£1500 - £2000 system with a difference

[admin_exported]

Hi all, 

I noticed a previous post which sounds familiar, however I am what I would call a Noob in the hifi world, computers are more my thing however these systems just look so good and I want to hear something better than what I am used to (pc speakers).

 I am looking for a very loud system avec quality, however I do NOT want a CD player,,, I want an amp single or pre and power, and then 2 speakers, I was looking at the KEF IQ9, however I think I would prefer book shelf speakers, only if they are loud.... am I right in saying a 200W max is quite loud? Or should I be looking for more!!

 I want the system mainly to play high bit rate digital music, though as it will be situated around my TV, blu ray , sky HD... I may want to run these through the system... which brings me to my next point... do I go AV or standard amp...?

 I KNOW that most of these questions would have been answered previously, but I am looking for a consolidated answer!

I would also like to thank all who reply in advance...

 

many thanks

Bruce

 

 

[Anonymous]

forgot to mention the crux, i apologise but at this stage in my life i love house music, i need bass, does this mean i should attach a sub to the system or do these kind of separate systems proveide good bass. (I think you can now see my newbie side coming through!!!...

bRUCEÿ

 

[JoelSim]

I think lossless, plus a pre/power and B&W speakers is probably the starting point, but you are looking at £1,500 minimum for hifi.

ÿ

 

[John Duncan]

acidslice:
Hi all,

I noticed a previous post which sounds familiar, however I am what I would call a Noob in the hifi world, computers are more my thing however these systems just look so good and I want to hear something better than what I am used to (pc speakers).

I am looking for a very loud system avec quality, however I do NOT want a CD player,,, I want an amp single or pre and power, and then 2 speakers, I was looking at the KEF IQ9, however I think I would prefer book shelf speakers, only if they are loud.... am I right in saying a 200W max is quite loud? Or should I be looking for more!!

I want the system mainly to play high bit rate digital music, though as it will be situated around my TV, blu ray , sky HD... I may want to run these through the system... which brings me to my next point... do I go AV or standard amp...?

I KNOW that most of these questions would have been answered previously, but I am looking for a consolidated answer!

I would also like to thank all who reply in advance...

many thanks

Bruce

If music is your key source, then a stereo amp is where to start. You could always add a cheapish processor to get more out of your video sources at a later date. First things first though - I would get a DAC to make the most of your high bit-rate (pref lossless) music - they start at 100 quid for a reasonable one and give you the best possible start to your system.

Drummerman may come on here and recommend the AVI9.1s and their partnering sub, which include the DAC already, and may be the ideal solution for you, but I haven't heard so can't comment. Bass is certainly possible even from small standmounts - and going loud you may even get a bit more control from a design like the PMC DB1i - partner that with a s/h Primare A30.1 and a Beresford or Cambridge DAC and I think you'd be pretty happy, though precisely *how* much bass you want will determine which speaker you end up with.

 

[drummerman]

Well said JD. The AVI's would certainly be my recommendation though there's something else which you may be interested in, more in a sec.

The ADM9.1's go loud, very loud. 108db continuous/116db peak and they sound like it. Thats probably measured at 1m so deduct another 3db for 2m, still, not many monitors that will do that. You dont need the partnering sub, its expensive at £700 or so and we obtained fantastic results with a much cheaper and smaller sub, just make sure its fast and can keep up more than anything else.

I've just come back from a local richer sounds visit (!). They do some offer on the 840v2 amplifier with matching cdp. Buy the two and get a free pair of KefIQ7 though they would happily exchange the speaker with any £400 or so speaker they have in stock if you dont like kef. I know you said you dont want a cdp but bear in mind it has additional digital inputs so you can take advantage of the advanced dac they use by routing processing additional components through. The amp can also be easily integrated into a home cinema system if you fancy the best of both worlds at some stage. I believe that the DAC (and implementation) in the 840 is superior to the new Dacmagic coming soon. I guess it would be daft if that was'nt the case.

I had a brief listen to the two with MS Mezzos and the said kef. Whilst far from ideal (in the shop) I was nevertheless impressed, enough to take em home for a home dem. Sounded very good indeed and I would have thought that 120w/ch 8ohm will go loud if partnered with reasonably efficient speakers.

 

[John Duncan]

You know, that's a bit of a genius idea - for 1500 quid you do end up with cd replay functionality that you don't need, but get a great upsampling DAC thrown in for free..........there's also the 740 amp/cdp combo for a grand with some MS floorstanders! Brilliant!

Have you taken the whole Cambridge combo home DM?

 

[drummerman]

I know he does'nt need a cdp but hey, its handy to have the thing if you just want to throw in a silver disc rather than go through the pc. No, my long w/end is the following w/end so although I could have taken it I kind of forgot that I can have the things up to two weeks! Never mind, might pick em up over the next few days. He briefly put on the cheaper system (740) and it sounded more diffuse but hard to tell in there. They (840) have fully balanced operation which is a nice touch too, butt ugly though imo.

 

[John Duncan]

drummerman:butt ugly though imo

Yup. I have offered my design services........

 

[drummerman]

JohnDuncan:drummerman:butt ugly though imo

Yup. I have offered my design services........

I think a two year old could improve on it, no offense. Also, while I was in there the sales assistant (very helpful but he really did'nt know a lot about hifi or its intricacies) said 'I think this is the version 2 but it could be 3 . Kind of makes me wonder if there's already another one in the pipeline ... CEO of CA, I would be interested to hear your comments. Failing a reply, JD please get in contact with him, you are after all almost part of the CA team now

 

[John Duncan]

Not yet. Am hoping my 840e/840w v2 combo (together with the 6/7/840n) will arrive shortly after the builders are done. Sadly looks like I'm going to have to buy my DACMagic though. Tuh.

 

[drummerman]

Very nice. What is the 6/7/840N?

You know this may be costing you a load of money if you happen to fall out of love with your primares.

 

[John Duncan]

drummerman:What is the 6/7/840N?

I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

 

[drummerman]

Now you sound like my g/f and she does'nt even bother with the first bit

 

[John Duncan]

drummerman:Now you sound like my g/f and she does'nt even bother with the first bit

Liking her work.