Varnish connoisseurs

[markedkiller78]

AKA: The Hi-Fi Thread

OK, all things being well, I will have more work in April.

I initially thought of cheaping out and adding to my AV setup, but have decided against it as I will inevitably want to upgrade 10mins later.

Ideally:

Something that streams FLAC.
Ideally has DAB, thought this would need to be small enough
Has very good SQ.

I don't care if it's micro, massive, a new AV amp or full on seperates. Anyone have any ideas?

Can you get really good sound from bookself speakers? Where should I start reading?

I've looked at the the Marantz 6004 CD + Amp, but think the 7005 streamer would better suit me?

[SuperPang]

Ideally has DAB, thought this would need to be small enough
Has very good SQ.

Do other streamers have internet radio? Mine comes with Tunein, 70,000 stations plus shows on demand.

Go demo some stuff at an independent Hi Fi store. See what they have Ex Demo and refurbished like kern says. I've bought several things ED/RF from Moorgate in Sheffield and it's all been like new with warranty.

And yes, my Spendor SA1 are tiny but sound wonderful. I definitely need to go bigger for the room size though. How big is yours?

[markedkiller78]

The rooms are about 17m2 or 50m3. Possibly a bit smaller.

[markedkiller78]

I might be biased but the quad stuff is so musical for the 500 used per unit it costs nowadays its hard to recommend other stuff. Say maybe 900 for cd and amp used for the 99 series stuff anyway. The new model elite a bit more. Then a grand on some used speakers that were 3k a couple years ago and it'll blow away anything brand new for that price away.

Any examples of speakers you've seen for sale?

Silly question, but is it possible to wire speakers to an av and stereo amp or should I keep it all totally sperate?

[thegreathopper]

If you want the best sound you should go active,

These are great. AVI adm40http://www.avihifi.co.uk/index.html

[cools]

http://theartofsound.net/forum/"

[markedkiller78]

Thanks thus far.

I think I'm going to buy the speakers first. I can integrate them into my existing setup while I look for a suitable amp. I noticed these on hifi wigwam, where Kern has nearly 3k posts!: Monitor Audio PL100: http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.ph ... udio-PL100"

I think I'll try to stick to £1,000 for speakers and stands though. From the little bit i've read the stands can be as important as the speaker themselves.

There's also a load of Cyrus audi amps, & preamps on there

I'm not going to rule active out, but I have no experience at all (other than hearing cools speakers).

[pubjoe]

Every time I look at a thread like this my brain melts from information overload.

The best thing is to do zero research but find someone who did all that for you and has a penchant for high quality. A someone who is very trustworthy, who looks after their stuff, who is selling off a great paired kit at a fraction of the original rrp, yet is selling not because there's anything wrong with it but because they caught the needless shiny upgrade bug. But how often does someone like that come along?

[SuperPang]

There's loads of Hifi shops in scotland I think, Audio emotion is definitely up there and I've bought from them before, they have a lot of good stuff both new and preowned, if you're spending any decent amount of money you want to do some research and even try listen before buying.

I wish they were near me, I've had Audio Physic speakers recommended to me as a possible upgrade and would love to hear some.

[SuperPang]

I think I'll try to stick to £1,000 for speakers and stands though. From the little bit i've read the stands can be as important as the speaker themselves.

For that money you want to make sure they're a brand that pair well with your other equipment, specifically the amps. Forums will be able to give you a shortlst, as would a good Hi Fi shop, who usually choose what speakers they stock depending on which Hi Fi manufacturers they support so they can put together systems that work well.

Also, although official matching stands look nice, you can usually get a good third party set for a fraction of the price.

[markedkiller78]

This is such a PITA. Why didn't I just buy yours? Oh that's right, because it was silver

I should also add, that I would be happy with anything between £400-1000 WRT to speakers.

[Hewitson]

I think I'll try to stick to £1,000 for speakers and stands though. From the little bit i've read the stands can be as important as the speaker themselves.

Sounds like a load of rubbish to me. How can a stand possibly affect the sound quality?

[geotrig]

I think I'll try to stick to £1,000 for speakers and stands though. From the little bit i've read the stands can be as important as the speaker themselves.

Sounds like a load of rubbish to me. How can a stand possibly affect the sound quality?

[cools]

I think I'll try to stick to £1,000 for speakers and stands though. From the little bit i've read the stands can be as important as the speaker themselves.

Sounds like a load of rubbish to me. How can a stand possibly affect the sound quality?

Massively.

[Hewitson]

Thanks for the detailed explanations. I suppose you guys also think monster cables are a worthwhile purchase?

[geotrig]

no one has mentioned monster cables only you ....you could just google about it for **** sake ...its not that hard

buy some speakers and place then on the floor and on some stands and let us know how you get on ...

[yosai]

I think I'll try to stick to £1,000 for speakers and stands though. From the little bit i've read the stands can be as important as the speaker themselves.

Sounds like a load of rubbish to me. How can a stand possibly affect the sound quality?

Read up on acoustics and speaker positioning.

[cools]

Then listen to speedcore and ignore it

[markedkiller78]

Who can keep a speaker 1m + from a wall?

The whole thing is a pain. I would love a dedicated listening room right enough, but it's never going to happen without a lottery win.

[yosai]

Then listen to speedcore and ignore it

FYI the speakers I use to produce SpeedCore retailed at over £2000 each, no joke. The clarity of the 8 bits is absolutely incredible.