR5. and just when i was switching the speakers to MA BR5 they decided to turn on the aircon (which was pretty loud). on top of that, the sound from the home theater in the audition room was getting louder and louder i tried listening to the Rotel/MA combo for a minute and i had to give up because i couldnt hear them properly. and the guys there didnt seem to care. so i left and went to a store nearby that carries NAD/PSB products. the guys there were much much more accomodating so i hooked my amp up with their NAD 545BEE CD player and PSB Image T45. i was loving it. oh by the way. the CD i used to test these systems was Bill Evans - Portrait of Jazz. the sound was so sweet and so real. later on, i switched the speakers to PSB Imagine B, which is a standmount that costs more than the Image B25. Everything was ok but the bass wasn't as soulful as the Image B25. i was enjoying myself so much listening to the Image B25 i couldnt keep my poker face no more. But much to the sales guy's disappointment, i didnt buy it yet. i'll have to go back there with both my amp and cd player to confirm that. |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 12880 Registered: Feb-05 | The match with PSB's is a more natural one...late model NAD even better yet! |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 4041 Registered: Feb-07 | Actually Nick has a very good point about Rotel with Monitor Audios. Technically, the Rotel is just fine driving your speakers, but from personal experience I found the Rotel/MA combination quite harsh. |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 3082 Registered: Jun-07 | Tim - Like Art said, the PSB would be a more natural fit IMO. If it were a new NAD model, even more so. NAD and PSB are both owned by the same company, and voice their gear together. Actually in the UK, NAD actually has a line of speakers now, which are just re-branded PSB speakers. I also agree with David. My experience with Rotel and MA was also painful. Although I believe David and I both heard it on the RS line 6's and 8's, which is a different story than the BR5. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 14949 Registered: May-04 | . Not to dispute your opinions but only to suggest a rethinking of priorities. Let's say the prospective buyer is after hyper-detail and articulation with somewhat dry yet "quick" bass, this says "good" audio reproduction to them. I don't think that's at all unreasonable if the buyer is coming from mid-fi or MP3 based playback. IMO those qualities are not going to be found in a NAD/PSB combination. If you believe combining "warm" with "cool" personalities does not yield neutral balance but rather a clash of styles, then you might also assume "toppy" combined with "articulate" could be a desireable mix. What proves painful to some can be just what someone else thinks best. . |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 3084 Registered: Jun-07 | I completely agree Jan. Again, the sound of the MA/Rotel combo is only my personal opinion, and that opinion of course is based on my personal tastes. I would still recommend to anyone, such as Tim, to go listen for themselves. NAD/PSB combo is definitely not for everyone. |