Getting a Hi-Fi system is a lot simpler than most people think without all the hype

[JDL]

I recently changed my CD player from a Denon DCD 860 that cost me about £60 from eBay having done no research. It was skipping on some CDs, sounded ok but not great. I then decided to get something a bit better. I did an awful lot of reading reviews and opinions knowing that I would again, buy something off eBay. I nearly bought a Quad 67 because it was said by some credible reviewers that this was one of the best sounding CD players ever made. Quite a few people waxed lyrical about this player. The one thing that put me off, was that several people said that these players are a bit light on bass and being a Bass player I am unsatisfied with a bass light sound and Quad 67s are. fetching about £450. After much consideration I opted for a Meridian 206, again many reviews were saying this was a very nice sounding player with a nice rich sound and no complaints about bass response. I bought one, it arrived faulty and I had to send it straight back and get a refund. I then bought another one. It had been listed for £450, and then reduced after a week or so to £299.
I bought it. After unpacking it the condition looked very good and judging by the state of the remote control it really looked as though it might have hardly been used at all. I plugged it in to my Marantz PM7200 amplifier, bi wired with Silver Anniversary to B&W 602 S3 speakers and I was truly astonished that a CD player could sound this good. On source direct the mix between the various frequencies, the definition, punch.....to my ears it is perfection. Next aI decided to upgrade my amp, which I did, again just reading reviews, although, I decided to stay with Marantz because I had been so impressed with my trusty PM7200 and I like the way Marantz style their gear, perhaps because I'm used to it. I found a PM8005 in silver, bought it and again, very, very pleased with the improvement. It's not as pronounced an improvement as the CD player but a definite upgrade, one with which I'm very pleased.
So.....today after much thought, research an eBay hunting, * bought a brand new pair of B&W 707 S2 speakers for a very, very good price. Hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow or the next day. I also bought my first pair of proper speaker stands because these 707s are too small to sit on the little tables that my 602s were standing on. My next upgrade will be to go to pure copper 12 or 14 AWG speaker wire .
Sorry for that rather long story

 

[plastic penguin]

I recently changed my CD player from a Denon DCD 860 that cost me about £60 from eBay having done no research. It was skipping on some CDs, sounded ok but not great. I then decided to get something a bit better. I did an awful lot of reading reviews and opinions knowing that I would again, buy something off eBay. I nearly bought a Quad 67 because it was said by some credible reviewers that this was one of the best sounding CD players ever made. Quite a few people waxed lyrical about this player. The one thing that put me off, was that several people said that these players are a bit light on bass and being a Bass player I am unsatisfied with a bass light sound and Quad 67s are. fetching about £450. After much consideration I opted for a Meridian 206, again many reviews were saying this was a very nice sounding player with a nice rich sound and no complaints about bass response. I bought one, it arrived faulty and I had to send it straight back and get a refund. I then bought another one. It had been listed for £450, and then reduced after a week or so to £299.
I bought it. After unpacking it the condition looked very good and judging by the state of the remote control it really looked as though it might have hardly been used at all. I plugged it in to my Marantz PM7200 amplifier, bi wired with Silver Anniversary to B&W 602 S3 speakers and I was truly astonished that a CD player could sound this good. On source direct the mix between the various frequencies, the definition, punch.....to my ears it is perfection. Next aI decided to upgrade my amp, which I did, again just reading reviews, although, I decided to stay with Marantz because I had been so impressed with my trusty PM7200 and I like the way Marantz style their gear, perhaps because I'm used to it. I found a PM8005 in silver, bought it and again, very, very pleased with the improvement. It's not as pronounced an improvement as the CD player but a definite upgrade, one with which I'm very pleased.
So.....today after much thought, research an eBay hunting, * bought a brand new pair of B&W 707 S2 speakers for a very, very good price. Hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow or the next day. I also bought my first pair of proper speaker stands because these 707s are too small to sit on the little tables that my 602s were standing on. My next upgrade will be to go to pure copper 12 or 14 AWG speaker wire .
Sorry for that rather long story

I'm a bit different I know the sound I like. Having owned Arcam amps for over 14 years, when my lovely Rotel CDP finally curled its toes up I pretty much knew what player I would go for: Arcam CD73. That was back in 2005 and only replaced it with the Exposure in the Spring 2020.

I purchased Electrocompaniet PC-1 but that was as dull as ditch water. Also purchased Naim CD5i that was the polar opposite: way too bright, so I kept going back to my trusty old Arcam.

 

[JDL]

I'm a bit different I know the sound I like. Having owned Arcam amps for over 14 years, when my lovely Rotel CDP finally curled its toes up I pretty much knew what player I would go for: Arcam CD73. That was back in 2005 and only replaced it with the Exposure in the Spring 2020.

I purchased Electrocompaniet PC-1 but that was as dull as ditch water. Also purchased Naim CD5i that was the polar opposite: way too bright, so I kept going back to my trusty old Arcam.

I'll remember what you said here and if and when I need another CD player I may well give Arcam a go. What model of Arcam CD player would you recommend?

 

[JDL]

I'll remember what you said here and if and when I need another CD player I may well give Arcam a go. What model of Arcam CD player would you recommend?

Oh Arcam CD 73?

 

[plastic penguin]

I'll remember what you said here and if and when I need another CD player I may well give Arcam a go. What model of Arcam CD player would you recommend?

One of the earlier ones from the FMJ range CD17 or CD37. Not keen on their current models, having heard the CDS50.

 

[plastic penguin]

Oh Arcam CD 73?

Yes, but age goes against them.

 

[Stuart.W.D]

Definitely, I just replaced a pair of Q Acoustic BT3 active speakers that I connected to my TV.

I now have a Denon DM41 and a set of KEF Q150s connected to my television. I guess I haven't listened to my £3,000 plus hi-fi system in my main listening area since that budget system was put in place in the lounge two weeks ago.

I'm impressed by the Denon DM41 Bluetooth feature via Spotify and haven't had the desire to listen to my Cambridge CXN V2 via Qobuz. It's a lovely little system for the money! Even the headphone jack has been given a lot of attention with low, medium and high gain settings. I don't even need a subwoofer for movies, this is a great overall performance and worthy of its award status.

 

[matthewpianist]

The cartridge is going to be upgraded next month, I have a Goldring 1042 and a Ortofon 2M Black to audition, not sure which way I will jump but the Goldring is £150 cheaper than the 2M Black so the Black would have to be absolutely stunning to convince me to spend the extra.

Investigate Dynavector too - always a great partner to Rega arms. The Planar 3 is capable of a lot with the right cartridge and set-up. I had an RP3 with TT-PSU for a long time, and it was easily as good as my current (but more expensive) Project. It was also a better all-round experience than the Michell TecnoDec I once had.

 

[plastic penguin]

Investigate Dynavector too - always a great partner to Rega arms. The Planar 3 is capable of a lot with the right cartridge and set-up. I had an RP3 with TT-PSU for a long time, and it was easily as good as my current (but more expensive) Project. It was also a better all-round experience than the Michell TecnoDec I once had.

Interesting but not surprising the Planar 3 is as good as the Classic.

 

[matthewpianist]

Interesting but not surprising the Planar 3 is as good as the Classic.

I love the Classic, but I think some of that £1k-ish price is about the look and the fact that it was an anniversary launch.

 

[JDL]

Yes, age goes against us all ha ha. I'll have look out of interest to see when the Arcam CD 73 was made.

I emailed "The Tech Guy" in Cambridge the other day. Russ, he's called. I asked him about a service for my Meridian. He said that it would be well worth re capping and a service. He also said that the lasers don't tend to go on these. I think it was £65 for the inspection, then that would be refunded upon payment of the service and re capping fee which was about £275.

 

[plastic penguin]

I love the Classic, but I think some of that £1k-ish price is about the look and the fact that it was an anniversary launch.

And Rega started out as turntable specialists, which accounts for a lot.

 

[plastic penguin]

I emailed "The Tech Guy" in Cambridge the other day. Russ, he's called. I asked him about a service for my Meridian. He said that it would be well worth re capping and a service. He also said that the lasers don't tend to go on these. I think it was £65 for the inspection, then that would be refunded upon payment of the service and re capping fee which was about £275.

Assuming he doesn't find any other issues. Lasers lose their integrity eventually on all CD/DVD players.

 

[Noddy]

First of all you are never going to get the perfect system it does not exist, and even if you could, different music tracks are recorded differently so your system would no longer sound perfect

At the end of the day a modest well matched decent system is all you need, and when playing very good recordings they will sound above excellent with only a slight difference in sound quality for any given price point above “a modest well matched decent system” like my Denon Ceol N9 With Kef Q150 speakers

If you are prepared to except that your system is not perfect but more than good enough then you will be happy with the system you have that is the trick, and then you can forget about it and just enjoy the music

Its mainly just about having a modest well matched decent system with “really good recorded tracks”

Just my opinion what’s your view ?

I largely agree with this. My system is good enough that I can focus on the music and ignore the system. In my view, and many of you will disagree, there is a certain price point beyond which the sound does not improve. With amps, you need enough power of course, which imposes a lower limit based on speaker power draw.

Speakers is the area where there is a huge variation. Many big names such as B&W and PMC produce strongly voiced speakers, and you really have to be careful. A big bass peak could play hell in a small room.

I like speakers with a flat frequency response. My expensive PMC speakers were great with acoustic music, poor with metal and rock, and female voices sounded odd. My much less expensive Kefs are great with all genres, and good with poor recordings. IMO a flat FR favours a poor recording, but a poor recording is a poor recording.

I can’t see any point in changing anything. I have friends who bought their audio systems 40 years ago.

 

[Witterings]

I largely agree with this. My system is good enough that I can focus on the music and ignore the system. In my view, and many of you will disagree, there is a certain price point beyond which the sound does not improve. With amps, you need enough power of course, which imposes a lower limit based on speaker power draw.

Speakers is the area where there is a huge variation. Many big names such as B&W and PMC produce strongly voiced speakers, and you really have to be careful. A big bass peak could play hell in a small room.

I like speakers with a flat frequency response. My expensive PMC speakers were great with acoustic music, poor with metal and rock, and female voices sounded odd. My much less expensive Kefs are great with all genres, and good with poor recordings. IMO a flat FR favours a poor recording, but a poor recording is a poor recording.

I can’t see any point in changing anything. I have friends who bought their audio systems 40 years ago.

Whick Kefs do you have?

 

[Noddy]

Whick Kefs do you have?

There’s a clue in my signature.

 

[jjbomber]

... there is a certain price point beyond which the sound does not improve.

Once the hi-fi is better than our ears!

 

[Witterings]

There’s a clue in my signature.

OK ... see it now .... I never look at those.

 

[Oxfordian]

I largely agree with this. My system is good enough that I can focus on the music and ignore the system. In my view, and many of you will disagree, there is a certain price point beyond which the sound does not improve. With amps, you need enough power of course, which imposes a lower limit based on speaker power draw.

Speakers is the area where there is a huge variation. Many big names such as B&W and PMC produce strongly voiced speakers, and you really have to be careful. A big bass peak could play hell in a small room.

I like speakers with a flat frequency response. My expensive PMC speakers were great with acoustic music, poor with metal and rock, and female voices sounded odd. My much less expensive Kefs are great with all genres, and good with poor recordings. IMO a flat FR favours a poor recording, but a poor recording is a poor recording.

I can’t see any point in changing anything. I have friends who bought their audio systems 40 years ago.

The great thing about our love for music is that as long as someone is happy with the sound they have then that's brilliant, they can sit back and enjoy those tunes.

If like me you're still searching for that perfect sound to enjoy then that's fine, we can have fun hunting down that sound we're after.

 

[matthewpianist]

And Rega started out as turntable specialists, which accounts for a lot.

I'm pretty sure Project's first foray into hi-fi was turntables too.

 

[JDL]

I agree with staying with brands that you know and like. However, in addition I believe it's fun, if one has some spare money, to change parts of your system, in an attempt to find the sound that you're looking for. We are all different and different components do definitely render a different sound to the listener.
First, in my opinion nobody needs an audio system. What we need, is a roof over our heads, enough food and water to sustain a healthy life and somewhere to sleep.
So audio is a hobby with different degrees of importance to different people. I have been chasing the ideal sound for me and I believe that I can achieve it. I've made mistakes along the way, however, they can be rectified.
I remember reading something AI Ears said that I 100% agree with and that was words to the effect, that trash in equals trash out, however good your amplifier and speakers might be, your source needs to be good enough to give you the sound you're after.
My first separates CDP never satisfied me and I knew from the beginning that it was the CDP that was the problem. That was back in 2007 with my first proper separates hi-fi system all purchased new in one go from Richer Sounds in Swansea.
Late last year, I decided to dig my audio system out again after years of it having been packed away because I realised a newly discovered love for classical music, after using YouTube as a "test-bed" for finding composers and music that I love.
I read for days on end and then went ahead and purchased a secondhand CDP, to partner with the amp and speakers that I'd bought 15 years earlier.
The sound improvement because of this CDP was a revelation. I loved it. It sounded so much better than my original CDP.
Something I must add, that's already been said is that the quality of recording can and will compromise the sound, regardless of how good ones system is, particularly when it comes to classical music. (From the mid 1950s recording became acceptable in my view. By 20 years later it became much better)
Then I jumped down the upgrade rabbit hole and made some mistakes. I bought some speakers, ( I always stick with bookshelf speakers) and while they were very good in some respects, they were too bright for me and I knew it was partly because they were too small. Then I bought another set of multi ward winning speakers, but they sounded rather lifeless and dull to me. I've just sold both of these pairs of speakers and bought some older, very high quality speakers which are the same make as my original ones that I was always fairly happy with. I'm convinced these are going to sound great, they'll arrive at the end of this week.
My new amp is arriving tomorrow and I know that is going to sound fantastic. It's the same make as my first one, and the second one I upgraded to a couple of months ago. This one is undoubtedly going to be an upgrade to my sound and it's much newer and has 10 months guarantee left on it.
All in all I believe it's fun messing around with your system, and attempting to improve it, even if it does cost some money, and even if one makes some mistakes along the way. I think we can all find the sound we're looking, for without spending a fortune, and contentment is quite easily attainable.

 

[manicm]

First of all you are never going to get the perfect system it does not exist, and even if you could, different music tracks are recorded differently so your system would no longer sound perfect

At the end of the day a modest well matched decent system is all you need, and when playing very good recordings they will sound above excellent with only a slight difference in sound quality for any given price point above “a modest well matched decent system” like my Denon Ceol N9 With Kef Q150 speakers

If you are prepared to except that your system is not perfect but more than good enough then you will be happy with the system you have that is the trick, and then you can forget about it and just enjoy the music

Its mainly just about having a modest well matched decent system with “really good recorded tracks”

Just my opinion what’s your view ?

I have the Ceol N10, and am looking at replacing its matching speakers. How does the Q150 sound?

 

[Jasonovich]

First of all you are never going to get the perfect system it does not exist, and even if you could, different music tracks are recorded differently so your system would no longer sound perfect

At the end of the day a modest well matched decent system is all you need, and when playing very good recordings they will sound above excellent with only a slight difference in sound quality for any given price point above “a modest well matched decent system” like my Denon Ceol N9 With Kef Q150 speakers

If you are prepared to except that your system is not perfect but more than good enough then you will be happy with the system you have that is the trick, and then you can forget about it and just enjoy the music

Its mainly just about having a modest well matched decent system with “really good recorded tracks”

Just my opinion what’s your view ?

Really excellent point you make. I feel my system in the study is alright. When I upgrade or change my hifi, I always look at it like a home requiring new furniture or spot of decoration.
Not that there is anything wrong with it, I just want a change.
In the last two years, apart from Adam monitors, I changed everything and I'm spent literally!
I enjoyed the journey, I think there is some personal satisfaction to be gained.
You have a canvass and you just want to mould it into your own signature.

 

[Snooker]

I have the Ceol N10, and am looking at replacing its matching speakers. How does the Q150 sound?

They are the best speakers I have tried, excellent speakers with the Denon Ceol N9 they sound warm, detailed, dynamic, smooth and musical, not harsh at all, and good bass in fact well balanced overall

I use to have Dali Zensor 1 speakers for a few years & tried the 3020i speakers and these Q150's are better, I highly recommend them and they sounded stunning with a naim atom at very high volume, these speakers will not be the weakest link in your system and match very well with the Denon Ceol units

 

[Snooker]

They are the best speakers I have tried, excellent speakers with the Denon Ceol N9 they sound warm, detailed, dynamic, smooth and musical, not harsh at all, and good bass in fact well balanced overall

I use to have Dali Zensor 1 speakers for a few years & tried the 3020i speakers and these Q150's are better, I highly recommend them and they sounded stunning with a naim atom at very high volume, these speakers will not be the weakest link in your system and match very well with the Denon Ceol units

You can now get them for £298 (From £450) brand new , why not try them from Amazon and if they are not want you want you can always return them