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Last edited by CURATORIS; 12 November 2006, 22:43 Sunday. -
What is your total budget ????? your amp and pre-amp choices are spread out all over the place ?? as an example you have one @ $3000, given those dollars I wouldn't pick any of what you have for I'd suggest keeping you eye on "Audiogon" for a nice used Plinius SA-102, superior to any of what you have listed by far, IMHODave
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You have an excellent opportunity to build a stereo setup now as most of the buyers and manufacturers are chasing after surround equipment. I would research McIntosh for both the amp and pre-amp, and buy the finest used equipment available. The older McIntosh products that were made by the original company in Binghamton, NY. IMO, they were the most reliable and best sounding tube products ever made for studios and the public. Use the internet to locate equipment and take your time to learn.Comment
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Why are you looking at the ADCOM GFA-6006. Isn't it a 6 channel amp?
I use Adcom 5500 (bought used) with B&W 703 and think it sounds pretty good
(preamp is an older Adcom 555II, also bought used)
The B&W 703, and Paradigm studio 100 both require an amplifier that can deliver some serious current when needed.Comment
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Telling us the location (country anyway) would probably help people to make suggestions.Originally posted by CURATORIS
BBComment
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Hey, Curatoris. We have specialty clubs here for many of those manufacturers, so I'd recommend you stop by the clubs and ask some questions you have!
CHRIS
Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
- PleasantvilleComment
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If I had to pick from that list, it would be as follows: A21, P3, Studio 100. What is your source?JayComment
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CURATORIS, my advice is to select your speakers first because they make the biggest difference to the sound by far. Then I'd choose an amplifier that will drive those speakers well.
I know the B&W and Paradigm speakers that you mentioned. I would describe the B&W 7 series as bright but detailed, with a modest amount of bass. If you listen to the 7 series at higher volume for extended periods you may suffer from fatigue. At moderate volume you can listen to them all day with enjoyment. The Paradigm speakers are a little softer, are slightly less detailed, and have more bass than the 7 series. The Studio 100 is a serious high volume party speaker. As dknightd mentioned the Studio 100 requires a powerful amp to get the best out of it (300 - 350 watts) whereas the Studio 60 and the 703 will perform quite nicely with 200 watts. You can get away with 120 - 150 watts for the 704.
I would take Chris's advice and ask about speakers in the various clubs here. Once you've got your speakers sorted out I'd then ask about amplifiers to drive them.
Nigel.Comment
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Sometimes I wondered how much happier we are really when faced with these vast options available nowadays. Take the list of speakers you have selected. They are probably as good as any, so, why not choose one base on which look most interesting to you. Does it really matter that much at the end of the day? Don't agonise too long and enjoy your music.Because of my geographic location there are many limitations in selections and availability to audition most of the equipments so I must order without the pleasure of listen.Comment
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I take a bit of issue with this.Originally posted by bigburner
Serious high volume party speakers are my old Cerwin-Vega D9s. The Studio 100 is much more than a "party" speaker, IMO.There are some things which are impossible to know, but it is impossible to know which things these are. :scratchhead:
----JAFFE'S PRECEPTComment
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Be sure to choose speakers first. This is where you'll want to spend the most money of your total budget. There's many many very good speakers in every price range. You should try to go and listen to as many as you possibly can. One speaker that costs 2,000 compared to another at the same price will usually sound quite different. It's not that one is better than the other, just different. Your preference is what matters.
Sometimes the sound difference can be quite alot so take your time. After you choose your speaker then is when to choose a power amp. You need to consider the sensitivity of the speakers, the room size, furnishings etc and the volumes you like to listen at.
In the end get as much high quality power as you can afford. The differences between SS amps is usually small. You can get used gear from Audiogon and try various amps in your setup if you like. This way you won't lose much if any money. Or you could just buy one good amp.
In my experience the preamp has more of an effect on the sound than SS power amps. This is a good place to spend some money. I'd go with a used Parasound or Rotel amp if I were you then buy the best preamp I could. This is a safe route.
You can get a Parasound HCA 1500A or Rotel RB991 or Rotel 1080 in the 5-700 dollar range. These all have 200wpc into eight ohms and are all very good amps. They don't have the hi end snob appeal of the smaller companies but I can assure you in many cases they are superior.
Best of luck to you. This is a fun and enjoyable hobby. Just don't get too hung up on brand names or what others say. Use your own judgement.
Something that is often not mentioned but is extremely important, more important than anything but speakers, is room acoustics. Room treatments should be included in your budget if you can get away with putting them in your room. The sound improvement per dollar spent is right up there with speakers. Many an audiophile has tried different amps, cd players, dacs etc when the problem all along had been their room. Please read up on this subject. Audiocircle has an acoustics forum as does audioasylum. You'll be way ahead of game if you start with your room!Comment
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I'll rephrase my comment...Originally posted by whoaru99
"The Studio 100 is a good quality hi-fi speaker that can be used as a serious high volume party speaker, if you want to use your system for that purpose".
IMO opinion this is a very useful feature if you like to listen to music at high volume occasionally.Comment
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wolfgang, you make a very good point. If you look at my posts in this forum you will see that more of them are about music than equipment. I sometimes wonder if some members spend so much money on equipment that they don't have any money left to buy music. However occasionally you do need to think about the gear (if you don't the members of this forum won't take you seriously for a start!!). If loud music isn't CURATORIS's thing then the Studio 100 would be overkill, and he'd also have to buy a more powerful / expensive amp than he really needs to drive the Studio 100's well. So it's a good idea to analyse what you want first and then design a system to meet those requirements. As you pointed out there are many systems that will meet his requirements nicely.Originally posted by wolfgangComment
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Ahhh...now I understand what you meant.Originally posted by bigburner
Thanks.There are some things which are impossible to know, but it is impossible to know which things these are. :scratchhead:
----JAFFE'S PRECEPTComment
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Bigburner, That bit about what is your requirements and buy accordingly are sound advise. After a few years in this hobby I am beginning to think it is actually quite difficult to find totally bad toys nowadays. Some might not represent the best performance for the price but then unlikely to be totally unlistenable for most ears.Comment
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I realized a while back that audiophiles are not automatically music lovers. Some guys get a bigger kick out of the performance of their equipment than they do the actual music they select.Originally posted by bigburner
We've probably all met guys who brag about how "ruthless" their systems are at "exposing" poor recordings... as if owning a hi-fi system that doesn't exist to serve music (surely a contradiction in terms?) was something to be excited about? :roll:
Each to his own I guess... I went through this a while back, but I came to my senses and chose the music.Comment
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