Upgrading the DAC sounds like a good idea , it could be my next upgrade. Initially i planned my upgrades in 3 installments, amp first, then speakers, finally the CDP. But after i heard the music coming out from a Unison Research Hybrid Amp + the Yamaha NS-7390 (speaker from my HT system) , i've decided that combo just wouldn't work for me for obvious reason (RM6500 amp + RM600 speakers ).

So now, i'm spliting the investment into amp + Concertino Home. I'd like to listen to Jazz Vocals on the valve amp + Concertino Home combo, but I'm affraid they might not sound good with Pop/Rock music .

I'll be listening to Marantz PM7200 at the dealer's showroom, or Rotel RA03 if they have stock. Any recommendations for amp around RM4k?

my advice to u is to change your choice of getting the sonus. sonus tend to sound a bit warm. i bet your valve set might sound warm too. so warm + warm u will get very hot u get what i mean. try get speakers whick is neutral sounding. that way u wont get too warm sound out of your set

and spend more $ on the speakers. if you get reasonably sensitive ones (~90dB/w/m or more), even a US$30 T-Amp will sound awesome (and it does). Ask infinity if there are still left over units from his MO

Locally you can look for the Audiotrak drAMP, (at about RM400?) which would probably be comparable to any amp you can get up to maybe RM1.5K

check out this thread - someone over at echoloft is driving his SG$500 Infinity Primus 360 with about 3.5W per channel...

This post has been edited by SiriuslyCold: Sep 13 2005, 01:37 AM

ProAc tablelte is another good speaker to choose for valve amp.

I bought those Concertinos and Marantz PM7200 this afternoon. Jazz vocals and Pop vocals sounded very nice, not fatiguing. But rock songs do not sound as good as i heard from the showroom, and i am hoping it's because the speakers need its break-in period .

Somehow, i hope that the Primare D20 CDP and fancy cables used during the listening session in the showroom are NOT the reasons .

But i think it's safer to start from a simpler setup, let the system run for couple of weeks in my listening environment. See what's missing, then only go about adjusting the system's sound by upgrading/changing the weakest link.

By the way, i listened to the Concertinos driven with Primare A20, imho, they do not sound as interesting as concertino-marantz, regardless that A20 is an amplifier another level up from the PM7200. Maybe A20 is a warm amplifier, and like what scotty said "warm + warm" just didn't work.

Case, congrats... enjoy your system!

you are comparing a Primare CDP with your Akira DVD player... bit unfair to expect them to be close, no?

what are you using for stands?

Thanks, SiriuslyCold.

Yeah, talk about "you only get what u paid for..." huh, maybe i'll try Yeo's Monica2 incorporated into the DVD Player. I wonder would it do any good, because the error correction of this Akira is so "Geng Chou" that it could play cracked CDs . IMHO, could either mean the signals coming from the digital out probably are not Hi-Fi anymore, or the other way around, since the player can read almost anything it has a very good laser pickup? Hence more acurate signals? .

I use a pair of wooden DIY speaker stand. For what it is worth, i am not going to spend RM1800 to get the Sonus Faber's dedicated speaker stand for Concertino , I'd rather spend it on my CDP if you know what i mean .

I know what u mean - but a solid stand is almost as important to good bookshelf speakers (some lightweight [IKEA] stands suck bass)

lets look at the DAC this way it's job is to separate the transport from the conversion - as long as it's getting a good digital stream with no errors, it should do fine; u need to chat with Yeo specifically about MonicaII but there not that many you can get for that price.

I have a dedicatd pair of stand, which i once used for my KEF. That time, it costs abt RM280. Lead-filled it and it didnt suck bass but it is quite heavy (abt 20kg+ per stand)

I also used blu-tack to absorb some of the vibrations at the same time sticking the spkr to the stand.

Anyone knows how much is QED Qunex P75 interconnect??..........Any good recommendations for digital coaxial cable ?

This post has been edited by Logic7: Sep 18 2005, 10:33 PM

Not too sure but you can check with CMY in Sg Wang. They are carrying it.

just thought u are would be interested .. copied from "Home Theater Offer" thread

Perfect Hifi sdn bhd

This the is ceiling price people .. u can get them cheaper

HIFI SYSTEM PROMOTION

System 1
Promotion Price RM2,899.00

Marantz CD-5400
Marantz PM-4400
AE-Aegis Evo One

System 2
Promotion Price RM5,399.00

Marantz CD-7300
Marantz PM-7200 (ClassA Intergrated)
AE-Aegis Evo Three

System 3
Promotion Price RM3,999.00

NAD CD-521BEE
NAD CR-320BEE
AE-Aegis Evo One

System 4
Promotion Price RM7,599.00

NAD C-542 CD (Titanium)
NAD C-352 Amp (Titanium)
Sonus Faber Concertino

HI-END HIFI SYSTEM

System 1
Promotion Price RM14,999.00

Melody SP-3II
Sonus Faber Concerto Piano Dumus

System 2
Promotion Price RM23,999.00

Sonus Faber Musica
Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus Black

System 3
Promotion Price RM29,999.00

Audio Research VSi55
Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor

System 4
Promotion Price RM69,999.00

Goldmund SR-Universal Player(SACD/DVD-A)
Goldmund SR 2.3 Pre Amp
Goldmund SR 2.3 Power Amp
Sonus Faber Cremona

http://www.hiwaylaser.com/stereo_package

dislaimer - i do not recommend any of the stuffs that i have posted here unless other wise stated. This is because i have no experience in using them. I can also give recommendation based on own experiences of using them. Links to third party websites and/or picture hotlinks and/or configuration informations are just of the readers' knowlege.

Wow, a clause. g5sim, i dont think we Malaysians are that bad ler, suing us for what we post for the advantages and info. to all of us.

hometheaterkaki - just for the fun lah the post

Edited : as advice by alamaklor .. its now my sig

This post has been edited by g5sim: Sep 26 2005, 09:20 AM

Dear mod and pro kakis out there, if you find my post to be deemed useless or disturbing, please delete it or move it to oblivion

Ok here it is, after some time discussing with a very helpful mod, scotty, i have decided to venture into the audiophile world and ditch multimedia speakers!!

Erm, but i have decided on buying these stuff, but i need some help.
For a CD player, i would wana get something not 2 cheap but can play from HDCD to SACD to XRCD, like a AIO CD-player, and i particularly liked the Marantz CD5400..

For an amplifier, i've decided to get Audiotrak's DR AMP which should be around SGD150-180.. Or get myself a Sonic T-amp (if i can).

For the speakers, i have searched high and low and this is what i have managed to find out.. 2nd hand d la.. bolded ones are d ones i like

AE Aegis Evo 1
KEF Q15
Wharfdale 70th Annivesary Speakers
Mission 760i
KEF Cresta 3
Wharfedale Laserrange
Paradigm Atoms
Infinity Primus II 160
Mordaunt Short 902
NHT Super Zero
Monitor Audio B1
Wharfedale Diamond 3

But i dunno what to look out for speakers.. the THD? The impedance? The frequency range? But personally i don't like too much bass as i tend to like instrumental, classical, performance (yahor i need bass for drums), new age, vocals... or u guys could recommend me some? My budget around SGD300++ for new one..

Btw i live in quite a small room onli, but there is space for speakers placement.. so i would like a not to heavy set (speakers) <15kg..

Another things is i wana ask about is what is burn-in? (i onli know cpu burn-in or ram burn-in, but hifi burn in is how?)
Another fact is that what kind of cables must i use to notice the difference? Give me examples of some exa cheap but good ones.. decent la..

So please help me out ya!!!
Thanks

Best regards.. (btw i m buyin from Sg coz i studyin there)

This post has been edited by [Top-Gun]: Sep 26 2005, 02:24 AM

you should just put them in your sig.

Top-gun,

dun worry about specs - if you like the sound of the speakers just make sure amplifier has enough power to play at the levels you want. e.g. if you get a low powered amp - like the venerable NAD 2020 which is 20W into 8Ω, or the drAMp 7W into 8Ω (this is quite cheap in SG, about SG$250 or less) then you need speakers with sensitivity of 90db/W/m or better.

A Panasonic XR30 might be better value for $ though at only $350 and you get 5.1 channels at 100W per channel and you wont have to worry about speaker sensitivity, and the ability to expand into a full blown HT when you can get more speakers.

PM me if you want a listen to Atoms on a Panasonic XR25

Top-Gun, I bet we are from the same town.

Spekers burn-in meaning that you let it run or play for a number of hours to loosen it up. When they are new, it tends to sounds hard. Not to worry to much on the impedance and pwr rating as most of the spkrs are easily driven and not power hungry units nowadays. If your amp is churning out at abt RM50watts and above, i think it sldn't be any problem for entry level spkrs.

In Hi-Fi, it's very hard to recommend a particular products such as cables, interconnect, etc that suits you. Why? Easy, one man's meat is another man's poison.

It all depends what kind of osund that you like. As you said that you do not like 'excessive' bass. So, a unit with front firing port might be the better choice than a back firing port. As you are using it in a small room, I assume that you will place this pskrs near to the wall. A back firing port spkrs will generatemore boom if placed too near the wall.

We have talked abt CD5400. B4 you buy it, i think you better have a look at it in this forum.