Guess I should update this. I'm still looking for speakers, preamp, amp and a CD player; and have spent the last month emailing various shops all over Sydney. Went and listened to a few this this afternoon.
Speakers: I'm seriously considering the
B&W 685's. For the price point ($999) they are very highly rated, and seem hard to beat. Indeed today I compared them to speakers more than double their price, and the difference was minor. The only problem with them is that the B&W Speaker Stands cost $700 (fuuck!).. it's insane, so I'm trying to find an appropriate alternative (it needs to be a heavy/solid stand). The good news, however, is that the local store is willing to do the speakers/stands for $1450 if I pay in cash - approx 15% of retail price.
I'll try to compare the 685's to some other speakers in the next week (maybe some Rega RS-1's), but I doubt they would be hard to beat.
Amps and CD player: At a different store, I've been offered a similar 15% off deal for either combination of Cambridge 550A, 550C and 640P (phono preamp) or 650A, 650C and 640P. The amps are pretty much the same with power being the main difference, while the DAC is the main difference in CD players (dual 192kHz dacs in the 650C vs one in the 550C). I've also been looking at a few other amps (eg. Marantz), just for the sake of comparison.
So as I said earlier, I auditioned the B&W 685's with the 650A and the Marantz PM7003 amps. The CD player was some other brand, but it was "good enough for the audition" without being some insane $5,000 player. I listened to a cross section of tracks, although I'd be open for any track suggestions
Tracks used:
- "I'm Not Alone", Calvin Harris - electronica, with a vast amount of details in the upper mids and highs. Not a bad bassline either.
- "What is this feeling?", Cast of Wicked - musical. A good test of female vocals, soundstange and separation of detail (between the leads, backing cast and orchestra)
- "Whorses", Biffy Clyro - rock. A bass guitar and drum driven song, which is ruined when you have any muddy bass. Good test for the amp's handling of bass and the speakers ability to reproduce it (the 685's go down to 49Hz, then drop off 6dB by 42Hz)
- "Coffee, Black" and "Eastwood Lane", John Pizzarelli trio - jazz. Great for testing the soundstage/placement of instruments, male vocals and transients (from the snare drum and cymbals).
I'd loved to have used
David Sylvian's "Darkest Dreaming", since that's an awesomely haunting track and his voice is amazing, but I don't have it on CD.
So yeah, any suggestions of things to try?
Differences between the 650A and the PM7003 weren't that significant, despite the Marantz amp costing ~1.3-1.4x the Cambridge one. Both provided ample power, and were able to drive the speakers to well above my usual listening levels. The test confirmed most of what I'd read about the 650A. Due to the fact that it's incredibly revealing of details (which can sound a little harsh at times), the amp comes across as a tad bright. When switched back and forth to the PM7003, this
can also be perceived lack of mids.. but alone, this doesn't sound inherently bad and isn't tiring to listen to. The sense of space, and the placement of instruments seemed to be better in the 650A.. although I'd need to have another listen.. Overall, given the price difference I'd lean towards the Cambridge Audio gear.
In the next week, I'll try to get to another store to check out some more gear, both comparing the Cambridge 550 series and 650 series, and Cambridge to some other brands.