Did I make a wrong choice with av amp partnered with 685S2?

[tomatofk]

Hi, I'm new here. But have been around looking for reference in choosing a new system.

With a year of hard work's saving finally decided to get a stereo system for my new home. I'm in China btw. My budget is below £800, and the living room is about 20sq.m.

At first I was looking at Yamaha's RX577 + NS555 cinema package, then after some thoughts and trying out other brands I figured my main entertainment would just listen to CDs and sometimes movies. So I changed my mind to try to work out a hifi system.

Finally I ended up with KEF Q300 and B&W 685S2 ( very hard to find other recommanded brands with resonable pricing around local stores), and after more listening I find the 685S2 more appriciated to my ears so that ended the case. But with a few budget left, so the store owner offered a discount on the Onkyo A9030 amp, tried it and liked it, but suddenly I figured still wanted more features, so .... I picked up the Onkyo TX-SR343.

Thought I am very satisfied with the stuff I have for now, just wondering if I could have done better.

Btw, I am also looking at a new CD player, my 15yr old Sony walkman is starting to show its age, is the Onkyo 7030 good?( yea, that proves my budget). Thanks.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Hi there Tom,you say you're happy with the sound of the onkyo and b&w pairing ...so why do you need a conformation from others if (you've chosen wisely)if it sounds good to your ears...that's all that matters . Since your asking though,and it seems music is your main focus with your system..why choose a multichannel receiver over a dedicated stereo amp? The speakers will be fine and will handle a better amp in the future,if the upgrade bug bites.If you don't have many cd's,i wouldn't bother with CD player at all,but instead look more towards the streaming options available,it's so much more fuss free and the sq these days is very good ,at the budget end,you're not going to notice any difference between cd and one of the streaming services available.if you do have lots of cd's,then I doubt there's much difference in sq at the budget end of the market and anything from marantz,Sony or the onkyo your looking at will do the job,at the end of the day.

 

[tomatofk]

Mark, Thank you very much for the reply.

On the other hand, what kind of speaker cable should I be looking for if I want to upgrade from the free ones given from the store?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Just a decent medium gauge copper cable will suffice at this level of speakers and electronics,don't be fooled into thinking an expensive cable is going to improve sq.it's not.although if you have a laid back sound at the moment,maybe a silver cable from qed would inject a bit more pep and brightness into the presentation of the music,but it's not going to be night and day.

 

[tomatofk]

Got it, thanks so much.