First separates system - any help!?

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first 'serious' hi-fi and would appreciate some advice. I'm looking to spend less than £700 if possible; however sound quality is very important to me. I am a guitarist and a valve amp (guitar and bass) enthusiast so I have a rather 'picky' ear. Currently I listen to a lot of acoustic/piano music if that helps in your suggestions, however I do still listen to some rock music.

I have been considering an integrated amplifier, CD player and floor-standing speakers as a start and would prefer to buy second-hand so I can get some better kit. Here are some queries!

1) Locally there is a Marantz PM7200 for sale and it's very likely I'll buy it unless someone can tell me a good reason not to. Is this a good amp for the money? Any idea what it's worth?

2) Can anyone suggest a CD player that will be well matched to this amp. I'm assuming the DAC is the most important part of CD players.

3) Speakers? I've been looking at Audio Energy Aegis Neo 3s. I can get some new for £200, however I understand that I should spend a good part of the budget on the speakers as they'll have a huge influence on the overall sound. Also, the speakers will probably be the last thing I'll upgrade in future.

4) Cables? I'm thinking as short as possible!

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Ben

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, Try to find a pm-7001 or the KI edition much better sound IMO, mordaunt short or monitor audio speakers are a good match for this amplifier however you will not be disappointed with aegis neo 3s.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone else have any suggestions? I think that amp may be too expensive for me.

 

[Anonymous]

With a £700 budget, I'd look to spend at least £400 of it on the speakers, maybe even £500. You can get a decent integrated and CD player for £100 each or less, and just use whatever cables you can get cheap/free.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

bennyg85:Anyone else have any suggestions? I think that amp may be too expensive for me.

Grab this before it goes! It's a great cd player for £250 let alone that price.

I would look to get some second hand Monitor Audio RS6s for around the £450 mark

And then look to get a bargain second hand amp.

 

[cheyworth]

this could be an option?

 

[d_a_n1979]

The Cyrus system is a little stunner so it's deffo worth watching.

Not sure on the speakers but i suppose you could live with them for a while until you decide whether to upgrade them or not.

IMO i think you'd be best at looking for a decent 2nd hand integrated amp like an Arcam Alpha 9 or 10 (which both can be upgraded at a later date with their matching power amp); or a NAD C320BEE or NAD C352 integrated amp.

CDP's i think a good NAD C542, C525BEE, Arcam Alpha 8SE, Arcam DiVA CD72 or CD73

Speakers: id say look at either M/A BR5's, RS5's or RS6's as mentioned above or; B&W 602 S2's or 602 S3's.

Dont rule out standmount speakers though; they can give just as much bass as some floorstanding speakers bit with added clarity!

 

[Anonymous]

d_a_n1979:The Cyrus system is a little stunner so it's deffo worth watching. Not sure on the speakers but i suppose you could live with them for a while until you decide whether to upgrade them or not.

LOL, apart from the tuner - which is decent - the speakers are the best bit.

The Cyrus III was both bad-sounding and unreliable, and was rapidly replaced by the IIIi. (Which wasn't a lot better, TBH.)

The dAD 1 is as old as the hills, getting spares if the laser goes may be tricky.

 

[the record spot]

I think folk are maybe forgetting how good the 7200 was as an amp - big, bold and beefy build with a surefooted sound to go with it. One of Marantz' more underrated bits of kit in the last 20 years IMO.

As for the rest, it depends what you're getting the 7200 for - it originally retailed for £330, so assuming you can get it for something like £150-£200 (or less).

Speakers - Q Acoustics 1030i or 1050i both superb for the money and the latter is a speaker of the year for another UK hifi mag; both widely available on deals usually. Speakers aren't the be-all-and-end-all in defining your system's sound, nor are they single biggest influencing factor in the same. The new Dali Lektor 2's standmounts sound like top dollar VFM.

You have a great amp there, there are a wide variety of players to choose from; it depends on the sound you like to hear. If you can work it all in, the new NAD 545BEE looks like a must-have on the shortlist item, if it's too much at £350, seek out deals on the 542 it's replacing.

Shop around though and do consider used and ex-dem - some dealers will offer up to 1 year's warranty on this type of kit, so don't automatically discount it as an option. Your cash will go further.

 

[Anonymous]

Sound advice, partner the 7200 with a Marantz CD6000 OSE (or OSE KI if you can find one) and you have a cracking system.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers everybody. I think I just need to be patient and wait for the bargains to come up on ebay.

I really appreciate the help and will get back to you on what I've bought. If I do get impatient and buy new, can you suggest a good retailer to deal with based on price/service?

Thanks again!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi again,

Went to a sevenoaks shop today and tested the Monitor Audio BR5 speakers. I liked them but wasn't completely convinced. I'm going back next week to test them against the SR6s in the hope they'll blow me away!

I'm also interested in the AE Aegis Neo 3s as they are a lot cheaper and seem to have brilliant reviews. I suppose it's come down to these, the BR5s and the SR6s (in cost order). Anyone compared these?

Cheers,

Ben

 

[JoelSim]

These are nice

There are also several Arcam CD73 and a CD93T model on eBay at the moment, and an A85 amp. This system would sound superb.

 

[Anonymous]

You may find a pioneer A400 amp on ebay for about £80, this to my ears would be unbeatable for that kind of money, ive had many amp's in the past(nad's rotel's ect ect) and still think it's the best.

Choices choices choices

 

[JoelSim]

Mr fezzer:
You may find a pioneer A400 amp on ebay for about £80, this to my ears would be unbeatable for that kind of money, ive had many amp's in the past(nad's rotel's ect ect) and still think it's the best.

Choices choices choices

Nowhere near as nice as the Arcam A85. I have both.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Anybody got any advice on the speakers?

 

[Anonymous]

Not heard them myself yet but i think from all accounts the RS6's blow the BR5's away so i would sit tight and demo them first

 

[Anonymous]

Bin Clankem:With a £700 budget, I'd look to spend at least £400 of it on the speakers, maybe even £500. You can get a decent integrated and CD player for £100 each or less, and just use whatever cables you can get cheap/free.

It doesn't seem to make any sense to me blowing around 75-80% of the budget on speakers at all.

This would be basicaly like (just for as an example) putting some B&W 685's on the end of a Denon D-M37DAB! Or a cheap- as- chips Cambridge Audio CD/amp. As good as the other parts may be (for the money) after a point it doesn't matter how much cash you throw at the speakers because they're not going to reveal what the rest of the kit is doing any better.

Unless you find some miracle 2nd hand bargains I think the old rule of spending around a third of the budget on each part and around 10% on cables still holds as the best way to go about it.

 

[Anonymous]

My thinking is that by having a decent set of speakers I have the scope to upgrade the amp/cd player as and when I have the money.

I have a bit of a dilemma now though, the PM7200 went for more than I was hoping to spend so I let it go, however I have bought a CD6000 KI CD player. I think I want a matching Marantz amp but I still don't know about speakers.

I'm not looking for bells and whistles in an amp, I just want the purest sound I can get. Maybe the PM7200 was more amp than I needed.

I appreciate all the help so far but I'm desperate to complete my set up now. Anyone have this CD player and can recommend an amp/speakers?

Cheers,

Ben

 

[Anonymous]

the only bits of kit i have experience with are the c320bee and B&W 601 s2 speakers (and c542 cdp), but if you're already thinking of this as a stop gap to upgrading then I guess that matching isn't so impoartant (depending on the tie scale).

i'd suggest giving the 320bee ago it's a great amp (my friend has the 352 i think which is also good, although not heard it so much). i

 

[matthewpiano]

I would second Fast Eddie's NAD recommendation. I'd even look at the C315BEE. NAD amps are superb and the hardest thing about having one is living without it when you eventually upgrade. The NAD sound is not about technical perfection. Its about conveying the music in a way that makes you completely forget the hi-fi. For me, that makes their product very worthy of audition.

 

[Anonymous]

Any of Marantz,s recent amps will be a good match for your player,I used to have a nad 3020 and that was a great amp as well,different to my present amp but not better imo,To me the marantz amps are great with the music i listen to

My system is well balanced,ticks all the right boxed for me,i,m not a believer in spending more on speakers than the rest of your kit,it used to be spend more on your source then your amp and then speakers,garbage in garbage out was the motto,even WHF subscribed to that phylosophy,i still do.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone have a Marantz amp for sale? I'm looking to spend less than £200.

 

[Anonymous]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marantz-PM72002-chanel-HI-FI-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ270342783558QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers?hash=item270342783558&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1700|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

arrange a courier to pick it up, i am sure the seller will be fine with that

 

[d_a_n1979]

Get yourself a NAD C320BEE off eBay

They sell week in, week out and will blow a majorityu of Marantz amps out of the water. It would even gel quite nicely with your Marantz CDP.

The NAD C320BEE amp is a powerhouse but only at 50w per channel. They way it convays this makes you think its a lot more powerful.

There arent that may amps out there that can better the NAD C320BEE for the money they sell at (c£100 to £140) on eBay. This will also give you £££ to spare for good speaker cable and interconnects.