Help/Advice needed please !

norman bates

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My current setup is a Marantz cr610 with Dali Zensor 1 I also have Kefs running on my Onkyo 809 for my movies and ps4 , I'm wanting a better sounding Hi-Fi and like the look of separates but not sure which ones as there is a lot out there ! My budget is between £400 - £500 the separates would have to be a CD player , DAB tuner and maybe a network player , I'm not sure if I could connect these to my onkyo 809 and listen to the separates through my Kefs , Or would I need a integrated amplifier ? At the present I have 4 speakers at the front and indecisive wether it looks stupid !
ImageUploadedByAVForums1445546766.556268.jpg
 
Why not try connecting the audio L/R output from the Marantz to the Onkyo L/R in and experiment. You may find that the onkyo is all the amplifier you need and you could then choose which speakers to keep or change both pairs out for a single set of better ones.
Trust your ears but don't be afraid to experiment with the position of the speakers as well - the Kefs look quite wide apart, at least for music.
Jim
 
Thanks Jim a didn't know I could do that with the Marantz I shall have a play about today , do speakers need to be direct in front of were you normally sit ?
 
I just googled the Marantz and Onkyo and looked at pictures of the back panel, but it looks like it. For experimenting I would start by leaving the speakers where they are listen to the arrangement through the Kefs for a while and then connect the Dalis to the Onkyo to see if the Onkyo amp is an improvement on the Marantz. Then try putting the Kefs where the Dalis are- don't change 2 things at once its too hard to compare.
If there is a clear distinction in favour of kef or Dali, take the loser out of the room then try shuffling the position for best effect. Usually the distance between the speakers would be similar to the distance tou sit behind them but not always, hence the shuffle - too wide and there will be 'hole' in the middle of the sound stage, too narrow and it will be hard to define left from right and centre.
One other thing. Try to defeat processing in the Onkyo for music listening ( rtfm) and the experiment otherwise you won't know what on earth is going on!
Jim
 
Tried the marantz into the onkyo with cheap RCA cables and the speakers were distorted and crackling ! I'm considering buying the Marantz CD6005 and the PM6005 and selling the 610 !
 
There is no good reason for it to be distorted, which input did you use?
 
On the Onkyo there are 3 analogue input choices -
stereo LR labelled TV/CD
stereo LR phono labelled phono and
Multichannel ( which has LR front plus surround and sub.
Ideally you should be connected to TV/CD but could at a pinch use the LR of multichannel assuming all the other inputs use hdmi.
The phono connection won't work - it's for a good old fashioned record deck (sorry if I'm trying to teach my Grannie, but the distortion is puzzling)
Jim
 
No your help is much appreciated I've purchased a decent RCA cable so I shall give it a try tomorrow thanks .
 
Cable arrived yesterday and eventually got round to setting it up today ( the correct way this time ) and WOW what a difference with the Kefs I liked the Dalis but the Kefs are miles better !! Thanks jampot90
 
Got to love it when a plan comes together:cool:
Play with the positioning when you get used to the sound and enjoy the music.
Jim
 
It might improve that too - the only way to be sure is to try it out. I wouldn't suggest putting them as close together as you had the Dalis, even for music.
In my system I have only ever located the speakers for convenience (we all have to make them fit into the room unless of course we live alone, if you get my drift) and then for music performance, I have never found the 'music position' to be detrimental to movies.
If there isn't a risk of them being knocked over, it may help to bring them away from the back wall, so that the fronts are roughly in line with the front of your equipment cabinet say.
Jim
 
The speakers have priority in our front room haha so I can position them closer , just have to be cautious of the dog !
 

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