Is my amp good enough?

How about take your existing speakers to A/B with the new speakers (if dealer allows). Use their same electronics to compare. This should tell you if there is enough difference worth it to you.
 

Yes, I was actually thinking that. I just might. I’ll go once this weekend and see what I can set up as far as having a listen goes. 

Early on the congratulations I haven’t bought them yet.

neversatisfied OP 16 posts 11-29-2023 at 03:58pm  How about take your existing speakers to A/B with the new speakers (if dealer allows). Use their same electronics to compare. This should tell you if there is enough difference worth it to you.   Yes, I was actually thinking that. I just might. I’ll go once this weekend and see what I can set up as far as having a listen goes.

panzrwagn 373 posts 11-29-2023 at 04:32pm  Congratulations, The MA Gold 300 5Gs have only won like 6 major international awards. In other words, they're pretty awesome. They're also relatively efficient and relatively low impedance, both of which play well into your current amps strengths, which include 400W/Ch@4Ohm dynamic power. You don't need more power.  The MA Gold 300 5Gs will require some break-in, and while not difficult to place need to be away from the back wall to avoid muddy mid-bass, which can be mitigated to some degree by using one or both of the port bungs. They will also respond to some degree of toe-in to focus the image and soundstage. Note that blocking the upper or lower port can matter a lot, especially to keep vocals from getting 'too thick'. On my MAs, in my room, blocking the lower port worked best. If you haven't done any acoustical treatment to your room, I would do that long before upgrading your electronics. Your system easily justifies that, and you will be amazed at the results. Once again, great speakers, congratulations.

neversatisfied OP 16 posts 11-29-2023 at 05:09pm  Early on the congratulations I haven’t bought them yet.

ozzy 6,965 posts 11-29-2023 at 05:54pm  Looking at the Stereophile review, consider the statement below. "The Monitor Audio needs to be partnered with an amplifier that is comfortable driving low impedances."     So in layman’s terms what does that mean exactly? These are the details which are above me, hence the original post.

Thing is I haven’t purchased the speakers yet. Auditioning would be at the store and probably with a much more expensive pre and power amp. I know this store sells NAD products, I guess I could ask if they would have something close to mine to use for the in store audition.

If the speaker alone sounds substantially better than my old Silvers I would still go ahead with the idea of upgrading the pre amp and amp down the road.

So I get the sense that a preamp would be a more logical upgrade (with the new speakers) before the power amp?

Oh, and for cables…..lol

So my thinking, and please chime in with your opinions.

I would like to think the speaker upgrade alone would result in sufficient improvements to my sound. I would hope that that will bring me 80% of the way and that a preamp upgrade down the road would be the other 20%. Theoretical numbers of course and not necessarily 80/20 but the speakers being the higher value in the split.

I am not one to buy into the really over the top snake oil stuff. I agree that those hugely expensive items will perhaps get you a percentage point or two, nothing my human ears will notice anyway.

I liked the opinions that my separates would be sufficient, something I was hoping to hear. As long as the speaker upgrade alone brings me a significant (to me) improvement, I would be happy with that for now. And I would think the current Gold 300 must be a noticeable improvement over my 20 year old Silver 8’s.

“

mesch

3,305 posts

11-28-2023 at 08:34am 

+  @onhwy61 .

I would listen to the speakers with your current amplification a while to let them settle in and yourself get to know them.Then ask yourself what you wish to improve and search out amplification that will provide desired improvement. 

What are your sources?

 

Rega RP3, NAD CD player, NAD receiver

“The title question is; Is my amp good enough?

The op is: neversatisfied

Have you not answered your own question?”

 

I figured someone would pick up on that.

I’m trying to figure out how to quote and reply in this forum with little luck so far

Rega RP3 and a NAD CD player.

Yes. As did the recording studio in my basement and the Gibson guitars, etc. 

The weakest link will undoubtedly be my bank account.

Copy the quote > Paste the quote > click the " icon prior to the smiley face.
 

I see. That’s different . Cheers!

I have a better idea of what I will do going forward now. Thanks to everyone for the advice

Yes. They have a NAD C368 Integrated amp on hand. That might be close to mine, a little below in fact. I’ll ask them to use that if at all possible. Hopefully they have a display unit. If not I am sure they will have something in the range of my components. I really don’t want to rip mine out as they are nicely installed as far as all the wiring goes.

This weekend I will go and have a proper listen to them and see where that leads me.

Once again, cheers to you all for the advice. It might be a few weeks but I’ll report back once I’m up and running.

 

While this is a great hobby and these forums can be very helpful,  ultimately you should trust your own ears. They’re better than all the subjective opinions you’ll read. 😊
 

This weekend ! 

try a used hegel... a cut above nad sonically, as an amplifier

h190’s have had a recent price cut... a steal a current used prices for the performance to be had
 

I’ve seen this brand mentioned a few times. The few high end stores I frequent don’t seem to carry them. I will look around. But the more I read hear, the more I trust I will be happy with the NAD….for now.

It was all sounding very positive before the last reply

 

Is “sound” not more from the pre amp than the power amp?

I was under the assumption that the amp gives the bang for the buck whereas the pre is more for how the sound shapes up, detail, sound stage, etc.

To me the difference in sound between different speakers is much greater than the sound of different amps..I agree the preamp is often overlooked as the major component it is....might also be time to consider an Integrated Amp...not simply a question of better or worse, but the speaker-amp matching...

So why integrated? I always thought separates were the way to go?

 

If you like changing amps and preamps, yes only separates will do...but at  a given price point there are advantages to an Integrated...and over the last few years as they've become more popular, there are some great sounding, high value Inregrateds out there...

I am sure it will be something I will look at down the road. However, as the majority of the replies here have suggested my kit should be sufficient to drive the speakers I am interested in, I will stick with the NAD components for the time being. Providing something does not alter that view when I demo the MA's.

Build me up, then knock me down! Just when my hopes are high.

given the quality of serious modern hifi integrated amps i think one needs to be quite high (as in, very very high( on the hifi food chain for pre/power separates to show their sonic value over good quality integrateds from major, well respected brands ... wayyy higher than this op in his gear choices as stated

This must be a valid point. Having just browsed the two different websites of my usual local high end audio shops, I am finding that the current line up of integrated amps on offer [Moon, Naim, Macintosh, Arcam, Rotel,etc.] all have lower wattage specs then my kit. 

Now I must admit that the actual science of the technology is beyond my lay comprehension. To me watts are watts and I thought that's what drives my speakers, generally speaking. Yes of course one will sound DIFFERENT than the other. I don't want to split hairs at this time.

To my original question, I want to upgrade my speakers. I do not, at this moment in time. want to upgrade my amp and pre. Will my current kit provide me with a decent improvement in sound, one that will justify the price of the speakers. Of course I will most likely upgrade the amp at some point.

I understand this is a rabbit hole of immense proportions and that by simply asking a question it will result in as many different responses as there are stars in the sky. I wish I understood the numbers on the spec sheets better but I do not. It all becomes rather confusing. Hence the quest for a somewhat simple answer to my question. Thankfully most of the responses have been along the lines of what I needed to hear.

My apologies if that comes across a bit angrily but it's frustrating when the majority of the responses are positive only to get the negative ones pop up and then I start to worry about my desire to upgrade my speakers at all without the prospect of having to spend $$$ on a new amp. But I asked, so I should accept it.

And...it's early....I'm just ingesting my first coffee, so there's that.

I think the point many are trying to make is that you may want to go up the chain in terms of sound quality once you have had the speakers for a bit. Trust me, watts are not just watts, both amps and preamps make a big difference. There was always some degree of graininess in the sound of my earlier system, I have eliminated that through upgrades. 

Absolutely. Something I will no doubt consider down the road.

Yes, well..I have had my caffeine fix for the morning but have also realized I have finally caught my wife's cold. Hence the grumpy mood. I think new speakers are in order to cheer me up. So the cold will not stop me from going to the shop to audition those MA's.

I remain thankful for ALL the replies.

So I just came back from the audition. They used the lowest Arcam model available which the salesman said would be comparable to my  amp. 
 

Absolutely amazing! I was totally blown away with how much better they sound vs my 20 year old Silver 10’s. It was immediately apparent. We listened to a good range of music styles to cover all the bases. He moved the speakers to where the amp was setup and I guess as it was not the highest end amp in the place, it was not in an ideal setting for room treatment. And yet still the speakers were outstanding.

I have no fear that they will not sound awe inspiring in my listening room here at home. I plunked down my Visa card without hesitation. The local warehouse was out of stock here in Canada so I am waiting for a shipment from the States. Should be a couple of weeks. I can’t wait.

Yes. Amp next. Actually the Arcam used for the audition was pretty nice. It was the integrated A25 I believe.

I am no different than most of us here. It’s an addiction. No doubt further upgrades will happen. But I will spend some time with the new speakers first, letting them break in. Then we will see.

I may add a slightly higher grade of speaker wire to go with them even though something in my brain still wonders if that’s snake oil. I have a set of Audioquest Type 4 on my Silvers now. Maybe bump them up and move the old Type 4 down to my Focal towers in my home theatre setup.

Like those guys said- never been a fan of NAD but to each their own...

And that was constructive to me, how?

I never thought of asking for some loaner cables, good idea. I’ll ask when the speakers come in. I wouldn’t mind trying something a bit pricier that the AudioQuest Type 5, which right now I would probably go with.

Yes thank you kairosman. I’m already doing my on line shopping and reading reviews in preparation. Cheers!

I was almost about to order the Arcam SA30, and might still do so as it’s on a great sale price until the end of December. However, I just received a reply to an email I had sent to Monitor Audio in the UK. They said I should be good to go with the NAD C275bee .They claim that it puts out sufficient wattage to “comfortably drive the 300’s”

I am hoping the speakers come in with at least a few days to listen to them. And if I have the desire for an amp upgrade I can grab the SA30 before the sale ends. $1000 off is too hard to pass up. Plus my thinking is that it probably has a more musical preamp section than my C165bee.

In some sense the question is "is good enough good enough"...you certainly can get better, but at what price? Did you compare the Arcam to the NAD ?    There is no question your NAD is "good enough"..

Yes, this was what I was alluding to in the second paragraph. As the audition was with the SA20, and I can not forget just how nice the speakers sounded, I am thinking the SA30 with more watts will be just as nice as the 20 if not even better. [Plus its a streamer which is a nice bonus!]

When I get the MA's home and I find its missing some of that glory, I will rush down for the SA30 before the sale is over. Or that is the plan anyway. A lot of it hinges on me getting the speakers in time, but it will be close.