Cheaper 2nd systems

[crusaderlord]

I admitted to myself today that my fairly cheap 2nd system which is kept in a small 3 x 2.5m cellar / office is actually rather good to listen to. It is a collection of old seaparates / ebay bargains i picked up historically and actually runs off my pc as the source. I feel it should not sound as good as it does. Ok it cant actually compete with my main system but actually when the living room is out of action (which is quite often) it is still rather an enjoyable listen.

I wondered if many others have 2nd systems made up of old kit which actually do present good value if you are honest against a more expensive one.

Anyway my 2nd system is :-
Little Dot MK III as pre-amp, NAD C320BEE amp, Epos M5 speakers and some chord silverscreen speaker cable with a VDH name interconnect and a PC.

Out of this my best recommended item are the Epos M5's - i got mine off ebay mint with about 2 short demos on them for £175 from a company who builds home cinema rooms. I love them.

 

[matthewpiano]

Both my systems are made up like this after having had some quite expensive brand new set-ups over the last few years. The performance I was getting didn't justify the price and I wasn't enjoying the music.

My main system (see signature), including everything, amounts to about £145 of expenditure and it gives me far better performance than it should, and far greater musical enjoyment than any of the expensive kit did.

My other set-up is Technics SLP477a, Technics SU-V55a and KEF C30 speakers. Total cost about £150 and, again, it sounds superb.

 

[the record spot]

Currently getting rid of some stuff more than collecting it, but the latest acquisition is the Sansui mentioned below, £33 delivered, the speakers (also below) cost me £78 last November, the CDP cost £300 but that was at less than half-price and new, so £411 on kit giving me a performance I'm well happy with for now.

As and when the job comes along, there might be an amp upgrade but I'll keep the 217; fine amp for the money.

 

[matengawhat]

well system 2 is arcam solo movie with quad 12l2 speakers - sounds sweet but clinical - great for bedroom listening

system 3 is ipod classic - little dot mkiii - cyrus 7 amp and focal profile 908s - very open clear vocal driven set up - although the speakers on ebay soon to be followed by other bits as just not used in my study

system 4 kitchen setup is a fatman carbon 2 with ma br1s upgraded valves very pleasing warmth added to apple lossless recordings

 

[JamesOK]

My second system consists of a pair of old ish Mission 780 speakers and a cheap Cambridge Audio A5 amp. Sources are a (cheap again) Cambridge Audio iPod dock and the line out from my Sky Box. It was thrown together quickly a couple of years ago the day before new years eve when we had people coming round and realised we had no music downstairs! Speakers and speaker stands came out from the loft, Cambridge Audio stuff was bought for about 100 quid I think.

OK, its not really a patch on my main system, however it sounds very nice and is just the trick for what we need in the lounge.

 

[bobchiba]

Where my pc is I have a Creek 4040s2 (£50 couple years ago) with some wharfdale diamonds (7.1 maybe? circa 1994 had them for years) and have my pc and an old pioneer tuner. Im so impressed with the little creek that sometimes I actually enjoy it more than my main setup based on an Alpha 8R. It has an uncanny ability to project instruments and vocals out infront of you that my Arcam smooths over and reminds me how good FM can sound when properly setup. In fact Im always on the lookout for the later Creeks of the 90's like the 4240 and the 4330 as id quite like to have a change in sound for my main room.

 

[Anonymous]

bobchiba:Where my pc is I have a Creek 4040s2 (£50 couple years ago) with some wharfdale diamonds (7.1 maybe? circa 1994 had them for years) and have my pc and an old pioneer tuner. Im so impressed with the little creek that sometimes I actually enjoy it more than my main setup based on an Alpha 8R. It has an uncanny ability to project instruments and vocals out infront of you that my Arcam smooths over and reminds me how good FM can sound when properly setup. In fact Im always on the lookout for the later Creeks of the 90's like the 4240 and the 4330 as id quite like to have a change in sound for my main room.

Too right on the Creek, i still have one passed down by my dad and its great, still got a quality sound, like you describe, that just makes you want to sit back and listen to it which i guess at the end of the day, is what good hi-fi is all about.