On shopping: Cambridge Audio and Myryad

cribeiro

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Hi there!
I will go today to demo CA stuff and also Myryad. I am so excited that I needed to start the thread already now, and I will afterwards write my impressions.
I have decided on the speakers, which will be Triangle (probably the Titus, since the Horizon range won't be longer produced, as the company told me...). Now, I tried Triangle with my Yamaha RX-V 530 and Sony cdp 530, but I didn't feel a difference with respect to my entry-level speakers that could justify the price (my two front speakers are Magnat Motion floorstanders, about 140 euro the pair, while the Triangle are 400 euro/pair, but bookshelf). So I thought that, if I want to get better, then I will need a complete system. So I am now for an amplifier.
I talked yesterday to my dealer, and he recommended me cambridge audio as the "cheap" solution, and myryad if I want to get the best of the speakers. The point is, the myryad stereo amp is 700 euro, and the CA is 500 (azur) or 400 (previous series). He also said that the azur doesn't sound as good as the previous CA series with the Triangles. If I didn't need also the cd player, I'd go for the myryad, but since I also need a cd player in the same leage as the amp, then I don't know if that would be too much money... So today I will try both sets, and see what my impressions are. I'll let you know on Monday (my girfriend doesn't allow me to touch a computer during the weeked :) ) I only hope I don't feel the difference, so I can go for the cheaper solution... Unfortunately, I don't expect it...
 
Heard some Myryad amps in the past and owned one too, and I found they were typical legacy British:
Very warm, bit rolled off on the top, marvellous mids and not very controlled bass.
Talking about stereo amps here, maybe the newer ones are different, dunno.
Always disliked the in-your-face NAD amps, love the Arcam A85 (own one).
Good Luck
Barend
 
Now, this is a sudden change...
From the moment I wrote to now, something strange has happened. My dealer got a couple of second hand Opera minimonitors, and recomended me to demo them with the CA Azur series (640). After that, I demoed the Triangle with both the CA Azur (that, by the way, doesn't match them as good as the old series), and with Myryad Z series. The Triangle were far better with the Myryad Z than with the Azur, being extremely in your face with the latter.
But the Opera and CA Azur were so good, that I decided to go for that. I buy the amp and cd player Azur 640, and a couple of Opera minimonitors for 1600 euros the whole package (note that the Azur 640 A or C cost 500 each here in germany...).
The difference between Triangle+Myryad and Opera+CA Azur was HUGE. In detail, in the nice voices that the Opera give, in the very good bass of the Opera (although less deep), in the nice high freqs, not in your face but still detailed. The only thing I found better with the Triangle was the "live-feeling ". But the Opera gave also enough of that (tried with Buena Vista Social Club, impressive!), not like the Acoustic Energy Aegis Two I demoed before, which had a nice voice reproduction, but lacked in "live-feeling".

With this set, I will be missing bass, because the minimonitors are rated down to 60 Hz, but all bass I get is simply perfect. Tight, fast and detailed (I didn't know bass could be detailed!). Maybe a good sub can cure this later on...
In addition, this brand produces also center speakers, so I could always go the AV way. The dialogs would win a lot with this speakers, because the voices are really well reproduced. Actually, my girlfriend realized about some lyrics in the Buena Vista Social Club cd that she didn't understand before! (note: she is colombian, and the singers are cuban, singin in cuban spanish).

The only thing I wonder about is the price. He offers the Opera Minimonitors for 600 euro, but I think the retail price in Germany is 700 (from what I have found in internet)... So it is kind of weird. I will talk with him about this, maybe I can get another discount... But, on the other side, he gives me the cables for free (and not cheapish ones, but something in the same league as the rest of the system). In addition, he said he can keep one of the remote controls (I get two identical ones) and make the the corresponding reduction in price...

We will see, I have to go there again this week.

I'll keep you informed :)
 
The Azur got a rave review in a German hifi magazine, especially the CD player.
I agree little bass is better than bad bass...
Why not add a subwoofer to take over the below 60Hz range?
You'll find several cheap ones (look for Mordaunt Short, KEF etc.) on Ebay.
REL is wonderful, but not cheap...
Good Luck
 
Up to now, I have an entry-level subwoofer from Magnat, which reaches pretty low, but doesn't detail much. It was 210 euro when I bought it 1 and a half years ago... But I don't think I will plug it to the new amp for more than a trial. Anyway, the sub can wait longer, since my living room is small enough to live with the minimonitors.
What really annoys me is that the retail price of the Opera Mini is 650 euro, and my dealer told me 1000... Maybe they mixed it up with the 1.5, which is 950... I will tell him my findings, and if he doesn't give a better offer, I won't go for them. I mean, it doesn't make sense to buy them for 600 euro second hand, if I can get them new for 50 euro more....

It would be really strange that he is trying to deceive me, since he'd loose a client, he'd get bad reputation (internet spreads the words...), etc... But moreover, he has always been nice to me, and all he told me turned out to be true.

I have already told him to order the Azur amp and cd player... I'll talk to him today without fail.

Edit: now it is clear. The guy bought them for 1000 euro some time ago, so he offered them for 600. But today they cost 650 new, so I told my dealer that, if he keeps the ratio (60%), but with respect to the present price, then we are in business :)
 

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