baffled by nostalia, jargon and numbers

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After having a Sony separates system for 20 years I am finally looking at upgrading.....following the sad demise of my Sony CD player (CDP 550 - cost a whopping £189 in 1988). I am considering replacing the kit over the next two years (if the credit crunch allows).

I was thinking of the NAD C515BEE as my first purchase (or the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C V2).

The rest of my system a Sony TAF 300 amplifer (£160 when I bought it two decades ago), and Sony APM22ES speakers (costing £237) still work perfectly well and I have always liked the sound. If I should go ahead with full replacement I would probably be looking to pay around £700 to £800 in total for an amplifer and speakers.

My problem is I am in a real quandry as to what improvement I can expect if I was to buy up-to-date replacements for those separates, in that price range. Has quality improved so dramatically since I last put my hand in my pocket (I would think it has)....or should I just leave my money in the bank or under the mattress and stay with the remains of my Sony system!

One major consideration is the size of my living/dining room where I listen to music. It is very large, 47ft x 14 ft, with a sloping ceiling from 7ft to about 11ft along the long wall. The ceiling is made of wood and the two short walls and one long wall are Yorkshire stone and large windows. It is carpetted. Obviously I am not looking to fill the whole room with sound just the living room end.

When I bought my Sony system I was told (still don't know whether I was duped) that because of the size of the room I needed high powered amplifier and speakers.The Sony TAF 300 is RMS 110W + 110W (whatever that means).

If it makes any difference I listen to classical, jazz, blues, Sinatra and Nat King Cole......modern day rock has passed me by.

Any advice before I get talked into something by a dealer...who I am sure will tell me new equipment "will blow my mind away?

Thanks in anticiplation

I

 

[fatboyslimfast]

That certainly is a big room Sir.

How big the amp/speakers need to be sort of depends where you are when listening to it. If you are 45ft away from the speakers, you are going to need a lot more sound coming out of them than if you were only 15 ft away.

I would suggest maybe taking richer sounds up on their no-quibble offer - I think you get 7 days to trial it, and if you don't like it, take it back and try something else. Certainly the 640v is the most powerful amplifier that you are likely to get in that price bracket.

Either that, or take your kit to a dealer and compare the two. You might find that your system suits you well, and you don't need to spend any cash (barring the CD player obviously). If you have your system there, you aren't relying on the dealers sales pitch - you can hear the differences (if there are any) for yourself.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Bigal5:
After having a Sony separates system for 20 years I am finally looking at upgrading.....following the sad demise of my Sony CD player (CDP 550 - cost a whopping £189 in 1988). I am considering replacing the kit over the next two years (if the credit crunch allows).

I was thinking of the NAD C515BEE as my first purchase (or the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C V2).

The rest of my system a Sony TAF 300 amplifer (£160 when I bought it two decades ago), and Sony APM22ES speakers (costing £237) still work perfectly well and I have always liked the sound. If I should go ahead with full replacement I would probably be looking to pay around £700 to £800 in total for an amplifer and speakers.

My problem is I am in a real quandry as to what improvement I can expect if I was to buy up-to-date replacements for those separates, in that price range. Has quality improved so dramatically since I last put my hand in my pocket (I would think it has)....or should I just leave my money in the bank or under the mattress and stay with the remains of my Sony system!

One major consideration is the size of my living/dining room where I listen to music. It is very large, 47ft x 14 ft, with a sloping ceiling from 7ft to about 11ft along the long wall. The ceiling is made of wood and the two short walls and one long wall are Yorkshire stone and large windows. It is carpetted. Obviously I am not looking to fill the whole room with sound just the living room end.

When I bought my Sony system I was told (still don't know whether I was duped) that because of the size of the room I needed high powered amplifier and speakers.The Sony TAF 300 is RMS 110W + 110W (whatever that means).

If it makes any difference I listen to classical, jazz, blues, Sinatra and Nat King Cole......modern day rock has passed me by.

Any advice before I get talked into something by a dealer...who I am sure will tell me new equipment "will blow my mind away?

Thanks in anticiplation

I

First things first, well done for remembering the price of your kit 20 years ago!! That is some feat.

Do you mean £700-800 for everything or on top of your spend on the cd player?

If it's the latter, I would look at something like these speakers below for £300 and £400 respectively. And I would try to track down a Creek Evo amp on ebay or at creekaudio.co.uk under shop online. They have an ex demo Evo cd player at the moment for £350. You will need something quite powerful for that room, even knowing that you can't fill even half of it.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3222

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/2563

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I would also suggest arranging a visit to your local dealer with your kit and as well as auditioning kit try alternative speaker cables/interconnects. I bought a Sony cdp-470 in 1989 for £160.00 and it stopped working a few years ago. I replaced both my amp and the CD player with comparably priced electronics (marantz pm4200/cd5400/QED qudos1) and noticed problably 10-15% better sound, with greater decay and clarity. If you were to audition a new CD player with your original kit I would firstly clean out the interconnect terminals with a cotton bud doused in isopropyl alchohol.

The Sony CD player appeared functional barring its inability to read CDs.I dismantled the Sony CD player, carefully cleaning the laser head with isopropyl alchohol and cleaning all dust/debris from the transport mechanism with an air duster aerosol before putting it together and running a lazer head cleaning disc, getting it to work again.

 

[Drummerdave]

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