brotakul
Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2021
- Messages
- 33
- Likes
- 19
Hi there, guys! Like they say: long-time lurker, first time poster - and very excited!
I'm building my first stereo system. I have virtually no way to audition gear in my country, at a reasonable distance from my home. All decisions I make are based on the more-or-less subjective arguments and opinions I find online. As you could guess from the speakers choice, I went for a more budget system, as that's what I can afford right now.
Having said that, I went for the Diamonds for the "richer", "warmer" sound, as I tend to use the system all day long so it should be relatively easy to listen to (me and my wife do a lot of home-office, especially these days...). I'm very pleased with the Diamonds. I'm currently using a Yamaha R-N301 stereo receiver, which ticks all the right boxes, as I am deep into streaming (Spotify and Apple Music).
A few considerations:
- the stereo system is used in an ~18 square meters living-room (3.5m*5m)
- I measure around 75dB loudness as "comfortable level" at listening position (~3meters away from speakers) - living in a flat, can't/won't go much louder than this.
- I love the mids on the 230, but would appreciate detailed/airy highs and a more forward presentation in the mids too. The R-N301 feels a bit laid-back.
- won't change the speakers, so please don't recommend this. Heard B&Ws, Dali's, Focal's, they are all great!, for the first hour. Anything longer than that, not for me. Plus, i'm not looking to start over with the speakers. I feel I'm comfortable with these, they just need a bit of help...
I got the Yamaha R-N301 very cheap (used), so it was a great choice to begin with, but I'm looking to upgrade it. My complaints with it are, as follows:
- it's very neutral, uninvolved, almost feels "lifeless" in presentation
- it's not really dynamic (might actually be related to first point), it's rated at 100Wpc but it sure doesn't feel so - maybe it's poor with transient sounds, bursts and impact (small capacitors??) that makes it feel "lifeless", even if it can get loud?
From what I could gather as info until now, I came up with a "short list" of amps that should not, in any way, exceed the 1000eur budget (ideally 7-800 really..):
- go for a decent "vintage" amp on used market, like the NAD C370 - should be the cheapest solution to get good amplification for a good budget. I have a Pi with a decent DAC HAT that i can connect to it and use it, at least until I can go for something like the Bluesound Node 2i.
- Yamaha R-N803D - still Yamaha, I know, but a distant audio retailer that I contacted for advice, said that it's got better power supply (along with a better DAC, needless to say...) and it should be more dynamic to the sound. I've read the review posted here by Amirm and it seems to be quite poor outside pure-direct mode (using YPAO for example, which would be one of the selling-points for this amp), plus I've also read (on the comparison thread between R-N803/A-S801/A-s701 that all these amps are really AVRs from the 90s, tech wise, with streaming function added to them - this really puts me off, since an R-N803 is still nearly 1000eur in my country and I feel it's not worth the money.
- Cambridge CXA61 - fits great within budget, can use the Pi with it, has great reviews all around, but I'm concerned about the 60Wpc power output. Will it affect the dynamics of the amp? Sure, the CXA81 will probably be better, but it's just too expensive, well above the budget. Unfortunately, the prices are really high in my country. When I look at places like UK or US... damn man, the envy.... )
- Cambridge Azur 851 - it's on HUGE sale for quite some time here, down to around 1000eur (same as R-N803), sure it has no streaming features, but it has lots of power and it just seems so much more as a "proper" amp (big toroidal power supply, clean design inside (electronics), it "feels" well built. But.... I read a lot of complaints online on the reliability of this amp and other Cambridge gear, which again puts me off. I just don't know if it's worth it. On the other hand, from what I understand, the Cambridge sound should be more "forward" and "lively" than the Yamaha and it would probably go just great with the Diamonds! Frankly, who am i kidding here, I just don't know...
So there you have it. Honestly, I want to get what everybody wants: the best for the buck, but with a focus on quality. I have to admit that the integrated streaming features of the Yamaha sound great and it would probably be the easiest, most comfortable unit to use out of all, but the idea of being an old-design, feature-stipped frankenstein AVR for that much money... I could honestly give up on the streaming features (in the end, I could always get a cheapo wxad-10, or the better Bluesound) and in turn go for the better built integrated amp.
So, what do you think? is the Yamaha a good sounding compromise? Or should I go for a more classic amp like the Cambridge? Or maybe go used and cheap, because the choices within the given budget are simply not worth it?
Thanks for chipping in with ideas.
I'm building my first stereo system. I have virtually no way to audition gear in my country, at a reasonable distance from my home. All decisions I make are based on the more-or-less subjective arguments and opinions I find online. As you could guess from the speakers choice, I went for a more budget system, as that's what I can afford right now.
Having said that, I went for the Diamonds for the "richer", "warmer" sound, as I tend to use the system all day long so it should be relatively easy to listen to (me and my wife do a lot of home-office, especially these days...). I'm very pleased with the Diamonds. I'm currently using a Yamaha R-N301 stereo receiver, which ticks all the right boxes, as I am deep into streaming (Spotify and Apple Music).
A few considerations:
- the stereo system is used in an ~18 square meters living-room (3.5m*5m)
- I measure around 75dB loudness as "comfortable level" at listening position (~3meters away from speakers) - living in a flat, can't/won't go much louder than this.
- I love the mids on the 230, but would appreciate detailed/airy highs and a more forward presentation in the mids too. The R-N301 feels a bit laid-back.
- won't change the speakers, so please don't recommend this. Heard B&Ws, Dali's, Focal's, they are all great!, for the first hour. Anything longer than that, not for me. Plus, i'm not looking to start over with the speakers. I feel I'm comfortable with these, they just need a bit of help...
I got the Yamaha R-N301 very cheap (used), so it was a great choice to begin with, but I'm looking to upgrade it. My complaints with it are, as follows:
- it's very neutral, uninvolved, almost feels "lifeless" in presentation
- it's not really dynamic (might actually be related to first point), it's rated at 100Wpc but it sure doesn't feel so - maybe it's poor with transient sounds, bursts and impact (small capacitors??) that makes it feel "lifeless", even if it can get loud?
From what I could gather as info until now, I came up with a "short list" of amps that should not, in any way, exceed the 1000eur budget (ideally 7-800 really..):
- go for a decent "vintage" amp on used market, like the NAD C370 - should be the cheapest solution to get good amplification for a good budget. I have a Pi with a decent DAC HAT that i can connect to it and use it, at least until I can go for something like the Bluesound Node 2i.
- Yamaha R-N803D - still Yamaha, I know, but a distant audio retailer that I contacted for advice, said that it's got better power supply (along with a better DAC, needless to say...) and it should be more dynamic to the sound. I've read the review posted here by Amirm and it seems to be quite poor outside pure-direct mode (using YPAO for example, which would be one of the selling-points for this amp), plus I've also read (on the comparison thread between R-N803/A-S801/A-s701 that all these amps are really AVRs from the 90s, tech wise, with streaming function added to them - this really puts me off, since an R-N803 is still nearly 1000eur in my country and I feel it's not worth the money.
- Cambridge CXA61 - fits great within budget, can use the Pi with it, has great reviews all around, but I'm concerned about the 60Wpc power output. Will it affect the dynamics of the amp? Sure, the CXA81 will probably be better, but it's just too expensive, well above the budget. Unfortunately, the prices are really high in my country. When I look at places like UK or US... damn man, the envy.... )
- Cambridge Azur 851 - it's on HUGE sale for quite some time here, down to around 1000eur (same as R-N803), sure it has no streaming features, but it has lots of power and it just seems so much more as a "proper" amp (big toroidal power supply, clean design inside (electronics), it "feels" well built. But.... I read a lot of complaints online on the reliability of this amp and other Cambridge gear, which again puts me off. I just don't know if it's worth it. On the other hand, from what I understand, the Cambridge sound should be more "forward" and "lively" than the Yamaha and it would probably go just great with the Diamonds! Frankly, who am i kidding here, I just don't know...
So there you have it. Honestly, I want to get what everybody wants: the best for the buck, but with a focus on quality. I have to admit that the integrated streaming features of the Yamaha sound great and it would probably be the easiest, most comfortable unit to use out of all, but the idea of being an old-design, feature-stipped frankenstein AVR for that much money... I could honestly give up on the streaming features (in the end, I could always get a cheapo wxad-10, or the better Bluesound) and in turn go for the better built integrated amp.
So, what do you think? is the Yamaha a good sounding compromise? Or should I go for a more classic amp like the Cambridge? Or maybe go used and cheap, because the choices within the given budget are simply not worth it?
Thanks for chipping in with ideas.