RE: Re: AVR300

["Tony Butler" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Erm ... Well ... Demo now booked for 2pm on the 23rd October=20
> for a Yamaha DSP-Z9.

[..]

> Audio-T blokie back in the Dem Room we discussed this with=20
> him ... "Ah" he said ... "Then I don't think you're
going to=20
> like the Denon then" and bloody hell was he right. Sorry but=20
> if the Arcam was best so far described as polite then I can=20
> only describe the Denon (again on the PMCs) as dull. It=20
> lasted about 30 seconds before we switched back to the Arcam.

LOL, you can tell which of the two of us is the audiophile :)

Top review there phil - interesting that you like the Arcam over the Denon.
I agree with=20=20
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> Next was a 96/24 DVD of Queens "A Kind Of Magic" - here
the=20
> Arcam did make a good stab at making music and again it was=20
> perfectly pleasant to listen to, if ultimately a bit=20
> uninvolving. The thing is this is exactly the same conclusion=20
> I came to when I had a listen to their =A36k AV8/P8 pre-power=20
> combination a couple of years ago and I know that swapping=20
> the Arcam power amp for a (much cheaper) Rotel power amp in=20
> that demo brought back a bit of rawness that seemed lacking=20
> in the Arcam power amps.
>=20
> Anyway - from here we started wandering in conversation ... A=20
> friend has been toying with upgrading his KEF reference=20
> speakers to a set of the new (and very weird looking IMO) 203=20
> floorstanders (=A33k a pair) but hadn't heard a set - I was=20
> told this morning that the new KEF references sound very=20
> different to the nice warm, rounded "comfy slippers and=20
> smoking jacket"
> sound that the References of old have and I asked to have a=20
> play with the 203's that they had in at Audio-T. Jesus - what=20
> a difference from the KEFs of old! DTS DVD of the Eagles=20
> live, start of first track - admittedly rather loud, 90db on=20
> the Arcams volume scale (100db is it's maximum) - came in=20
> sounding rather bright and Mike and I looked at each other=20
> expecting things to get painfull pretty quickly but to both=20
> our surprise it didn't. Yes, they are nowhere near as warm=20
> sounding as the KEFs of old and they are far more detailed=20
> but it's not harsh - that top end detail is matched with a=20
> mid-range detail and bass details that does hold everything=20
> together quite beautifully and we sat through several tracks=20
> of the Eagles live just enjoying it - of course do you want=20
> to be chucking a =A33k set of speakers (and that's for just a=20
> stereo pair) on a =A31,300 amp?
>=20
> Unfortunately we'd already gone *WAY* over time and I didn't=20
> really want to start winding through the test material again=20
> so left it at that ... And I'm back there in a fortnight to=20
> have a demo of the Yamaha DSP-Z9 which - at =A33,300 - is going=20
> to be unfair to compare the Arcam to I suppose but after=20
> seeing the specs of the thing (and the features list - hell,=20
> it has a built in Faroudja scaler for fecks sake and not only=20
> does it upconvert video signals from composite and s-video to=20
> component but it also downconverts as well so your component=20
> connected DVD player can be run component to the projector=20
> and composite to your bedroom if you wish!!!) then it has to=20
> be looked at.
>=20
> The thing is I do have an AVR300 here at home now ... And I=20
> have it to play with for a couple of weeks (it's due back=20
> when I go for the Yammy demo) and I plan to try to let it=20
> show its best but I have a feeling it's going to sound just a=20
> bit too polite for my liking and I don't think I can get my=20
> Rotel back from the person I've loaned it to in time to see=20
> if that "cures"
> it...
>=20
> ...I wish I'd been able to afford that ruddy AX10 that=20
> Pioneer loaned me a year and a half ago.
>=20
> Phil
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