Advice re combo options for uninitiated purchase

[admin_exported]

Hi

This is my first post so please be gentle with me.

I'm looking to purchase a compact all-in-one (amp/cd/DAB) with a set of speakers. My budget is around the £1K mark. I enjoy listening to a wide variety of music and appreciate good quality reproduction, but that's about it really. I have heard the Arcam Solo Mini played through B & W 685s and was suitably impressed. There are a couple of things I was wondering about though;

• the above set-up sounds good at a reasonably high volume in the store's demo room. Would the Arcam run the speakers okay at lower volumes though (I've heard all about run-in times etc. so I'm not confident on simply relying on my ear in the shop), and if not, should I be looking at different speakers?
• Is it reasonable to wall mount these speakers about 5 metres apart (angled on a suitable bracket)? The room is about 6X4)

As I've said, I'm pretty much new to this, so would be very grateful for your advice.

ta much

 

[Anonymous]

I had an Arcam Solo and some Quad 11's which were on wall brackets(L shaped with spikes on them to allow for tilt and toe-in)

sounded very good especially when taking the relatively low cost into account.

 

[Andy Clough]

The Solo Mini would be a great choice, and if you didn't run it with the B&W 685s there are other speakers you could consider, such as the Epos M5 (£349) or Monitor Audio Bronze BR5 (£400). But the B&Ws are a great choice and, being our 2007 Product of the Year, they'll work a treat with the Solo even at low volumes.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks guys for your responses. I'd thought about the Epos option and will certainly have a look at the Monitors if I get the chance. It's a comfort to know that folks in the know rate these products.

I had intended to ask a quick question about cables too. I was wondering about the extent to which speaker cable choice can make or break a set-up. I know cost can vary quite dramatically, and was wondering what might be a reasonable price-point when looking at equipment of this standard (would £10 p/metre cable be up to the job for example?).