Analog 2000 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 (edited) So the holidays are here and I decided to purchase a small HiFi system for my father to replace the one he lost in hurricane Katrina. Seeing as how he is the original audiophile and I've picked up where he left off, it had to be decent. SO I ordered up a pair of Klipsch RB-62 speakers and a Marantz 6005. After a week of listening, christmas is now over, and I've been able to play some non-christmas music and I thought I would share my thoughts with anybody looking to put together a similar set up. The source for this is my father's Kenwood M-6620 CD player (his only surviving peice of hi-fi gear) connected via optical cable to the Marantz 6005. The speakers are bi-wired (because why not?) to the amp using monster XP 16 awg wire. The Songs used for this review: Aaron Copland- Fanfare for the common Man Aaron Copland- Rodeo Neil Young- Old Man Neil Young- Heart of gold John Coltrane- Mr. Day John Coltrane- My Favorite Things My initial impression upon first listen was that this was a very "musical" set up with a good "rythmic" sound, however it lacked bass response. After a week of listening to christmas music I popped in Copland's fanfare for the common man and confirmed what I had felt all along. The bass was clean, could play loud with out distorting, but wasn't reaching as deep, nor was it as present as I was used to with my Heresies in my home set up. I was able to coax a little more bass with the sound controls, but still felt this didn't dig out what I was used to hearing. Ultimately i felt that it was a better just to listen in the source direct mode, bypassing tone controls. The Rhythm and musicality however couldn't be beat, Listening to "Rodeo" or Coltranes "Mr. Day" got my toe tapping. Coltrane's sax sounded great over the the upright bass and drums, and although the upright bass was not as loud or forward as I would have liked it was still very listenable. Separation and clarity were great, In Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" every instrument was clearly defined. The Harmonica was forward and sounded great, the drums and guitar were clear and separate right where they should be under the vocal track. Conclusion: Good sounding set up, able to play louder than I would have expected with out distorting. Pros: Very Clear and surprisingly not too bright despite using a CD as the source material. Cons: Somewhat lacking in bass. Could perhaps be improved by trying a heaver gauge speaker wire. I wish I had the RB-81s to compare it to, I'm speculating that more of the bass response I'm missing might be present in those speakers. Bottom line for me though: Very listenable and it set my 82 yr old father's toe-a-tapping. Edited December 27, 2014 by Analog 2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckaroo Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I just purchased a Marantz PM 8005. I primarily use Klipsch Heresy III speakers but also have Klipsch KG 2.2. I think that you are correct that the peceived lack of bass that you encountered has more to do with the speakers than the amp. Before swapping out cables you might consider an alternative speaker placement. Maybe for a start, put them on the floor and tilt them back (raise the front about 30 degrees) to see if that helps. I am new to this forum but a long time HiFi fan. I am sure others will offer opinions soon. Merry Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 27, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 27, 2014 Bottom line for me though: Very listenable and it set my 82 yr old father's toe-a-tapping Very nice of you to do that, your bottom line is all that matters, glad he was happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Analog 2000 Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Buckaroo, I'm new to this forum as well, but also a long time hi-if fan. Yeah not sure how much wiggle room I'm going to have on speaker placement. I'll futz around with it some more, let you know what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Could perhaps be improved by trying a heaver gauge speaker wire. dont waste your time or your money. won't change a thing. how big is the room they are in? the rb-61's have a surprising amount of bass for their size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Analog 2000 Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) Scrappydue I used to be a cable non-believer, an electrical connection is an electrical connection, right? Then I swaped out a cheap set of interconnects for some Kimber Kable interconnects. I was shocked at the difference. When I switched from a 16 ga to a 12 ga wire in my home system I could hear a difference especially in the bass response. I'm not running any particularly fancy speaker wire in either system. That being said, the speakers are under sized for the room, so I'm guessing your right and it won't make that big a difference. Edited December 28, 2014 by Analog 2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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