buying the LSiM 703, what electronics to buy

F1nut

Kinetic wrote: »

http://www.studio-22.com/marantz/images/pm_8005_marantz_alta_fidelidad_amplificador_integrado_y_sa8005.jpg

this combo looks nice in terms of what i want for the features, and I can get good deals on Marantz here in mexico, but again the question, is it good Sound Quality enough for matching the Polks?

Excellent choice.

Kinetic

I went to the mall and ask the sellers of the two big stores, what to buy
Let me be clear that they are selling something, and its better for me to ask here..

the two combos that I liked where this

At and "afordable Price"
Marantz PM8005 Integrated amp (70w x 2) $1,200 DLS
Marantz UD5007 Disc Player

And at a not affordable Price right now (long term buy)
Cambridge Audio Azur 851A Integrated amp (120 x 2) $1,850 DLS
Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD Disc Player

is it worth to wait?

Im aware now that 70W are enough power, however the Sound Quality of the Cambridge is better?

polkfarmboy

I had a marantz 8005 sacd hooked up to a yaqin mc10 and the combo cost $850 used, fantastic sound! The dac in the 8005 via usb really sounded lush and warm combined with the tubes from the yaqin made it my beer rig I would take with me when visiting family out the ranch.

F1nut

At and "afordable Price"
Marantz PM8005 Integrated amp (70w x 2) $1,200 DLS
Marantz UD5007 Disc Player

This is for music, correct? You don't want the UD5007, you want the SA8005.

cnh

At around $1K on sale? It's very very tough to beat that SA8005 CD/SACD. Heck even the SA 600X ain't bad for about half the price. But if you have the money you should go 8005!

I do believe Jesse has an 800X (not sure about the 4 or 5 there); did some cool mods to the FACE plate.

kevhed72

I'll throw out another idea....I had a Cambridge 640 integrated hooked up to my 703s for a short time which I thought sounded good. There was someone here selling the higher powered 840 integrated for under 1000.00. May be a good starting point....

Kinetic

and you think that Cambridge sounds better in quality than marantz?

Mikey081057

Checkout the Parasound Halo integrated

https://www.parasound.com/halo/integrated.php

Kinetic

Zero.

thanks for doing this, as a car audio enthusiasts im very aware of the acoustics, so thats not a big deal over here, (her in mexico most structures are concrete)

but excelent questions:


My idea:
having the best sound quality in music, in my $$$ capabilities

So first I will put the ONKYO home theater in the living room
leave the current TV

I use the actual ONKYO (the one is going downstairs) mostly for music (CDs, SACDs, or Computer Audio) most of the movies I watch are art movies or independent films, no surround system really needed)

however I will need a DVD or Blu ray player.. since I still want to watch movies in my room, and I can have a good BR Player, with good CD, SACD capabilities..

then sometimes use the 2.1 for movies, but mostly for enjoying my computer music, my big collection of CDs and a few SACDs that I have..


how much i want to spend:

I want to spend arround 1,500 on the integrated amp
no more than 1,000 on the Disc Player
subwoofer is going to be a very late change..

what I want to buy:

I already have the POLK LSIM 703 (not yet delivered)
an integrated amplifier
a Disc Player (CD, SACD, DVD, would be great BR Disc)
a good subwoofer, Polk or velodyne dont care right now

right now the combos that i made where this
(this two are sold in mexico, so sometimes go 30% off):

Marantz PM8005 Integrated amp
Marantz UD5007 Disc Player

Cambridge Audio Azur 851A Integrated amp
Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD Disc Player

other options:

Parasound Halo integrated (looks too expensive)
Marantz M-CR610 (very cheap, but maybe not good enough)
Yamaha A-S1000
Peachtree NOVA 125 SE (looks nice)
NAD C 375BEE

Harman Kardon HK 3770 (I dont like HK, however its very cheap in mexico)
Onkyo A-9070 (too much Onkyo in my house)
Krell Vanguard (looks too expensive)
Plinius Inspire 880 (its way too expensive)
Classe CA D200 (way to expensive)

Nightfall

I am seriously interested in that Parasound Halo Integrated. Going to take a lot of saving but I bet it's worth it.

Kinetic

Zero, thanks a lot to you, men you really opened up my mind..

the TV.. well is a Samsung LED SMART TV, Serie 7 i think, its 55 inches.. 18 moths ago was the best 55" without 3D... (i dont use the 3D) and it was 40% Off at COSTCO.

I already check all the suggestions that you made, and as you said, the Hegel, the Dayens, and the TriArt, are awesome, i particularly loved the bam bam and the Menuetto, how ever as you said, its not a versatile amp however im sure they are the best at that Price.

I take a long answering here, because i was very serious about the Menuetto, and I already found a dealer in the states...

it was my first option until today, (here in mexico its going to be mothers day, and for a extrange reason all the electronics including audio and video are in big offers) as all the years, May and November big discounts in electronics..

well there is a nice VIP department store, wich I visited today and they are going to have the Marantz Disc Player that i liked "UD5007" at 50% off, wich is an extraordinarial deal.. (I asked the seller to whatsapp me the first day of the offer, 5th of may i think)

they are probabbly going to have also all the Marantz integrated amps at 50% also..
the have the PSB Synchrony one towers right now in 2000 DLS the pair.. (I love those)

they are not going to sell Marantz, PSB and other brands anymore, so the offer is into the last piece..

so now Im very happy to make that combo that I showed you a few posts ago, for very Little money...
UD5007
PM8005

The question i dont want to ask:
is marantz really crap? because the Brand have a lot of features that i liked..
Blu ray, and SACD player in the same unit
network and USB conectivity
a lot of analog and digital inputs
a nice headphone input
the bass, mids and highs levels..
etc..

1.-Should I go with another Brand without the discount?
2.-Should I take the Marantz discount and buy both devices for the Price of one?
3.-Should I take the offer and buy a better amp from Marantz?
(the PM14S1 instead of the PM8005 wich is more tan twice the Price but no Disc player for now)

Guys im very sorry for asking this.. i took seriously all of your opinions I really do, but having it here in my city, and at that Price its so rare...

txcoastal1

1) I like the Marantz line
2) I like integrated systems, but only pre-amp and amp...because when you start adding other components sharing the same transformers i.e. the CD player you usually are going to add noise and less power provided to speakers

As you see in the difference between the power of the PM14S1 Vs PM8005, something has to go in the compact size and that is power.

3) If you really like the PSB Synchrony One towers, they like power...( like those speakers also)

The PM14S1 has preamp outputs, so you can add an amp in the future.

If it was a budget you can stretch with the limited access to get audio gear I would get the PM14S1, and the PSB Synchrony One's at the close out discount
and add the CD player later...don't play the PSB's super loud

You can always add an amp later to the PM14S1 to really make the PSB's sing

Kinetic

I love the Synchrony, but i recently bought the polk, (dont even in my house yet)
also i dont have the space for a floorstanding, I give you guys the tip. however those speakers are not for me right now..

And the PM-8005 is also a a pre amp.. (just push the power amp diirect feature in the front)

the PM8005 and the PM14S1 are very similar, but 2.5 the Price is worth it?
we already know that there is no much difference in power and i think 70w are enough for me.

maybe there is a difference in sound quality, but is it 2.5 times more quality?
and in the crutchfield site says that the THD is lower on the PM8005 wich is something that i dont understand also..

as I see here:
http://www.crutchfield.com/Responsive/Product/CompareTo.aspx?compareItems=01|642PM8005&compareItems=01|642PM6005&compareItems=01|642PM14S1&g=344650

txcoastal1

Since the PSB's are off the list, then I think your are getting a nice value deal

Kinetic

and for the Little polks what do you thnik?

Marantz PM-8005 with 70w @ 1,200 DLS RSP
Marantz PM-14S1 with 90w @ 3,000 DLS RSP

F1nut

also i dont have the space for a floorstanding,

You do realize the 703's on stands take up the same floor space as the 705/707's, right?

the PM8005 and the PM14S1 are very similar, but 2.5 the Price is worth it?

There are differences other than the wpc. For example, the PM14S1 has a lot more HDAM modules, the chassis is beefed up quite a bit and even the feet are of higher quality.

maybe there is a difference in sound quality, but is it 2.5 times more quality?

Audio gear cannot be compared that way.

the crutchfield site says that the THD is lower on the PM8005 wich is something that i dont understand also..

Basically, a worthless spec. Anything under 1% can't be heard and even then most tube amps spec around 1% THD and generally they sound fantastic.

You asked if the UD5007 is crap. I doubt it, but I haven't heard one. However, by all accounts the SA8005 is the better player for CD and SACD.

My thoughts, since you can get 50% off those pieces, buy them. If down the road you don't like them or want to move up you will likely not lose money selling them.

Kinetic

thanks F1nut,
that really helps me a lot..

Kinetic

as you said, I will buy the things that are 50% off
and as Zero pointed out, its going to sound way better than my current onkyo system

once I have a decent sounding system, I will try to upgrade it, maybe the amp next year, and then the SA8005 maybe i could find it used. and if I find it, is not going to be a replacement since I do need the blu ray player..

however one step at a time.. and its easier when I have something to enjoy "right now"..

the upgrades now can wait way longer, since Im not in a hurry to unpack my polks..

Kinetic

Guys after Reading a lot, and watching some videos from Audioholics, and hearing whats on the stores here in mexico, I decided between 2 brands.. (Arcam and Marantz)

however the reliability issue take a important wheight on my decision and the fact that since its a big, heavy and fragile ítem, the importation to mexico was a big issue.

So I choose Marantz since i love japanesse electronics for their build quality, and also i found another store which is not selling Marantz anymore, and the give me 60% off, and payment options, so I get it cheaper than in the states, (wich is a very rare thing here in mexico) and no shipping fees to pay..

the Brand is staying in México, even in that store, but not in that "subsidiary" (sorry for my english) so i got a year warranty, and spare parts in case i need one..

so i got the last of the PM8005..
and im waiting for more discounts at the end of the month for deciding between the Marantz UD5007 and the UD7007 (Price vs performance)

here I made another discussion topic (the only difference is the DAC):
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/167037/about-dacs#latest

and guys thanks a lot for all the knoledge, even if i didnt bought the brands you recomended, i really start to learn about home audio..

and thanks a lot for your time, if any of you come to mexico city and want to listen my setup, as we say in spanish "mi casa es su casa"

F1nut

You got a great deal. Remember that the speakers and the integrated need to burn in, so don't judge the sound until after 200 hours.

Kinetic

ok i will do it..