2. amps-preamps
  3. 1270586979

Integrated to Separates Advice

I currently have a Musical Fidelity KW500 integrated amp feeding a pair of JMLab/Focal Electra 1027be speakers. My primary purpose is ST music listening, but it is also part of a 5.1 theater.

The 5.1 theater is run by a middle-of-the-road Onkyo unit (nothing special, literally just something I needed in a hurry and it was readily available). It feeds out to the Musical Fidelity for the mains.

At the end of the day, I want to consolidate my Onkyo Receiver and my Musical Fidelity into a dedicated Pre-Amp/Amp combination. I don't want to have to worry about multiple pres or amps like I do now, however I don't want to take a massive hit in the SQ either.

I'm considering selling the Musical Fidelity KW500 and the Onkyo and replacing it with the Marantz AV8003 and MM8003 combo. However, given my current setup and listening (90% stereo music, 10% HT) would I be making a huge sacrifice? Will the MM8003 push the 1027be's sufficiently? If the Marantz equipment will be too large a hit in SQ, I'll deal with the inconvenience as SQ is ultimately more important, but I think I can deal with a marginal difference.

If anyone has heard these speakers on the Marantz setup, I would love to hear about it. Any other feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
fatgh0st
itzoros
22 posts
 
It is not the best route for St.
As suggested, go with integrated like the Accuphase 350 or 450 which has HT bypass.
I heard the 1027 with Accuphase 213, and the resualt was great.I am sure the 350 or 450 will be much better.
fatgh0st OP
43 posts
 
Thanks for your responses Knownothing and Itzoros. My room is 11 x 20 dedicated (and treated) room with the speakers placed along the long wall (for better soundstage/imaging) so I'm only sitting about 8-9 feet off the Focals when I listen. I don't listen at extremely loud levels. I don't know the actual SPL, but the KW500 dial rarely goes beyond 25-30%.

I've always thought that perhaps the KW500 was overkill for my room but it just sounds so nice that I never wanted to mess with it. But the MF Superchargers paired with a better receiver may be the perfect solution.

Thanks to everyone for your help. Any additional advice is welcome, but the existing responses have been very beneficial to me.

-gh0st
knownothing
1,655 posts
 
One other important consideration. The preamp section will be as important as the amplifier section of your receiver. One of the reasons the KW500 sounds so good, even at low volume is the solid preamp section. The other is the capcity of your large amp to effortlessly and quickly respond to dynamic swings in the music. You are a little spoiled now because you are enjoying high quality components in both sections, and the superchargers in combination with an AV receiver will only address one of these.

If you go down the receiver/supercharger path, you should be careful to select a receiver that sounds best at the low levels you prefer, AND has the capacity to shut off all unecessary circuits like lights, DACs and video boards when operating in two channel for audio. Those things are very noisy and do more to compromise audio performance than most people appreciate. Pretty sure Denon has this feature on their AV receivers, not sure if all the others have it as well.
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