To Colin Smith,
I am thinking of changing my 20-year-old amplifier for a better sound. My current setup is a Marantz CD6002 CD player, Pro-Ject Debut III turntable, Cambridge Audio 640P phono preamp, Sony TA-F235R amplifier (30Wpc), Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 speakers, and inexpensive 6mm copper cables biwired to my amp.
I have a very small listening room, and the speakers are about 1.2m apart. I have tried the NAD 3020 integrated amplifier after reading so much hype about it and it now rests under my bed after I realized my old amp is much more detailed and offers deeper bass. I am quite happy with my sound except that I want something more “excitable” and with my current setup the midrange is somewhat sunken-in and appears rather drowned. I want to hear more than just the treble and bass. I also do not want to spend too much on a new amp. I have narrowed my search to:
Marantz PM7001
Marantz PM4400
Sony TA-F4A (go vintage?)
Any opinions/help/advice? Thanks in advance for your time.
Cheers,
Faizal
With their lowish 86dB sensitivity, your Wharfedale speakers are a little tough to drive. For that reason I'm more comfortable recommending as powerful an amplifier as you can squeeze into your budget. Among the choices you list, the Marantz PM7001 (70Wpc into 8 ohms) best meets the power criteria, although that amp is discontinued and may be difficult to find.
As for the NAD 3020, keep in mind that it was considered excellent for its time and that as electronics age their performance level can drop off dramatically. For that reason I hesitate to recommend any vintage components that haven't had a thorough going-over. The youngest Sony TA-F4A was built 32 years ago and I wouldn't want to put much faith in the ability of its original parts to have withstood three decades of service and still be performing like new.
There are other alternatives you might want to consider. Cambridge Audio's 550A is well regarded and reasonably priced at $550. The contemporary NAD C 326BEE is also an excellent choice at $499. If you can swing it, Anthem's Integrated 225 ($1599) is a killer amp for the money and could serve as the basis for a higher-end system when you're ready to upgrade speakers and sources one day. In that regard the Anthem could be considered "future proof." . . . Colin Smith
