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Stereo Set, which amp should I choose? Cambridge CXA81, Arcam A25+ or Cambridge EXA1000

Amir tested the Silver 100 6G here: Silver 100 Review

The 6G and 7G are very close. I’ve owned my Silver100 6G for 6 years or so. They are very good.
A remarkable aspect of the Silver 100 6G is the extremely low bass distortion. OTOH -3 dB appears to be high at about 70 Hz.

Personally I suspect that speaker distortion doesn't get the consideration it deserves. Frequency response and time domain issues can be mitigated by using a FIR filter but distortion cannot.
 
@luisfelipe_lfo

I think you're on a crossroad that could either take you a lot of money and years to discover what makes are real difference or set a path that makes it easy and clear.

We've all been where we believed amps have a sound signature, speakers are like instruments and people all have a different preference. I've been there and looking back it's been a massive waste of time and money. If I can, I would like to point you in the direction so you don't need to go through the same confusion I had to.

That's why I would recommend you look for speakers that have a smooth frequency curve on axis, and an off axis (10, 20, 30 degrees) a frequency curve that follows the same line. This means that the direct sound you get from the speakers is as much as possible the same as the music that is being played and you and others in the room experience pretty much the same.

It also means you can easily adjust the sound to your liking.

A good example of that would be any speaker from Genelec, with an special mention from me for the G series (G3, G4 for your room probably, you can ask Genelec for advice). Now this is powered speakers, so the power amp is in there but the preamp needs to be bought seperately. I personally have enjoyed music more and better since I've gone this route.

Passive speakers, with no amplification in them, need to have the same traits to be considered good by listeners in a blind test. Results are published here on asr and spinorama.org. From personal experience the Elac dbr62 are very good, enjoyable and exceptional for the money. Kef is too, so is Revel. A very good diy option apparently is the Audio first Fidelia.

However, in my experience you soon reach a level where upgrades in speakers make less sense. Ime if you have a good two way speaker, so tweeter for the highs, woofer for the mid and lows, if you get the basics right as described above there is a lot more to be gained from a subwoofer and a (dac/preamp/amp) that has a crossover for the sub plus an ability to apply eq.

In my experience this makes a massive difference, compared to a small one for speakers if we're talking about say 750 euros for speakers compared to say 2000 - 4000 euros for speakers.

That's why I would recommend you keep on the path you are with the Denon avr or choose a Wiim ultra or a Lyngdorf. Choosing speakers is far and away the most important. Of the speakers you listed imo only the Kef are ok. Look up speakers here on asr, watch a video, listen to Genelec to get a sense of what I mean.

Hope you do well. All the best.
My friend, thank you for the advice. What you said makes a lot of sense. In the audiophile world, the sky's the limit, we often spend a fortune and aren't satisfied.

I'll take a look at those Genelec speakers.
 
i would get the kef Q concerto meta, better bass performance then the ls50 less expensive easy placement for a bedroom, upgrade the DAC (perhaps DAC + streamer combo ).
Keep the Denon (make sure your Denon is in Stereo mode and not any Surround mode), and Sub, look to adding a 2nd sub down the road.
 
i would get the kef Q concerto meta, better bass performance then the ls50 less expensive easy placement for a bedroom, upgrade the DAC (perhaps DAC + streamer combo ).
Keep the Denon (make sure your Denon is in Stereo mode and not any Surround mode), and Sub, look to adding a 2nd sub down the road.
I’ve heard the 606 S3 today at the showroom and I didn’t like.

Probably I’ll add the DAC + Streamer.

My Denon is in Direct Mode, for me sounds better than Stereo. Another sub to my bedroom is too much!
 
I’ve heard the 606 S3 today at the showroom and I didn’t like.

Probably I’ll add the DAC + Streamer.

My Denon is in Direct Mode, for me sounds better than Stereo. Another sub to my bedroom is too much!
What other speaker brands does the store have? Just curious what the market is in your location.
 
I've seen quite a few comments about Brazil over the years being of limited choice for good audio gear and high costs compared to what many of us are used to.
 
If you do go Genelec route then your amp situation gets taken care of :) Curious what Genelecs go for where you are....good luck!
 
I've seen quite a few comments about Brazil over the years being of limited choice for good audio gear and high costs compared to what many of us are used to.
That’s totally true! The import taxes here is way too high! We’ve to pay 60% in import taxes :mad:
 
If you do go Genelec route then your amp situation gets taken care of :) Curious what Genelecs go for where you are....good luck!
I did a search in the Genelec speakers, but, don’t convinced me. Perhaps, I’ll buy a DAC + Streamer first, then, we see what happens.
 
To the OP: Spend some time looking at https://www.spinorama.org/index.html It's a compilation of speaker measurements. Contains a lot of data measured by Amir and also Erin. There's a function for comparing speakers, and also a ranking function. I'd use the ranking only to narrow your search some, and not get too hung up on relative rankings that are fairly close together. Lots of folks here can help you understand what the charts mean.
 
To the OP: Spend some time looking at https://www.spinorama.org/index.html It's a compilation of speaker measurements. Contains a lot of data measured by Amir and also Erin. There's a function for comparing speakers, and also a ranking function. I'd use the ranking only to narrow your search some, and not get too hung up on relative rankings that are fairly close together. Lots of folks here can help you understand what the charts mean.
Thank you!
 
I did a search in the Genelec speakers, but, don’t convinced me. Perhaps, I’ll buy a DAC + Streamer first, then, we see what happens.
They're among the best regarded speakers available in general. You already have a dac. Looking at new speakers is a better route, whether actively amplified like Genelecs, or not.
 
Hi guys.

After a quick view in some reviews and also an excellent support from you, I've decided to choose the KEF R3 Meta. I'll buy them only in November/December.

EDIT: I've just saw the KEF R3 is 4 ohms :facepalm:, so, I've to re-think all over again.
 
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A remarkable aspect of the Silver 100 6G is the extremely low bass distortion. OTOH -3 dB appears to be high at about 70 Hz.

Personally I suspect that speaker distortion doesn't get the consideration it deserves. Frequency response and time domain issues can be mitigated by using a FIR filter but distortion cannot.
That 70hz -3db threshold bass response is anechoic. The in-room response goes deeper. I also use an equalizer app to push the bass a little deeper. Granted, the Silver 100 6g is an older design but the drivers are very high quality which compensates. They are small with a high quality finish. The bass is quite satisfying with a little help.
 
I have an "idiot" question, but, ask doesn't offends anyone. I know the AVR 3808ci output it's 8 ohms for all 5 channels. If I plug a 4 ohms speakers only in 2 channels, is it going to f* up?
 
I have an "idiot" question, but, ask doesn't offends anyone. I know the AVR 3808ci output it's 8 ohms for all 5 channels. If I plug a 4 ohms speakers only in 2 channels, is it going to f* up?
No.
 
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