Entry Level Upgrade

[amrutmhatre90]

This set up is working fine for me. But I have the 12 k left over from my original budget. Just saw the downtick in price for the elac debut 6.2 (32k) and qacoustics 3030i (35k).. Would it be a reasonable speaker upgrade to sell the Boston A26 and replace with the debut 6.2 or 3030i ? Or would be better off saving and spending later on something else ?.. The chromecast has to remain in the setup coz it is convenient for the missus too.. Happy to hear feedback from FMs.

Hold your horses
You could do 2 things, get a DAC or upgrade speakers.

Adding to above speakers, also check out Mission LX3. @Black_Hawk is using them currently with a Marantz 5005 I guess.

What is your source currently?

 

[csa1972]

Hold your horses
You could do 2 things, get a DAC or upgrade speakers.

Adding to above speakers, also check out Mission LX3. @Black_Hawk is using them currently with a Marantz 5005 I guess.

What is your source currently?

Apple music / Spotify > chromecast audio > optical to pm6007 > Boston BA26

 

[amrutmhatre90]

Apple music / Spotify > chromecast audio > optical to pm6007 > Boston BA26

Oh nice, you are using the inbuilt DAC of Marantz. In that case you can choose speakers and keep much better DAC for future upgrade.

Can you describe the sound right now, it is ok if you don't nail it 100%

How is the system sounding to you now than the older setup?

 

[shuv]

The BA26 was conservatively priced for what it offers. I think neither the Elac nor the QA will be proper upgrades. More of a lateral shift if you get my drift.

 

[csa1972]

Oh nice, you are using the inbuilt DAC of Marantz. In that case you can choose speakers and keep much better DAC for future upgrade.

Can you describe the sound right now, it is ok if you don't nail it 100%

How is the system sounding to you now than the older setup?

It sounds rounded and smoother with much better bass too. The rough and bright edges which were contributing to fatigue are pretty much gone.

 

[DB1989]

Hold your horses
You could do 2 things, get a DAC or upgrade speakers.

Adding to above speakers, also check out Mission LX3. @Black_Hawk is using them currently with a Marantz 5005 I guess.

What is your source currently?

I have the LX-2 MK-II which just arrived yesterday. While a very good speaker for its price, it is not an upgrade to the A26, if at all.

csa1972 said:
This set up is working fine for me. But I have the 12 k left over from my original budget. Just saw the downtick in price for the elac debut 6.2 (32k) and qacoustics 3030i (35k).. Would it be a reasonable speaker upgrade to sell the Boston A26 and replace with the debut 6.2 or 3030i ? Or would be better off saving and spending later on something else ?.. The chromecast has to remain in the setup coz it is convenient for the missus too.. Happy to hear feedback from FMs.

Even the Q Acoustics 3030i, while ever so slightly nicer, isn't much of an upgrade over the A26 either.

For an upgrade, it'll have to be the Mission QX-2 or something else in the 40K and above range such as the Wharfedale 12.2, KEF Q350, Polk R200 etc.

 

[amrutmhatre90]

For an upgrade, it'll have to be the Mission QX-2 or something else in the 40K and above range such as the Wharfedale 12.2, KEF Q350, Polk R200 etc.

Sadly last I heard from most people was that the Mission QX2 is a hard to drive speaker and even the Polk R200, both I guess rated at 4ohms. I guess even Mr.Anil suggested the same from Hifimart to my friend.

Other good speakers are Elac Debut Reference, I am on a close watch with those.

 

[DB1989]

Sadly last I heard from most people was that the Mission QX2 is a hard to drive speaker and even the Polk R200, both I guess rated at 4ohms. I guess even Mr.Anil suggested the same from Hifimart to my friend.

Other good speakers are Elac Debut Reference, I am on a close watch with those.

I believe the PM6007 should have absolutely no problem driving it! The reason I'm saying this is that i have driven a number of 4 and 6ohm speakers with the PM6006 and it managed to do justice to them without a hiccup ever.

While I've never driven the QX-2 with the PM6006, I've in fact driven it with a much less accomplished amplifier in the Marantz NR1509 which drove it to a decent volume with strong if not stellar bass performance. The PM6006 and 6007 would seldom find it difficult to drive any speaker, much less the QX2.

 

[ssf]

I have been listening to the Q Acoustics 3050i at my place for more than a week now, thanks to @aeroash . This is a 6 Ohm speaker and am sure it dips down to a bit. It's rated at 91 db sensitivity which is a plus. Not for a minute did I find that my AVR had problems driving them to decent volumes. So, a stereo amp should not have issues driving a 6 Ohm speaker.

 

[Bloom@83]

Other good speakers are Elac Debut Reference, I am on a close watch with those.

This is a fantastic speaker. Andrew Jones is a design genius.