Ditch AV and return to stereo?

msageryd - thanks for your feedback on the R2's - they sound very tempting for the price - not sure I'd get to try them out beforehand though.

Thanks for this bear. I have had a look at the Arcam and in fact Audio Excellence have an ex-dem FMJ A32 at £960 which I'm sure would be nice. I just think Arcam might be a bit of a safe choice and I've been there before (a few years ago) with a Alpha 7 CD player and 8R plus 8P power amp - nice but hardly inspiring.

On top of this there is a review of the FMJ CD33 (the FMJ equivalent of the CD192) on HiFi Choice (yes, them again) and it comes out okay but not that good. I've just got this feeling that a Naim CD5i and Nait 5i would have a lot more balls, especially in conjunction with a pair of polite speakers like the Tannoys.

Matt.

 

how about a Quad 99 CDP? at Julians bake off some preferred it to the CD5 and it has a digi pre-amp so you can run it straight into a power amp.

 

Id just personally echo the calls of buying second hand, especially if you are doing this to save money.

Second hand Naim stuff is everywhere and holds its value really well.

Chris

 

Hey Matt & Antionio are you both saying that it would be a waste of money to have the TAG AV 32 SP converted to the DP, in the present climate?
It's a lot of cash, but I'm well tempted.

Reading your views a gather you have/or are getting rid of your AV32?

Was that because of the way this went Tag or because you fell out with your AV32?

Cheers

 

Mark - I've no idea how much it would cost to convert from SP to DP - I don't even know if Tag's new owners have put an upgrade price list together yet.

One thing I would say on the upgrade side (from experience) is that it seems to work out cheaper to sell and then buy a unit with the features on that you want - for example, it cost me £525 to sell my old 96kHz 5.1 Tag and to buy the BP-192kHz 7.1 version - to have brough my old one up to the spec of the newer one would have cost over £1500!

I've advertised my "AV32R BP-192 EX" over at avforums for £1425 o.n.o.

Reason for selling is nothing to do with it's performance (superb in 192kHz DAC form IMO) or because of what happened to Tag. It's because I'm looking to the future when we will be moving to a bigger house that will allow me to have separate rooms for AV and hifi, and because going for a simple hifi set up now will make my room look a lot bigger/less cluttered.

The plan will then be to transfer that hifi set up into a 'library type' room - open fire, no TV etc. and to put a discrete but decent AV set up into a family room e.g. decent sat/sub set up with quality AV amp and a plasma/LCD screen. I need to sell the Tag to get the ball rolling though.

Matt.

 

I got rid of mine because of TAG's problems, I was very happy with my DP + Bryston powers...

The truth is now I dont think that upgrade is a good investment because no one knows how much longer it will be supported, soundwise it is a great upgrade...

Changing the processor to Krell "forced" me change the powers to Bel Canto, now I am even happier... :MILD:

 

That, Robbo, is a bloody good idea and, from what I read, the Quad sounds even better when feeding it direct to a power amp. I guess a Quad 99 power amp would be good sound and cosmetic wise.

Thanks for the idea... now who can do me a Quad 99 CD-P at a discount?

Matt.

 

On the other hand, in the April HFC, they thought the CD93T was very very good indeed and outshone the CD33.

I shall be picking up a CD192 this afternoon for auditioning over the weekend. Granted it will be brand new out of the box and will probably benefit from some running in, but it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Alpha 9 in a day or two.

BTW, the Alpha 9 is cordon bleu to the Alpha 7's stew and dumplings. The better Arcam kit is not so safe sounding. My Alpha 9 can kick butt as WM will confirm.

I haven't heard the R2s, but I have heard R3s on the end of Marantz CD17/PM17. I nearly fell asleep :SLEEP:

The answer is to book a dem and see what works. The R2s might be a good foil for the Naim kit (which I find ear-bleeding - or is that just Naim speakers? ).

 

Ditch Stereo and return to Mono

 

With or without cuff links and Gardian ?

 

I could go one better - ditch the 5.1 and just keep the .1

Matt.

 

With (one) cufflink; without Grauniad.

 

I'm liking the idea of the Quad stuff more and more: A 99 CD-P, 99 power amp and a pair of 21L floorstanders. Mmmmm.

Matt.

 

Matt, are you willing to part exchange for a Marantz SR5200?

Liam.

 

there's an element of truth in that there statement

 

That's a bit of a one-sided position

Michael.

 

stumblin's got a NAD S500 in the classifieds that'd make a very interesting alternative.

 

I think anyone who has listened to a great mono-recorded album on a reasonable system will understand what I mean.
Mono can be an awesome experience - especially if you appreciate dynamics and a sense of realism (honestly).

 

Joel,

Agree wholeheartedly (we must stop this!). I listen to quite a bit of early Motown, Stax and Atlantic Soul that simply sounds better when played back in mono. the DVDA of Pet Sounds is an interesting example. The mono mix (the original) just has a certain magic on a musical level that the stereo and 5.1 simply fail to recreate. I guess the choice of speaker is important here, one big mutha would no doubt do the trick!

I must say, I enjoy having a mono button on the McIntosh remote. I also have a Tone Bypass facility, which as someone kindly pointed out, could be a useful addition to the forum on occasion