Is my compact system due an upgrade. Any ideas would be great.

Tigger72

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Hi all - this is my first post so will try and make it brief :). Any advice would be greatly appreciated here

Since the 90's I had owned what I considered to be a fairly nice setup for me.

Pioneer VSA730 Amp - Technics SL-PS740A CD Player - Technics RXB646 Cassette Player - Mission 760i Speakers

During various house improvements over the years the system has been used less and less to where it eventually sat unloved. I decided to sell the system off piece by piece and replace it with a single all-in-one but keeping my Mission 760s.
I had a demo session of a Denon M40 and Yamaha MCR470. I preferred the sound of the Yamaha so purchased one. Once at home it just sounded plain dull.
Quickly replaced this with a Pioneer P1DAB and the N-P01 network player which sounded much better. I also purchase some Mission LX-2's to replace my now ageing 760s.

I am still left feeling that the sound just isn't as full or warm as my original system. So simple questions would be:

:Would reasonably priced full sized separates be an upgrade as the P1DAB is supposedly an entry level audiophile product just compact.
:Would a Class AB amp give me the warmer sound I am after.

My budget would be approx £1000 for the amp, cd player and possibly a network player although I would consider something like a Yamaha WXD-10. I would like to keep the LX-2s unless they're not up to the job.
I listen to CD's, internet radio and Spotify connect. I am not too worried about streamed audio from NAS/laptop/USB.

Thanks for listening.
 
I would warmly recommend looking at the Denon DCD600NE, PMA600NE and a Bluesound Node 2i. With your Missions, this will provide you with all the features you want, and a very persuasive sound. I think you would struggle to better it for the price.
 
Thanks for the response. I hadn't really given too much thought to the Denon range as I assumed they were a Class D amp and would perform similar to the Pioneer. I had taken an initial interest in the Cambridge Audio AXR85 but I suppose the only true way is to head over to Richer Sounds and have a good few hours in the demo room. Not for a month or so though :thumbsdow. Thanks for the advice anyway - much appreciated.
 
I listen to CD's, internet radio and Spotify connect
Is CD a must have requirement? Many people are happy to have moved away from physical media music sources in favour of high quality streaming services from the likes of Qobuz, Tidal (and Spotify Premium).

Also, reading between the lines, I get the impression you would prefer a more discrete hifi system rather than a set of full size units provided the performance isn't compromised. If so, the Bluesound Powernode 2i may tick all the boxes as an all-in-one solution. If this doesn't appeal, and provision of a CD player is mandatory then I would tend to agree with the approach suggested by @matthewpiano78.
 
Thanks for the response. I hadn't really given too much thought to the Denon range as I assumed they were a Class D amp and would perform similar to the Pioneer. I had taken an initial interest in the Cambridge Audio AXR85 but I suppose the only true way is to head over to Richer Sounds and have a good few hours in the demo room. Not for a month or so though :thumbsdow. Thanks for the advice anyway - much appreciated.

The Denon PMA600NE and PMA800NE are both conventional class A/B amplifiers.
 
@matthewpiano78 - Thankyou for the confirmation. My assumption was incorrect and would most definitely put the Denon's on the list in that case.

@mseve1 - My preference is actually full sized separates. We just didn't have the space for them - however we potentially do now which changes things slightly. Yep - I'm afraid I still prefer the good old CD.

Thanks both
 
The Pioneer claims 75w at 4 ohms, which is about 40 at the more usual 8 ohms. Yet it’s power draw is a claimed 48w.

It was never going to do the Missions any good.

These will, and it’s all you really need for the Missions.

Spotify, Bluetooth and airplay included along with a few others and DAB plus Vtuner and also has a digital inputs for your tv should you do decide.


And this. A fine and powerful amp.

They’ll get the best out of your speakers and survive a speaker upgrade in the future.


And you might get a further discount for buying both.
 

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