£2000 to spend, help please...

[henry130]

Hello there,

This is my first time posting on a forum, but thought I'd give it a go, because I've read lots of these on what hifi, and everyone always seems keen to help.

I've recently come into some money (a rare occurance) and would like to improve my current hifi set up. I've got roughly £2000 to spend, and originally thought I'd like to invest in a new pair of speakers and a cd player, but since mulling over various options, my head hurts, and I'm not really that clued up on all the options, so thought I'd ask for some help.

I currently have a simple budget set up - B&W 601's, NAD C372 amp, NAD C542 cd player (qed silver speaker cable, and a qed interconnect, and a tacima mains conditioner thingy). It sounds great sometimes, but not so great on other occasions, depending on the type of music I'm listening to. I've never had any major problems with it, and enjoy the sound which I think is quite well balanced, but since I have some money to spend I guess what I'd like is a more refined tighter sound.

My room is a rectangle 2.5m x 4.5m, carpet floor, and my hifi sits on a bamboo plywood rack that I made myself. I like listening to lots of different types of music, but just as a guide (tom waits, nick cave, leonard cohen, pink floyd, bruce springsteen, neil young, howlin wolf, etc.) I'm also fortunate to not have any problems with neighbours, so can crack it up quite loud if this is important to know, but I also like listening at low levels sometimes.

I was considering buying PMC speakers and a cyrus cd player, and then perhaps upgrading my amp at a later stage when I have some more money, but I'm not sure now. I"m only really interested in standmounted speakers, and I dont care what the equipment looks like, all I really care about is how good it sounds, just a simple cd player (doesn't need to do anything other than play cds well). I will also go to the hifi shop in town, but I'm wary of taking advice from a place which only stocks a few of the options available to me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks for taking the time to read this, henry

 

[stevebrock]

Thas a good budget!

Have you any interrst in streaming from a PC or are you certain you want a CD based system?

I would say divide your budget as follows

CD player £5-600

Amp £5-600

Speakers £7-800

Rega, Cyrus, Roksan & Arcam are the brands that are popular

PMC speakers are lovely, but feel they would be wasted with your current amp

You really have to go and listen to lots of system and speakers & amps have most influence over the sound

Enjoy it!

 

[Messiah]

Now I have not been on here in a long time so I do not know how AVI suggestions are going down. I do not wish to start one of those threads that goes on for 40 pages and gets locked but I would suggest checking out the ADM9RS. They will leave you change for a decent sub (if required).

No need for amp upgrade as they are active speakers.

 

[plastic penguin]

Welcome...

Best advice I can give is DEMO, DEMO, DEMO....

 

[Thompsonuxb]

If possible pass by your nearest Richer Sounds and pick up a catolog.

You can get a good system ( one brand with speakers ) for alot less than £2000 - the Arcam FMJ18 is currently £299 or less with the matching CDP FMJ17 with a pair of Tannoy Mercury 4's (floorstanders) but speaker options are available ( all under £1000) - upgrade when the bug hits you, probably get as good a sound as you'll get from a system costing twice as much.

Take the rest and treat yourself to a decent all inclusive holiday......

 

[p_m_brown]

Welcome to the madness!

I would recommend spending the cash on a great amp and speaker combo first - I am a little biased but I love the sound of my Arcam amp and Kef set up!

Best to check out the WHF/other mag reviews, draw up a short list of what you fancy the look of and I am sure that there will be folks on here who will be able to give more focused advise.

 

[mpapo]

Listen to nice passive speaker / amp combos and if the looks don't scare you look at similarly priced professional studio monitors.

I've always quite liked the "neutral" , clean sound monitors tend to produce.

For your ears to decide.

 

[Ben K.]

Welcome to the forum

Good suggestion from stevebrock if you are looking to do all 3. If you are only thinking of 2 as you mention I would be tempted with amp and speakers and upgrade the source later on as I think this will bring the most benefit. As for which ones that depends on what sort of presentation you are looking for? Best way to find out is to go and listen to some combinations and enjoy the experience.

 

[Craig M.]

Now I have not been on here in a long time so I do not know how AVI suggestions are going down. I do not wish to start one of those threads that goes on for 40 pages and gets locked but I would suggest checking out the ADM9RS. They will leave you change for a decent sub (if required).

No need for amp upgrade as they are active speakers.

That would be my suggestion too. Anything with an optical out as a source and a pair of ADMs is a complete, great sounding, system.

 

[BigH]

I would look at something like the Marantz Pearl Lite cd player and amp with speakers like Dynaudio X12 and then Marantz Pearl Lite cdp with the AVI ADM 9RS, if you are near to London you can do this, I will be going next week to try them out.

The new Creek 50A amp is also very good.

 

[Overdose]

Hello there,

This is my first time posting on a forum, but thought I'd give it a go, because I've read lots of these on what hifi, and everyone always seems keen to help.

I've recently come into some money (a rare occurance) and would like to improve my current hifi set up. I've got roughly £2000 to spend, and originally thought I'd like to invest in a new pair of speakers and a cd player, but since mulling over various options, my head hurts, and I'm not really that clued up on all the options, so thought I'd ask for some help.

I currently have a simple budget set up - B&W 601's, NAD C372 amp, NAD C542 cd player (qed silver speaker cable, and a qed interconnect, and a tacima mains conditioner thingy). It sounds great sometimes, but not so great on other occasions, depending on the type of music I'm listening to. I've never had any major problems with it, and enjoy the sound which I think is quite well balanced, but since I have some money to spend I guess what I'd like is a more refined tighter sound.

My room is a rectangle 2.5m x 4.5m, carpet floor, and my hifi sits on a bamboo plywood rack that I made myself. I like listening to lots of different types of music, but just as a guide (tom waits, nick cave, leonard cohen, pink floyd, bruce springsteen, neil young, howlin wolf, etc.) I'm also fortunate to not have any problems with neighbours, so can crack it up quite loud if this is important to know, but I also like listening at low levels sometimes.

I was considering buying PMC speakers and a cyrus cd player, and then perhaps upgrading my amp at a later stage when I have some more money, but I'm not sure now. I"m only really interested in standmounted speakers, and I dont care what the equipment looks like, all I really care about is how good it sounds, just a simple cd player (doesn't need to do anything other than play cds well). I will also go to the hifi shop in town, but I'm wary of taking advice from a place which only stocks a few of the options available to me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks for taking the time to read this, henry

You have a decent system and your amp seems quite capable, so perhaps you only need a speaker upgrade.

The KEF LS50s are the current darlings, but it wanting to look at a less conventional setup, I'd echo the suggestion to try the ADM9s.

If you are considering upgrading all of your hifi anyway, the price you get for it all would go someway to lessening the cost.

If you need a disc spinner, I'd probably look for a Blu-Ray player that offered a good streaming option as well, so you'd have a multimedia solution.

 

[rich51080]

I would go for either of the following options - they both are fantastic as i have listened to them both.

http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/HD.php?_NAI_UNITILITE_NEA_IOTA_ST_BGR_&CAT=STSYS&ID=6744

or

http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/HD.php?_MTZ_KIPLCD_MTZ_KIPLAMP_TAN_REVDC6TSE_ST_&CAT=STSYS&ID=6099

Both would give you a setup which you would be happy with for a very long time.

 

[relocated]

Hello there,

This is my first time posting on a forum, but thought I'd give it a go, because I've read lots of these on what hifi, and everyone always seems keen to help.

I've recently come into some money (a rare occurance) and would like to improve my current hifi set up. I've got roughly £2000 to spend, and originally thought I'd like to invest in a new pair of speakers and a cd player, but since mulling over various options, my head hurts, and I'm not really that clued up on all the options, so thought I'd ask for some help.

I currently have a simple budget set up - B&W 601's, NAD C372 amp, NAD C542 cd player (qed silver speaker cable, and a qed interconnect, and a tacima mains conditioner thingy). It sounds great sometimes, but not so great on other occasions, depending on the type of music I'm listening to. I've never had any major problems with it, and enjoy the sound which I think is quite well balanced, but since I have some money to spend I guess what I'd like is a more refined tighter sound.

My room is a rectangle 2.5m x 4.5m, carpet floor, and my hifi sits on a bamboo plywood rack that I made myself. I like listening to lots of different types of music, but just as a guide (tom waits, nick cave, leonard cohen, pink floyd, bruce springsteen, neil young, howlin wolf, etc.) I'm also fortunate to not have any problems with neighbours, so can crack it up quite loud if this is important to know, but I also like listening at low levels sometimes.

I was considering buying PMC speakers and a cyrus cd player, and then perhaps upgrading my amp at a later stage when I have some more money, but I'm not sure now. I"m only really interested in standmounted speakers, and I dont care what the equipment looks like, all I really care about is how good it sounds, just a simple cd player (doesn't need to do anything other than play cds well). I will also go to the hifi shop in town, but I'm wary of taking advice from a place which only stocks a few of the options available to me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks for taking the time to read this, henry

You have a decent system and your amp seems quite capable, so perhaps you only need a speaker upgrade.

The KEF LS50s are the current darlings, but it wanting to look at a less conventional setup, I'd echo the suggestion to try the ADM9s.

If you are considering upgrading all of your hifi anyway, the price you get for it all would go someway to lessening the cost.

If you need a disc spinner, I'd probably look for a Blu-Ray player that offered a good streaming option as well, so you'd have a multimedia solution.

Excellent advice from Overdose.

In your size room a pair of AVI ADM 9RSS will provide you with sufficient bass output to not need a sub, but a dedicated matched one is available. So less than £1500 will provide you with a remote controlled pair of speakers with matched power amps producing phenominal volume [when you want it] together with fatigue-free clarity at all volume levels. There is onboard DAC and pre-amp together with power and interconnect cables, plus remote all for the [less than] £1500.

A modern Bluray player can provide you with disc spinning and streaming options and you will still have money left over for music or treating the other half, as well as the sale money from your existing gear.

You owe it to your ears and wallet to investigate the AVI ADM 9RSS, you will never regret it [in my experience].

 

[henry130]

Dear all, thank you for the interest, and your time to reply to my questions.

I didn't even know what Passive and active speakers were until I started this thread..so thats something new for me to consider.

As someone has already said, I do not wish to cause an argument regarding the AVI versus conventional hifi set up (it strikes me as dividing opinion). The ADM9RS do look like an attractive option (certainly budget wise) but my only problem is I cant get to demo these unless I take a really long drive, and I'm not sure I'd be prepared to buy something before listening to it.

But, I am interested and in theory it makes complete sence if they do sound that good (and in a small room that I have).

Just one more question, if I were to buy PMC twenty21 speakers and a better amp - perhaps cyrus, arcam, or heed for example, and leave my cd player for now - how would this differ to the AVI option in quality?

Also, can I hook up a turntable to the AVI speakers easily enough? (using a pre amp I assume) and have my cd player also.

Thanks once again. Ultimately I will decide by demo'ing as mush as I can, as I understand about personal preference, but it is also interesting to hear your views.

 

[BigH]

Dear all, thank you for the interest, and your time to reply to my questions.

I didn't even know what Passive and active speakers were until I started this thread..so thats something new for me to consider.

As someone has already said, I do not wish to cause an argument regarding the AVI versus conventional hifi set up (it strikes me as dividing opinion). The ADM9RS do look like an attractive option (certainly budget wise) but my only problem is I cant get to demo these unless I take a really long drive, and I'm not sure I'd be prepared to buy something before listening to it.

But, I am interested and in theory it makes complete sence if they do sound that good (and in a small room that I have).

Just one more question, if I were to buy PMC twenty21 speakers and a better amp - perhaps cyrus, arcam, or heed for example, and leave my cd player for now - how would this differ to the AVI option in quality?

Also, can I hook up a turntable to the AVI speakers easily enough? (using a pre amp I assume) and have my cd player also.

Thanks once again. Ultimately I will decide by demo'ing as mush as I can, as I understand about personal preference, but it is also interesting to hear your views.

Henry which county do you live in?

 

[chebby]

As someone has already said, I do not wish to cause an argument regarding the AVI versus conventional hifi set up (it strikes me as dividing opinion). The ADM9RS do look like an attractive option (certainly budget wise) but my only problem is I cant get to demo these unless I take a really long drive, and I'm not sure I'd be prepared to buy something before listening to it.

All AVI owners are happy to demonstrate their speakers to you in their homes. You probably live near one of them.

Go to the AVI website and join their online forum. They are always friendly and hospitable and happy to help you.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Dear all, thank you for the interest, and your time to reply to my questions.

I didn't even know what Passive and active speakers were until I started this thread..so thats something new for me to consider.

As someone has already said, I do not wish to cause an argument regarding the AVI versus conventional hifi set up (it strikes me as dividing opinion). The ADM9RS do look like an attractive option (certainly budget wise) but my only problem is I cant get to demo these unless I take a really long drive, and I'm not sure I'd be prepared to buy something before listening to it.

But, I am interested and in theory it makes complete sence if they do sound that good (and in a small room that I have).

Just one more question, if I were to buy PMC twenty21 speakers and a better amp - perhaps cyrus, arcam, or heed for example, and leave my cd player for now - how would this differ to the AVI option in quality?

Also, can I hook up a turntable to the AVI speakers easily enough? (using a pre amp I assume) and have my cd player also.

Thanks once again. Ultimately I will decide by demo'ing as mush as I can, as I understand about personal preference, but it is also interesting to hear your views.

No, the ADMs only have one RCA input, so you'd have to use their internal DAC which may not be of the same quality as that in your CD player.

If you're thinking about actives, and I'd thinkyou can get a lot better with passive, consider the Dynaudio Xeos range, which have all the advantages of the ADMs plus are wireless. And, yes, demo and compare as much as you can!

 

[Craig M.]

No, the ADMs only have one RCA input, so you'd have to use their internal DAC which may not be of the same quality as that in your CD player.

If you're thinking about actives, and I'd thinkyou can get a lot better with passive, consider the Dynaudio Xeos range, which have all the advantages of the ADMs plus are wireless. And, yes, demo and compare as much as you can!

The Xeos have a fairly major disadvantage compared to the ADMs. They don't sound anywhere near as good. The DAC in the ADMs equalled the Chord QBD76 I used to have - all £3k's worth of it. As a complete system the ADMs bettered the £7k Chord QBD76 - ATC SIA2-150 - ATC SCM19 system I had. And that is without the sub - with the sub it would've been annihalation. Of course the new 9.1 RSS version are even better than the 9.1T version I compared to my system (and the Xeos).

To the OP, yes, you could just plug a phono amp into the RCAs to use a TT, and your CDP into the optical input. How long a drive would you have? It might be worth it, and at the very least Ashley would buy you lunch.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Sorry, that's your subjective opinion, no more, just as mine is regarding how much better my Maggies are than the ADMs, which I note no-one has disputed.

There are many and better options to the ADMs and the Xeos around the £2000 mark, even though you may not get a free lunch.

 

[Anonymous]

[EDITED BY MODS - user banned permanently]

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Sorry if the truth upsets you. Look on the bright side, at least you're not iplaying for Wigan at the moment. Now that is sad FA cup then relegation.

 

[shropshire lad]

Sorry, that's your subjective opinion, no more, just as mine is regarding how much better my Maggies are than the ADMs, which I note no-one has disputed.

There are many and better options to the ADMs and the Xeos around the £2000 mark, even though you may not get a free lunch.

Possibly the reason no one has disputed your subjective opinion is that there may not be anyone on this forum who have heard both your speakers and the ADMs ( obviously , I stand to be corrected ) . Likewise , I cannot remember reading in all of your anti - AVI posts whether you have heard any ADM speakers or not . Could you please just remind me which ones you have heard . In addition could you tell me which Maggies you own so that I can look them up . Thank you .

 

[the record spot]

The Xeos have a fairly major disadvantage compared to the ADMs. They don't sound anywhere near as good.

Well, that's one opinion posited as fact. They might not, in your opinion, the Xeos might well do in another's. Subjective absolutes. From a member of a group where subjectivity is generally frowned upon too...tsk! oke:

 

[altruistic.lemon]

.

 

[hoopsontoast]

Sorry, that's your subjective opinion, no more, just as mine is regarding how much better my Maggies are than the ADMs, which I note no-one has disputed.

There are many and better options to the ADMs and the Xeos around the £2000 mark, even though you may not get a free lunch.

Possibly the reason no one has disputed your subjective opinion is that there may not be anyone on this forum who have heard both your speakers and the ADMs ( obviously , I stand to be corrected ) . Likewise , I cannot remember reading in all of your anti - AVI posts whether you have heard any ADM speakers or not . Could you please just remind me which ones you have heard . In addition could you tell me which Maggies you own so that I can look them up . Thank you .

Even the entry $600 Magnepan MMGs are better than the ADM9.1s, IMO, IME etc etc.