First Hifi Setup, KEF Q1s suitable? Cambridge Audio A5? Rotel RA-01?

[admin_exported]

Hi all. Sorry for the awfully long title!

Just looking into getting my first hifi system, and I've got a few questions on what kind of thing I should be looking for.

Amp wise I've been looking at Cambridge Audio A5s, but in the past few hours I've switched to looking at older Rotels like the RA-01... for a budget of around £120 including second hand stuff, what would be the best?

Speakers...I adore the look of the KEF Q1 series, but in all honesty I'm not sure if it fits with my type of music, as I'm more into rock and alt rock stuff. (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Stone Temple Pilots, Clutch etc) From what I've heard they arn't so good at this, but there's nothing that looks anywhere near as nice... esspecially the monitor audio br2s which I've been told to look at instead for my music tastes. Is that fully true, I mean, will there be a massive difference? I can't really audition Monitor BR2s around here as the only real demoing hifi shop I've found is RicherSounds, which don't stock them. I'd be weary of buying something I couldn't test, indeed. This is my main concern here, I'm planning to go have the Kefs demoed at Richersounds, but if they don't fit my music, I'll have no idea what to do!

On the cheaper side, perhaps it would be better to go for the £220 deal on richersounds, Cambridge Audio A5, CD5, and tannoy F1s, and then replace the F1s with something more suitable at a later date? would save money but gosh I do love the look of the Q1s....

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

I have currently have KEF Q1s which were run with my previous Rotel RA-04 (I have since upgraded my amp and CDP). I found the combo very good and it sounds like we might have similar tastes in music. Test them out though as you say - I'm assuming Richer Sounds will have the iQ1s, which are supposed to be improved over the Q1s (I haven't listened to these). Watch out also for the Q1 Compact which are slighly smaller and do not have such a solid base but still good speakers though. I recenly tested B&W 685s which were an improvement on my Kefs but might stretch your budget, the MA BR2 I found a little bright.

 

[Anonymous]

Richersounds are still stocking the original Q1s, which to me is a good thing. the iQ1s are new, smaller speakers, the iQ3s are the replacement for the Q1s.

Thanks for the input however, I'm glad that someone with the Kefs finds them good with the sort of music I like!

I'll be off to the place on sunday! Do you need to pre-organize demo sessions? never done this before!

the 685s were a speaker I looked at but I can't justify another £170+ on top of the Q1s (that's if I buy new, Q1s can be had for half the price Richer are selling them second hand)

Thanks very much, very helpful.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah..so the iQ1 must be the new Q1 Compact, iQ3 for the Q1. Cheepers talk about confusing! The Richer Sounds my way in Leeds is permananely choc o block and has no dem room but staff there are very helpful. Don't know what its like your end. When demo'ing I usually take half a day off work and just turn up, usually Weds morning when its nice a quiet. If you leave the firm with a bond they'll usually let you take a set home to test, if its not possible at the shop. Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

The one down here norwich way is well out of the city centre so I'm hoping it's not too busy... I'll get there for opening time on sunday..

To be honest I'd be suprised if they let me take a set home, I'm a 16 year old male teenager, I'm slightly concerned they won't take me seriously as it is....

The Q1s are on low stock everywhere though, so I'm hoping that the shop at least has a set to demo with, so I can get the feel of them, even if I do have to buy the iQ3s...

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="grodecki"]
The one down here norwich way is well out of the city centre so I'm hoping it's not too busy... I'll get there for opening time on sunday..

To be honest I'd be suprised if they let me take a set home, I'm a 16 year old male teenager, I'm slightly concerned they won't take me seriously as it is....

The Q1s are on low stock everywhere though, so I'm hoping that the shop at least has a set to demo with, so I can get the feel of them, even if I do have to buy the iQ3s...

[/quote]

Just show them you know your stuff, read alot about them and are absolutely serious about buying them, coming into the shops with a few cd's of your own certainly helps. I had some not so pleasant visits at a few hifi shops, but after showing them I was serious about spending some money, everyone was glad to help me out.

Stores are there to sell and they all want your money, in the end it doesn't matter if they get it from a 50 year old male or a sixteen year old. It's still money..

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that, I'd definitely be bringing some of my own CDs along to test out...but unfortunatly the Norwich store has no Kef Q1s left... so I think I'm going to pop into Sevenoaks (which I found we have here!) and listen to the iQ1s, which I'm presuming will be a fairly similer sound, despite being slightly smaller.

 

[Anonymous]

In my opinion the difference between the iQ1's and iQ3's is quite big, but you should hear it for yourself. Why limit yourself to the KEF's though, there's quite alot of speakers in the price range you're in. Do try a few brands and models before making your decision.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm. good point.

Any brands you'd reccomend? I keep looking at the B&W 685s but the price is just...daunting... I was planning on spending less than that on an entire system....but I'm not sure. It's something I can use for years and years, and the B&Ws hold their value fairly well... Would need to save up for a couple of months longer, however!

 

[Anonymous]

KEF, Monitor Audio, Focal, Dynaudio, B&W, just a few brands that surely have some models in your pricebracket, each sound signature is different, so it's best you'd try them out for yourself. Just buy the best you can afford, and if you can't afford the speakers with the specific sound you're after, your best bet would be to save up a little more. Speakers are generally a longer term investment, if you buy something you're not completely satisfied with you'll certainly regret it for some time to come.

 

[Anonymous]

And don't be put off with buying second hand...

 

[knaithrover]

When i was sixteen i had an Amstrad all in one (with a graphic equalizer that didnt appear to do anything on the front) paired

with some Bush speakers i found in the street - I thought it was the dogs doo-da's - How times change.

Don't worry about being sixteen and not being taken seriously BTW i'm 48 reasonably affluent and last time i was in Richer sounds

i was treated less than seriously...that was in the Middlesbrough branch - i'm sure they can't all be like that......

Whatever happens you can take your cash elsewhere.