HiFi (Again)..

[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!

[robin]

Driving high powered speakers does deserve some consideration.

Speaker cables should have low DCR/m (DC resistance per metre) in order to avoid dissipating power in the cable. However, unless you choose the worst possible cable this is unlikely to be an issue.

However, the current carrying capacity aside there are two serious considerations:

(1) RF shielding - if your cable does not have a separate shield connection (which should be connected to the amplifier chassis, not the -ve pin of the speaker) then you risk the cable acting as an aerial and feeding RF into the negative feedback loop of the amplifier which will then manifest itself as noise/hiss in the audible spectrum. Adequate termination at the speaker end can mitigate this (so called Zobel network).

(2) Reactance of the cable - if the cable has substantial inductance, it will roll off higher frequencies (but you will not notice this unless you use 1000000m cable); more seriously if the cable has substantial capacitance then you can exceed the phase margin of your power amplifier and cause it to oscillate (probably it will oscillate outside of the audible range, but it will still oscillate and might destroy the output transistors).

Also note that the so-called characteristic impedance of the cable is a red herring, and in fact choosing a cable with a low characteristic impedance may well introduce more capacitance than is healthy for your amplifier.

So Mr Boag's 3-core sparky cable is more than likely adequate for the task, especially if the earth core is connected to the chassis ground.

Cheers,
Robin

[rossybee]

Greg, I know sod all about hi fi, but f**k living downstairs from you

[max1966]

Would never consider mself an expert, so my only suggestion, as previously commented, is to go out and listen to a variety of options.

What looks good may not sound good, consider volume of 'normal' listening and expect to be surprised by the different audio performance of similar bits of kit.

And look at second hand, e-bay etc. well worth it, I ended up buying ex demo £1600 speakers and a £1K amp haf price, could never have convinced SWMBO at the full price.

[BiggestNizzy]

I have a Linn majik and some wharfedale diamond 9.1's connected with some QED silver anniversary bi-wire cable I got the amp off fleabay about 4 years ago and it has been flawless.

Recentkly updated my TV to a sony A/V receiver so I get some surround so the Majik is being moved to the bedroom (need to get some sony s-air stuff for streaming)

[smee]

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.

I've always had cyrus stuff as well and find it very difficult to better for the price but all hifi is personal tase. Was recommended dynaudio speakers to go with system and worked beautifully but prefered sound and look of B&Ws, again personal choice.

Cyrus separates are smaller than normal hulking things, and triarbour wooden stands are like furniture (and costs as much!) so you might get away with it but if still too big then I also tried the Arcam solo and mini. Very impressive, I mean fr better than I was expecting and would be happy with it for a second system or more discreet, trialled with B&Ws, QUADs and KEFs. KEF poor, Quads very nice but now made in china and can be hit or miss soime pairs good others very poor.

Holburn hifi is Glasgow audio in Glasgow I think on Great western road end nearest city centre.

Finally my Dad got a Denon mini CD/amp integrated with Tannoy F1s and again punches well above its weight, richer sounds matched amazon's price and beat it, gave free headphones and paid the parking! Has USB so I got him a usb turntable as a joke but works really well.

Hope you get something you like

[douglasgdmw]

No hi-fi expert but 5 years ago I was wanting a reasonably priced home cinema system. Went through all the usual people in Edinburgh and the ones that impressed me most were: http://www.loud-clear.co.uk

I ended up with Denon kit and Focal speakers but the thing that impressed me most about Loud & Clear was that although I was not your top end audiophile with a massive budget they treated me like I mattered, gave me demos and did a great installation at my home.

Well worth popping in to chat with them

Cheers
DMW

[graeme]

Quads very nice but now made in china and can be hit or miss some pairs good others very poor.

I have China-made L-series and L2-series, and I wouldn't worry about quality. It's one of the reasons I bought them... they really stand out. If you do get a duff pair, you could send them back I suppose, but mine are so good I bought a second pair.

They love warm sounding kit too... Arcam would be perfect.

[steve_weegie]

Great pic but I was/am a Koetsu man myself

Are they the ones that are hand made on the thighs of Japanese virgins? For that money, i'd expect the Geisha girl included

You still got a vinyl setup Mr B? Mine is sadly out of use pending a replacement cartridge, but at least it still looks pretty on top of the Quad rack

Greg.... You bought anything yet??