Hi,
Over the years, I have gone through a lot of gear, but I haven’t really made a substantive change to my stereo system. I have always been a headphone guy, and I do most of my listening on my HD650’s or Audeze LCD-3’s. A big part of the attraction of headphones to me has been that it’s far cheaper to achieve a very high level of sound quality compared to speakers. A $400 headphone amplifier with a $400 pair of headphones gives you more bang for your buck than a $400 integrated and a $400 pair of speakers, I’m sure many of you would agree. Of course, headphone listening isn‘t the same as speaker listening, but you get what I mean.
I would like to start to do more listening on my actual stereo, which, since 2012 or so, has been a Marantz 2275 from 1976 and a pair of Paradigm Mini Monitor v.7 speakers (around $550 new) on stands. Earlier this year, I added a Carver CT-7 preamp, as I desperately wanted a remote volume control, and I‘m now only using the Marantz as a power amplifier. It sounds good, but something is missing. I think it’s mostly detail, when I compare it to how my headphones sound. The Marantz has been a very trusty receiver and I haven’t had any problems with it (knock on wood), but I have a (possibly irrational) fear of turning it on and leaving it on for 8 hours, when I’m only going to be listening to music for a few of those hours. I checked the DC offset and it’s spot on, but I’m sure there are at least some components from 44 years ago that are not quite in spec anymore.
I like the sound signature of the Paradigm monitors a lot; they remind me somewhat of my HD-650‘s. I tried a pair of JBL 530’s for about a month last year. They were new and exciting, but I found the sound more fatiguing over time and not as engaging. As it stands, I’m not quite sure where to go first in terms of upgrades. My instinct is to upgrade the amplification area, as I think the age of the receiver is what makes me the most uncomfortable with using the system. Even if the speakers don’t scale up very much with it, I could upgrade those later. Now, do I buy something like a Yamaha A-S801 new? Or, do I spend a few hundred more and buy something well-regarded in good condition, say, 10 years old, that was a few grand when it was new? I’m more inclined to go with the latter option. I want whatever I end up getting to be something I keep for the next decade or so.
I’m more wary of upgrading my speakers at the moment, as that’s far likelier to drastically change the sound than new amplification.
Maybe you have a different idea! Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
Over the years, I have gone through a lot of gear, but I haven’t really made a substantive change to my stereo system. I have always been a headphone guy, and I do most of my listening on my HD650’s or Audeze LCD-3’s. A big part of the attraction of headphones to me has been that it’s far cheaper to achieve a very high level of sound quality compared to speakers. A $400 headphone amplifier with a $400 pair of headphones gives you more bang for your buck than a $400 integrated and a $400 pair of speakers, I’m sure many of you would agree. Of course, headphone listening isn‘t the same as speaker listening, but you get what I mean.
I would like to start to do more listening on my actual stereo, which, since 2012 or so, has been a Marantz 2275 from 1976 and a pair of Paradigm Mini Monitor v.7 speakers (around $550 new) on stands. Earlier this year, I added a Carver CT-7 preamp, as I desperately wanted a remote volume control, and I‘m now only using the Marantz as a power amplifier. It sounds good, but something is missing. I think it’s mostly detail, when I compare it to how my headphones sound. The Marantz has been a very trusty receiver and I haven’t had any problems with it (knock on wood), but I have a (possibly irrational) fear of turning it on and leaving it on for 8 hours, when I’m only going to be listening to music for a few of those hours. I checked the DC offset and it’s spot on, but I’m sure there are at least some components from 44 years ago that are not quite in spec anymore.
I like the sound signature of the Paradigm monitors a lot; they remind me somewhat of my HD-650‘s. I tried a pair of JBL 530’s for about a month last year. They were new and exciting, but I found the sound more fatiguing over time and not as engaging. As it stands, I’m not quite sure where to go first in terms of upgrades. My instinct is to upgrade the amplification area, as I think the age of the receiver is what makes me the most uncomfortable with using the system. Even if the speakers don’t scale up very much with it, I could upgrade those later. Now, do I buy something like a Yamaha A-S801 new? Or, do I spend a few hundred more and buy something well-regarded in good condition, say, 10 years old, that was a few grand when it was new? I’m more inclined to go with the latter option. I want whatever I end up getting to be something I keep for the next decade or so.
I’m more wary of upgrading my speakers at the moment, as that’s far likelier to drastically change the sound than new amplification.
Maybe you have a different idea! Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben