Cheap second system

chebby

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I am thinking of setting up a second system. Compact, cheap, second-hand, no need for loud volumes. I want to incorporate small, sealed cabinet speakers (thinking of JPW Sonata/Monitor Gold/Mini Monitor).

Amplifier? Vague on that. Something 'retro', around 40wpc would be plenty, lights/meters, Japanese, serviced or easy to get serviced, in excellent cosmetic condition. (Class A too much to expect at the budget I have in mind).

I already have speaker stands stashed away (and a Beresford TC7250 DAC) and a sack of old cables to use (and sell) and I might get a Sony ST-88 tuner too.

Apart from the speakers it'll all sit on a desk so it needs to be compact and look nice.

The 'tone' should be perfect for BBC Radio (and predominately voice) with music of secondary importance.

Or i might just be 'lazy' and get the new Denon DM39DAB with some old JPWs (or any other good, sealed box, compact speakers).

Active system suggestions of any shape, form or vintage will be ignored :)

All other ideas welcomed. Please excuse any mistakes. All typed on iPhone.
 

chebby

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moon said:
Maybe the new sansui amp may be worth a look. http://www.sansui.co.uk/#/sap-201v-stereo-amplifier/4555380605

or am I way off the mark?

A fair bit over the budget I have in mind.

Top whack would be whatever the DM39DAB would cost - without the Denon speakers - plus a bit for some decent (used) sealed cabinet compact bookshelf speakers like those I mentioned earlier*.

Of course the Denon DM39DAB would be a safe 'fallback' in case I can't get what I want (in the condition I want) second-hand.

*Modern sealed cabinet designs are all too expensive and too inefficient (and the wrong shape), so I am going to go 'old school' on those. (Avoiding expensive/fashionable 'collector' speakers like LS3/5As for instance.)
 
Chebby, you are welcome to have my Sony S570ES tuner for nothing apart from a donation to a charity of your choice, if that will fill a gap in your rack. I've got no box, as it was a fleabay purchase (eleven quid I recall). Not especially retro but a decent item.
 

chebby

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nopiano said:
Chebby, you are welcome to have my Sony S570ES tuner for nothing apart from a donation to a charity of your choice, if that will fill a gap in your rack. I've got no box, as it was a fleabay purchase (eleven quid I recall). Not especially retro but a decent item.

What a brilliant offer! Thank you.

I haven't replied until now because I am fighting a crazy mouse! (It's getting replaced tomorrow. Cleaning it, blasting canned air through it, new batteries and throwing it at the desk haven't worked.)

Back to the tuner. Very tempting offer indeed. However, I am promising myself to try and find a really good condition Sony ST-88. (If I go the second-hand amp route.)

Why? It was the first tuner I ever owned (and probably at least 5 years old when I bought it second-hand in 1979). I loved it's quirky shape, the circular, backlit tuning dial, the teak surround, the little analogue tuning strength meter and the 'old school' switches. I still regret not keeping it. (We gave it away to my father-in-law for a charity 'bring and buy sale' at his Ambulance Station some time in the early 1990s because it was taking up space in a cupboard.)

Although I never owned the matching TA-88 amp, I would leap at the chance of getting both! (The odds of getting both in excellent, safe, working condition are a bit slim though.)

Another combo I am looking for is the QED A230/T231 (I used to own the QED A240SA/T260 pair way-back-when) or matching Creek amp/tuner from the same period (if I can get them and if Creek would agree to service both for what I can afford).

Logically speaking, none of my ideas is as good as buying a brand new Denon Micro system (too much sentiment and thoughts about 1970s/1980s 'retro' visual appeal and stuff like backlit tuning scales etc.) But I am going to be the only person listening to this set-up and everytime I look away from the computer it's going to be there. I want something that makes me smile and sounds good too.

Thanks again for the tuner offer. Very kind. I hope you can find a home where it will be appreciated.
 

chebby

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BenLaw said:
Aren't the cables in this proposed system going to upset you?

No.

It won't be in the living room and I still have some 25cm cables that I had made up by Chord years ago.

If I end up with an old receiver (another idea) I won't even need those.
 

omnibeard

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chebby said:
Back to the tuner. Very tempting offer indeed. However, I am promising myself to try and find a really good condition Sony ST-88. (If I go the second-hand amp route.)

Man, that is a thing of beauty! Is it just FM/AM? Love old tuners, but like LW too - and a lot of them have it.
 
chebby said:
Back to the tuner. Very tempting offer indeed. However, I am promising myself to try and find a really good condition Sony ST-88. (If I go the second-hand amp route.)

I completely understand the attraction. I remember them from when I was a lad. There was a local B&O shop that also had Sony and Sennheiser (I got my first headphones there!) and they had the Sony pair often on show in the window. A charming design, from the era when the Japanese really made huge strides in design and sound. Probably bit of a collector's item now.

Not on your list, but I'd be tempted by a lovely blue-lit Marantz receiver from the same era, or a harman/kardon 930. Nice pic of the latter posted recently here;-http://seventiesstereo.blogspot.co.uk/2011_05_01_archive.html
 

eggontoast

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There are loads of lovely Pioneer receivers to choose from but they are not exactly compact, I particularly like the Fluoroscan models such as the SX-3900. Or something different but in IMO look nice and retro, a Cambridge Audio P110 or P60 or P50 mkII and a T55 tuner.
 
T

the record spot

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If you can't get an amp with power meters or it's not an absolute must-have, then Sansui's excellent AU-217 or -317 would be my pick. Simple layout, sound quality that leaves the likes of NAD's 3020 behind IMO. Great build, reliable, easily serviced. Best bargain on the 'bay and easy to get on with. Mine was £33 and like your M-S speakers you found a while back, it'd be a steal at thrice the price. Highly recommended.
 

paradiziac

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I've got JPW Sonatas and a Creek 4330 in a second system, sounds cracking. Highly recommended, does in fact sound a bit like my early memories of an old FM wireless, voice has got that comforting warmth.

The combo isn't much fussy about the source (or the cables ;) )
 

chebby

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the record spot said:
If you can't get an amp with power meters or it's not an absolute must-have, then Sansui's excellent AU-217 or -317 would be my pick. Simple layout, sound quality that leaves the likes of NAD's 3020 behind IMO. Great build, reliable, easily serviced. Best bargain on the 'bay and easy to get on with. Mine was £33 and like your M-S speakers you found a while back, it'd be a steal at thrice the price. Highly recommended.

My first two amps were the NAD 3020 (and some later version of it. 3020a maybe). I actually compared the 217 against the 3020 at the time and chose the 3020. (A friend had an all Sansui system with the same amp, which is why I tried both at the time.) The 3020 was a bit 'gung-ho' but had a really infectious character that had no idea it was only 20 wpc. It was (they were) were incredible fun and really 'took off' when I changed from Celestion Countys to AR18s.

I did, however, opt to use it with the Sansui SR222 MkII (and Grado cart).

My MS20i Pearl Editions are still here (boxed and stored away), but would be too big - and too rear ported - for a small room at short distance.
 

chebby

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paradiziac said:
I've got JPW Sonatas and a Creek 4330 in a second system, sounds cracking. Highly recommended, does in fact sound a bit like my early memories of an old FM wireless, voice has got that comforting warmth.

The combo isn't much fussy about the source (or the cables ;) )

Yeah, and these are currently burning me up right now! £100 is far more than I budgeted for JPWs (normal black ones go for far less) but they look bloomin' great!*

*Cabinets made in HMP Dartmoor prison wood workshops at the time.
 

paradiziac

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chebby said:
Yeah, and these are currently burning me up right now! £100 is far more than I budgeted for JPWs (normal black ones go for far less) but they look bloomin' great!*

*Cabinets made in HMP Dartmoor prison wood workshops at the time.

Yes, the black ones like mine go for beer money. £100 is a bit steep, but they must be rare with real veneer in that kind of condition.

You don't get a lot of detail but they're a great listen. Easy to place in a small room, good dynamics and body to the sound.
 

chebby

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chebby said:
nopiano said:
chebby said:
I went a bit astray with my tuner and receiver searching this evening...

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/4/2/4/2/9/1/webimg/575917931_o.jpg

...I am still drooling! (Backlit tuning scale and enough chrome to shame a 1950s Cadillac!)

Nnnnggrhh!

I bet it eats the batteries though! Not very green. >)

Figure of eight mains cable with UK rated transformer built in.

You're forgiven then! And you can upgrade the mains!!
 

chebby

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I will resist.

SW, MW and LW are a bit cr#p on portables in close proximity to a computer, besides, we have some excellent portables around the house including a Vita Audi R1 Deluxe in the kitchen.
 

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