Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Angsty said:
Yes, the price is good but what do you want to gain over the Margules Arch-3?

You might have a harder time selling the Margules than buying a Luxman; the brand is not as well known. I don’t know if that was part of the plan or not.
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The preamp section of the Margules is great, but the amp section seems to run out of grunt in the bass and becomes a little strident in the upper mids if listening at more spirited levels. The Revels can be a bit power hungry for current. Revel claims they’re 8 Ohm nominal, but testing shows they’re more like 4 Ohm with dips to 2.5-3 Ohm.

Plus, I’d like a more granular volume control. The Arch-3 is almost 3dB steps from the remote.

The Margules has a lovely tone though, and loves to assist the speakers in creating a tall and wide soundstage. I’d like to keep that aspect, hence the Lux.

Selling the Arch-3 was always going to be a challenge. I knew that going in, small company from Mexico, not a well known name, all that. Plus, they introduced a new model, the Arch-4, this year. Luckily I don’t need money from the Margules to make the Lux purchase happen.
 
SnowmaNick said:
The preamp section of the Margules is great, but the amp section seems to run out of grunt in the bass and becomes a little strident in the upper mids if listening at more spirited levels. The Revels can be a bit power hungry for current. Revel claims they’re 8 Ohm nominal, but testing shows they’re more like 4 Ohm with dips to 2.5-3 Ohm.

Plus, I’d like a more granular volume control. The Arch-3 is almost 3dB steps from the remote.

The Margules has a lovely tone though, and loves to assist the speakers in creating a tall and wide soundstage. I’d like to keep that aspect, hence the Lux.

Selling the Arch-3 was always going to be a challenge. I knew that going in, small company from Mexico, not a well known name, all that. Plus, they introduced a new model, the Arch-4, this year. Luckily I don’t need money from the Margules to make the Lux purchase happen.
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That Margules is awfully sexy though.
 
SnowmaNick said:
Where is that bottle of Bookers anyway. I would have sworn I had barely a nip of it.
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True story, first time I ever had Bookers it was a gift from a work mate and I didn't realize it was double proof. Poured myself about three fingers. Drank it pretty quick while sitting on the couch, stood up and fell into my kitchen. I still remember how confused I was as I toppled over. Until I read the label.
 
Mather said:
True story, first time I ever had Bookers it was a gift from a work mate and I didn't realize it was double proof. Poured myself about three fingers. Drank it pretty quick while sitting on the couch, stood up and fell into my kitchen. I still remember how confused I was as I toppled over. Until I read the label.
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I need to work where Mather works!
 
Thank you everyone who vouched for the Denon PMA 600NE. Even though I haven’t been posting much, I’ve been daily listening through the Denon for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an integrated amp around $500.
 
DJSJ said:
Thank you everyone who vouched for the Denon PMA 600NE. Even though I haven’t been posting much, I’ve been daily listening through the Denon for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an integrated amp around $500.
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I (relatively) recently added the big brother 1700NE to my system and it's been pretty great.
 
Mather said:
Man, I gotta say, I cannot come to a decision about this whole 2 channel amp thing... I need to find a place to give me a loaner. It's freaking impossible to find anywhere willing to give me a very expensive piece of gear for no money to play with.
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Some places I’ve borrowed equipment from to test required a deposit (once a credit card hold for the entire purchase price). Others have been free but on a much shorter time frame. Try asking if you could get a loaner for the days the shop is closed.

It always helps if you have an existing relationship. The primary dealer I work with I’ve known for years, exchange Xmas cards with, we’ve been to each others homes. With that dealer I can ask to home demo pretty much anything they have on display shy of projector screens (too much hassle). Coming in off the street, it’s a lot harder.
 
SnowmaNick said:
Some places I’ve borrowed equipment from to test required a deposit (once a credit card hold for the entire purchase price). Others have been free but on a much shorter time frame. Try asking if you could get a loaner for the days the shop is closed.

It always helps if you have an existing relationship. The primary dealer I work with I’ve known for years, exchange Xmas cards with, we’ve been to each others homes. With that dealer I can ask to home demo pretty much anything they have on display shy of projector screens (too much hassle). Coming in off the street, it’s a lot harder.
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Yeah that's part of the problem, I've never found one good spot so I'm a bit of a mercenary. But also since I get a lot through my family contacts I just kinda go where they tell me, therefore no lasting relationship anywhere. It's just tough because no matter how much I spend, I could fire this thing up and very quickly realize that without the room correction in my very uh CHALLENGING space that it just sounds awful.

The Lyngdorf with the room correction is amazing but it's out of my price range. And the smaller model is just too small to work unfortunately, good option though if the larger integrated wasn't freaking $11,000 CAD.
 
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