Upgrade current system - Jamo A102HCS

[jackv545]

Hi All,

New member here but I have enjoyed reading the threads & reviews over the years. I have had a JAMO A102HCS systems with Jamo DMR60 amp for many many years and I am now looking to upgrade. I am not too bothered about surround sound and will primarily use the speakers for music. I have looked at moving to a soundbar such as the Sony Z9F or the Samsung HW-N850 but a separates system (2.1 or 5.1) is not out of the question.

What would people recommend for less than £1000? Will the difference between such soundbars and a separates system of similar price be significant?

Thanks in advance

 

[Gasp3621]

I am not too bothered about surround sound and will primarily use the speakers for music.

I have looked at moving to a soundbar...

Will the difference between such soundbars and a separates system of similar price be significant?

Thanks in advance

You asked this on Aprils fool day, so i hope you were serious..

Massive difference if you have the space for standmount speakers sitting on speaker stands and buying some good stereo amp. Not sure why would you be looking soundbar if main use is listening music. It will be night and day better than those tiny Jamos aswell. For movies less immersive, but the overall sound quality, scale/depth, detail is in different league. You can add subwoofer later also.


If you need streaming features with spotify, airplay, bluetooth etc. something like this would do the trick (if not, there is better options for cd listening):
Yamaha RN602 (Silver)

With speakers you have zillion and one models to choose from. QA Concept 20 would be something i would gladly add to list of candidates as it competes with +500£ costing speakers easily:
Q Acoustics CONCEPT 20 (Black)

Pair of quality stands, again many to choose from:
Custom Design RS300 (Black)

Just a few options to show that you don`t need to break bank to get great sound quality! Remember to bring your favourite music with you, this is very important when buying new system. Don´t let anyone choose it for you, trust your ears!

 

[jackv545]

Wow the q acoustic speakers get amazing write ups. Would you recommend upgrading the Jamo dmr amp to the Yamaha or could I use the q acoustic speakers with my current Jamo amp?

Thanks again

 

[Gasp3621]

Wow the q acoustic speakers get amazing write ups. Would you recommend upgrading the Jamo dmr amp to the Yamaha or could I use the q acoustic speakers with my current Jamo amp?

Thanks again

Yes i would definitely buy new amp if you purchase some quality speakers! It doesn´t need to be that Yamaha necessarily.

Another option is 7.2ch AV receiver (400£ mark) which has all the bells and whizzels, but if you are sure you aren´t going back to surround system, meaning you prefer 2.0 stereo system then buy some quality stereo amp instead. If you listen mostly cd`s and aren´t after the new features, check these:
Marantz PM6006 UK Edition (2018) review | What Hi-Fi?
Audiolab 6000A review | What Hi-Fi?
Rega Brio Integrated Amplifier Review

And the Yamaha RN-803 model price has dropped good bit also (569£). This review gives you good idea of the features and there is plenty of them!
Yamaha R-N803D Network Receiver Review


With the speakers check what is available within your budget and then go to hifi shop asking you want to listen / compare these models. You might example prefer more bass if you listen X type of music more, then something physically larger like Dali Zensor 3 or Monitor Audio Bronze 2 could be more enjoyable, but if you can opt for speakers around 500£ mark, there is again lot to choose from. Example Monitor Audio Silver 50, B&W 606, KEF Q350.. Listen the QA Concept 20s as they are priced so low and lot of people loves them! It comes down to your personal taste, so do not buy blindly anything! Demoing speakers is free, no need to buy anything right away - take your time!

And don´t forget the speaker stands (~60cm tall and check top plate size vs. speaker size) and likely cd-player aswell (?). If you buy all at once you should get some discount including free wires!

You likely have local Richer Sounds there, but also Audio-T hifi shop near Essex. They have B&W, Dali, Monitor Audio, KEF speakers with Marantz, Audiolab and Rega amps so you can do some listening comparisons! Store Finder | Audio T

Hope this get`s you started..

 

[jackv545]

Thanks for the replies so far. I’ve been doing quite a lot of research and am unsure yet if i will get bookshelf or floorstanders. Until I decide whether I can go for floorstanders I was wondering how you think the q acoustics concept 20 or the 3050/3050i (if I can get floorstanders) speakers would sound with a bk xxls400 subwoofer? Would these be a good combo?

 

[Gasp3621]

Thanks for the replies so far. I’ve been doing quite a lot of research and am unsure yet if i will get bookshelf or floorstanders.

I must have forgotten to mention these two. You get 1300£ speakers for 599£ and the smaller R100 goes for 299£! Likely the best deals at the moment in UK, but they will be sold out soon! The prices are so low that even if you buy blindly and somehow wouldn`t like them, you could easily sell them forward for same price any day.
KEF R100 Bookshelf Speakers
KEF R300 Bookshelf Speakers

If you call and ask about availability, please share with us! R300 shows black only, R100 black/white, but PT is lazy to upgrade their site so can´t trust it.

I´m quite sure you wouldn´t miss the subwoofer right away with the R300s as they are not small speakers! Coming from the tiny Jamos even the R100 would be massive upgrade.

XXLS400 is great choice for 2.1 system, no doubt! There is a reason why it has been so popular about 10year time. Good chance to get one under 400£ from the BKs ebay site (new grade-b).