changing electronics for slight improvemeents is the audio industries version of 3 card monte. i,m sticking with well built well designed value orinted gear and making adjustments in things that clearly seem to matter to me.. better signal sources as in a great cd player. room acoutic treatment and good isolation strategies. and find the wire and interconnects that perform as advertised. this is hard to do but once you find something that works it is rewarding. thanks john. then spend money on a music collection
Using Receiver as a Switcher?
I currently have a Marantz SR7002 receiver powering my Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grands. When I was at Best Buy Magnolia I decided to stop by and see what their VA Mozarts sounded like by comparison. To my chagrin, they sounded better/clearer to my ears in the mids and highs. I'm not sure how much of this may be due to the room acoustics, but I noticed they had a Denon DRA-CX3 integrated amp powering the Mozarts.
I really have three questions. First, is the DRA-CX3 really THAT much better than the Marantz SR7002? My dad seems to be under the impression that as long as an amp has the power to drive the speakers without distortion (and it's not a tube amp), then there should be an extremely negligible difference in sound quality between amplifiers, and that what I have is fine, and I'll be disappointed if I shell out the cash for an upgrade, and that room acoustics are way more important. I don't think he's very accurate in his assessment, but I'd rather ask you guys. I'm basically assuming he's wrong, but under this assumption, still is the difference really THAT big between the Marantz and the Denon?
Second, if I do get the DRA-CX3 (which for only 570 on listenup right now is a real temptation), is there a way to use my Marantz as simply a switcher, and use the pre and power amps on the Denon? Giving up my switching capabilities would be terrible.
Third, for the extremely reduced $570 price tag on the Denon at the moment, would I be better off getting a standalone power amp at that price, and using my Marantz as a pre (which I know I can do)?
Thanks for taking your time to read this post, and please help!
I really have three questions. First, is the DRA-CX3 really THAT much better than the Marantz SR7002? My dad seems to be under the impression that as long as an amp has the power to drive the speakers without distortion (and it's not a tube amp), then there should be an extremely negligible difference in sound quality between amplifiers, and that what I have is fine, and I'll be disappointed if I shell out the cash for an upgrade, and that room acoustics are way more important. I don't think he's very accurate in his assessment, but I'd rather ask you guys. I'm basically assuming he's wrong, but under this assumption, still is the difference really THAT big between the Marantz and the Denon?
Second, if I do get the DRA-CX3 (which for only 570 on listenup right now is a real temptation), is there a way to use my Marantz as simply a switcher, and use the pre and power amps on the Denon? Giving up my switching capabilities would be terrible.
Third, for the extremely reduced $570 price tag on the Denon at the moment, would I be better off getting a standalone power amp at that price, and using my Marantz as a pre (which I know I can do)?
Thanks for taking your time to read this post, and please help!