Getting a new AMP + Speaker - Need some help please :)

[Locke Lamora]

Hi everyone! Hope you are doing okay in this pandemic time.

I've got a pair of Audio Engine A2+ (no AMP) and I've decided to replace them. I want to have pleasure from the sound of my speakers as much as possible as I am spending most of my day on my PC. I mostly listen to music, play games, watch movies, youtube, etc.

The amp + speaker I'm considering buying is

Marantz PM8006 + Dynaudio Emit M20

The speakers will be sitting on my computer desk.

I am not sure about this particular brand, Dynaudio, I just heard that these two go well with each other.

I need a good speaker, my budget for the speaker is around £700. Can you please give me some good speaker suggestions around that price? It needs to match the Marantz PM8006 though, to get the most power of it, as I have read. I am a newbie in this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much

 

[Orobas]

I'm a dynaudio owner myself and the emit M20 are essentially an upgrade for the DM2/6 which i have.

They are a very much in your face speaker with as much subtlety as the source you are feeding it with.. they are very airy, at low volumes they are bass light.. but fed volume and power and they do sing.

If you feed them with a poor cheap source/recording they will sound cheap and awful.. they will not sugar coat anything

Given they are on a pc desk.. i would say go with a much more tonal amp like a Musical fidelity or a Rega Brio (if they have them where you are) or even a half decent Valve amp rather than the Marantz simply due to the proximity to your seated position.

In a living room environment where the speakers are a fair distance away.. then you could use the Marantz also. I would not buy blind though ... if you can audition DO SO ..

Also worth noting.. the M20's are a 4ohm speaker.

Also very much worth mentioning.. the M20 are NOT magnetically shielded so keep well clear of any tv/monitor

 

[Paul7777x]

Have you considered some of the less expensive Eclipse speakers?

Superb by all accounts and may be affordable in Japan.

 

[Locke Lamora]

I'm a dynaudio owner myself and the emit M20 are essentially an upgrade for the DM2/6 which i have.

They are a very much in your face speaker with as much subtlety as the source you are feeding it with.. they are very airy, at low volumes they are bass light.. but fed volume and power and they do sing.

If you feed them with a poor cheap source/recording they will sound cheap and awful.. they will not sugar coat anything

Given they are on a pc desk.. i would say go with a much more tonal amp like a Musical fidelity or a Rega Brio (if they have them where you are) or even a half decent Valve amp rather than the Marantz simply due to the proximity to your seated position.

In a living room environment where the speakers are a fair distance away.. then you could use the Marantz also. I would not buy blind though ... if you can audition DO SO ..

Also worth noting.. the M20's are a 4ohm speaker.

Also very much worth mentioning.. the M20 are NOT magnetically shielded so keep well clear of any tv/monitor

Thank you very much for your detailed answer. I've found one rega brio (last one in the stock) and I will search for others.

What do you think of B&W 606 paired with Rega Brio? I don't like very sharp or very spacious sounds I just want something in the middle lol sorry if it doesn't make sense.

 

[Locke Lamora]

Have you considered some of the less expensive Eclipse speakers?

Superb by all accounts and may be affordable in Japan.

I have checked them and couldn't fint them on popular websites here. Thanks for the input though

 

[matthewpiano78]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer. I've found one rega brio (last one in the stock) and I will search for others.

What do you think of B&W 606 paired with Rega Brio? I don't like very sharp or very spacious sounds I just want something in the middle lol sorry if it doesn't make sense.

If you 'don't like very sharp or very spacious sounds' I'd be cautious about the B&W 606s. They present a very open, spacious soundstage and are capable of marrying this with sweetness, but they can be pushed into brightness by the wrong amp. They are also very responsive to good or poor positioning and support, so not an ideal speaker for situating on a desk for nearfield listening. If you can position them on stands and observe the equilateral triangle between speakers and listening position they could work very nicely with the Rega Brio.

Regarding the Dynaudios, the Emit 20 replaced the DM2/7s and not the smaller DM2/6 (which were replaced by the Emit 10. I have a pair of DM2/6 in my second system upstairs, and they respond surprisingly well to less than ideal placement, driven by a budget Marantz amp. They're good at lower voumes as well as higher ones, and enjoyable to listen to. Given your planned placement I would certainly suggest the Emit 10 over the 20 to avoid excess bass overhang, though you still won't find them ideal in the near-field so again, you would benefit from spacing things out.

 

[Orobas]

If you 'don't like very sharp or very spacious sounds' I'd be cautious about the B&W 606s. They present a very open, spacious soundstage and are capable of marrying this with sweetness, but they can be pushed into brightness by the wrong amp. They are also very responsive to good or poor positioning and support, so not an ideal speaker for situating on a desk for nearfield listening. If you can position them on stands and observe the equilateral triangle between speakers and listening position they could work very nicely with the Rega Brio.

Regarding the Dynaudios, the Emit 20 replaced the DM2/7s and not the smaller DM2/6 (which were replaced by the Emit 10. I have a pair of DM2/6 in my second system upstairs, and they respond surprisingly well to less than ideal placement, driven by a budget Marantz amp. They're good at lower voumes as well as higher ones, and enjoyable to listen to. Given your planned placement I would certainly suggest the Emit 10 over the 20 to avoid excess bass overhang, though you still won't find them ideal in the near-field so again, you would benefit from spacing things out.

I agree with the B&W statement.. i have never really got on with B&W .. they have usually always been "nasally" in their sound or midrange recessed..

I forgot about the DM2/7! they were never ever on my radar as a consideration as the 2/6 i found sounded better for my purpose and amplification. (ironically i preferred the Audience 52 to the Audience 42.. but i preferred the DM2/6 to the DM2/7)

my 2/6's are currently spaced about 2.5m apart on not ideal surfaces but i do have a good stereo separation with mine from my listening position. Alot of that though with my setup is down to my Roksan.

Yes the Emit M10, agreed, would be the better choice with a desk in mind.. but i would definately look at a different amp like the rega brio or a valve to drive them to tame that top down a notch.

The other option ... is to go active speaker.... something like a high end edifier or klipsch (with the top dialled right back) or Acoustic Energy AE1 active... that way you have something more desktop dedicated with less reliance of amp to speaker balancing for sound

 

[acgingersnaps]

Hi. Given the budget for a PM8006 and Emit M20, if you get a cheaper amp, could you not increase your speaker budget? A Brio will happily power several speakers in the £1000 bracket and there are several very good examples once you hit that price range.
I'd personally say your spend ratio's for the amp and speakers are the wrong way round.

 

[dogfonos]

Don't be put off by your experiences with the Audioengine A2+, there are excellent active/powered speakers on the market where the in-built amp has been matched to the speaker. Usually, IME, a well-chosen active design will give better sound quality (i.e. more accurate - beware if you prefer a 'softer' sound).

I don't like very sharp or very spacious sounds

There is an opportunity for misinterpretation here. I don't know of anyone that has ever stated that they don't want a spacious sound. Sharp, I get, but you really don't want a spacious sound? The opposite of spacious, to my way of thinking, would be closed in. This is where the sound comes directly from the speaker cabinets and has no width or depth to the sound field.

Have you given thought to the speaker's size? They're going to sit on a desk. Can you visualise the size of the Dynaudio Emit 20, or similar, positioned on that desk? Is it not a bit overbearing? Size wise, quite a step up from the Audioengine A2+.

You are considering the Marantz amp PM8006. This doesn't appear to have any digital inputs. Do you intend to feed the PC's/laptop's analogue output into one of the amps analogue inputs? A computer's analogue output isn't often of good quality. Best to either get an active speaker with digital input (like the Edifier Studio range) or buy a stand-alone DAC - possibly one with volume control like the iFi Zen DAC:

iFi Zen DAC review

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2020 winner. An accomplished budget digital-to-analogue converter

www.whathifi.com

...and partner it with a quality pair of active speakers of appropriate size for your desk.

 

[Ugg10]

With a £1500 budget for a desk based system for use with a pc I would go for -

Second hand Audiolab MDac - this dac has a volume control which I prefer to using the windows/app sliders, I have a healthy mistrust of software volume controls as you do not know what data they are throwing away. £300

Audiolab M-DAC | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Audiolab M-DAC at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

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Then for £1200 there is a wide range of active speakers, personally I would steer clear of Yamaha if you don’t want bright, Mackie, Dynaudio or Adam or possibly focal would be my choice. I would look for a 6.5” woofer if possible, this negates the need for a sub woofer on a desk top system, otherwise go for a 5” plus sub setup.

For new - Adam A7x, Focal Shape 65

for second hand - The following are all top of the tree actives and street ahead of your audioengines.

I’d put in a cheeky bid on these -

Focal+Twin+6+BE+Active+Three-Way+Monitor+-+Dark+Red for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Focal+Twin+6+BE+Active+Three-Way+Monitor+-+Dark+Red at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

or these

Adam Audio S2V 7" Active Nearfield Studio Monitor - Single | eBay

Condition is Used.

www.ebay.co.uk

or keep an eye on these

PMC Result6 Two Way Active Monitors | eBay

<p>PMC Result6 Two Way Active Monitors. Purchased as ex demo and hardly used. Boxed and original packing.</p>

www.ebay.co.uk