Question Time for a Change?

[JEDIBLADE]

Just before Xmas my amp (Arcam 850) developednord-one-mp-nc122-4-8-125w-channel-amplifier-black
non X8500 on loan, I was impressed with the sound and liked the 'in your face' approach of the Denon compared with my Arcam. What I didn't like was how it handled music, so I started looking round to see if I could find a compromise, this is what I've come up with ( no listening yet).

https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-one-mp-nc122-4-8-125w-channel-amplifier-black

Marantz UK | AV7705

My room is isn't difficult and although Dirac makes a small difference, it's not massive so I'm not worried about losing Dirac. I mainly use the system for movies but want good quality 2 channel as well. Thoughts?

 

[indus]

Hi
What did you prefer about the Denon compared to the Arcam? Also which Denon was it? I'm not sure if its my phone but the first few lines of your post are a bit muddled up.

Thanks

 

[JEDIBLADE]

The amp was an X8500 and liked how it was more 'in yer face' for movies.

 

[JEDIBLADE]

Any comments?

 

[mb3195]

The new marantz 8805 is awesome. Much prefer it to my old Arcam 860.

I am a movies fan though, so may be different with music.

Music Blu-rays I have heard have sounded really good though.

 

[indus]

Any comments?

You could use the Denon for movies and add a dedicated 2ch preamp with HT bypass for music.
This is what I did when I used to have my stereo and cinema set up as a single system.

It will of course add to the cost but a 2ch preamp never really becomes obsolete so doesn't need changing like an AVR.

This is assuming you don't need room eq or a sub for listening to music. If you do then it won't work.

 

[JEDIBLADE]

You could use the Denon for movies and add a dedicated 2ch preamp with HT bypass for music.
This is what I did when I used to have my stereo and cinema set up as a single system.

It will of course add to the cost but a 2ch preamp never really becomes obsolete so doesn't need changing like an AVR.

This is assuming you don't need room eq or a sub for listening to music. If you do then it won't work.

How does that work?

 

[Deleted member 39241]

I previously had a Denon AVR with a Musical Fidelity integrated amp connected via HT bypass for music. The HT bypass input is a fixed gain so turns the amp into a power amp on that input, which you use with the AVR and then you use the other inputs with your music sources and just use it as a stand alone 2 channel amp when listening to music, with the AVR switched off.

The problem is an integrated amp with HT bypass and enough power for your front mains speakers for HT use, is expensive. Adding an extra power amp in, is an option, but also expensive and then your system gets big and messy.

I switched all of those boxes out for an Arcam AVR550 and although music performance was good, it didn't quite match what I had with the previous set-up. So, I tried adding an external DAC to the system, and boom, that works and sounds lush.

I didn't try this with my previous Denon, so I don't know how good / transparent the Denon 8500 would be in direct / pure direct mode for 2 channel, but if you add in an external DAC that you like the sound of, that might give the improvements for music that you are looking for. I add in a small sub via high level for music, so the AVR is doing as little as possible, just power and a volume control.