Question Is it worth upgrading my 20+ year old amp?

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I have a Marantz PM66SE KI Signature amp which I purchased new in 1996 for the retail price of £399
I've used it a lot over the years, and it's spent many years in storage on and off, but it still works fine and I am using it currently.
These days I'm mainly listening to streamed music via Spotify Premium (from an Amazon Echo dot at the moment), but I do occasionally use turntables via a DJ mixer too.

Recently I have been considering if it might be time for an amp upgrade...
If I did buy a new amp my budget would be around £400 and I'd either be looking at something brand new or nearly new (2 years old max).

So my question is; at this price point will I notice a significant improvement in sound quality over my existing amp?
 
I don't think you'll get an amp that is as good as the KI for a budget of £400 which is where you would find the pm6006. The KI is just that little bit more powerful. To get a significant improvement you would have to start looking at the Marantz pm8006 or something like the Rega Elex-R which are amps at the £1000 mark.
 
I reckon if your happy with the sound you're existing Amp gives you and you enjoy the music is it worth upgrading?

If your still interesting in upgrading your Amp then i would say auditioning these and judge for yourself how you want to move forward, I reckon doing a home demo on either of the following if you want to go brand new.

Marantz PM6006 - Terrific budget amp and good all around sound (IMO) £299
Yamaha RN602 (Network receiver) Really good for spotify Premium directly on the amp and has a good phono as well. Plenty of power and Richer Sounds currently have this on offer for £299 at the moment.

What kind of speakers will you be using?
 
More to the point is what is lacking in your current amp in your opinion? This would guide you better.

On another note, it might be worth getting serviced if it's still possible.

I recently sold a pioneer A400 due surplus to requirements, nothing I have that's newer outperforms it imo, so just because it's older, don't mean it's worse than modern
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far.

Good questions about why I want to upgrade.... to be honest I'm still happy with the amp, I guess I'm just wondering if I'm missing out on advances in technology over the last 20 years.

Speaker-wise I'm currently using a pair of Kef Q55 floorstanders that were purchased new with the amp.
However, speaker placement is problematic in my new house, and I'm actually toying with the idea of switching to in-ceiling speakers, although I've no idea really if this would be a big compromise in sound quality over what I am used to. If I did this I'd probably go for something like a pair of Kef Ci160QR, and build proper enclosures for them in the loft space as per the Kef recommendations (house is single-storey so plenty of space for this).
 
If you're happy with the sound leave be, in theory amplifiers should not really sound different to others but of course there are differences between brands. The marantz was always considered a good one, nothing really states newer is better.

Please don't get ceiling speakers :(
 
I'll echo the thoughts above, please do not get inceiling speakers for music, bloody awful. If you feel that 55s are now being compromised then perhaps change those for standmounts. I'd suggest the outgoing KEF R300s as they are so easy to place and are great off axis. However they do thrive on power and with just 50 watts into 8 ohms listening levels would have to be medium. Just like any KEF they would suit the Marantz so well.

It does sound with your statement that speaker placement is your main drawback. Post a rough plan of the room and possible speaker placements.
 
Ceiling speakers would be a bad move imo. I would go and audition new standmounts with your budget.
Never was a big fan of the KEF Q series personally. At the recent Bristol Hi-Fi show the B&W 606's did it for me, but £549.
 
Thanks for the replies.
Seems like sticking with the amp makes sense then.

I’ll give the speakers more thought... and I’ll forget the ceiling idea :)
 

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