New here - though had been lurking and dipping in and out for a few months.
I currently have a Marantz PM7200, purchased second hand last year. This was meant to be a stop gap for a few months before moving on to a “more serious” amp (Rega Elex and Naim 5si/ XS the forerunners), but I kinda liked it.
Thing is, it has a buzz which comes out pretty loud through the phono stage and it’s now terminally annoyed me. I am thinking that rather than repairing it, I might just upgrade.
As I would be buying second hand - so demoing is out of the question, I wanted a bit of advice.
I do like the warm and musical presentation of the Marantz (coming from a more neutral Denon PMA800, it tugged at some emotional strings) but want better dynamics and “PRaT” - hence the Rega and Naim,m and definitely want a tauter bass. The Naim is at the top of the list also as I have Focal speakers and I have read far and wide that Naim is their natural partner.
OK, long story short.
Which of these three amps would have the closest presentation to the Marantz in terms of warmth, musicality etc?
Which one would have the most engaging sound?
And finally, which would be my best bet between the XS2 (3 a bit out of budget - also as literally just bought a phono stage) and the 5si?
Focal and Naim is now owned under the same hat.
In the old days nobody thought they were a natural partner.
I haven’t heard neither Marantz 7200 or Focal 906, but you can hardly go wrong with any of the suggested amps.
Maybe you even prefer the build-in phonostage in XS or Elex vs your Moon ?
Depending on which cartridge in use ?
I’d make sure to define if this comes from amp or source.
I don’t know much about at the Rega Elex-R but my journey was very similar to yours. I went from a Marantz that I had for years to a Nait 5si and couldn’t believe the difference. I was so in love with the Naim sound within 6 months I swapped the 5si for the XS2.
The XS2 was/is fantastic. Again I can’t speak to the Rega but if you have the money I’d skip the 5si and go directly to the XS2 personally. It’s just so much more refined/grown up than the very fun and enjoyable 5si. Your Focal’s with thank you.
Not likely. No change to the hum when touching anything (tonearm, cables etc).
Seriously, I tried pretty much everything - including double grounding to a nearby socket earth pin, switching inputs, cables, moving the Moon away, switching off all electrics, plugging into a socket in another room… Nothing.
Ah and the Technics internal phono through the same line-in input has no hum whatsoever.
But a Rega Fono I tried in December did. And so does the amp’s built in phono.
The Wiim streamer is silent but the CD player has a low hum
It seriously melting my brain.
I ran all the above (in much more detail) through several forums and had a dozen or more people trying to work it out and suggest solutions,nothing. Then I ran all the above results through chatGPT and asked it to analyse it - it now suggests the issue is both with the Moon and the amp!
So it’s likely back to square one. Although I will test the Moon with another amp first.
Don’t really want to return it, as it sounds terrific.
Yeah I do like the Moon a fair bit more than I liked the Rega Fono, which I tried for a week in December and sent back as very minor upgrade over the built in one (so I assume the Elex would have the same or similar phono)… Plus I have bought an MC and very keen to try that.
As per the buzz - I have tried everything and have asked on several forum and it is seriously causing me a meltdown - as per latest, it might be both the Moon and the amp haha
As per Focal/Naim - these are about two years old, so the pairing suggestion would have been recent.
Based upon recent listening to my Dad’s Marantz PM-66 SE KI signature, I think the Rega Elex-R. It obviously pains me to say so, as a Naim owner.
The Naim amps major on PRaT rather than any obvious warmth IMO. What you are sort of getting down to is: what are the two ‘house styles’ of Naim and Rega?
@Entrigo you could audition the latest XS3 and Elex, just to get an idea of their general character. So you can choose much easier. I agree with @Christopher_M, Rega might be the obvious choice for you (it has a warmer taste), but never say never. You could also discover that you prefer Naim over Rega. Don’t take anything for granted IMO. I personally prefer the XS2, but I can understand the appeal of the Elex, their are both great products at their price point.
Never heard a Rega amp i’d take over a Naim one. The XS in both mk1 and mk2 form are very sweet amps and never less than pleasing. What they may lack in outright control and detail, they more than make up for in their ability to draw you in to a performance. All the other stuff is secondary if the engagement factor is low, and the XS does it in such a balanced way, great for long term listening.
Haha not quite but moving steadily in that direction.
Tbh I use it a lot both at work and outside and you’d be surprised. I think calling it a language model is quite restrictive.
I tested it by having it generate training courses, project plans, even learning strategies (I work in staff learning and development), all to decent standards. I used it to troubleshoot issues with my PC - and of course this. And a friend who manages IT security had it create some sort of complex technical paper and it was once again pretty good.
Again, not saying it is the font of all knowledge but to analyse relatively complex info and create a basic response drawing on all the information which is “out there” in a hundredth of the time it would take anyone to do, it’s pretty good…
I do feel a little bad about it - especially as you would ideally have to demo at home and with your speakers - but I might try to see if I find a shop that has both and some Focal speakers.
I might want to upgrade to some more driven speakers in future (I am mainly a rock listener) but I do like them so it’s a bit less urgent.
Yeah have looked at XS3 but the cheapest is £1.7k. Just bought a new £1.5k laptop over Christmas, so budget is pretty tight (and I’d be at risk of divorce if I spent that much on an amp haha)
Entrigo, the platform Trust Level system is based on activity and other factors. When you are a new member TL is set at 0 and then moves up after a period of activity. Activity is not just posting though, it’s also about navigating around different posts and rooms of the forum, reading posts, giving likes etc… Judging by your recent posting though I would guess your TL will move up very soon, if not immediately…
Good yes engagement is definitely one thing I am keen on. It might be just that the Marantz had over my previous amp rather than /or as well as warmth.
