Hi, I moved to an apartment and now space is an issue, I will move from lousy separates, if the can be called separates (Power: Carver AV405 Pre: Denon 3803), please don´t laugh...
Option One (Cheap Separates) Rotel RC-1070 Pre Rotel RB-1070 Power
Option Two Musical Fidelity X-150 Musical Fidelity A300 Krell KAV 300i Classe CAP-150 Arcam FMJ A22
Please only SS recommendations and with remote as you can see budget is below 1,000. Associated gear is Signal Cable II IC's, Music Hall CD25 CDP and JBL L150A speakers.
I know you are asking for SS recommendatiosn BUT..consider this. Get a Cayin TA-30 tube integrated, beautifull sound, great looks, and very reliable PLUS an inexpensive cd player, such as a Shanling CDS-100 MkII that has a variable output with remote. This way you will have amazing sound with remote operation....try it ! Good luck.
depending on your tastes, the classe, musical fidelity, mcintosh ma6500, and the dk design vs1 would be more on the warm side. krell more in your face. i sold my separates (classe) and went with the dk design integrated.
I understand these aren't on your list but consider thr Roksan Kandy III or the Creek previously mentioned. The Roksan has many useful features, it works well for me. Good luck.
If you dont mind my asking, what exactly do you dislike about the sound of your lousy separates system ? I mean, besides the fact you think they are lousy and take up too much space. In what way is this system failing your Jbls? I ask because you seem to know what your Jbls have in store given the right sort of amplification.
My amp is a 5 channel AV amp and I have three channels that I've never used and I know that it's not among Carver's good amp list, I know I can get better sound with a new amp
My pre is not really a pre, it's a Denon receiver and although it has something which is called Pure Direect mode which shuts down the video and digital circuits I also think I can do better with a dedicated 2 channel pre or an intagrated in this case.
I really think that most any of the options I mentioned in my initial post will be a substantial improvement over the Carver/Denon combo, the speakers are keepers and when I do upgrade they will stay for a second system.
Plese let me know about the differences of the two MF's I mention.
Thanks.
My gear is now in the living room and it does sound much better than the previous one, specially in the imaging department.
Foxtrot, improvement sounds good! Sorry to answer your question with another question. You obviously are looking for some answers. While you are waiting for some help to spell out the differences between the 2 mf amps, you might want to check out the archives if you havent already. Not the same, but I know a lot has been written about musical fidelity there and you might come across something helpful until more information arrives via your thread. I think quite a bit has been written about Jbls there too, so there is the chance you might come across amp recommendations not mentioned here yet or considered by you previously. Ive liked the Jbls I have heard and considered them when I was looking to replace my old pioneer speakers, so I will be curious to see what amps you will be looking to for your system.
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