AVR or Stereo amp for Q acoustics 3020i?

[swift]

Hi All,

I am looking for fellow forum users opinions on setting up an entertainment system (50% music and 50% movie) in my home at my work location. I have purchased Q acoustics 3020i bookshelf speakers as a first step. I chose the bookshelf speakers over floor standing due to space constraints.

For the time being, I am driving these bookshelf speakers with Denon 1200 AVR in Zone 2 available in my home town. This AVR is mostly used for movie-watching. Although I enjoy the AVR for its movie experience when paired with Tannoy eclipse Three at the Front and center, Elac S10 subwoofer, and Wharfedale Bipolar WH-DFS Surround speaker. The sound quality is not satisfactory when it comes to music listening through 3020i, not sure if it is due to the expectations set by the Quad stereo amp used for auditioning while purchasing the 3020i.

Probably audiophiles here can enlighten if it's just my perception or if the AVR vs stereo amp really makes a great difference when it comes to music listening. Or, maybe Denon 1200 AVR is not the right match with 3020i.

If it really makes a difference between AVR and Stereo amps on sound quality output then I can invest to set up a dedicated system for music listening and a separate setup for movies.

My expectation when it comes to music listening is to bring out and enjoy the details and also it should be less fatigue on prolonged usage.

Please suggest.

 

[chander]

My subjective opinion based on my experience -
1 - In a lot of cases most economical AVRs are good-enough stereo amplifiers too. Provided your speakers are not power hungry, easy to drive and are flexible about matching. Case in point my Denon X2700h drives my QA C20s just fine in stereo, I have no 'real' complaints.
2 - High end AVRs can sometimes be very impressive when it comes to their stereo performance. I remember I heard an ARCAM AV30 (or was it 40?) driving a pair of something KEF R3 - fantastic.

What I am getting at is - an AVR does it's job creating a convincing sound of a complex sound track in a movie with multiple channels involved, so it might be wrong to expect it to fail for a 2 channel setup.

& I am also saying that a stereo amp is created for a specific job with (in most cases) a cleaner signal path, better amplifier units, special tuning for stereo, no extras so yes it should have some advantage and in most cases it does.

So please go down to a shop near you with your AVR - compare your AVRs performance with a low level amplifier - like a Marantz PM5005 and preferably with your speakers - compare side by side to hear the real difference you are getting. You might be surprised one way or the other.

 

[DB1989]

Hi All,

I am looking for fellow forum users opinions on setting up an entertainment system (50% music and 50% movie) in my home at my work location. I have purchased Q acoustics 3020i bookshelf speakers as a first step. I chose the bookshelf speakers over floor standing due to space constraints.

For the time being, I am driving these bookshelf speakers with Denon 1200 AVR in Zone 2 available in my home town. This AVR is mostly used for movie-watching. Although I enjoy the AVR for its movie experience when paired with Tannoy eclipse Three at the Front and center, Elac S10 subwoofer, and Wharfedale Bipolar WH-DFS Surround speaker. The sound quality is not satisfactory when it comes to music listening through 3020i, not sure if it is due to the expectations set by the Quad stereo amp used for auditioning while purchasing the 3020i.

Probably audiophiles here can enlighten if it's just my perception or if the AVR vs stereo amp really makes a great difference when it comes to music listening. Or, maybe Denon 1200 AVR is not the right match with 3020i.

It all depends on the listener's ear. And it has more to do with tonality of the amp with the speakers than anything else.

As a thumb rule, between a price equivalent stereo amp and an AVR, the stereo amp usually sounds better as all efforts go into two channel amplification whereas an AVR is constrained within its budget to include not only 5 channels or more of amplification but also multiple digital/analog inputs/outputs, AM/FM/bluetooth/wifi reception, room correction, software, licensing fee for proprietary formats etc.

Having said the above, I've found two channel performance of certain AVRs to be very good across the board for most speakers, the Marantz SR6013 and NR1509 which I'm currently using to name a few. However, I briefly owned a Denon Amp - X2400H and its tonality was simply not to my liking - perhaps our ears have that in common. On other other hand, I've known a few people who find its tonality perfectly acceptable and its performance adequate.

If it really makes a difference between AVR and Stereo amps on sound quality output then I can invest to set up a dedicated system for music listening and a separate setup for movies.

My expectation when it comes to music listening is to bring out and enjoy the details and also it should be less fatigue on prolonged usage.

Please suggest.

The best way to go about it is to shortlist amps within your desired budget and audition them. Considering that the QA 3020i is ubiquitous across most dealerships, you shouldn't have much difficulty finding a good match.

 

[swift]

So please go down to a shop near you with your AVR - compare your AVRs performance with a low level amplifier - like a Marantz PM5005 and preferably with your speakers - compare side by side to hear the real difference you are getting. You might be surprised one way or the other.

Thanks, Chander. So I understand the difference in sound quality I noticed is not because of the "Quad" brand but its more to do with the stereo amp vs AVR.

@chander @DB1989
Can't say better regarding auditioning since I too believe our ears are the best reviewers.

But unfortunately, the place where I am right now doesn't have a demo setup. So I have to rely on seller feedback only, the seller is a very reliable person and not biased. Now it's my time to do my homework and avoid post-purchase disappointment.

Below are the models suggested to me and my online search also points to the Marantz PM series mostly to pair with 3020i bookshelf.
1) Marantz PM 6007/8006
2) Cambridge Audio AX-A35/CXA61
3) Audiolab 600A

One thing I notice here is that except for CXA61 and Audiolab 600a, no other models have a Bluetooth option. CXA61 quotes above 1 lac which is roughly 70k above Marantz PM6007 and 25k above PM 8006. Currently, I am not interested in burning cash just for the Bluetooth option at this moment. Alternatively, is there any external module I can look for which can be paired with the stereo amp? whose primary work has to be just to receive the audio via Bluetooth and input it to Amp without adding any noise or manipulating the signal.

 

[chander]

whose primary work has to be just to receive the audio via Bluetooth and input it to Amp without adding any noise or manipulating the signal.

You can - or you can just buy a Chromecast Audio - there are some on ebay. I just bought 3 for my team in office for Diwali around $50 each. I personally prefer CCA over BT - but it depends.

 

[swift]

Thank you all. I auditioned and purchased Marantz PM6007. It's a day and night difference when I play via Marantz vs My Denon AVR. Can't explain the experience of the soundstage for the first time

Current setup:

• Maranatz PM6007
• Q Acoustics 3020i
• DAC 16 AWG Speaker cables
• DAC 3.5mm to RCA AUX cable
• Playing songs via Apple music connected via 3.5mm jack

To be added shortly:
Capable Bluetooth streamer that can handle lossless formats like FLAC and ALAC.
Good servo stabilizer for safe power. Almost narrowed on to vertex 3kva servo stabilizer for audio equipment with RFI/EMI filters

May be added in the long run:
A subwoofer - Not sure which one to go for.

 

[MasTerasTrix]

Thank you all. I auditioned and purchased Marantz PM6007. It's a day and night difference when I play via Marantz vs My Denon AVR. Can't explain the experience of the soundstage for the first time

Current setup:

• Maranatz PM6007
• Q Acoustics 3020i
• DAC 16 AWG Speaker cables
• DAC 3.5mm to RCA AUX cable
• Playing songs via Apple music connected via 3.5mm jack

To be added shortly:
Capable Bluetooth streamer that can handle lossless formats like FLAC and ALAC.
Good servo stabilizer for safe power. Almost narrowed on to vertex 3kva servo stabilizer for audio equipment with RFI/EMI filters

May be added in the long run:
A subwoofer - Not sure which one to go for.

Hi There, ( https://fiio.com/bta30pro ) , FIIO BTR30 PRO is what you are looking for and I'm sure you will be more than happy with it since there is nothing like it in the market and the plethora of connectivity options offered is unparalleled ( as of now), Go through the link for a detailed list.
Since you are keen on adding BT functionality into your audio chain with zero changes to SQ, this happens to be the best bang for your buck with what it has to offer. Recently HPZ sold it with a great discount ( rare for this product), But even at its normal pricing it's hard to beat ( What got me was that this came with a fully functional remote & could be used as a pre out into another Amp).

 

[efernand1]

Thanks, Chander. So I understand the difference in sound quality I noticed is not because of the "Quad" brand but its more to do with the stereo amp vs AVR.

@chander @DB1989
Can't say better regarding auditioning since I too believe our ears are the best reviewers.

But unfortunately, the place where I am right now doesn't have a demo setup. So I have to rely on seller feedback only, the seller is a very reliable person and not biased. Now it's my time to do my homework and avoid post-purchase disappointment.

Below are the models suggested to me and my online search also points to the Marantz PM series mostly to pair with 3020i bookshelf.
1) Marantz PM 6007/8006
2) Cambridge Audio AX-A35/CXA61
3) Audiolab 600A

One thing I notice here is that except for CXA61 and Audiolab 600a, no other models have a Bluetooth option. CXA61 quotes above 1 lac which is roughly 70k above Marantz PM6007 and 25k above PM 8006. Currently, I am not interested in burning cash just for the Bluetooth option at this moment. Alternatively, is there any external module I can look for which can be paired with the stereo amp? whose primary work has to be just to receive the audio via Bluetooth and input it to Amp without adding any noise or manipulating the signal.

Why not consider this?

https://www.hifivision.com/threads/marantz-nr1200-like-new-opened-but-not-used-much.90698/

 

[DB1989]

Why not consider this?

https://www.hifivision.com/threads/marantz-nr1200-like-new-opened-but-not-used-much.90698/

Too late to the party

Thank you all. I auditioned and purchased Marantz PM6007. It's a day and night difference when I play via Marantz vs My Denon AVR. Can't explain the experience of the soundstage for the first time

Current setup:

• Maranatz PM6007
• Q Acoustics 3020i
• DAC 16 AWG Speaker cables
• DAC 3.5mm to RCA AUX cable
• Playing songs via Apple music connected via 3.5mm jack

 

[efernand1]

Too late to the party

Yes I am late but it will help some other FM who reads this thread to consider this as an Option.

Not all of us are blessed with luxury of time due to other commitments.