Amp under 30K for Wharfedale 9.6 or 9.1

[jhajee]

Hi All,
I am from Bangalore and I have a pair or diamond 9.6 and a pair of 9.1 which I currently use with my Onkyo 703 AVR home theater setup. Now I am looking for a stereo amp under 30K bracket.

I have shortlisted the following:

1 > Marantz PM 6002 or 7001
2 > CA azur 540 or 640
3 > NAD 326 BEE
4 > Norge 2060 or 1000 or 2000 (mosfet)

Me and my wife auditioned the CA (540 and 650) and Marantz (7003) paired with MS Aviano series (both bookshelf and floorstanders) yesterday and I really liked both(CA 650 and Marantz 7003). Better then my current Onkyo 703 for sure.

I was not able to audition Norge as no one stocks it in Bangalore though folks in Vector did inform me that they are getting some for their Brigade road showroom. Similarly for NAD I was not able to locate a dealer in Bangalore that would have the 326 BEE for audition.

I did scan through the posts and the "general" feeling has been that Marantz pairs well with diamonds.

I kind of liked Marantz over CA yesterday whereas my wife said CA it is. I might have been biased as I had read the reviews before going there

The prices offered to me for CA 640 - 24K and PM 7001 - 26K and 6002 - 22.5K is all well within my budget though Norge is tempting at < 10K.
I am open to all under the 30K bracket (if there are others - rotel etc..)

Now my question to you all is, which one to go for?

Some more details:

I stay in an apartment with a rather narrow living area which opens up to a kitchen and dining area combined. The sofa and speaker distance is ~ 10 - 11 Feet and distance between the LR speakers is also around 7-8 feet. The 9.6s are in front and 9.1 as the surround. I can use either one for stereo.

I listen to different kind of music (Rock as in DMB, Pink Floyd, CCR, Who, Dire Straits, U2 etc.. Pop - George Michael, Phill collins, BeeGees etc.., Hindi - both old and new movies, Ghazals (mehdi hassan, ghulam ali etc), fusion (Sarod, Tabla, Saturday night fever, indian ocean etc types, sometimes Miles Davis kind of blue) where as wife loves only Indian movies (mostly old) and ghazals. We listen to CDs though sometimes I use my iPod as well.
Currently I have a sony 1080 upscaler DVD player that I use but will upgrade to a dedicated CDP within a year

The current Onkyo 703 plays decently at loud volumes but its the low volume that made me look out for a dedicated stereo amp.

Kindly suggest which one to go for ?

 

[madbullram]

hmmmm, I would ask can you make the CDP your first investment and then the amp? Source is the most imp irrespective of the amp

I am with your wife, I like the CA I felt it was better than Mar in all round music. I am a fan of Rotel though

 

[srikarkav]

Hi jee,

Marantz pairs well with Wharfies. The PM 7001 has a high reputation here in the forum. Even if you are not going for a CDP for now,You can add a Marantz CDP down the line.You will be set for many years to come

cheers,
sri

 

[jhajee]

see, that's what I call confusion scoreline of 1:1
One says Matantz the others says CA !!!

Anyways, thanks Madbullram and Sri for your feedback
Looking forward to more feedback and suggestions...

 

[spirovious]

new Marantz 6003 CD & AMP will better match with them.Each around 25k?

 

[madbullram]

see, that's what I call confusion scoreline of 1:1
One says Matantz the others says CA !!!

Anyways, thanks Madbullram and Sri for your feedback
Looking forward to more feedback and suggestions...

he he he...thats why we all love this forum, people come here for answers and go back with 1000 more question :clapping:

 

[nirrej]

go for the Marantz, since you already have the speakers ready.
which is a wharfie.
since you prefer listening at low volumes you need a highly detailed
amp with your Wharfies or else the music will sound lifeless.
that is precisely the reason i went for a Marantz PM 6002,
and i'm very satisfied.

Note: If you're a bass lover and plan to add a sub-woofer to your setup,
Marantz PM 6002 will be a bad choice as it doesn't have a PRE-OUT.
Just check if Marantz PM 7003 has a PRE-OUT.

 

[SaurabhK]

my 2 cents,.. I would take my speakers and hear them with both the amps.. and buy the one i like. It always abt synergy.

 

[jhajee]

Just spoke with the vector folks and they said that they would be receiving the Norge 2060 / 1000 / 2000 coming Wednesday and that I can then have a demo of norge with 9.1 and 9.6 both in their showroom and best part...they have the Onkyo 702 paired with 9.6 already and hence I can compare the improvement that I can expect with dedicated amp !!!

So till then...

 

[aneelr]

Just spoke with the vector folks and they said that they would be receiving the Norge 2060 / 1000 / 2000 coming Wednesday and that I can then have a demo of norge with 9.1 and 9.6 both in their showroom and best part...they have the Onkyo 702 paired with 9.6 already and hence I can compare the improvement that I can expect with dedicated amp !!!

So till then...

Hi,

If your not on a spree to pick up your amp....... you could wait for the AV exhibition, which will be held in Dec'09......you will get some good discounts from all dealers....and also bargain on top of that. Vector system also gives more discount at the AV exhibition, I confirmed this with them last month when I demoed the diamond 10.x series setup.


cheers.

 

[jhajee]

well aneelr, I do not have major expectation from the AV mela. It has generally been a sad show with only a handful of decent players out there. Its the Sony's and samsungs and LGs of the world that are in full force and hardly a few like vector / profx etc from hi-fi world that display their gear. It was a major major disappointment for me when I went last(i guess sometime in jan this year)

coming to the hurry part, well I am not in a major hurry for the amp. However its like that 1st car that you book..you just can't wait for the delivery

I am just trying to mix and match and see if pairing the onkyo 703 with the 9.1 as the fronts would improve the sound vis-a-vis the current setup with 9.6 as the fronts.

 

[aneelr]

.....


coming to the hurry part, well I am not in a major hurry for the amp. However its like that 1st car that you book..you just can't wait for the delivery

.....

this is rightly said.......as I also setup my new HT sys just this week and even my plan was to wait for the AV exhibition for some fair discounts ....... but could not resist, so went ahead and purchased them.

cheers.

 

[lalitkr]

Hi,

what are options for services and repair of CA and Marantz amplifiers in Bangalore/India. Both pre and post warranty expiry - mainly concerned about post warranty.

For Norge, I know i just need to safely ship it to the Mumbai factory!!

Thanks
Lalit

 

[KHK]

recently, i had given my amp for servicing, and while getting it back, i checked it out on Wharf speakers. And i really liked the sound!

 

[deba]

he he he...thats why we all love this forum, people come here for answers and go back with 1000 more question :clapping:

Question > Answer > CONFUSION............:lol:......this is how it works......:lol:

 

[sachin_k5]

So Jhajee, What did you buy ?

 

[jhajee]

Apologies folks for not having updated you all on my final decision.

So here I go :

I finally bought Marantz PM 7001. Got it for 22K sometime in December.

Now why part:

I did audition Marantz side by side CA 650 and CA 550 at audio planet and Norge 2060 and 1000 with Wharfedale floor-standers speakers at Vectors.

Marantz 7001 sounded to my untrained ears nice and sweet as compared to the CA and Norge. CA better then Norge. Norge 1000 was better then the 2060 as bass was much more defined and taut and sounded really powerful and capable enough to easily handle large floor-standers.

Marantz somehow sounds more "mature" as compared to the CA though in isolation CA too sounds great. Had i not known, read and heard Marantz, I would have any day taken the CA. Same thing applies for Norge as well. But yes, 2060 was struggling to run the floorstanders with the same command and power as its elder sibling the 1000.

So my personal opinion on the sound is Marantz > CA > Norge

The other problem with Norge is the looks. Its not really upto the mark. Maybe a simple DNM type treatment to the looks would make it much more appealing and pleasing to look at.