First HIFI system


Hi everyone! I'm on the market to buy my first HIFI system without breaking the bank and have done some research without being able to make a decision so far. My biggest limitation is the layout of the living room. Although is a decent 38m2 with high ceilings I'm limited on the spacing between speakers at about 2 meters apart.
I'm inclined to the Marantz M-CR612 with a pair of decent column speakers, first option was the Qacoustics 3050i for their 91dB sensitivity but one of the vendors I've contacted advised to go with the MonitorAudio Bronze 200 since the drivers are about 1" smaller and would perform better at 2meters apart. I understand that both of them have their on pros and cons and sound quality will depend on my own sensibility, but do you guys think this will be a good match?
I'm thinking on using QED XT40 speaker wires.
Thanks and looking forward for your feedback!
pblayer
Your guy is nuts, the Monitor Audio is only 88dB sensitivity. 

Look, you are on a budget, you have to be smart. Anything low sensitivity is going to call for more power in other words more money. There's a million components, a thousand great ones, and one of the ways you narrow down the field to something manageable is by eliminating all the stuff that is only going to cost you money, and one of those filters is low speaker sensitivity. Even if all you do is ignore everything below 95dB that one thing alone will make your life so much easier. 

You can now look for any amp 20 watts and up. There are a lot of very good very reasonably priced amps around 20 to 50 watts. You can find them cheap at 200 watts, but not good. So this one little 95dB thing both saves you money and gets you better sound. 

Watch the guys who got sucked into buying low sensitivity speakers scream! Too late for them. But not for you. Listen and learn.  

You don't mention a budget. Very important you have a budget. One more filter. The two speakers you mention are $600-800 so I assume that's your budget and so you want a good speaker 95dB sensitivity $600-800. Here you go: https://tektondesign.com/product/full-range-speakers/mid-towers/mini-lore/#color
Do a search, read the reviews and comments, you will find this is a very well regarded speaker. Huge improvement over the two you were looking at. A big part of this is they are direct from the manufacturer.
The cheap wire you are looking at is probably only barely better than lamp cord. I would skip it and search around for some used Synergistic Research speaker cable. Anything you find for around $100 will be light years better than XT40. 

You still need an integrated amp, source, and interconnect. For starters. What's your budget?



I would not buy any amp with a power rating given at 6 ohms. Look for a better amp that gives the power rating at 8 ohms. This is the power rating of that Marantz!
  • 50 watts x 2 into 6 ohms (1 kHz) at 0.7% THD in stereo mode

Answering your question pblayer got me looking and I came across an important point mentioned earlier, the value in buying direct from the manufacturer. Please take a minute to check out the user review here https://tektondesign.com/product/full-range-speakers/flagship/moab/#color The second one from David Das. He's talking about Moabs (which I have and highly recommend) but the math applies equally to the Mini-Lore. Eric uses much higher quality drivers than you would ever find in other speakers of the same price.
Btw, it is not the power rating that excludes the Marantz from consideration. It is a CD receiver. Whatever that is, it is a lot of stuff crammed into one box. Seems like a value but the sound quality will be atrocious!    

Yet another filter: integrated amp. No receivers, for damn sure no AVRs. The more stuff they put in there, the less you want it. Only exception, phono stage. Maybe. That's it. Integrated.
+1 for Miller.

FWIW, I have aa lot of misgivings about a piece of equipment that does everything but make my breakfast. may be  inexpensive, but it reminds me of one of those all ion one woodworking machines that do a little bit of everything but none of them very good. I can see an integrated with a DAC maybe. 

We all have a budget. I've had a low budget and understand your plight. But as Miller has said, do your research and buy smart. Consider used IF it is a good brand with good reviews. Its not hard to buy a used piece at half price. patience and research can stretch your budget and get you a better outcome. Good luck to you and continue to ask  questions. Lots of good info here @ A'gon

It should be pointed out that smaller speakers that are also higher efficiency will tend to have more limited bass extension. That’s just physics and the way it works, including Tekton. So a separate sub will likely be needed to get full or near full range bass. You need larger speakers in general to get full extended bass AND high efficiency.

So just pointing out that high efficiency speakers are not a panacea and like most things have a down side. One can choose to live with or work with that or not......its all good.

Also integrated amp technology has come a long way in recent years. Much more can be accomplished in tight quarters there than in years past. Good modern integrated amps can deliver a lot of power and current and a lot of features with a very very low noise floor, unlike much vintage gear of the past. The Vanatoo products are a good example.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xH2JKLfBkodynuzaA




Do you have a budget you need to stick to specifically? I see those speakers on Amazon for 995 and the Marantz at 699. If budget is close to 2k I think your money will go much further buying used equipment. 

Even on a budget there are all kinds of options. Tekton Mini-Lore with a good $800 integrated for example, might seem to leave you with nothing to listen to. But you could connect your phone to that and it will sound better than the Marantz receiver. That's how big a difference there is between an integrated amp and a receiver. Then in a month or so upgrade to a streamer or whatever source. Then as funds allow upgrade the speaker cable, interconnect, put Pods under everything.... year or so from now you have a truly fine system.  

This approach also allows more time to focus on what you are doing, and why, and learning more about each component. Plus as you learn more you benefit more because each new upgrade you know more and have a better idea what you're doing than in the beginning. People who buy everything all at once have the instant gratification but almost always within a month or so are thinking of what they would have done different. So take your time, make fewer mistakes. Mistakes cost money. Don't make em!
@mapman 

Maybe you are right. I can't say. But I DO know that there is a t least one generation that listen to Mp3's and think they sound good. Some musicians I have played music with, think 128mbps is CD quality. Since the vinyl resurgence, 've seen a lot of people say that a VG record sounds fine. I can't tell you how many times I see people  listening to music on their phone's pin head size speaker. When offered a Bluetooth speaker, they say, Nah, it's fine.

So I often wonder what modern society believes good sound  is? I've seen too many of the above actions to trust they do. Obviously there are exceptions in both equipment and people.
Probably more confused than regretful. Welcome to the worlds most cynical audio forum where opinions are facts. 
Thanks to everyone for the quick response and feedback, that is a lot to digest. I do understand everybody point of view, but let me explain mine. I'm limited on speaker placement due to the layout of the room, I know, I should have placed my furniture after the HIFI and not the other way around. For example I only have a niche of 22" by 22" for my left speaker and a maximum of 80" to keep speakers apart. I'll probably have to pull that one out from the niche if I crank that volume up just for it to have space to breathe. 
I'm not a sound purist or have the knowledge to understand it but I do listen to music more than i watch TV and for that reason sound quality is important. We've been listening to music from a compact stereo with two book self speakers on a tiny room and just by moving this compact stereo to a new house with enough space for sound to propagate put a smile on everybody face. I'm looking to get something that can give me a better sound experience but within the same use scope we have used the old stereo with music streaming and occasional CD listening.
The idea for an all in one system besides $ saving is the convenience of having only one piece of equipment and with the constant equipment evolution easier to replace/upgrade once i start having a better understanding of what is important to me sound wise, which is going to take time and mistakes.
My budget is not limited but I don't wanna go crazy buying something that I don't have the space or the sensibility to fully enjoy since we mostly listen to music while we're doing stuff around the space and not sitting down at an optimal distance being engulfed by that music that gives us the chills. Hopefully this initial systems will open the Pandora box for the search and need of that experience.
I live in the Azores islands so used equipment is not an option cause there's none to choose without having to get on a plane to go listen to it and same said on what's available locally for me to purchase.
I'm open to spend extra money on a separate amplifier and a network/cd player. Initially looked at the ND8006 with the PM8006 but that was 2.5K without the speakers. Found a full pack with the Polk S55 for around 3K but the space limitations conditioned that purchase. Unfortunately I'm realizing that might have to use a separate room that has no space limitations for the HIFI if want to have something great.
Just for example, in the case of the Vanatoo, you can connect any laptop or home computer with a CD drive to the USB input and play from your computer. THe USB input has Max sample rate of 96K at 24 bits. OR CD via standard S/PDIF input. Check the specs/photo of rear for all the input options. The small size but big sound and overall flexibility would make it a slam dunk to start with for only ~$600. I’d predict the sound is at least as good as the combo you are considering, probably better given all the flexibility to adjust the sound including built in DSP and also tone controls. Not to mention each speaker is biamped internally so 4 internal amps in use overall for well over 100w/ch into 8 ohm. No joke!

I first heard them at a high end audio show, Capital Audiofest, where the room was one of the busiest in the show...lots of impressed audiophiles listening including me.

Mine are in my wife’s sunroom where space is limited and hifi gear only tolerated if unobstrusive.
@pblayer
 
maximum of 80" to keep speakers apart.
That is sufficient. My towers are only 86" center to center

The idea for an all in one system besides $ saving is the convenience
I certainly understand convenience. The older I get the more I understand it. 'll be 70 next week. However, convenience often comes with compromises. Everything costs money, often more than we planned. I set out to spend $1K and end up spending $1600-2000. because that is the reality of what I want. The more convenience, the more $$$ spent for it in the design and compromises to make it more convenient. this is especially true as you pile on the various hardware. thus my earlier statement about the Marantz. It comes down to balance IMO.

used equipment is not an option cause there's none to choose without having to get on a plane to go listen to it.
Forget listening to it. Most of us no longer have that option. Besides, the worst purchase I ever made sounded great in the hifi store with THEIR equipment. Sounded terrible in mine and was an a'phile piece too. And expensive. 
Learn to read reviews. Look for the commonalities of what people say about its sound and function. look for the common strengths & weakness's. Then you can buy used and get more Bang per buck. 
FWIW I have assembled a top tier system using the above info. I made little or no real mistakes. They were the proper steps along the way. System listed but needs a lot of update. Best to you.
You might consider a powered speaker.  Something like the Elac Navis series.  You still need some form of volume control.  Perhaps, ranging from a basic preamp to one with integrated streaming and dac capabilities.  A popular budget streamer like a Bluesound Node has volume control but would not permit the addition of a CD player.
Does your current CD player incorporate a digital output?  If so, a preamp with dac could present an upgrade path.

The Navis stand mounts are $2300.00, figure around $450.00 for dedicated stands.  The least expensive preamp/dac I know of, the Cambridge Dac Magic is $349.00.  A Bluesound Node 2i is $549.00.  
You will have potential to upgrade to better preamps, streamers, power cords, and interconnects or just stop where you’re at.


@pblayer

your idea of q acoustics and marantz all in one are just fine you will enjoy them

of course you could spend more and get better sound - for example a naim uniti atom and spendor or dynaudio floor standers but you would be spending a lot more
Not being familiar with your chosen components I looked them up and can understand your interest in the Marantz M-cr612. Seems to be a good fit, allowing CD playback, streaming playback, signal processing, inputs or other analog and digital sources, and SW output in a single component.  The Q acoustics speakers may  be a good fit as well, however there are many options at $800. One thing to consider is how loud you sometimes listen to music. You will want a speaker that represents an easy load for the Marantz. The Q speakers will serve however not at exceptionally loud levels.  
Also, based on specs the Q speakers would be easier for the Marantz to drive than the Monitor Audio 200s. Which are 4 ohms speakers.  
As another said consider the Elac Navis or maybe the KEF LS50 Wireless if you want to keep it simple and clean.  I think the LS50 looks really slick and the active version has surprising bass. Also could add a small 8 inch wireless sub in a corner later if you felt the need. 
A couple other floorstanding speakers that are within budget and would be compatible with the Marantz are the PSB T20 and the JBL A170 (or the larger A190).
Having too much fun here. Two others to add, the Wharfedale D300 or the Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 . 

All my recommendations have a US list price between $600 and $800 except for the JBL A190. 

Pay attention to the sensitivity rating and the minimum impedance. All are nominal 6-8 ohm.

Some offer more flex regarding decor.

Not sure of availability given your location.

Good luck in your search.
I really appreciate and value everyone response to this! Thank you very much to all. 
If it were me I'd stretch for a pair of Vandersteen 1Ci's and just get a used receiver at a pawn shop or ebay or something.  Recent AV receivers tend to sound pretty darn good, and since the audio/video processing tends to go obsolete quickly the resale value is low.  I've got a couple in secondary systems that sound much better than most audio enthusiasts would want to admit.  You can find a Yamaha Aventage for <$200 on ebay.  They have preouts so you could buy a separate amp later to upgrade the power and eventually upgrade to a legitimate stand alone preamp if you want to.  I had a pair of Thiel 2 2s run by a Yamaha receiver in a living room system that I had a grand total of $1,300 into.  Had I started with that I might have lost interest in upgrading.  I think I added an old B&K ST202 amp to upgrade the power (not much difference) and it was wonderful.