Which AV Amp for MA PL100 Fronts?

Hey, yeah its 2 years old has the 3D board which has been done at arcam and comes from a dealer who said he will warranty it for 12 months it looks pretty immaculate. So im reasonably content with that.

  Im still a little worried but no way do i want to pay for a new one  so will take my chances. 

The total cost for the system comes in at £6350 without cables which im very content as its all pretty much like new, looking forward to getting it all wired in now !

Well you've given it the very best chance to work...great stuff!

For 2 channel, I found bi-amped through Stereo Direct sounded best....and will be surprised if it doesn't dampen your need for a stereo amp, well at least for a while.

For less than Reference Level listening of films, imo Dolby Volume is a great asset.

Anyway, don't be a stranger

Cno

Probably but until i have moved house this will have to do 

thats the most important upgrade 

do you think its worth me bi amping the pl100's from the avr600 then? I had read somewhere that it wasnt worth bothering?

IMO. Bi-wiring is not worth doing, but Bi-amping is......provided you don't have to spend a lot of money on the extra speaker cable. The extra amps are there so why not use them.

If you decide not to bi-amp, make sure you remove the standard cheap links that are provided with a bit of your speaker cable.

Here are my views on another thread, where I also talk to Garrynic about setting up Dolby Volume:
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/av-receivers/arcam-avr600-ex-dem-£1500

If there's anything I can help with, just ask.

Cno.

Hey CNO

Thanks for the help,

I got it wired in last night well some of it and it sounds good so far

I need to get some new speaker cable anyway as I'm currently using QED silver anniversiry stuff and I don't think its particularly great, so will probably order some for bi amping my fronts.

One thing I am a bit confused by and can't seem to get an answer in the instructions is to do with the sub woofer.

It has two inputs one says LFE and one is phono, when connecting it to the AVR600 should I use the LFE or line inputs on my subwoofer? (PLW15) As so far i havent managed to get the sub working.

I plugged the phono cable into the LFE in on the sub and the other end into sub1 on the back of the AVR600 but nothing happened! But I  havent had much time to play yet.

Cheers,

Tom

Hi Tom

To wire the sub for AV, connect a single phono from:

SW1 (pre amp out section of AVR600) -> LFE (low freq effects on sub)

Nb. If "Stereo Direct" is selected, the sub will not work, as all processing is by-passed .

If it is still not working, it's likely some setting in the menu (eg. select that the sub is present), or you are not playing 5.1 material.

If you want the sub to come on for 2 channel select Left/Right + Sub under "Stereo Mode". (p.E-40).

Thank you CNO, that's good, I have it all working now, and the neighbours are out today, bonus 

Sounds pretty good, the sub isn't as active as I was expecting when listning to music, but its working fine and sounds good!

Is this the cable you recommend?

http://www.acton-gate-audio.co.uk/products/product_details.asp?ProductID...

I will probably order some if it is as I want the best cable for my front 3

IMO It is better to use Stereo Direct for 2 channel which means the sub isn't working; and if it doesn't (sound better), it's worth trying to work out why, as it gives the "cleanest" signal.

You should get a more powerful sound when bi-amped with better S/C......Are your speakers on a suspended wooden floor, what speaker stands are you using and are they filled with anything?

FWIW I found this amp responds well to a decent mains cable, like the Clearer Audio Copper-Line (can be returned after a decent trial period).....especially for music.

If you haven't trawled through the article I linked to, it is worth the effort, as there are some useful tips on there. Getting this amp properly set up pays big dividends.

Keep us up to date with how things go.

Cno

Thats the stuff, though for bi-amping your front left and right, I think you could use Atlas Hyper Bi-wire with 4 plugs either end....but check this with the supplier, or Atlas themselves, as John Carrick is very knowledgeable and helpful. 

What a fantastic system you have there sir. It will sound awesome. Well done!

Hi Tom

I'll suggest that you should also consider using standard 79 stand OFC or 500 strand OFC speaker cables as i feel these speaker cables will be more than good enough for your system. Fwiw, i only use standard 79 & 500 strand OFC speaker cables with AV amplification and speakers such as Chord Electronics DSP8000/SPM3005 > Monitor Audio's Platinum PL200AV & PL300AV

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Thanks for the replies, i have been messing with the AVR600 all weekend and I am enjoying it.

I'm currently using QED silver anniversiry XT cable, which I have plenty of, and could bi amp the fronts with what I have left over.

Do you think this cable is not good enough for the system then?

Also Is it worth buying a expensive HDMI cable to connect my source to the amp.

My understanding was that it wasn't as it's a digitical source and it's always going to to 1's and 0's so it would make no difference?

Cheers,

Tom

Hi Tom

If you are looking at getting new speaker cables then as I said in my previous post standard 79 strand OFC and 500 strand OFC speaker cables are also worth considering. Fwiw, i feel that if these standard speaker cables are good enough for PL300AV speaker system then these standard speaker cables will also be good enough for your speakers.

Btw, you should also be able to find these standard speaker cables for little £/m. Save your time and your money.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft