Have your say & ask the experts

Firstly Hi,great forum.

My set-up

Linn Basik TurnTable (really should use it more)

Marantz CD-63 SE CD Player

Arcam Alpha 3 Int.Amp

Heybrook HB1 Speakers.

I'm considering second hand(Ebay,price convertor shops etc) Amp - Arcam Alpha 9/9P or possibly Music Fidelity A3.5 or A5

Speakers Monitor Audio GR10

Having my Marantz Modded(Superclock + other component upgrades).

Music is varied Rock,Metal,Pop,(Motown to Motorhead).Room is 11ft wide X 36ft(lounge & dinning knocked through)

Any comments,suggestion,advise appreciatted.

Anyone had a Marantz modded?

Hi

Arcam 9 & 9P combo is still a great combinasion ,you will hear a big differance in the sound .

Also try changing the speaker cables & interconects  , its not a myth they do improve / change the sound .

Just dont turn the volume up  very loud if you don't want things to  vibrate off the shelfs  as that combo has got a lot of power but lovely to listen to .

kev

 

Yeah, I agree with Kev. The Alpha 9 is still a very good amp. If, speaker-wise, you like MA's and you like something that rocks, don't choose GR10. They are lovely and refined with lashings of detail. But if you like to rock a bit then choose a floorstander. For the same price, RS6 would do the job nicely (imo).

As far as standmounters go, try Neat's, Dynaudio or Ruark.

If you want to get your Marantz modified then try these guys, they really know what they're doing http://www.coherent-systems.co.uk/ And I also give a vote to the old Arcam Alpha range, the 9/9P combo would be pretty good - I much prefer Arcam stuff from that period to their more recent, mediocre offerings.

Id have to agree that the Arcam Alpha 9 set-up is very good. As you can see below its the system i have and believe me; it sounds fantastic :)


I demo'd all sorts from Roksan to Cyrus to Rotel and so on and none came close to the sound my Arcam Alpha 9 integrated, power amp and CDP delivered. Even the guy @ Sevenoaks said that he'd not heard sound that good from that age of Arcam separates for a long time. To him; it bettered the Arcam Diva A90 set up they had!


Id also agree that the M/A RS6 speakers would be worth looking at but also for your taste in music, definitly take a look at the B&W 685 standmounters and the B&W 684 floorstanding speakers.


In all honesty; they suit Rock better than the M/A speakers do.


As said above as well; good speaker cable and interconnects really make a difference. With all the above id reccommend the QED Silver Anniversay bi-wire, Chord Carnival Silver speaker cable as well as QED Quenex 3 or Silver Spiral interconnects or the Chord Chrimson interconnect.

Amp first, then the speakers. Watch out for the amp selection; the CD63 was a punchy little devil in its' day!

Thanks for the replies

To update things I have the Arcam Alpha 9 & 9P now,definately more punch to the low end & general all round improvement.

I've ordered some new quality interconnects so another small improvement on the way,I hope.

Thanks for the suggestions on the speakers but I rushed in & bought the GR10's,still waiting delivery.

I hope I don't find them too bright or lacking,I have read good things about them elsewhere.

I will definately consider some of your suggestion if i'm dissappointed in them.

Just the Marantz CDP to think about know.

A company called "Audiocom International"

 Quote "Our modified CD-63 is highly addictive and continues to impress the more you listen. The level-3 modified CD-63 to date is our preferred choice of CD spinner this side of £2K, and that is pricing it modestly."

Expensive at over £500 for the mods not sure if I need to spend that much or would appreciate it.

Tricky one, but £500 gets you some very good new gear and some brilliant used examples, likely of a more recent vintage than your existing player.

I like their "...is our preferred choice of CD spinner this side of £2k..." though - and the independent review of this is where exactly?!?

Bought a lot of kit from Ebay speakers pre power amp etc...Don't know how much you've used it but myself personally never had a problem and got some great bargains!!! Just be sure to check the kit out as soon as it arrives and contact the seller immediately if a problem..Oh..and try and collect if poss!!!

Cheers

Hi - I have the MF 3.5 cd and integrated. They look stunning. I can't say with exactness how they sound, or rather should sound, as they are set up with some quad 12ls which don't do them any justice and I intend to replace them with a better speaker. Hi-fi News reviewed the MF combo favourably and at one point tried them out with the Spendor 9 and said they sounded stunning and held their own, and this is with a speaker costing £3000! So, I think I am yet to hear my MF in the right company.