Help needed in selecting amp and speakers

[Varghese Devassy]

Hi,

I would like to get some assistance regarding selection of amp and
speakers for stereo. I have listened to two combinations of amp and
speakers. They are:

1. Rotel RA1060 with B&W DM603
2. NAD C350 with KEF

I would have preferred to listen to other combinations as well (Rotel
with KEF, NAD with B&W). Unfortunately, they are at two different
shops. I find both KEF and B&W to be very smooth sounding. I was
earlier considering PSB Image 4T but, dropped the idea after listening
to KEF and B&W. I am wondering what combinations I should select. I
listen to India Classical, Jazz and Rock and my listening volume level
is between 9 and 10 positions

I have the following questions:
1. If I have an option to go higher in Quality, should I spend money
on speakers or the amp
2. I have been reading about tube amps lately and it seems they sound
more warm and realistic. I have no prior experience with them. Should
I consider them at all. I know the local shop carries a model called
"Cary"
3. Any suggestions on a good CD player and a casette-deck

This is my first purchase of hi-fi stereo equipment and therefore
knowledge on most of the products is limited. Any other companiew
should I consider. I am willing to spend around Can $2000 - 2500 on
the amp + speaker combination

Thank you

Varghese Devassy

[jdmccall]

Just let your ears be your guide. Listen to as much in your price range as
possible.

Cary products are very, very expensive. I don't believe there is any way you
could squeeze an amp and speakers in under 2K. There are cheaper tube
amplifiers, though. Cary has a cheaper line in fact.

As for how to spend the money, I would get the speakers first, then match
the amp to them, keeping in mind a certain minimum you might need for a good
quality two-channel amp that you like and would be happy living with

[Robert Morein]

"Varghese Devassy" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi,
>
> I would like to get some assistance regarding selection of amp and
> speakers for stereo. I have listened to two combinations of amp and
> speakers. They are:
>
> 1. Rotel RA1060 with B&W DM603
> 2. NAD C350 with KEF
>
> I would have preferred to listen to other combinations as well (Rotel
> with KEF, NAD with B&W). Unfortunately, they are at two different
> shops. I find both KEF and B&W to be very smooth sounding. I was
> earlier considering PSB Image 4T but, dropped the idea after listening
> to KEF and B&W. I am wondering what combinations I should select. I
> listen to India Classical, Jazz and Rock and my listening volume level
> is between 9 and 10 positions
>
The speakers are good picks.
However, neither the Rotel midline nor the NAD amps at any price point run
with the best out there.
I would look instead at Hafler, Parasound, Adcom, B&K, and the lower power
British amps.
The first three mentioned have outstanding build quality, high amperage, and
represent several different musical presentations.

[Arny Krueger]

"Varghese Devassy" > wrote in message
om
> Hi,
>
> I would like to get some assistance regarding selection of amp and
> speakers for stereo. I have listened to two combinations of amp and
> speakers. They are:
>
> 1. Rotel RA1060 with B&W DM603
> 2. NAD C350 with KEF

Smart move number one about building a system is not to spend too much money
on electronics, and instead save your bread for buying speakers and
improving room acoustics, not to mention some nice new recordings to listen
to.

> I would have preferred to listen to other combinations as well (Rotel
> with KEF, NAD with B&W). Unfortunately, they are at two different
> shops. I find both KEF and B&W to be very smooth sounding. I was
> earlier considering PSB Image 4T but, dropped the idea after listening
> to KEF and B&W. I am wondering what combinations I should select. I
> listen to India Classical, Jazz and Rock and my listening volume level
> is between 9 and 10 positions

Good amps sound pretty much the same with any reasonable speaker. So, trying
to listen to combinations is a waste of time. Furthermore, no speaker sounds
at home like it sounds in the store. For example, had I taken seriously what
I heard in the store when I demoed my NHT 2.5i speakers, I would have left
them there. When I brought them home, I knew almost instantly that I had
made a really good choice.

The moral is that you should look for a store with a good variety of
speakers, and has a good return/exchange policy. If the store has used
and/or demo speakers they want to sell you and is more flexible with them,
and they are good speakers, work with them. I bought a pair of demo
Paradigms and I still really like them. Their *problem* was that they were
last year's model and were discontinued. Speaker technology moves on, but
pretty slowly. You're better off with a last year's model that are
well-designed and built, rather than getting this year's model that is
mediocre. Who makes good speakers? Lots of people but my favorite brands are
Paradigm, PSB, Boston Acoustics and NHT.

> I have the following questions:
> 1. If I have an option to go higher in Quality, should I spend money
> on speakers or the amp

Speakers, no doubt! Seriously. If you upgrade from a $200 Pioneer receiver
to $2,000 worth of separates (I have both) your major benefits are
remarkably subtle considering the extreme price difference. In your first
system, there's a lot to be said for keeping things simple.

> 2. I have been reading about tube amps lately and it seems they sound
> more warm and realistic. I have no prior experience with them. Should
> I consider them at all. I know the local shop carries a model called
> "Cary"

Tubes are for boobs. Seriously. They are a niche, specialty, boutique thing.
Time to get on with just building a good system. Tube amps do have to be
matched to the speakers you use them with, and this is a problem for people
who just want to get on with the serious business of listening to music.
Their price/performance is miserable.

> 3. Any suggestions on a good CD player and a cassette-deck

A good DVD player will play CDs as well as anything. I can't stand to listen
to cassettes on a good system, what with all the noise, compression and
distortion, so you're might want to ask someone else about them.

If I had to buy a another cassette machine for myself, I'd be prone to pick
up a good used Tascam on eBay. I work with them all the time and they are
built like a tank and keep on ticking. But for casual use, sub-$100 cassette
machines were once amazingly good performers, for a while. The medium is
really limited, sonically and spending the big bucks wisely primarily gets
you durability, not more sound quality.

> This is my first purchase of hi-fi stereo equipment and therefore
> knowledge on most of the products is limited. Any other companies
> should I consider. I am willing to spend around Can $2000 - 2500 on
> the amp + speaker combination

If you spend $2K on a pair of speakers plus a subwoofer, you can end up with
a system that really sings. Spending more than $500 on a receiver and a disc
player for a system in this price range is IMO & IME sheerest folly. I say
this as a person whose main system set him back about $6K.

I have to admit that if I had to do it all over again, I might consider not
building a big home system at all. My life's too busy to sit down and listen
to music and nothing else for more than a few hours a week. My last audio
purchase was a Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox 3 and a pair of Sony MDR EX70LP
ear buds. I really like being able to choose from my favorite music where I
am without fiddling with discs, working from the equivalent of about 50 CDs.
There's 20 GB of disk so I don't have to tolerate listening to MP3 files.
Under $300 for the whole enchilada. But I'm thinking about upgrading the
"speakers"...

[Neil]

(Varghese Devassy) wrote in message >...
> Hi,
>
> I would like to get some assistance regarding selection of amp and
> speakers for stereo. I have listened to two combinations of amp and
> speakers. They are:
>
> 1. Rotel RA1060 with B&W DM603
> 2. NAD C350 with KEF
>
> I would have preferred to listen to other combinations as well (Rotel
> with KEF, NAD with B&W). Unfortunately, they are at two different
> shops. I find both KEF and B&W to be very smooth sounding.

If you like both systems equally, buy the cheaper. Otherwise, just buy
whatever system you like best. Remember to consider ease of use and
how the gear will look in your home.

Most of all, buy what sounds good to you. The speakers are the most
important thing in terms of how the system will sound, so focus on the
speakers.

Also remember that if you don't like what you buy, you can probably
return it or sell it and buy new gear later.

>I was
> earlier considering PSB Image 4T but, dropped the idea after listening
> to KEF and B&W. I am wondering what combinations I should select. I
> listen to India Classical, Jazz and Rock and my listening volume level
> is between 9 and 10 positions

My only concern there is that you may be listening at such a loud
level that you're damaging your hearing, and the damage will be
permanent.

> I have the following questions:
> 1. If I have an option to go higher in Quality, should I spend money
> on speakers or the amp

Speakers. They make the biggest difference by far.

> 2. I have been reading about tube amps lately and it seems they sound
> more warm and realistic. I have no prior experience with them. Should
> I consider them at all.

There's a lot of hype and mythology attached to tube amps. Compared to
solid-state amps, tube amps often offer poor reliability and mediocre
technical performance. You'll get much more for your money with
solid-state gear.

There is a mystique about tube amps. If you like a product with
mystique and that may require a lot of babying, you might like a tube
amp. If you want gear that will work well right from the start and
continue working well for as many years as you own it, solid state is
your best bet. Tube amps are like a lot of high-end consumer products:
they can be fussy and require pricey maintenance. But some people
enjoy that sort of thing.

Tube amps are so rare these days that the makers charge very high
prices. I think getting into tube gear would take up a lot of your
budget and limit your speaker budget too much.

>I know the local shop carries a model called
> "Cary"

Probably too expensive for your budget.

> 3. Any suggestions on a good CD player

So that you could probably operate all your gear from one remote, I'd
look for an inexpensive model from whatever brand you select for the
integrated amp or receiver you eventually buy.

Actually, DVD players are so cheap now, and almost all of them sound
good, I'd buy a DVD player instead. You can use that to play CDs, then
also connect it to a TV and watch movies on DVDs occasionally too,
while using the rest of your audio gear to hear the soundtracks.

>and a casette-deck

Most people these days who record these days would probably record to
CD, MiniDisc, MP3, or some other digital format. I have no ideas about
cassette decks these days.

> This is my first purchase of hi-fi stereo equipment and therefore
> knowledge on most of the products is limited. Any other companiew
> should I consider. I am willing to spend around Can $2000 - 2500 on
> the amp + speaker combination

I think the gear you mention should be fine. Just go by your ears and
budget.

If you want to read more, or possibly get an overload of info, see the
following dot coms:

ecoustics

epinions

audiogon

audioreview

You can also search the web and newsgroups via Google.com.

> Thank you
>
> Varghese Devassy