kadini

I was looking at spending around $2000 for everything, int amp, plus the cd, dac, wifi, BT, etc. but people keep pointing me to really cool stuff that cost more. Right now the Marantz PM8006 (or 7005) and ND8006 look like they do everything I want in my prices range. Wish they were silver:( But, seriously, it's not that I can't afford to spend more. Question, if I got the Quicksilver or the Parasound amps what would I hook up to them? I.e. still need the CD/dac/wifi & BT. At least I know what my speakers are...

It looks pretty good actually. Don't think it has too many bells and whistles. Little bit out of my price range. It's not that i couldn't afford it, but I have to balance cost versus use. Even though I will retire soon I doubt I'll sit around all day listening to and agonizing about my stereo.

Whoops. Not that I would care about or judge others. My speaker guy said there was nothing wrong with NAD. But he felt the current offerings wouldn't drive the Fortes as well as say Marantz, Yamaha or Onkyo. And, again, I read a couple of reviews that seemed to corroborate what he was saying. Again, I really like the C 338. It looks really cool and is really affordable. Has anybody hooked that particular NAD up to Fortes, Heresys, whatever?

No sub. Just want 2 channel stereo. I have never used more than 2 channels on my Carver AV receiver and bass has never been an issue. In fact, if the Fortes have a true strength it is for sure in that area. I have been happy with my Carver HR-895 AV but in truth I liked the plain old Carver 900 receiver that proceeded it better. It was simple, just 2 channels and all I needed. If I had it to do over I would have just kept the 900. That said I don't want another receiver. I have had my speakers, CD player and turntable for 32 years. I'm 66. Do the math, I may never ever buy another component. The speaker guy recommended an Onkyo receiver. But I want something that looks cool, is only 2 channels, and has more snob appeal. I want something new with a warranty also. I know there's some really awesome used stuff out there but you never know what you're getting. Probably others know better than I. I really can't audition what I buy before I bring it home so I am reading as much as I can and seeking advice where I can find it. Oh, as an aside, the stereo is mine, but I am getting my wife a good FM/AM music player so he can listen to the radio without being intimidated by all the bells and whistles. Yamaha TSX-B72 looks pretty good. Any suggestions? Want a single unit, not a receiver with separate speakers. Thank you very much for your comments.

I went and read the Richard Clark Amp Challenge. Wow, if I wasn't confused enough. That is a lot to digest. Regardless, it's still safe to assume more powerful amps will generally sound better than less powerful ones? I understand the Fortes don't take a lot of power but my living room is fairly large and open to the rest of the house away from the stereo end. The Marantz PM8006 would be better than than the PM5005 or PM6006? I think all my choices have tone controls without looking. Most of my listening is 60s-70s rock and Classical. At least that's my CD collection. I lost my records when the house burned down in 1986 (insurance money made buying the Fortes doable). But over the years I have acquired a large collection of vinyl. Not sure how. But someday I'll hook up my turntable and listen to some of them. Don't think I actually have an monaural recordings though. Thank you for your inputs ODS123.

Apologies for not introducing myself as a newbie. But I guess the forum software took care of that... Matched components has it's appeal. A quick comment about the Marantz ND8006. I kept getting confused with streaming devices, wifi, Bluetooth, DACs, and some of them are pre amps to boot. So the ND8006 simplified the decision tree plus eliminates the need for a separate CD player. (But, sigh, do I really even need a CD player? It's all so confusing.) Marantz has always been on my wish list too. I was, am, really attracted to the NAD C 338. Plus it has the DAC, wifi and Bluetooth. All I would need is a CD player then. But my speaker guy said it wasn't a good match for the Fortes, and his comments seemed to jive with reviews I read about it. (I haven't bought anything yet). I really like the Canbridge Audio offerings too, but they seem to have reliability issues. If that's wrong I'd sure love to hear about it. Thanks for your comments Willland.

I have a 32 year old pair of original Fortes. Even though they seem to work fine I took them to a shop to have them checked over. The guy found some minor things wrong and I expect to get them back in pristine condition soon for way less than new speakers would cost. At the shop's recommendation I am not doing any of the tweeter diaphragm or cross over "upgrades" that are floating around out there. Meanwhile my Carver HR-895 receiver is making static out of the right channel and rather then fix it I thought I'd buy some new stuff. Going to replace my Carver CD player too. So, golly, it's a brave new world out there. Lots of new things available and very confusing. I have decided to go with a 2 channel integrated amp. Thinking I'll hook one up to the new Marantz ND8006 CD and network player since it does everything. Then don't have to worry about CDs, DACs, Bluetooth or wifi, it's all covered. (And which simplifies the amp search.) I can live without a tuner given all the other options there are now. So looking at 3 int amps each is around $1000 those being the Rega Elex R Naim 5si Marantz PM8006 None the less very interested in knowing if those 3 amps are a good match for the Fortes. Also welcome any information about personal experiences, good and bad. And, open to suggestions on other solutions. Willing to spend up to $2000 or thereabouts. I have pretty much eliminated NAD and Cambridge Audio for various reasons. Whatever help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Thanks.