£400 for new seperates system

[admin_exported]

Currently I have my pc hooked up to my old sony hifi via 3.5mm jack
from line out on pc to RCA analogue in on the hifi, it sounds alright
but nothing special.

My budget for christmas is £300 max and I'm
looking to improve the sound as much as possible. Upgrading speakers
isn't an option as they have these strange connectors so you can't use
other speakers.

I'm looking at all in one hifi's like the denon
dm37DAB with a pair of wharfdale 9.1's but wondering if I'd be better
off getting just an amp and speakers (and possibly a DAC if I have
enough, or if not add one in later) as I never use the radio or cd
player (all music is ripped to the computer in FLAC)

So my question is what would give the best sound quality?

a. All in one hifi with speakers for £300

b. £100 DAC + £100 Amp + £100 Speakers

c. Amp + speakers for £300

Please
give suggestions aswell as I have no idea on speakers or amps (have
done quite a bit of reading on DAC's and if I was to get one it would
probably be the MF V-DAC)
EDIT: Forgot to add I listen to punk, reggae, ska & rap/hip-hop

 

[matthewpiano]

At this price level look at recent, but second hand. For an amp I'd stick to NAD. The C315BEE, C320BEE and C325BEE are all superb and readily available at around the £100 mark on that famous auction site.

For speakers look for a pair of Monitor Audio BR1s. A great match to the NAD and very capable little speakers for the money.

Add a Beresford DAC and you'll have a cracking system.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, will start keeping an eye on ebay for those

 

[Anonymous]

If I had a budget of £300, I would go for the Audioengine A5 (Active speakers so no amplification required) and a squeezebox. Put all you music on you laptop and start streaming.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks but no need for a squeezebox as all my music is on my desktop and thats the only place I listen to it, will have a look at the Audioengine A5's though.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I was planning to get this for christmas but decided to wait a bit longer and save up a bit more. Now have around £400 to play with and have decided on a seperates system.

I'm not sure whether to get just an amp & speakers for now then add a DAC or soundcard later on or get it all at once.

Looking at a CA 640v2 for £199 but have no idea on speakers at the moment, Wharfedale 10.1's look good but are they worth the extra £100 over the 9.1's? What other speakers would suit my music tastes?

Other thing I'm undecided on is a Beresford TC-7520 dac or Asus Xonar ST soundcard, best price I can find them for is £180 for the beresford or £130 for the asus. Will the beresford sound better than the asus soundcard?

 

[Anonymous]

get a pair of these M-Audio Studiophile Av40 active speakers (with built in amp) for less than £90 ...

hook up to your laptop with spotify premium for a tenner a month and use the extra £300 on a pair of headphones and a crate of good south african red wine and a meal at a good restauarant for you and your partner

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks but I'm definatley looking for a decent amp & speakers rather than actives (and looking to spend more than that) and no need for spotify as all my music is ripped to my pc in flac

 

[Anonymous]

descendent87:Thanks but I'm definatley looking for a decent amp & speakers rather than actives (and looking to spend more than that) and no need for spotify as all my music is ripped to my pc in flac

Pioneer A400 for approx £120

Marantz CD 63 MKII K1 signature cdp for approx £130

Mission 753 speakers (not the freedom model) for approx £180

brings the total to approx £430 ... (may be a bit cheaper)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks but should have said I don't have enough room for floorstanders
so speakers have to be bookshelf and no need for a CD player either (connecting pc to the amp as all music is ripped to pc)

 

[Messiah]

As Matthew posted earlier, you can't go far wrong with the Monitor Audio BR1's and the NAD 315BEE

 

[Anonymous]

Inexpensive DAC, Integrated Amp and Bookshelf Speaks would be your best bet imho.

Most internal sound processors (whether integrated into the motherboard, or in a dedicated expansion board) have too high a noise floor, unless you're using a high end sound board. This is why I'm recommending a DAC. Something very humble (even those powered by the USB port) usually do better than most internal sound chips.

Couple that with an entry level integrated like a NAD C315BEE or a Cambridge 340A and good budget speakers.

 

[Messiah]

Sorry, did mean to say to add the DAC once the funds allow.....

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks the speakers look good, as for the amp are the CA Azur 640A V2 better than the nad you suggested? As I can get both for the same price

 

[Anonymous]

The 640A V2 is an excellent amp, but you might want to go for smooth and lush-sounding speakers to compensate for the 640's treble-eagerness if you are going this route.