Amp Replacement

Author
Discussion

Biker 1

Original Poster:

7,896 posts

126 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
I have a Marantz PM6005 connected to Q Audio 3050i floor standing speakers. Sounds nice & clear, good base, but treble a little bright. However, the amp is some 10 years old & occasionally throws a fit & shuts down for several minutes before I can reset it, so I thought about replacing.
I've been looking at a Mission 778X - anyone have experience with this amp? Would it suit the speakers? Will I notice much difference in sound?? I'm an old git & often listen to classic rock. Amazon fire stick 4k with HD Music account. TV is connected to amp via fibre optic to amp's built in DAC. Usually 24 bit/48 kHz

Magikarp

947 posts

55 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
I’m thinking about getting one of these - the general consensus is that is a truly excellent little amp for not very much money.

My upgrade to Krell will have to wait smile

KingGary

769 posts

7 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
I’d also look at the Yamaha RX (Aventage) amps.

thebraketester

14,708 posts

145 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
Look at offerings from NAD too.

Biker 1

Original Poster:

7,896 posts

126 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
I looked at NAD, Yamaha, Marantz & the other usual suspects, but particularly like the Mission's design - it would look great in my living room!
One day I will be a millionaire & purchase the Krell....

Tony1963

5,331 posts

169 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
If you become a millionaire, and I hope you do, you’ll probably be looking way past Krell!

Magikarp

947 posts

55 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
Oh I don’t know. No need to go mad - couple of MRAs powering some Wilson’s would do me.

d_a_n1979

9,669 posts

79 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
It's a good little amp the Mission; heard it a few times now (never with Q speakers though, but did hear it with Fyne Audio speakers and MA speakers too)

I'd also look at the NAD D3020 integrated: https://www.amazon.co.uk/3020-Integrated-Amplifier...

Superb amp; battleship levels of power and a great sound that isn't overly bright and it punches well above it's weight biggrin

Personally at the Mission price; I'd be looking at something like this Cyrus 8DAC - absolutely superb amp with bags of power and lots of connectivity: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285935315863?itmmeta=01...



Edited by d_a_n1979 on Wednesday 17th July 14:58

Lucid_AV

438 posts

43 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
Both the Mission 778X and the Q Acoustics 3050i are available at a lot of bricks and mortar Hi-Fi dealers. There's significant overlap too, so you won't find all that many who choose to stock one but not the other.

The manufacturers give them discounts for holding demo stock. Unless you're immobile, transportless, or live somewhere very remote, is there anything else stopping you arranging a demo with a view to buy? Maybe even take along your temperamental Marantz for a quick A-B. That's the whole point of the stores having this stuff on the shelves. It's what dealers should do. It's what good dealers already do.

Go listen for yourself. If you take along your Marantz then you'll learn whether the Mission is better or not, but you'll also find out whether the 3050is sound bright with your Marantz in a different room to yours. That's worth the effort too. If you've got a room that makes stuff sound bright, then yes, get a new amp, but also look at doing something in the room to improve the acoustics.

stevoknevo

1,694 posts

197 months

Wednesday 17th July
quotequote all
The Mission 778X got a 'Best Buy' award on AVForums - if you click on the discussion tab at the top of the review you'll see recent posts from 'gasolin' who bought one recently, he's notoriously picky about how stuff sounds and he's very pleased with it - https://www.avforums.com/reviews/mission-778x-inte...

Biker 1

Original Poster:

7,896 posts

126 months

Friday 19th July
quotequote all
Well I took the plunge. Mission 778x delivered earlier. Sounds as good as the Gasoline review mentioned above!
Anyway, early days, but I'm seriously impressed - definitely a notch above the outgoing Marantz 6005. The only slight problems are the crap remote control & the depth of the thing - only just fits in my TV/hifi cabinet....