Hi Fi system

koneguitarist

Thinking of slowly putting together a decent HiFi.

Not talking thousands of pounds, but Nice Amp, Speakers and turntable with Aux for streaming as well.

Prefer to start with S/H stuff and slowly build a system. any pointers and do's and dont's ? 

Fretwired

Start with the room .. how big is it?

You can put together a decent system for not much money buying new.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/cambridge-audio/topaz-am1/camb-topaz-am1-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/standmount-speakers/tannoy/mercury-v1/tann-mercury-v1-oak

http://www.richersounds.com/product/turntables/project/elemental/proj-elem-sil

Just examples .. shop around.

koneguitarist

Room is about 10'x10'

koneguitarist

That's a lot cheaper than I expected all in all.

Fretwired

koneguitarist said:

Room is about 10'x10'

You don't need a powerful amp and I'd go for small stand mounted speakers rather than floorstanders which can be boomy. You can buy a decent system for not much money. Do some research at the What Hi-Fi site.

koneguitarist

@Fretwired cheers.

Skipped

To save time I will just say what I would do (based on many years of hifi heartache/trial and error).

Amplifier: S/H is good (IMO).Buy a really good British (Meridian or Linn) integrated amp and build your system around it. (Meridian 551. £1000 new (20 years ago). Now? Much less. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meridian-551-Integrated-Amplifier-/151661881038)

Turntable: Always good to buy a turntable from someone you know. Maybe a forum member via the classifieds? You can then determine what cartidge they settled on ( and what cartridge they rejected) and why. And see how that fits with your musical preferences. Turntables are strange. I would not want one that had not been loved and cherished by the previous owner.

Speakers: I would buy new and here is why. If you took the top 5 best selling bookshelf speakers in What Hifi you would find that 1 pair sounded wonderful in your home and 1 pair sounded terrible. So what you need (now that you have your source and your amp) is your local specialist hifi dealer. Tell him that you won't be asking for a discount. What you will be asking is to try his demo pair in your home. And you might ask that 2 or 3 times before buying.

Phil_aka_Pip

Just to add another 2p's worth to some already good advice: get the best signal source(s) you can afford, even if it means buying a cheaper amplifier. I've heard systems vastly improved by a turntable upgrade even when using budget priced Japanese integrated amplifiers (JVC, Rotel etc). The best turntable will also be kindest to your records - you don't want spirals of black plastic coming off the record as the stylus gouges its own groove. I also think that (amplifier+speakers) should be considered as a subsystem in their own right - some combinations of amp/speaker just don't work.

Your room is small, so don't get big speakers.

ICBM

Don't waste money on overpriced cables.

Good signal cables, adequate speaker cables and any old mains cables you like will do the job. You certainly don't need to spend "10% on cables" or any other proportion like that - if any cable costs more than £50 you've definitely paid too much, and quite likely if any costs more than £20.

Spend the money on the components where it actually does make a difference.

koneguitarist

Thanks a lot, not daft enough to spend over the top on cables, but last time I had a record deck, I had long hair and flares. (Weeks ago) ;-)

Fretwired

Personally I'd buy new .. I have a house full of classic Hi-Fi and to be honest much is overrated. Modern equipment sounds good, is priced competitively (due to Chinese manufacturing) and is geared towards modern needs (digital connections).

TTony

koneguitarist said:

Thinking of slowly putting together a decent HiFi.

I did that a couple of months ago.

CD-based rather than turntable, but matched to a decent amp and speakers, rather than playing through an AV amp and 5.1 speaker system designed for movies, etc.

It was well worth doing.

I bought a new amp (Marantz) mainly because I didn't want to play the eBay lottery, and - as others have said - not everything older is better (apart from us, of course).  I found a bargain set of speakers reasonably local, because they were collection-only, and there wasn't a lot of competition.

I now *listen* to the music rather than just playing it.  It sounds vastly better, and the whole experience is much more enjoyable.

beed84

In terms of 'classic' hifi then I'd argue that a NAD 3020e amp and a Rega Planar 3 turntable running through a decent set of speakers will give a lot of new stuff of similar ilk a run for their money.  I know because that's what I own. Very happy I am too.

Rocker

My friend, I would not buy a CD player. Rather a streamer such as Sonos or Squeezebox and a decent DAC. The built in DACs in the Sonos or SB will get you going but will not be close to realising the potential of your system. Music is stored on your computer hard drive or USB external hard drive. RIp CDs with Exact Audio Copy as FLAC or WAV. Control your Sonos or SB with the free app on your smartphone or iPad. Set the app volume to 100% and use the amplifier volume control. (A guy in Ireland is selling a Squeezebox Touch, not me, this is a good machine. Try beating him down on his asking price. PM if you need the link or I can be the guy in the middle if you prefer)

Fretwired

beed84 said:

In terms of 'classic' hifi then I'd argue that a NAD 3020e amp and a Rega Planar 3 turntable running through a decent set of speakers will give a lot of new stuff of similar ilk a run for their money.  I know because that's what I own. Very happy I am too.

I have an NAD 3020 and a Rega Planar 3 (and a Rega Planar 2) and I would agree. I have a small room in which I have a Regar Planar 2, NAD 3020, Denon CD player and cassette deck, Yamaha graphic equaliser and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond speakers .. it actually sounds warm and focused. Not loud but a great sound.

Emp_Fab

Don't forget your essential 13A 'superfuses' or the lacquered brazilian hardwood speaker cables.  Apparently, all the bacteria in the wood sing along to the tunes.

Sorry - it was too tempting not to do a Russ Andrews pisstake here....

IanSavage

Fretwired said:

beed84 said:

In terms of 'classic' hifi then I'd argue that a NAD 3020e amp and a Rega Planar 3 turntable running through a decent set of speakers will give a lot of new stuff of similar ilk a run for their money.  I know because that's what I own. Very happy I am too.

I have an NAD 3020 and a Rega Planar 3 (and a Rega Planar 2) and I would agree. I have a small room in which I have a Regar Planar 2, NAD 3020, Denon CD player and cassette deck, Yamaha graphic equaliser and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond speakers .. it actually sounds warm and focused. Not loud but a great sound.

Thirded on that - I had a NAD 3020 and a Pro-ject 2.0 turntable for ages and I've never had a hi-fi setup I liked more. I ssem to remember I was on Denon bookshelves back when I was in bedsits and floor-standing Wharfdales of some sort when I got a house, that setup sounded great through either.

Skipped

I want to share my Greatest Speaker Errors.

1. Yeah. These floorstanders sound great. I am glad the dealer let me try them at home. There is a bit a bloom in the bass but I can live with that.
 The reality: Nope. The uncontrolled bass sounds rich and womb-like because you are playing your Burt Bacharach album you fucking moron. If you buy those speakers you will  in effect "lose" half of your music collection. Be careful with floorstanders.

2. Yeah. These speakers must be placed 18 inches from the back wall. That will work just fine! Even though my room is quite small!  And she will never notice where they are positioned.
The reality: You are an idiot. I am not not even sure you should be allowed to leave the house.....let alone go into Superfi with a credit card in your pocket.

Phil_aka_Pip

NAD 3020 had so much street cred in its day, you could do a lot worse. Likewise Rega turntables. Pro-Ject always get good write-ups in HiFi News.

If you can afford a Marantz CD player you won't be disappointed, even s/h. They're the most civilised CD player I've heard.

hightowersdeepwells

beed84;705518" said:

In terms of 'classic' hifi then I'd argue that a NAD 3020e amp and a Rega Planar 3 turntable running through a decent set of speakers will give a lot of new stuff of similar ilk a run for their money.  I know because that's what I own. Very happy I am too.

We are amp buddies! NAD make great amps imho & the phono stage on them is excellent to these ears. Mine's coupled with some Tannoy speakers & a Technics 1210 that is a throwback to my DJing days. Had that turntable for nigh on 14 years & only needed to get it serviced for the first time this year. Not an overly flashy set-up, but it does me just fine.

ICBM

Timely thread, this. Everyone and his dog is going to be buying a CD player now, since the High Court has just ruled that ripping CDs for your own use is now illegal again so the only way you'll be able to listen to them is with a CD player.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/33566933/ripping-music-and-films-illegal-again-after-high-court-overturns-new-law

I'm going to invest in a CD player dealership. I'll make a fortune.