Stereo Setup in 50k. Chinese Amp for 10k + 40k speakers?

[greenhorn]

somewhat better, yes. significantly better - no.
Generally, given a constrained budget, going with a chinese amp frees up budget for speakers, where you get much better returns in terms of sound quality for the money invested

 

[sree0320]

So I dropped in at MZ Audio in Bandra today and they had the Marantz PM5005 and PM6006 for 20k and 36k respectively (without any bargaining). Would these be significantly better than the Q5 Pro / Fx Audio D802c?

I also wanted to try out the speakers they had (Mission, Boston acoustics and Taga) however the guy in charge was in a hurry to go somewhere so couldn't try them out today.

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I would say yes. you can go with either of them.
Later choose a sub which will run with speaker level inputs from amp.

Already many posts there related to the decision between pm5005 and pm6005. At the end you may have these two combos
1. Optical input to pm6006( inbuilt DAC)
2. DAC( may be schiit multibit) with pm5005.
In both the combos price would be same.



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[Nolasco]

somewhat better, yes. significantly better - no.
Generally, given a constrained budget, going with a chinese amp frees up budget for speakers, where you get much better returns in terms of sound quality for the money invested

Well I guess a budget of 50-60k would qualify as a constrained budget in the audio world

What's your opinion about 2.0 vs 2.1 setup for music primarily? Was reading reviews of the new Kef Q350 and I think if they are priced around 40-45k here might be a good bet for the long term.

What speakers do you use? Any recommendations on what to try out when it comes to speakers?

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[jls001]

Do read up user reviews of full digital amps like Popu D6, I.AM.D V200, Sainsonic D802C, JIE CHUANG JC-SZ80A, etc. and TPA3116/3118-based amps. One should look beyond the usual suspects (Marantz, NAD, Cambridge Audio, etc).

 

[Nolasco]

There's someone on olx selling a 4yr old pair of the Monitor Audio Gx100 gold speakers. Are they worth the price?

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[afj]

There's someone on olx selling a 4yr old pair of the Monitor Audio Gx100 gold speakers. Are they worth the price?

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how much are they quoting. they are very good speakers

its very important to get balance and system matching in a setup. i've listened to chinese amps and though theyre good and powerful, i've often found them lacking in balance when it comes to music. at your budget i would go with the wharfedale diamond 220 bookshelf speakers. and the norge concerto gold or yamaha s202. i dont think either of these amps comes with a digital input. so you might want to consider that as well

 

[Nolasco]

Oh i forgot to mention the price. They quoting 60k for those speakers. So if I get them, then the max I collect spend on the amp is another 10k or so.

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[afj]

Oh i forgot to mention the price. They quoting 60k for those speakers. So if I get them, then the max I collect spend on the amp is another 10k or so.

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if its the gx100 and in good condition (not abused) then its def worth it. extremely good speakers. about the amp...well a 10k amp wont do that any justice. you will need to spend atleast 15k for the amp which is the norge concerto gold. ideally, imo you would buy the acoustic portrait swara amp at 36k.

what source will you be using

 

[Nolasco]

if its the gx100 and in good condition (not abused) then its def worth it. extremely good speakers. about the amp...well a 10k amp wont do that any justice. you will need to spend atleast 15k for the amp which is the norge concerto gold. ideally, imo you would buy the acoustic portrait swara amp at 36k.

what source will you be using

Mostly digital from my PC. Will also connect my Stb and have a Moto stream for Bluetooth streaming. The thing is, I don't know whether I should go ahead and splurge so much on these speakers. I guess I could stretch and get the amp you suggested for 36k but don't know if it's really worth it since iv only been used to basic computer speakers so far (Edifier C3) and the Swan D1080 iv.

I'm a bit undecided on whether I should get a basic setup for about 50k or lesser to start off with and then upgrade down the line or go all out and get something exceptional which will last me for quite a few years without having to change anything.

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[Nolasco]

Ok so the Gx100 is out of contention. Asked the seller if I could have a demo and check the condition of the speakers and he refused. He says no demo for buy back products and says that a lot of people buy blindly! Lol... How he expects to sell something for 60k second hand without warranty or an inspection beats me!

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[Nolasco]

I have placed the order for 3116 a week before. 380+150 rs delivery. Will be delivered next month first week. Let's wait and see how it goes!!

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Did you get the order? All ok? I have a friend coming from the US next month tentatively and I noticed Tom top has a US warehouse too. The price for the Q5 Pro on their site is 89Usd with another 5 percent discount which transfers to about 5500. If all went with with your order, I could go ahead and order from here. It's still 139 USD on Amazon.

Any better options instead of the Q5 Pro if I can source from the US? Similar size and weight (Less than 1kg) preferably.

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[sree0320]

Iam yet to receive. It was mentioned like around 25 days from the dispatch.it got dispatched on 20 th of August.so I have to wait for one more week atleast.S once I went with cheap shipping method which doesn't give tracking information.
But when I went through the tracking ID, item was dispatched to the corresponding indian courier on 30th August.
I will update soon after I receive it.

Meanwhile recent post on All boss player and vana player from diyaudiocart is quite tempting option with respect to DAC as well as amp. You can have a look at that.



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[elangoas]

Any better options instead of the Q5 Pro if I can source from the US? Similar size and weight (Less than 1kg) preferably.

FX Audio M-160E, W/o Sub-out, USB Input, Bluetooth & Analogue in - https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-M-160E-Bluetooth-Amplifier/dp/B0749LV9M2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1504679409&sr=8-6&keywords=FX+Audio

FX Audio M-200E. With sub-out, USB Input, Bluetooth & Analogue in.. - https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-M-200E-Hi-Fi-Amplifier/dp/B01HD13NFC/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1504679409&sr=8-13&keywords=FX+Audio

Both models offer additional features than SMSL Q5 Pro..like USB playback (FLAC/WAV/MP3) & SD card slot.. This might be an handy option, if you don't want to switch on PC for music playback..

 

[Nolasco]

FX Audio M-160E, W/o Sub-out, USB Input, Bluetooth & Analogue in - https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-M-1...=UTF8&qid=1504679409&sr=8-6&keywords=FX+Audio

FX Audio M-200E. With sub-out, USB Input, Bluetooth & Analogue in.. - https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-M-2...UTF8&qid=1504679409&sr=8-13&keywords=FX+Audio

Both models offer additional features than SMSL Q5 Pro..like USB playback (FLAC/WAV/MP3) & SD card slot.. This might be an handy option, if you don't want to switch on PC for music playback..

Thanks, will check them out and also check if they are avaialble at a similar discount as the Q5 Pro at 85Usd (approx 5500) seems a complete steal.

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[elangoas]

Thanks, will check them out and also check if they are avaialble at a similar discount as the Q5 Pro at 85Usd (approx 5500) seems a complete steal.

I got the Q5 Pro for 8K from UK thru my friend, a year back.. 5.5K is def a steal for its functionality which is almost the cost of USB DAC hyeah:

 

[LobsterB]

I got the Q5 Pro for 8K from UK thru my friend, a year back.. 5.5K is def a steal for its functionality which is almost the cost of USB DAC hyeah:

Actually FX Audio M-200E which has sub out seems to be more costly (USD 170 vs USD 140) than Q5 Pro. Anyway they seem to be based on different chipsets, so not sure how they compare sound wise. Btw, FX Audio seems to have a much better and usable Remote.

 

[elangoas]

Actually FX Audio M-200E which has sub out seems to be more costly (USD 170 vs USD 140) than Q5 Pro. Anyway they seem to be based on different chipsets, so not sure how they compare sound wise. Btw, FX Audio seems to have a much better and usable Remote.

FX Audio 200E has Bluetooth, USB input for playback in the front and SD card slot too than Q5 Pro.. Excellent features for slightly more than Q5 Pro..

I had the Q5 Pro, remote was good.. FX Audio also should offer same or slightly better..

 

[Nolasco]

FX Audio 200E has Bluetooth, USB input for playback in the front and SD card slot too than Q5 Pro.. Excellent features for slightly more than Q5 Pro..

I had the Q5 Pro, remote was good.. FX Audio also should offer same or slightly better..

At current pricing though, specially since Q5 is on special sale for 85Usd, and the Fx audio 200E is 140Usd, don't think the additional features are worth the difference of about 3600Rs. The Q5 Pro has optical as well as Coaxial inputs which the Fx200e doesn't. Adding a Bluetooth adapter will cost another 1200Rs or so.

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[elangoas]

At current pricing though, specially since Q5 is on special sale for 85Usd, and the Fx audio 200E is 140Usd, don't think the additional features are worth the difference of about 3600Rs. The Q5 Pro has optical as well as Coaxial inputs which the Fx200e doesn't. Adding a Bluetooth adapter will cost another 1200Rs or so.

Q5 Pro for $85 is just superb value, no doubt..more digital inputs always handy..

But Q5 Pro retails for $140 on Amazon & FX Audio for $170.. $30, isn't a substantial amount for someone in US.. D'ont convert to INR.. Else it make a small $30 as substantial in INR..

 

[kaptan]

Q5 Pro for $85 is just superb value, no doubt..more digital inputs always handy..

But Q5 Pro retails for $140 on Amazon & FX Audio for $170.. $30, isn't a substantial amount for someone in US.. D'ont convert to INR.. Else it make a small $30 as substantial in INR..

https://www.tomtop.com/p-i1864.html

It looks like we get free shipping to India.