HiFi (Again)..

[GregR]

Sadly a rack of separares is a non-starter - it needs to blend in/not look out of place (says the good lady) so the all in one looks to be the best option.

What's so good about those separates, or separates in general anyway in this day and age when technology is so much better than before?

[H8OAG]

Greg

I called an Audiophile/Geek/Needs to get out more/Stops him interfering with kids/ member of staff and he agrees with the " you don't need separates nowadays"

If he was spending around £1000 - £1200 he would have the following:-

TEAC Reference 600 System


Speakers according to taste/demo......

(I still maintain that floor standing ones give more wallop)

He says you cannot go wrong with Kef C5's or some Monitor Audio BR5's and there are deals to be had post Christmas

£400 off this one......

http://www.a1-sound.co.uk/product/teac- ... 5-speakers

[tut]

Greg, there comes a time in a man's life when he has to put his foot down.

One is cars the other is Hi-Fi.

tut

[steve_weegie]

Greg

I called an Audiophile/Geek/Needs to get out more/Stops him interfering with kids/ member of staff and he agrees with the " you don't need separates nowadays"

Does he wear a nice casio watch because it tells the time well too?

Bear in mind that good hifi can look nice too & isn't just "functional"



I'd love to go into the technical detail of why a seperates system beats an integrated system hands down, but unfortunatly i have people to see now and fun to be had

[Peter76]

Greg, i know you've kinda ruled out the Gigajuke, however, i just took delivery of my Sonos after recommendations from people on here and absolutely love it. Instant access to all my music, looks good, sound quality is very good although you only really have bass, treble and loudness on/off to play with.

[graeme]

Sorry Mr Boag but... for the love of $god do not buy KEF C5s. They're probably only being bundled to get rid of them because they're utter pish.
At that £400 point, your shortlist should be the Monitor Audio BR5s and the KEF IQ5SE.

If you're determined not to do separates, listen to the Arcam Solo, the TEAC Ref 600 and the Linn Classik. Any of those will set you back the best part of £1000, and you want to budget approx £400 minimum for speakers. Any less and you've wasted money on the Solo. I would think that above (very approx) £700 for speakers, the Solo will be the weak point in the system, so there's your realistic budget range - £1400-£1700. If that's too much or you want to splash a bit more, shout back and we'll think again.

Anyway, just go shopping. You'll learn more by listening to whatever your dealer happens to have in stock than reading forums. Magazine reviews are only a guide to what your listening shortlist should probably be. Don't just buy stuff with the most stars or awards. It might not match your other kit at all.

[jbtco]

Cyrus CD & amp are very good ( few bells and whistles but great sound). As their systems are modular they can be easily upgraded. Good deals on demo or refurbished kit from some dealers - Holburn HiFi in Aberdeen (now have shop in Glasgow not sure what they call it) and Moorgate in Sheffield who do stuff online.

Amps in particular hold their value and sell well secondhand.

I started off with a basic stereo many years ago which has developed into a full AV surround system.

I would be tempted to omit CD and go for a pc, mac or ipod as source . If a lossless format is used as good or better than CD. It is probably better initially tp go for stand mounted speakers as they tend to be cheaper than floorstanders.

[H8OAG]

I'd love to go into the technical detail of why a seperates system beats an integrated system hands down, but unfortunatly i have people to see now and fun to be had

Steve ......

Great pic but I was/am a Koetsu man myself
The aforementioned Geek has a bespoke system costing many thousands of pounds including a set of Radial Speakers that look like seventies lounge curtains. (did I mention he was not married )
His point is that that most people's hearing is not discerning enough to tell the difference at the high end.


Oh and he wears a Nautilus sourced by yours truly........say no more

[philthy]

My 2p,

Id browse ebay for Linn stuff, can maybe pick up a cd player and amp for £400-600 then a set of nice B&O floorstanders and you would have a quality sounding system. Im not a fan of Linn speakers unless its their high end gear, KEF are worth a listen too(im biased)

I have a Linn Powertek amp in my room which isnt being used, needs a preamp to control volume.

[graeme]

His point is that that most people's hearing is not discerning enough to tell the difference at the high end.

Sshhh! That's a secret! Are you seriously telling me you can't hear the difference between an ordinary ethernet cable and this:

http://www.usa.denon.com/productdetails/3429.asp

[H8OAG]

Graeme..........you are verging on special needs but this has rekindled a selfish interest in whether my legacy systems are still up to the job versus all the new kit

And you will need to speak up a bit.......can't hear you!

On the cable thingy's...... I do remember lost hours in the seventies on the merits of using monster 79 strand cable versus basic twin and earth sparky cable to feed the Mission 747 from the iconic Nad 3020

[tut]

Cheap at twice the price. Only $500 for 4' of cable. Absolute bargain.

Went through some of this in the old days, brick on the amplifier to absorb vibrations, replaced the wiring on the CD player to heavy duty, likewise the Quad ELS 63 speakers, but only pounds as opposed to hundreds.

tut

[H8OAG]

Tut
Bet you filled your speaker cabinets full of sand as well........ and waxed lyrical about how it improved the mid range of Patsy Cline

[tut]

That was very popular in the 70's Iain but you can not do that to Electrostatic speakers. However I did fit the spikes to the base of them which made a worthwhile difference.

Patsy who? I did have some standards. The New Seekers left her cold........

ps I bought the ELS 63's along with the rest of the Quad separates over thirty years ago, and though they were not the best for bass on pop music, for clarity and true reproduction in the mid and top end, I doubt if there is still much to beat them without going into silly figures.

[mac]

That was very popular in the 70's Iain but you can not do that to Electrostatic speakers. However I did fit the spikes to the base of them which made a worthwhile difference.

Patsy who? I did have some standards. The New Seekers left her cold........

ps I bought the ELS 63's along with the rest of the Quad separates over thirty years ago, and though they were not the best for bass on pop music, for clarity and true reproduction in the mid and top end, I doubt if there is still much to beat them without going into silly figures.

Tut,

If you think "I'd like to teach the world to sing" out does "Sweet Dreams" then your needing to up the dosage on your senility medication!