first hifi advice, tight budget

[admin_exported]

i am ready to take my first step on the hifi seperates ladder and ready to buy a few things this weekend, just wondering what you think of my options.. i will be going to richer sounds

amp:

tangent amp50 (£50) vs tangent amp100 (£60) vs cambridge a1 mk3 (£70)

speakers:

eltax monitor 3 (£70) vs gale silver monitor (£80) vs tannoy f1 (£90)

cd player:

tangent cdp50 (£40) vs tangent cdp100 (£80) vs cambridge cd5 (£100)

speaker stands:

soundstyle z2 or gale t50 (both £50)

hifi rack:

ttap (£40)

i want to start as cheap as possible and then as the months go by and i save more money, upgrade one thing at a time. but i might as well pay a little more for the initial purchase if it will make a significant difference. I'd really welcome views on my above options... cant find reviews for a lot of the stuff on what hifi except for the tannoy f1s. cheers guys

 

[Messiah]

Have you considered 2nd hand stuff? There are some bargains to be had...

 

[matthewpiano]

If you go for the new option I'd go with Cambridge A5 and CD5 with the Eltax speakers. A cracking beer money system that will just get you enjoying the music. The speakers will be good for a further upgrade of the electronics as well.

 

[Anonymous]

ok thanks for replies, i am thinking my budget is too small for seperates i dont really want to spend more than £200.

in john lewis they have a couple of sony all-in-one boxes including speakers, with cd, dab, ipod dock. has anyone got one of these?

http://www.johnlewis.com/230503774/Product.aspx

http://www.johnlewis.com/230503773/Product.aspx

 

[matthewpiano]

For the small amount over £200 that it would cost, I still go for the Cambridge/Eltax set-up. Have a chat with your local Richers. I'd be very surprised if they couldn't shoe-horn that in at the £200 mark for you as a system deal.

Failing that, if you really want to go for a Sony micro I'd recommend the CPZ1DAB over the two you mention. Its more conventional looking but its the best sounding of all Sony's micro systems (apart fromt he GigaJuke range).

Mind you, it would be well worth having a scout around for an Onkyo CS325.

 

[lordmortlock]

Messiahs right, check out second hand. I've just done a quick exercise on ebay and you could pick up a cambridge 540a amp, cambridge 340c cdp and some half reasonable speakers for £200. Just make sure the seller feedback is good and collect if you can. Most hi fi minded folk tend to look after kit.

That way you've got a set up you can upgrade in the future, rather than starting all over again next time. And the upgrading is fun!

 

[cayorob]

[EDITED BY MODS - no trading please]

 

[idc]

Hi Olneyben. One thing you have not factored in your original list is interconnect and speaker cable. Richer Sounds have their Cambridge range of both, so you should be able to get connected for about £20. My suggestion would be to go to Richer Sounds armed with £200 to wave at them and knowledge of how much you can buy similar kit online and see if they will do you a deal. I have not heard Tangent kit, but if you went with the cheaper options you could do the whole separates thing within budget. Then you really are on the first rung of the ladder. I see nothing wrong with the Sony options sound wise, but in the end the micros can't be upgraded step by step. The step by step approach has significant advantages budget wise.

 

[cheyworth]

which is your local richer sounds?

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

my local one is in Reading..

 

[JoelSim]

Buy the best system you can afford and then upgrade in time by buying a rack, new interconnects, new speaker cable etc. I personally would go 2nd hand, but you could go for Cambridge and Tannoy new for great value.

 

[Anonymous]

[EDITED BY MODS - no trading please]

 

[Anonymous]

sounds like a plan.. i cant see how to private message you though. funnily enough i live in tilehurst too.

 

[idc]

There is a chap called The Moderator, who is very nice but frowns on trading. There is also no private messaging. But hopefully JohnDuncan or Andrew Everard can hook you two up by providing you with each others e-mail address. You just need to ask nicely and give your permission for the exchange. Sounds like a plan, hope it works.

 

[lordmortlock]

Let us know how you get on if you do meet. I've used cambridge audio stuff for years (340, 540) and I promise it ll sound better than a sony all in one.

 

[up the music]

Well that looks to be coming together nicely and will be a better system than Richers will do for the dosh.

To permit more to be spent on the speakers I'd be inclined to find a spare coffee table rather than a rack. As for speaker stands if you can handle the odd appearance Newcastle Brown crates make a rigid free alternative.

If you go 2nd hand on speakers or get a good price and free cable from Richers you should be laughing.

 

[Anonymous]

hi if you want to come round and have abit of a listen i will be home thursday and friday evening and at odd times over the weekend.perhaps we could meet at the local super market.i can have the new edition of what hifi with me so i stand out...

 

[idc]

up the music:....... As for speaker stands if you can handle the odd appearance Newcastle Brown crates make a rigid free alternative......

LOL brilliant. I have also heard of breeze blocks as a successful alternative.

 

[Anonymous]

which is your local supermarket??

 

[Anonymous]

its asda in tilehurst.

 

[John Duncan]

Schweet. Sorry I'm so late to the Brief Cheese(en)Counter party. But if standing outside Tilehurt Asda for 14 hours didn't bear fruit, I'm here now if anybody wants to ask me anything...

 

[Anonymous]

hi john

sorry for the late reply ive been realy busy with work.would you be kind enoughth to pass my e mail address on to olneyben.ive not got any friends that share an intrest in hifi so a chat with someone like minded would be great.ive got some beer in the fridge to...cheese en counter .

 

[Anonymous]

im still here add at yahoo co uk to get my addy

 

[Anonymous]

hi olneyben did you get my email.

 

[Anonymous]

I seem to be a little late on this but I would definitely go for anything but the Sony all in one option. This will work out very expensive as when you want to upgrade you have to throw the whole thing away, and the depreciation on these is terrible; they are worth about £30 as soon as you take them out of the box. A definite false economy. In fact, I think selling them should be banned!