Budget hi-fi set up

[admin_exported]

Im getting back into hi-fi after a long time away but my budget is really tight. I have narrowed my choice down to a Cambridge Audio Azur 340A amp, either with the MS Aviano 1's, Tannoy Mercury F1 Customs or Wharfedale Diamond 10.1's, also looking at a new DVD player as cant afford a separate DVD player and a CD player and im looking at the Toshiba SD-390E and the XD-E500....Im wondering what will work best with what and also what cables etc will help with sound.

I already have stands and sound deadening sand/shot

PS I know i should listen to them in the shop but sometimes not easy if they don't have the items in stock, plus distance to a shop that does stock them all.

Budget is £350-£400 max

Shugsi

 

[matthewpiano]

I would suggest the second hand route.

For example:

Kenwood KA3020SE amplifier - about £50 in good condition.
Rotel RCD-965BX - about £80-£100 for a really nice one.
KEF Coda 8 - about £50 should bag a good pair.

Total = £200 max. The Kenwood is better than a 340A, and the Rotel is widely considered to be one of the best CD players made. The KEFs are superb - very exciting and engaging to listen to.

Then buy a decent DVD player like the Tosh, and spend the rest on films and music.

 

[matthewpiano]

matthewpiano:I would suggest the second hand route.

For example:

Kenwood KA3020SE amplifier - about £50 in good condition.
Rotel RCD-965BX - about £80-£100 for a really nice one.
KEF Coda 8 - about £50 should bag a good pair.

Total = £200 max. The Kenwood is better than a 340A, and the Rotel is widely considered to be one of the best CD players made. The KEFs are superb - very exciting and engaging to listen to.

Then buy a decent DVD player like the Tosh, and spend the rest on films and music.

Sorry, forgot cables. I'd recommend Chord Crimson interconnect and Chord Carnival Silverscreen speaker cable.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:I would suggest the second hand route. For example:Kenwood KA3020SE amplifier - about £50 in good condition.Rotel RCD-965BX - about £80-£100 for a really nice one.KEF Coda 8 - about £50 should bag a good pair.Total = £200 max. The Kenwood is better than a 340A, and the Rotel is widely considered to be one of the best CD players made. The KEFs are superb - very exciting and engaging to listen to. Then buy a decent DVD player like the Tosh, and spend the rest on films and music.

Only thing about buying second hand is that they carry no warranty....I prefer to buy new. But I do appreciate your advice.

Shugsi

 

[Anonymous]

I know you want new, however, I love these questions and will give you my suggestion based on your budget, and based on 2nd hand vintage/older gear

a quick look on ebay reveals the following:

Amp: Kenwood KA-3020se (special edition) ... ebay item 320440733212 ... buy it now of £69.99 (a bargain IMHO)

speakers: B&W DM5 ... ebay item: 200398090956 ... £60 on buy it now with a 30 day warranty

cd: I still fancy the Marantz CD63 MKII K1 signature (none on a buy it now, but expect to pay approx £130 for a good one)

so, in total you would spend approx £260 (excluding speaker cable/interconnect) and I dont think that you can buy anything new that will even come close to this setup

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Matthew... snap on the kenwood amp! ... never read your post ... had a quick look at the op's post, checked his budget and done a search on ebay ... (when replying to these questions on the forum, I always do a quick search on buy it nows on ebay for for Kenwood, sansui, yamaha, and pioneer before searching for others) ...

the 3020se is pretty good with loads of good reviews ... I also fancy the harmon kardon HK1400, yamaha a-1 and the older luxmans and the ... and the ...

 

[Anonymous]

dim_span:
I know you want new, however, I love these questions and will give you my suggestion based on your budget, and based on 2nd hand vintage/older gear

a quick look on ebay reveals the following:

Amp: Kenwood KA-3020se (special edition) ... ebay item 320440733212 ... buy it now of £69.99 (a bargain IMHO)

speakers: B&W DM5 ... ebay item: 200398090956 ... £60 on buy it now with a 30 day warranty

cd: I still fancy the Marantz CD63 MKII K1 signature (none on a buy it now, but expect to pay approx £130 for a good one)

so, in total you would spend approx £260 (excluding speaker cable/interconnect) and I dont think that you can buy anything new that will even come close to this setup




But will any second hand item still cut it?....will they not be a bit tired and start to have problems?...what about the kind of abuse they may have had..Yeah buying second hand could grab me a bargain but what happens if the amp dies on me after a few weeks? i will be back to square one looking for another amp and basically no funds to do it......sorry not having a go or anything just wary about going down the second hand route at the moment....

 

[Anonymous]

your guess is as good as mine ,,, but good luck with your quest and keep us informed!

 

[Anonymous]

dim_span:your guess is as good as mine ,,, but good luck with your quest and keep us informed!

Just need to add my music tastes vary but mainly listen to hard dance ie trance, techno, some drum n bass, metal and other chart stuff...system will need to be able to handle this type of music...boy its not easy deciding.

 

[John Duncan]

Discontinued Cambridge Audio 540A - £150
Discontinued Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 - £100
Graded Cambridge 540D DVD player - £120

Total £370

 

[Anonymous]

shugsi:

dim_span:your guess is as good as mine ,,, but good luck with your quest and keep us informed!

Just need to add my music tastes vary but mainly listen to hard dance ie trance, techno, some drum n bass, metal and other chart stuff...system will need to be able to handle this type of music...boy its not easy deciding.

best bet then, would be to take some of your favourite cd's to Richer sounds and ask them to demo some of the equipment based on your budget ... they are helpfull and will sort out something good for you

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:Discontinued Cambridge Audio 540A - £150Discontinued Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 - £100Graded Cambridge 540D DVD player - £120Total £370

Er what you mean by "graded" ?.. and er forgot to mention room is 11.5' x 22' long

 

[John Duncan]

From Richer Sounds' website:

"GRADED/Factory Repack = mail order returns or ex-service products, thoroughly tested and re-sold with a 12 month guarantee."

You can also buy a five year guarantee for another 12 quid...

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:From Richer Sounds' website:"GRADED/Factory Repack = mail order returns or ex-service products, thoroughly tested and re-sold with a 12 month guarantee."You can also buy a five year guarantee for another 12 quid...

Cheers John...just looking at a pair of B+W 602 S2's...had a pair of the 601's then for a short while the 602's....would love another pair of the 602's but this time with a good matching amp.

 

[John Duncan]

Well the 540 is much better than the 340 (if you can hack how chunky it is) and would power 602s nicely. It's been a very long time since I heard them but i ended up with some Diamond 9.1s instead...

That's not to say that the 602 isn't better, but at the time they were about twice the price and weren't twice as good.