Amp & DAC to pair with AE Radiance 3

Hi there,

I'm new in this audiophile world, and have limited knowledge in this field. I would like to take a big leap from my pc speaker to stereo speaker system. I got a pair of Acoustic Energy Radiance 3 and don't know which amp and DAC that it should paired with.

Would like to get a few opinions on amp and DAC so that i could go hunt for them. The setup will be like this:
Media player (lossless file)--> DAC --> amp --> speaker.
Will play lossless music from my media player now (have no budget for cdp), and at the moment can only fork out around RM3k for the amp and DAC.

Hope sifu here can help me a bit.

Rgds,
Thanks.

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Anyone? would really like to have some suggestion from master here like what kind of spec that i should pay attention when choosing a DAC and amp.

Perhaps u can try the Cambridge Audio DACMagic and Marantz PM-KI Pearl Lite

dynon wrote:Perhaps u can try the Cambridge Audio DACMagic and Marantz PM-KI Pearl Lite

They are great dac and amp, But out of my budget..
Am thinking of getting the Marantz PM6003 and CD6003 combo for the AE. Read a lot of review about these two, all positive, and the price tag is affordable for me.

Do you think that it's a good match?

cubicle...

Was in a similar situation, DAC's are sold at prices that are not reachable at the moment for me. So took a short cut of getting my NAD CDP "DAC" chip upgraded to "BB".

Initial, prognosis was to bright and after a few days, everything levelled off.. now its much more controlled, wider and there is clarity.

Best thing it did not cost me much to upgrade.

cheers

cubicle wrote:

dynon wrote:Perhaps u can try the Cambridge Audio DACMagic and Marantz PM-KI Pearl Lite

They are great dac and amp, But out of my budget..
Am thinking of getting the Marantz PM6003 and CD6003 combo for the AE. Read a lot of review about these two, all positive, and the price tag is affordable for me.

Do you think that it's a good match?

Ic, i think should be ok. Alternatively u can also consider the NAD combo.

AE Radiance 3 is a floorstander right? I think Marantz PM6003 with 45 watts might not drive it well......

wingman wrote:cubicle...

Was in a similar situation, DAC's are sold at prices that are not reachable at the moment for me. So took a short cut of getting my NAD CDP "DAC" chip upgraded to "BB".

Initial, prognosis was to bright and after a few days, everything levelled off.. now its much more controlled, wider and there is clarity.

Best thing it did not cost me much to upgrade.

cheers

wingman,

congrats on the result u got on the low cost modification. But i don't even have a CDP right now for me to play with..
Any good used CD player that i should consider?

dynon wrote:

cubicle wrote:

dynon wrote:Perhaps u can try the Cambridge Audio DACMagic and Marantz PM-KI Pearl Lite

They are great dac and amp, But out of my budget..
Am thinking of getting the Marantz PM6003 and CD6003 combo for the AE. Read a lot of review about these two, all positive, and the price tag is affordable for me.

Do you think that it's a good match?

Ic, i think should be ok. Alternatively u can also consider the NAD combo.

dynon wrote:AE Radiance 3 is a floorstander right? I think Marantz PM6003 with 45 watts might not drive it well......

Yup, it's a floorstander. I thought the 45watts is enough to drive a 90db sensitivity speaker? If 45watts is not enough then i should really have a look on other amp, maybe above 70 watts.

Was looking at a few used amp here. But have no idea how they match with the AE. The AE is quite heavy, it's a bit hard for me to carry around and ask for an audition. Any idea beside just reading the review on the internet?

This route might be cheaper:

Media player (lossless file)--> Asus Xonar Essence ST(Sound Card) --> amp --> speaker

Sound Card available here.

tycham wrote:This route might be cheaper:

Media player (lossless file)--> Asus Xonar Essence ST(Sound Card) --> amp --> speaker

Sound Card available here.

But the computer is in another room. So cannot go this cheaper way..

The AE Radiance 3 is not a budget speaker. Just how much does it cost? It deserve a much better partner than those mentioned. Anything less than RM10K for both amp. and CD player probably won't do justice to it. Anything less will mean you will have to upgrade your hardware within a short period of time.

hk5007 wrote:The AE Radiance 3 is not a budget speaker. Just how much does it cost? It deserve a much better partner than those mentioned. Anything less than RM10K for both amp. and CD player probably won't do justice to it. Anything less will mean you will have to upgrade your hardware within a short period of time.

I know that it's not a budget speaker. I got it from one of my friend, he gave me a very special price, that's why i can affort it.
I just plan to play around with it within my budget. Will slowly upgrade to a better amp and cdp in the future. Right now 10k to me is more than arm and leg for me.
I'm still looking for used amp and cdp..

I used to audition the Radiance 3 with ATC SIA 2-150 integrated amp and it sounded good. But i ended up buying the B&W CM9. I think u can consider the Creek Destiny 2 integrated amp, it's good and quite powerful.

dynon wrote:I used to audition the Radiance 3 with ATC SIA 2-150 integrated amp and it sounded good. But i ended up buying the B&W CM9. I think u can consider the Creek Destiny 2 integrated amp, it's good and quite powerful.

All the amp are out of my reach. May i know where did you audition the Radiance 3? I would really like to audition it too.

cubicle wrote:

dynon wrote:I used to audition the Radiance 3 with ATC SIA 2-150 integrated amp and it sounded good. But i ended up buying the B&W CM9. I think u can consider the Creek Destiny 2 integrated amp, it's good and quite powerful.

All the amp are out of my reach. May i know where did you audition the Radiance 3? I would really like to audition it too.

In Singapore.

hi cubicle, u mention u have around RM3k for a DAC n AMP budget maybe try consider audition an AV AMP around RM3K for second hand because it has a build in DAC in it n u can save a lot on cables. i know u may not like the sound of an AV AMP but your source is also not a real CDP so try consider this instate. Try DENON AVR or AVC 4xxx series and above they have a power rating around 100w to 150w per channel so it may help u to drive the AE Radiance 3 at least they don't sound like in the box only. This Denon they run on 20bits n some of the newer ones run 20bits with alpha processing which change digital wave form to analog wave form so u can enjoy a warmer sound.

Hi alfred,

Yup, my budget RM3k is for AMP and DAC. But it can be CDP and AMP provided the CDP have to be budget type so that it can be fit under my budget, and i'm currently looking for this combo also (AMP + CDP)

I thought about AV AMP, but i wish to give it a try on budget stereo AMP first.

I'm working 7days a week so have not much time to go around to audit those AMP . And i found a forumer here is selling his rotel pre and power AMP, might give it a shot. Does rotel and AE paired well?

Cubicle, mind me asking is it the one apole is selling "pre n power" which u can bridge to become mono blok? if yes is a good buy but have to spend a lot on cables. interconnect alone min requirement above RM300 n u need 2pairs then for the speaker cable u need to spend at least RM 400 to RM 500 for bi-wire. i won't say Rotel n AE don't go along well but the speaker model u r having is a bit big so to drive the sound out of the speaker u need something big so that the amp can control the base properly, if not u will find the sound laid back n boomy. once u have already get proper matching between the power n the speaker u can look for way to tune the sound of which u like by using power cords, interconnects and speaker cables

Hi cubicle,
I think it is better to state what type of songs and what type of sounding you prefer may made all sifu here have a clearer idea to suggest you according to their experience
If you would like to have some bang for bugs combo i think you may try Audio GD entry level dac like "FUN" and NAD or cambridge audio entry level amplifier. I am sure u can get both within RM3k
The entry level of DAC from audio GD is customizable for you to select the DAC chips you prefer and the output stage even the receiver chips can be select, so you may play around those small component to tune the sound you like at lowest cost

alfred wrote:Cubicle, mind me asking is it the one apole is selling "pre n power" which u can bridge to become mono blok? if yes is a good buy but have to spend a lot on cables. interconnect alone min requirement above RM300 n u need 2pairs then for the speaker cable u need to spend at least RM 400 to RM 500 for bi-wire. i won't say Rotel n AE don't go along well but the speaker model u r having is a bit big so to drive the sound out of the speaker u need something big so that the amp can control the base properly, if not u will find the sound laid back n boomy. once u have already get proper matching between the power n the speaker u can look for way to tune the sound of which u like by using power cords, interconnects and speaker cables

Yup, That''s exactly the pre and power i'm looking for. I think i will use belden 1311a for all the interconnect. Will slowly change to other better cable later.
A million thanks for the head up.

skydna wrote:Hi cubicle,
I think it is better to state what type of songs and what type of sounding you prefer may made all sifu here have a clearer idea to suggest you according to their experience
If you would like to have some bang for bugs combo i think you may try Audio GD entry level dac like "FUN" and NAD or cambridge audio entry level amplifier. I am sure u can get both within RM3k
The entry level of DAC from audio GD is customizable for you to select the DAC chips you prefer and the output stage even the receiver chips can be select, so you may play around those small component to tune the sound you like at lowest cost

Hi skydna,
Hmm.. i'm into vocal, jazz, classic and country song. I like my system to have wide soundstage, not bassy, nice separation. I know i'm asking too much for my system, but will slowly play and spend from time to time for upgrading if have enough money:twisted: . It's a hobby right?

I'm currently looking for used item, because cannot afford for a new one with high output.