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Posted
  petetherock said:
Ah the SR 12, well no one will pay anywhere near 8k, and I am not sure how much it will fetch, it is a real beauty and even now, it is IMO the finest AV amp in looks and for music. But I have a rule, one in, one out...

Am also considering selling my mod SA 8003 and getting a Oppo BD 83SE.... might start a thread on this.... (the Oppo is to help me dad) - this stereo system is mainly his thing - the Oppo SE will be good for music, and allow him a simple way of playing his movies, all from the same device.

Right now Audio Iconic sells the SE for about SING 1500 with a Region Free mod.

marantz dont make them like they used to, the sr series was it, didnt see anything remotely resembling that stuff from marantz since. being a non hdmi/hd audio legacy amp you might be a little shocked how little people will want to pay for them though. doesnt diminsh the quality of it. just means maybe better off using it for a bedroom system or giving it to a very appreciative relative/friend if it turns out you want to move it on.

  petetherock said:
Oh BTW, on closer scrutiny, I Cannot just stick my Ipod in the the USB port!

Its only meant for PCs?

And I need some kind of a USB B to A converter.... sigh....

Who keeps their PC near a hi fi rack....

If the Mac Mini were cheaper, it would be an interesting option...

it is one of the big confusions re usb dacs. it isnt for a ipods at all. or for plugging a transport straight in. it is designed indeed just for plugging in a pc is what the manual says. a mac mini would work as beleive it is compatible for both mac and pc. I never used the usb dac in the a1 but can say a quality analog ipod dock like the ca id50 or the arcam irdock will be probably be the best solution if want to hook up an ipod to a 2ch analog system. ps pete I beleive you can download all mf manuals even if now superceded. worth flicking through if your amp didnt come with one.

I wouldnt keep a pc next to a hifi rack. a mac mini maybe. for cost, an older mac mini could be an option, now the new one has hit the street. the older ones will be dumped on ebay and resellers and the like. could pick up a bargain. I'd want to try it out first with a pc though I reckon see just how useable it is as an interface. be nothing worse if need to get a mouse and keyboard involved. though there is a remote for the mac mini, but not sure its use for this kind of thing :)

so come on how you finding its sound in your setup ?

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Posted
  petetherock said:
Who keeps their PC near a hi fi rack....

Me? Or as what Singaporeans tend to say, akan datang (Malay for coming soon...).

  :) said:
I wouldnt keep a pc next to a hifi rack.

+1. PCs are extremely noisy interference wise. The ground signal corrupts everything - HDMI, VGA, USB, Coaxial, analog. The power supply. The radio frequencies emitted by the CPU/GPU, other interferences emitted by HDD, etc. The VFD on the case if one chooses to use it is a noise maker. And prob worse if it's a LCD touch screen. The slow boot up. The list of negatives is pretty long really.

Results are acceptable when doing Blu Ray and playing PVR duties (they do a good job in my system).. But as a dedicated 2 channel source, it just seems impossible and a very very very bad idea.. But I'm still thinking of attempting this anyway... Don't even know why I want to do this knowing I'd face certain failure :wacko: .. Will not be easy though...

Posted

Some PC's especially when new make less noise that HD-DVD players and PVRs. B)

I have one under my desk at work at the moment that I can barely hear (touch wood).

Posted
  :) said:
ah you got the a3.5 ! excellent to hear that thrilled by the sound ! common wheres the pics as well ?

Yeah mate, and very happy i did.

Pics to come :winky:

Posted
  whitenoise said:
Congrats Pete, you won't be disappointed!

Regarding the oppo, not too sure but I was underwhelmed pairing the marantz SA8003 with my A5 amps then.

what are you saying white noise, prefered the sa8003 vs the oppo ? think pete has the 8003 player already so thats probably good news for him :)

Posted

I did the audio shootout before and the SE was better than my modified 8003.

If I can sell it, then it makes sense to get the Oppo which is a one box device which I can let my dad watch TV, his DVDs, BR and also enjoy good music.

Posted
  :) said:
what are you saying white noise, prefered the sa8003 vs the oppo ? think pete has the 8003 player already so thats probably good news for him :)

Sorry should make myself a bit clear. I'm not too sure bout the oppo itself as I havent tested it. With the sa8003 though, I found that the lower ranges was a tad bit 'rough' as if the bass were mixed together.

Now I think that it's more due to the pairing than the player itself as I've tested the same player on a denon/paradigm and a MF/JM Focal electra setup. The highs smooths out on both setups, but on the MF/JM Focal it somehow sounded a tad bit poorer in lower ranges.

I wonder if the MF setup is just plain fussy :P

Posted
  whitenoise said:
Sorry should make myself a bit clear. I'm not too sure bout the oppo itself as I havent tested it. With the sa8003 though, I found that the lower ranges was a tad bit 'rough' as if the bass were mixed together.

Now I think that it's more due to the pairing than the player itself as I've tested the same player on a denon/paradigm and a MF/JM Focal electra setup. The highs smooths out on both setups, but on the MF/JM Focal it somehow sounded a tad bit poorer in lower ranges.

I wonder if the MF setup is just plain fussy :P

Ah ok white noise, probably highlights the importance demoing as you have to pick on details like this when purchasing to suit your needs :)

Posted

First impressions are not good... with my SACD 8003 mod - there is suddenly no balls! The bass is a hint rather than the resounding thump?

Clarity is there, but without the bass, it sounds a bit bright to my surprise... I checked all the connections... will try again tomorrow...

Moving the !@@#$ SR 12 (28kg) and then the MF (16.6kg) was a real ****...

Posted
  petetherock said:
First impressions are not good... with my SACD 8003 mod - there is suddenly no balls! The bass is a hint rather than the resounding thump?

Clarity is there, but without the bass, it sounds a bit bright to my surprise... I checked all the connections... will try again tomorrow...

Moving the !@@#$ SR 12 (28kg) and then the MF (16.6kg) was a real ****...

I'm not too surprised there pete. As stated in my previous post, matching the SA8003 with the MF just didn't do it for me. But yea try checking to see if you've missed anything.

Posted
  petetherock said:
First impressions are not good... with my SACD 8003 mod - there is suddenly no balls! The bass is a hint rather than the resounding thump?

Clarity is there, but without the bass, it sounds a bit bright to my surprise... I checked all the connections... will try again tomorrow...

Moving the !@@#$ SR 12 (28kg) and then the MF (16.6kg) was a real ****...

depends what your chasing I guess, if its overblown warmth and rolled off treble you wont find that in the mf, its a pretty clean sound. no shortage of balls, a gutsy amp infact, had no trouble driving my utopia divas which are a very substantial speaker. so I'd say either something wrong in the hook up or just not your cup of tea :)

Posted

Hey guys

Its a little troubling that after a couple of days of running (considering that it was 2nd hand), my A 5.5 + B/W 805s + SA 8003 sounds quite bright, and the bass seems to have been lopped off?

I am using the same i/c and cables - Oyaide i/c and anti-cables. Would appreciate some advice. I am thinking of the Oppo Nuforce Edition as a new source.

Posted
  petetherock said:
Hey guys

Its a little troubling that after a couple of days of running (considering that it was 2nd hand), my A 5.5 + B/W 805s + SA 8003 sounds quite bright, and the bass seems to have been lopped off?

I am using the same i/c and cables - Oyaide i/c and anti-cables. Would appreciate some advice. I am thinking of the Oppo Nuforce Edition as a new source.

Pete the b&w 805s bookshelf by their very nature are bright in sound and with a limited bass response. So unless using something very dull in sound or overblown in the bass for source or amp, it's probably this overriding character of the speaker that will shine through.

So I would suggest changing source from something like the marantz to the oppo is unlikely to make dramatic changes in sound character unless it were that the marantz was that anemic in the bass or bright in the top end and the oppo by nature was the opposite ?. Otherwise perhaps a valve cd source worth considering, which depending in one used my infuse some bass bloom, or top end silkiness if that what looking for.

On the other hand if it's the amp swap not agreeing with overall system balance to your taste. I would return it, obviously not your cup of tea.

Posted

Thanks, I had pretty deep bass, and a warm texture with the SR 12, but that seems gone now, so I am a little puzzled, at this shift, considering the MFs are supposed to be neutral to warm?

Posted

Over the course of the weekend, I have tried various combinations of cables, also making sure the connections are tight and all, but the bass simply disappeared...

It was just lightweight in nature so I finally switched back to my SR 12, and much to my surprise, the bass was back and the sound was good, perhaps not as clean, but it actually sounded better....

I guess I will be letting a friend have my MF along with my SA 8003 and instead of upgrading my amp, I will instead get the Oppo Nuforce...

Posted
  petetherock said:
Over the course of the weekend, I have tried various combinations of cables, also making sure the connections are tight and all, but the bass simply disappeared...

It was just lightweight in nature so I finally switched back to my SR 12, and much to my surprise, the bass was back and the sound was good, perhaps not as clean, but it actually sounded better....

I guess I will be letting a friend have my MF along with my SA 8003 and instead of upgrading my amp, I will instead get the Oppo Nuforce...

It's a shame you didn't like it Pete, but hey, if you never try you'll never know.

And no reason you should lose money in this situation. If your friend doesn't want it i'm sure it'll sell here, SNA or ebay very easily at no loss to you.

Posted

Yes a pity, but knowing that my SR 12 can withstand comparison to such an amp is also comforting. Besides I have grown quite fond of it.

Anyhow, a friend wants to built a stereo system around it, along with my Mod SACD, and a new Totem Arro....stay tuned...

Posted

As those of you who have been giving me tips and advice know, the initial experience with the A 5.5 has been dismal, somehow the bass vanished.

Anyway, I decided that before I consider selling it, I should hook it up and let my dad mess around with it a bit.

Then tonight I listened to it, and the bass came back! It was a sweet treble, a good mid and the solid bass I was used to with my SR 12. And it was tighter by a tad but still plunged the depths. It came alive after 9 oclock, at lower volumes, the amp was a rather tame beast, and the 805s thrived on the power fed to it, but anything more, my neighbours and my ears will be blown...

So the journey continues and I am keeping it for a little demo with friends this weekend. A friend will bring his A 3.5 over for a test as well.

Cheers

Posted
  petetherock said:
As those of you who have been giving me tips and advice know, the initial experience with the A 5.5 has been dismal, somehow the bass vanished.

Anyway, I decided that before I consider selling it, I should hook it up and let my dad mess around with it a bit.

Then tonight I listened to it, and the bass came back! It was a sweet treble, a good mid and the solid bass I was used to with my SR 12. And it was tighter by a tad but still plunged the depths. It came alive after 9 oclock, at lower volumes, the amp was a rather tame beast, and the 805s thrived on the power fed to it, but anything more, my neighbours and my ears will be blown...

So the journey continues and I am keeping it for a little demo with friends this weekend. A friend will bring his A 3.5 over for a test as well.

Cheers

That's great to hear Pete, and much like how i find my A5i. It's deffinately no bass monster, but should sound very natural.

Do let us know how it compares to the A3.5 please, as i came very close to buying one instead of my A5. If the A3.5 had a phono input i'd probably own it right now, but figured by the time i add a phono stage i may aswell just pay the extra few hundred for the A5.

Enjoy the weekend.

Matt

Posted (edited)

When I had the A5-5 the bass was very nice it was deep and tight it had a lot of bass behind it, I also had the A5 and the bass behind that was no where near as good as the A5-5. but Know I have the New M6i and it's a lot better amp then both the A5 and the A5-5 the imaging is better the bass response is better and the sound is more open with dynamic to die for. Also do note that the M6i does not have a Phono stage on so if anyone is going to buy it just a heads up.

Edited by Musical
Posted
  (_*_) said:
That's great to hear Pete, and much like how i find my A5i. It's deffinately no bass monster, but should sound very natural.

Do let us know how it compares to the A3.5 please, as i came very close to buying one instead of my A5. If the A3.5 had a phono input i'd probably own it right now, but figured by the time i add a phono stage i may aswell just pay the extra few hundred for the A5.

Enjoy the weekend.

Matt

Thanks but don't get me wrong, the bass is incredible now, deep yet tight, even better than with my SR 12.

Somehow when I hooked it up again the sound is back. It may have been an error in how I connected the last time.

The sonic signature is sweet yet detailed and even my pop stuff sounds very nice.

I look forward to swopping out my SACD 8003 mod to a Oppo Nuforce soon.

Cheers.

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