Help needed for setting a stereo system (music only)

Hi setu kumar,
My set is Rotel Rc 1082 pre/ Rb 1080 power with a B&W 805 speaker. The source components are a Nakamichi DR 10 tape deck(cause i have tons of great tapes of yester years) a Denon TU 1800 Dab tuner and i just sold my nad cd player and am awaiting a marantz SA 7001 KI as my cdp. I also run a Rotel Ra - 03 and B&W 601 set up in my bed room. (Ra- 03 is the older version of the current Ra- 06) source is a very old sony cdp. Speakers i bought here in mumbai rest i got from london on various trips way before rotel was officially available here. Setu i am 40 now and have always loved music and am hence always buying. My old rotel Ra 1062 and my Nad c 352 are now with my nephew and neice and i have a Nad C 162 pre amp from my earlier set which i am trying to sell. My choice of music is western classical, some rock and loads of 80's stuff and my wife mainly listens to opera.

I personally feel if the set up is good all music should sound good and so dont buy the theory of different set ups for different types of music.

Regards and good luck.

Hi dinyaar,
You have a wonderful experience with NAD, Rotel, B & W etc. and might have spent a lot of money into it already. I know that you are giving the advice that Rotel is better than NAD based on your experience only. But based on my experience with Rotel with B&W CM1 Book Shelves, I cannot go with that combo. Probably I need to try other speakers with Rotel which I find not easily possible here at Bangalore. The person who deals on Rotel here keep very high end stuff (pricey stuff) with him. If I need to try other speakers, then I have to purchase and carry it to him to pair with Rotel stuff that I wanted audition.
NAD+MA RS8 gave a good stereo imaging and musicality for all typesof music for me. It is true that when the volume is incresed the amp will not be able to keep with the speakers. So does this mean that I look for some other speakers? I heard PSB speakers match well with NAD, but not sure about this.

Regards
Sethukumar

Hi Sethu,

If you are looking for less power, MA RS8 might not be the best choice; even though they are great speakers. You could consider MA GS10, or other good stand mounters.

Did you check out EPOS? Their small speakers sound good at low volumes when paired with a slightly bright amp.

The ProAc stand mount is great too. Prithvi could help you in auditioning this in Bangalore.

regards,
Sharad

Hi sethu kumar,
Actually Mr S medhavi who has just posted above this post lives in bangalore and is running the Nad/ Monitor Audio floor stander combination so he would be in a position to give u first hand information. He could highlight the pros and cons for u to make an informed decision.
Yes i have had good experience with Rotel and with B&W. And i have hardly spent much money on rotel as i did not buy it here in mumbai. I think my pre sells for 54 K and the power for 65K plus taxes here and i paid about half that amount. I think its a fairly neutral amp which does well for me and my taste of sound. Am sure there are tons of better amps so maybe i can keep that for my next upgrade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards

Thanks dinyaar.
Hi Mr S medhavi,
I would like to know the combination of NAD/MA that you are using. I thought of going for NAD C352or 355 with MA floor standers (RS8). Please let me know what combinations are possible. NAD and MA combination sounded good forme compared to Cambridge Audio 640A/740A & Mordaunt Short 906i, 908i and Mezzo Floor standers, Rotel RA-06 with B & W CM1 combinations.
Also I want to try the combination Rotel RA-1062 with MA RS8 if possible but not sure how.

Thanks
Sethukumar

Hi Sethu,

NAD and MA do go well together. I had the NAD C372 before I bought the MA speaker. I carried my amp all the way to the ARN Systems showroom in Bangalore to realize that Ali was already using the same amp for the demos The RS8's are rated at 175 watts and do deserve a powerful amplifier.

NAD amps have a slightly rounded off highs, which works well with MA. MA speakers have a mostly flat response, but the high frequencies are on a brighter side peaking at 22KHz for the silver series. Paring MA with a bright amp might be fatal. WHF suggested Roksan Caspian M series amp for MA RS6. I have never heard Roksan, as I could not find a dealer in Bangalore.

I had auditioned Mordaunt Short older models before I bought MA, but it was paired with Marantz, as Palani (Audio Planet, Bangalore) was not selling CA that time. MA had more clarity and refinement than MS. I haven't listened to Mezzo yet. I am planning to visit Palani sometime and check this out. I also need to try out the CA phone stage for my next turntable. Palani is a nice person.


Rotel RA-1062 and MA RS8 pair would be worth trying out, but there is no easy way out. When you buy the speakers you could carry them to the Rotel showroom for an audition.

regards,
Sharad Medhavi

Hi again,
Mr sethukumar the CM 1 is a very small bookshelf while the MA RS 8 is a large floor stander!!! both amps u are mentioning would be fine with the CM 1 b ut would be totally under powered for the RS 8. The nad and the rotel are very different sounding amps. I know u dont play loud but i would still feel u would need an amp giving about a 100 WPC or more do get the best from the MA RS 8. If ur budget stretches also hear the B&W CM 7. Its a 3 way floorstander which i have heard with NAD C 372(friends place) and it sounded great to my ears.
Regards.

Hi Again,

I'm considering NAD C325BEE (50W/ch) and could you please advice good floor standers/books shelves for this amp? If I go for MA RS8 (which i liked) I may need a more powerful amp which means I have to increase my budget, which I think is not possibleright now. So planning for a lower powered amp.
Also please advice on other amps also in this range and matching speakers.

Regards
Sethukumar

Hi,
For the Nad C 325 amp i would try the following speakers
1) MA BR 2
2)Epos M 12.2
3)kef iq 5(small Floor stander)
4)B&W 685
5) Quad 11 L
I think the B&W are little overpriced but i still put them on the list. Also instead of the 325 amp if i could get my hand on the older 320 i would grab it. I think a great budget amp for small speakers. Tonally better and cleaner than the 325. Am sure u could demo most of the above speakers in bangalore.
Regards.

NAD is usually (and well) paired with PSB speakers, especially the Image range. While the MA RS6 is a favorite for many (myself included), some like the transparent presentation of the PSB Image. You should audition the Image T45 and T55 floorstanders (even the B25 bookshelf).

If you like a transparent presentation like the PSB Image then you have Dynaudio Audience 52/72 as well.

Do not think the MS Avant range will be to your taste, it is a budget speaker -- Mezzo and Performance will probably be a better fit.

Having heard the Quad 22L driven by a restored Quad tube amp, I think it is a fantastic combo for Classical and Jazz.

I believe ProFX has brought the French Focal-JMLab range to India so the Chorus is probably another candidate to consider.