Building Budget System - Advice Please

[admin_exported]

Hello There,

I apologise in advance if you get posts like these all the time. I know I need to go and listen to equipment and then decide with my own ears but as I am very wet behind those ears when it comes to deciding on what to listen to in the fist place &I was hoping some learned Hi-Fi EXPERT could help me with some knowledgeable guidance.

OK.

I am in the process of building a BUDGET system from scratch. And I'm a little lost. Lost in that every shop that I go into just bad mouths any kit they don't sell. Is there anywhere else I can get an impartial opinion ?

I listen to Soul (~1975 to ~1986), Hip-Hop, Jazz & Classical, so I'm looking for something that can do justice to a gentiler sound but then can still excel when the genre requires a bit more "UMPH" (Am I asking too much?)

BTW: The room is only 10ft by 10ft.

Right what do I need & how much have I got to spend : I think £2000 in all.

Speakers - upto £350 (do I have to go for stand mounts for such a small room?)

An Amp - upto £350

A CD Player - upto £350

A Turntable - upto £450

A DAB Tuner - upto £250

Speaker Cables - ??? Interconnects - ??? Stands - ??? = £250

Everybody seems to be raving on about the B&W 685's. Are they really that much better than the 601/2 S3's on ebay folr half the price?

Other bits that people have recommended are Marantz 6002 CD & Amp, NAD C352 Amp, NADC452 CD, Rotel RA-04/05 with RA-06 CD (espicially with B&W's ???), Camb Audio 640 CD, Rega 3, Project Expression 3, Project RPM 5.2, Denon 1800 Tuner, Atacama Nexus 6/7, B&W 685/601/602, Epos M5, Monitor Audio RS1.

From your expert opinion are any of these combinations better suited to particular components & speakers?
or
Is there anything you would recommend I should consider & go to have a listen to?

Looking forward to your replies,

Sesame

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Hi Sesame,

Up to you of course, but I would consider getting a Sky box for digital radio - the bitrates are normally far higher than Dab (and isn't as likely to be superseded in the next few years when Dab+ rolls out), and you can get a freesat system installed for £150.

I can't comment on the other electronics or speakers (as you can see from my signature, most of my kit is 20+ years old, but I love it), but with the turntable, you might want to look at a pre-loved one - for £450 you could get a real stormer...I've even seen Linn LP12s with a decent arm and cartridge going for that cash...

Either way, have fun auditioning and enjoy the music!

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="Sesame"]
Hello There,

I apologise in advance if you get posts like these all the time. I know I need to go and listen to equipment and then decide with my own ears but as I am very wet behind those ears when it comes to deciding on what to listen to in the fist place &I was hoping some learned Hi-Fi EXPERT could help me with some knowledgeable guidance.

OK.

I am in the process of building a BUDGET system from scratch. And I'm a little lost. Lost in that every shop that I go into just bad mouths any kit they don't sell. Is there anywhere else I can get an impartial opinion ?

I listen to Soul (~1975 to ~1986), Hip-Hop, Jazz & Classical, so I'm looking for something that can do justice to a gentiler sound but then can still excel when the genre requires a bit more "UMPH" (Am I asking too much?)

BTW: The room is only 10ft by 10ft.

Right what do I need & how much have I got to spend : I think £2000 in all.

Speakers - upto £350 (do I have to go for stand mounts for such a small room?)

An Amp - upto £350

A CD Player - upto £350

A Turntable - upto £450

A DAB Tuner - upto £250

Speaker Cables - ??? Interconnects - ??? Stands - ??? = £250

Everybody seems to be raving on about the B&W 685's. Are they really that much better than the 601/2 S3's on ebay folr half the price?

Other bits that people have recommended are Marantz 6002 CD & Amp, NAD C352 Amp, NADC452 CD, Rotel RA-04/05 with RA-06 CD (espicially with B&W's ???), Camb Audio 640 CD, Rega 3, Project Expression 3, Project RPM 5.2, Denon 1800 Tuner, Atacama Nexus 6/7, B&W 685/601/602, Epos M5, Monitor Audio RS1.

From your expert opinion are any of these combinations better suited to particular components & speakers?
or
Is there anything you would recommend I should consider & go to have a listen to?

Looking forward to your replies,

Sesame

[/quote]

Ooooo exciting, big budget, clean slate.

Here's a system that will give you much pleasure, as it has done for me:

Cambridge 640c - £250 (you might prefer the Marantz 6002 for aesthetics - also £250, not much in it IMO)
Creek Evo - £400 (probably better value than the Classic I have, it's a bit too dear, similar character)
PMC DB1+ - £500 exdem or even new now
Project RPM5.2 - £375 at Superfi I think
Freeview box for digital radio - £50 max

That leaves you £400 ish for support, stands and cables.

Apart from the amp, this is exactly the setup I have, and it's brilliant - clean, solid, rocks when it needs to, not 'thin' or 'fat', just really sorted.