First HiFi for a teenager?

[RoA]

Not directly related to kids but some close friends, a couple had no music when they moved a decade and a half ago. I gave them a pair of Mordaunt Short MS20i Pearls and Denon amplifier/CD player for which I had no use. Sounded good and was appreciated or so I thought. When we visited a month later it was gone and a bluetooth speaker had replaced the above. It didn't fit in and was too complicated. To the tip it went 🙂 not even a charity shop. That probably goes for 99.99999999 of the population.

 

[DCarmi]

I am certain that some of my kids who are now in the 20 and 30s have no idea how to work my hifi and would struggle with the Wiim Pro and amp (if they were remotely interested):

• Find the streamer on the network (called Wiim Hifi) to stream to - what is a Wiim?
• Check if the amp is switched off or on standby
• Set the amp output to the correct optical - why are there so many output things and why coaxial and not the network one ?
• Switch on the speakers, if I've been using headphones - do we need to push both the A and B buttons and why is there not a button on the remote for this? In fact why does the amp not know headphones are plugged in or not?
• CD player has a physical on-off rocker switch hidden under the front edge - How retro!
  

Or they could just use the smart speaker or Bluetooth to the soundbar or the TV itself...

They are not dim and have technical skills ranging from decent to "puts-me-to-shame". They just live in a different world to the one I grew up in. In fairness, a teenager these days is likely to have better quality audio than, I did at that age and probably access to a vast catalogue of music.

 

[Fandango Andy]

Kids need something that will continue to fit their lives when they spread their wings. Rental prices are sky high, career prospects and opportunities are fairly poor and the cost of living is high. Those things mean that space may be tight, and resources very limited, and building physical collections will be a long way down their list of priorities. Therefore, a simple streaming setup is likely best for the majority. WiiM amp with Q Acoustics 3010c or Dali Spektor 1s (or a similar but less expensive Chinese brand system) ticks a lot of boxes.

That sounds like decent system. we kind of had the same idea but came at it from a different angel. Your system is better than mine, but more than double the price. Mine can be upgraded a little at a time. Even the speakers are an easy upgrade, I have seen many pairs sell for around £50 on ebay. if you can get back over half what you pay for them after a few years they suddenly look even more attractive,

 

[Fandango Andy]

Not directly related to kids but some close friends, a couple had no music when they moved a decade and a half ago. I gave them a pair of Mordaunt Short MS20i Pearls and Denon amplifier/CD player for which I had no use. Sounded good and was appreciated or so I thought. When we visited a month later it was gone and a bluetooth speaker had replaced the above. It didn't fit in and was too complicated. To the tip it went 🙂 not even a charity shop. That probably goes for 99.99999999 of the population.

That's tragic, but very true!

 

[Fandango Andy]

Coincidentally my first system, given to me by my dad in 1978 when I was 14, cost around £230.
Pioneer PL-512
NAD 3020
AR18s
The amp and speakers are still going strong: my younger daughter has them, along with a new Projekt TT.
Anyway I agree with you that price isn’t really the obstacle.
Your entry system is a good one. My upgrade route would be to replace the Wharfedales with some bigger main speakers, preferably second hand. Maybe even the old Wharfedale Linton 2.

Good shout, and incidentally there is a pair of Linton 2's on ebay at the moment for £39.99 or best offer. Cabinets look ropey but could be refurbed!

 

[Roog]

If they are ok or like the idea of vintage, then a 1980’s beginner system would be ideal , I just can’t see many being keen on the clutter

 

[Andrewbanks1964]

This post explored Why Youngsters are not into Hi-FI. Some suggestions were that it is too expensive quoting the price of an entry level system. I suggested when you adjust for inflation, the cost of such a system was only a fraction more than it would have been at the turn of the century or back in the 90s, and this is after two years of high inflation. This got me thinking, how may teenagers had a system of separates back then? In the 80’s and 90s a midi system, or a micro system in the 2000’s would have been far more likely. The problem with these systems is the lack of upgrade options. For this reason, in some ways now is an exciting time for a first system. Here is a suggestion for an inexpensive first system with upgrade potential:


Amp: Fosi Audio ZA3 £139
https://www.richersounds.com/fosi-audio-za3-black/#tab-specifications

Source: WiiM Mini £89
https://www.richersounds.com/wiim-mini-black/

Loudspeakers: Wharfdale Diamond 9.0 £79
https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-diamond-9-0-black/

Total: £228 for a basic system. To give this some prospective, that’s about £120 in 2000 money (or the price of 12 CD’s or 10 DVDs). As mentioned the exciting thing about this system is that it could grow with its owner with multiple upgrades and additions, here are a few ideas:

• The little Wharfdale’s lack bass, no problem the Fosi has a Sub out.
• The WiiM’s weakest link is the DAC, add an external DAC (if you ger one with XLR out it frees up the RCA input on the amp)
• You want to get into vinyl, add a turntable
• Getting into CD’s add a CD, or if you have a DVD or Blu-ray, use it as a transport and with a toslink or coaxial int your DAC.
• Finally, if you want to upgrade your amp, buy and second Fosi and use them as monoblocks.

How would you spend a similar budget? Or more importantly, does anyone know a teenager who is into music/HiFi, how does this compare to their setup?

 

[Andrewbanks1964]

This post explored Why Youngsters are not into Hi-FI. Some suggestions were that it is too expensive quoting the price of an entry level system. I suggested when you adjust for inflation, the cost of such a system was only a fraction more than it would have been at the turn of the century or back in the 90s, and this is after two years of high inflation. This got me thinking, how may teenagers had a system of separates back then? In the 80’s and 90s a midi system, or a micro system in the 2000’s would have been far more likely. The problem with these systems is the lack of upgrade options. For this reason, in some ways now is an exciting time for a first system. Here is a suggestion for an inexpensive first system with upgrade potential:


Amp: Fosi Audio ZA3 £139
https://www.richersounds.com/fosi-audio-za3-black/#tab-specifications

Source: WiiM Mini £89
https://www.richersounds.com/wiim-mini-black/

Loudspeakers: Wharfdale Diamond 9.0 £79
https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-diamond-9-0-black/

Total: £228 for a basic system. To give this some prospective, that’s about £120 in 2000 money (or the price of 12 CD’s or 10 DVDs). As mentioned the exciting thing about this system is that it could grow with its owner with multiple upgrades and additions, here are a few ideas:

• The little Wharfdale’s lack bass, no problem the Fosi has a Sub out.
• The WiiM’s weakest link is the DAC, add an external DAC (if you ger one with XLR out it frees up the RCA input on the amp)
• You want to get into vinyl, add a turntable
• Getting into CD’s add a CD, or if you have a DVD or Blu-ray, use it as a transport and with a toslink or coaxial int your DAC.
• Finally, if you want to upgrade your amp, buy and second Fosi and use them as monoblocks.

How would you spend a similar budget? Or more importantly, does anyone know a teenager who is into music/HiFi, how does this compare to their setup?

Definitely go for separates. A mini system will kill your joy of Hifi before it ever gets going. My first system when I was 14 at boarding school was an A & R A60 with an AR turntable and a pair of Mission 70 mk 2 speakers. I worked 10 hours a day in a shop during holidays to pay for it. Cheap but quality and easy to upgrade separately.

It sounded great and was endlessly reliable. I have spent a lifetime upgrading the system until I have got to a stage where I really can’t upgrade it further, and at 61 years old, my hearing probably negates the value of spending much more, but upgrading it has given me such pleasure over the years. And I still love looking through EBay looking at all the components for sale.

Don’t ruin it before you get started by buying some terrible mini / midi system.

Also don’t think you need a subwoofer. Most albums I listen to were recorded for stereo. If you buy carefully you don’t need a subwoofer (sound muffler as I prefer to call them). Even with a student budget you can get great bass. The bass from that little Mission 70 mk2 speaker was just great…