First time buyer - 20W amp for 200W speakers?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I am looking to get set up with my first HiFi.

I know what I want aesthetically but beyond that I'm slightly clueless.

I have a small living room and the speakers will be used for gaming on my PC/XBOX as well as watching movies and using Spotify. Beyond that I don't think they will be used much and so I'm definitely not looking for any top end gear.

I started out to see if I could do this for around £160 and, after some hunting, have found what looks suitable.

What I don't know is how the power numbers work with one another. The speakers are 200w and the amp is 20w. Sounds like a huge disparity to me but as I said, I'm clueless!

£79 Cambridge Audio Topaz AM1: http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=508

£90 Beng LB4707 http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Beng-Pair-Floor-Standing-LB4707-4-Way-Speakers-960-Watts-Brown_i915.htm

I would be extremely grateful if someone could be kind enough to advise on whether this combination would serve as a starter's setup.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[jjbomber]

I would consider the Wharfdale Diamond 9.0 as speakers. They are £50 at Richer Sounds. I would also go for the Onkyo TXSR309 Receiver at £100. That has all the digital inputs you should ever need as well as the analogue ones.

 

[richardw42]

£90 for a pair of 4 way floorstanders ?

I'd imagine the Wharfedales would **** all over them.

 

[Crossie]

4 way speakers for £90 - think what each part must cost: 8 drivers, 2 cabinets and 2 crossovers - an average of £7.50 for each part without packaging or profit margin.

'nuff said.

 

[omnibeard]

200W? I think it says 960W on that link.

Man, that's got to hurt in many ways!!

Don't buy those is the long and short of it.

For that money you could get a decent second hand amp and speakers that might not reach the grand levels of 960W (or even 200W) but that would sound great.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks all,

following some advice here and from Richer Sounds I ended up buying an ex-demo Yamaha RX-V367 which has a wealth of inputs and functionality.

For the speakers I went with Tannoy Mercury V1's with the aim of possibly expanding to the full 5.1 set over time.

I am (clearly) no audiophile but they sounded lovely when set up and I'm very pleased. I feel ashamed to be using Spotify to play music through them.

The amp was £120

The speakers were £99

I got some Cambridge Audio cable (I don't know which) thrown in for free.

Thanks again all.

EDIT: I should also point out I went £60 over budget but only because £60 was offered up by my lady 🙂

 

[The_Lhc]

I feel ashamed to be using Spotify to play music through them.

Why?

 

[richardw42]

I listen via Spotify probably about 90% of the time.

 

[philipjohnwright]

So you went a third over budget, welcome to the world of hi-fi! Can't help thinking your better half might have set a dangerous precedent there though.

As others have said Spotify is fine as a source. Are you using the Premium version (£9.99 a month??. It gives you higher quality streaming, you might want to consider it. Easiest way is to pay for it for a month and see, you don't have to commit more than that. Probably best to wait a little while until you get used to the new system though, then see if the difference is worthwhile for you.

 

[jjbomber]

EDIT: I should also point out I went £60 over budget but only because £60 was offered up by my lady

Keep that Lady!!!!!!