As a point of reference, my small home office system uses the separate Blue Circle CS Power Amp, with the original B&W CDM-1 on stands. (I am using a CJ Motif preamp.) A Stan Warren DVD player is the source along with a 1970s vintage Kenwood tuner.
Small monitors for a dear aunt
i have a very kind aunt that loves classical music but is no longer satisfied with the cheap portable radio/cd she has now used for several years.
before i go on any further, mega buck gear need not apply for this situation. this will most likely be a combination bday/xmas present to her from several family members that do not share my taste in gear.
the system i have in mind for the woman that treated me like her own son would be
monitor speakers/stands (bookshelf size, nothing huge and pricey, placement may be issue so no rear ports)
an integrated amp (no huge tube beasts, prefer ss or hybrid)
a marantz cd600ose hand me down from me
an msb link iii d/a hand me down from me
kimber 4tc hand me down
hand me down ics from my assorted collection
gear can be new or used
i need some advice on matching monitor and amp so that an older non-audiophile woman can enjoy her free time and eventual retirement listening to mahler, wagner, rimsky-korsakov, brahms, and so on
her real interest and attention is captured by the soft and liquid moments within a composition, so accuracy/staging/imaging here would be priority
but i don't want sloppy reproduction of the ooommphh and pow in these compositions
roll-off is fine, but what does come through should be composed and firm, no bloat
budget i have in mind is about $700 to $800, though less would be nice and a stretch may be possible
the room is a guess at this point, i have not measured, but from memory i think we are talking about 8ft by 12ft
ideally i think a blue circle integrated with triangle titus monitors would be very nice, maybe im wrong, but it sounds nice in theory to me
please post your thoughts and suggestions so that i can begin my search, her bday is late november
before i go on any further, mega buck gear need not apply for this situation. this will most likely be a combination bday/xmas present to her from several family members that do not share my taste in gear.
the system i have in mind for the woman that treated me like her own son would be
monitor speakers/stands (bookshelf size, nothing huge and pricey, placement may be issue so no rear ports)
an integrated amp (no huge tube beasts, prefer ss or hybrid)
a marantz cd600ose hand me down from me
an msb link iii d/a hand me down from me
kimber 4tc hand me down
hand me down ics from my assorted collection
gear can be new or used
i need some advice on matching monitor and amp so that an older non-audiophile woman can enjoy her free time and eventual retirement listening to mahler, wagner, rimsky-korsakov, brahms, and so on
her real interest and attention is captured by the soft and liquid moments within a composition, so accuracy/staging/imaging here would be priority
but i don't want sloppy reproduction of the ooommphh and pow in these compositions
roll-off is fine, but what does come through should be composed and firm, no bloat
budget i have in mind is about $700 to $800, though less would be nice and a stretch may be possible
the room is a guess at this point, i have not measured, but from memory i think we are talking about 8ft by 12ft
ideally i think a blue circle integrated with triangle titus monitors would be very nice, maybe im wrong, but it sounds nice in theory to me
please post your thoughts and suggestions so that i can begin my search, her bday is late november