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HELP: how to compensate too laid-back source

Recently I have upgraded my NAD C541i to Marantz 8400. In spite of the fact that it's not broken-in at all yet, I was amazed by added liquidity and musicality, especially on string quartets and symphonic orchestras. Piano, guitar are also sound so good that it causes me to close eyes and relax (never felt such a thing with NAD). And, the BASS. Comparing to Marantz, NAD didn't have it at all.
On the other hand, sometimes it (ex: Reveries from Reference Recordings) sounds too laid back; and percussions on my world music don't sound as natural as they did on NAD.
I don't want to give it up and go back since Marantz, in overall, sounds richer, and couses me to listen to a music, not a sound, but... Can proper interconnects compensate its laid-back sound, make it some closer?

System
~~~~~~
Source: Marantz 8400 (new animal in my stable)
Interconnects: yet old Moster $30 ones (haven't determinated what to replace it with)
Amp: Moon i-5 (fast and neutral or a little on a bright side)
Speaker cable: AZ Satori (love 'em)
Speakers: Revel M20 (fast and neutral or a little on a bright side)
dmitrydr
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
I would try swaping out your interconnects. Might even try some with silver in them. That seems to be a glaring weak point.
wellfed's avatar
wellfed
690 posts
 
Marigo dots on the walls will provide more dynamics and detail if you think these are things you are in need of. I went from a NAD 514 to a Marantz SA-14 and I know exactly how you feel, I think. I loved the tonality of the 514, but resolution was lacking. The SA-14 had greater resolution and smoothness, but lacked the wonderful tonal balance of the NAD. Interconnects are an obvious place to start as well, XLO might be a good place to look.
natnic
33 posts
 
For 100.00 you can get an Audioquest Opal 1M on here. You can spend 500.00 on Interconnects and do worse. You can do better for 500 also but point is for 100.00 they are a fab bang for your buck.
gaudio_eek
312 posts
 
My speakers were a tad laid back. I thought I needed to buy new speakers. Instead, I changed cables and the dynamic envelope was hugely improved.
Definitely your I/C is your weakest link. Since you already have AZ Satori, why not go for AZ interconnect? You will be pleasantly surprised.
sean
6,231 posts
 
Since Philips builds Marantz, some of the things that i've found to work well on my SACD 1000 may also apply to your unit.

With that in mind, you might want to try a Chris VH "flavour 2" power cord and dig up a set of Magnan III interconnects ( or something similar ). This really seemed to open the top end up while retaining all of the warmth and midrange liquidity that the machine was capable of producing. I'm sure that there are other combo's that will do something similar, but that is what i had handy and obtained good results with. If buying used, both of these would set you back under $150. What type of footer you use will depend on the type of rack the equipment is resting on. Sean
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