Help me find a good system

[admin_exported]

I dont know much about hi-fi, all i know that the computer-speakers i have now is not good enough for me.

a buy & sell site had this:

Exposure 2010 amplifier & 2010 cd-player for 486£ (for both) - is that a good deal?

I keep my music on my computer, ripped with eac in either flac or wav-format, but i thought that a cd-player might be good to have also if its a good price.

Soundcard then, what about Asus Xonar Essence STX? Good enough, and must i have a separate dac or can i use the soundcard with good sound?

The room im sitting in is the bedroom, its about 5x3 meters, well furnished.

Speakers i dont know really what to choose, first i was thinking smaller speakers, but it seems like to get the best sound possible i must also buy speaker stands, those are quite expensive. Dont i get better sound if i put another 100£ on the speakers?

This is what i have now:

Lenco L75 with a Shure M75 BT2 needle.

Asus Xonar Soundcard.

Riaa: TC-750 (Might be broken, did not start when i tried it and right now im too tired to check it up properly)

My budget is quite small, i have about 1000£ but gonna sell some stuff and might be able to scrape another 600.

Please give me some advice.

 

[the record spot]

Exposure? Good stuff and that's a great price. What do you want though? Soundwise I mean? Also, do you need an onboard DAC for your computer audio? The Exposure doesn't come equipped. However, for all that, that's a great price for a great pair. The amp used to go for £600 alone, so you're not being shortchanged here. Just out of interest, which version of the 2010 is it?

 

[Anonymous]

How do i know if i need an onboard DAC?

What do i want soundwise..I want something to be satisfied with a few years so i dont have to think about it every day like i do now. I always thought that i have been missing out on details if i compare my headphones with the speakers. I cant really say, but the treble on these speakers i must turn down low or lowest, or else i feel a sharp unpleasant feeling in my ears. I dont have to over-do the bass, because i live in an apartment.

My music taste is very broad. Some of my favourite artists are Rowland S. Howard, Pogues, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Warren Zevon, Gun Club. Also classical music, pop,delta-blues, hard rock such as Slayer, Metallica, Motörhead. I guess i can say that i like some bands/artists in every genre.

The sound i have now is flat, thats how i describe it. and uncontrolled bass - it just does what ever it wants, even when i just watch South Park i can hear growling. I always have to have something on at night when i sleep, thats why i want to have my system in the bedroom. Also, for its cozy and without the echo that is elsewere in my apartment. Stress-tinnitus, or real, i dont know (maybe both counts as real?)

I have never experienced true hi-fi, so i dont know what the difference will be. I just feel like the music is my biggest intrest and stands above all - so it deserves better than this crappy sound. My music teacher said that i had the best pitch he had ever heard, and was very impressed - but i have not explored it further. I just float around nothing. Anyway, philosophy is not the subject.

 

[dannycanham]

If you can get it a £600 is a pretty good budget second hand. Although If it was me I would probably just look into getting an amp and speakers for £200-£300 each depending on what kit crops up.

The exposure combo sounds like a reasonable price though.

The soundcard is fine. If it was a choice between soundcard and Dac, I would choose a dac, but that doesn't make soundcards rubbish.

The only problem with second hand is finding the equipment that works best for you. Maybe use the second hand system to treat each purchase like a trial with a view to selling each item on untill you work out what kinds of kit you like.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the whole hi-fi business is quite scary, if i mix different brands they might not go together.

How do i know what things go together? The lazy thing would be to buy the same brand -

but with earlier tv/dvd experiences i know that it is not a safe bet anyway.

It will maybe help to read reviews, but its all a matter of taste. At least two of my favourite artist never ends up on those "top 100 best albums" lists - and for me, that is wrong, the same thing (im guessing) about audio.

Its difficult for me to just buy stuff and try it at home and then return if im not happy as most people advice, because i live a 40-minute drive from a hi-fi store, and i dont even have a car. Then i must ask my father and he always sounds bothered - no way he would help me with a thing like that. (My one friend does not have a drivers licence either..i know, we are losers haha)

 

[Anonymous]

You could always go for a good second hand amp. Then you could afford to get the Bowers and Wilkins 685 which many reguard as the best budget speakers in the last few years. I might have a Rotel ra04se that will be going in the next few days and rotel and bw speakers are well known to sound good together...

 

[Anonymous]

The seller did not answer my last mail, so i dont care about the used amp.

If i save a while longer (I have some great sounding headphones i use with my soundcard) - i will afford something even greater, like the B&W DM-685 speakers.

I sent a mail to a hifi-store, and he recommended the B&W DM686, along with either
NAD C316BEE or NAD C326BEE. Will that be good? Sure it will probably be fine in my small room, but will there be a problem if i move the system to a bigger room?The thought is to buy something that will last long so that i dont have to think about the amp or the speakers for years.NAD is great, said a friend of mine, so i trust him. I can write a list of what amps they have got in that store that are in my price-range. NAD C356BEE SCANDYNA The Amp (looks awful to me) NAD C326BEE CAMBRIDGE Azur 650A CAMBRIDGE Azur 550A CAMBRIDGE Azur 340A SE NAD C316BEE DENON PMA-510AE A bit high, but if its worth it:NAD C275BEE CAMBRIDGE Azur 740A Maybe none of these?The seller also recommended a good speaker-cable - something im a bit uncertain about.He suggested Van Del Hul The CS-122 HYBRID. Worth the extra money for better cables in my case?Shall i mount the speakers on the wall, have them on my desk, or on stands?If the stands are the wisest choice, it will eat up a big part of my budget, so there is a lot to consider. Thanks for helping me with this

 

[lindsayt]

You have a real classic turntable there in the Lenco GL75. This can be fitted with very nice arms and cartridges and modded to high heaven until you get to the point where it is one of the worlds best sounding record players.

£1000 is plenty to get you a great sounding system.

I'd be looking out for a cheapo classic amp such as the A&R A60 (for less than £50) that was quite rightly very favorably reviewed by What Hi-fi magazine when it was new.

After that I'd be looking for the largest speakers that I could comfortably fit into your listening room and was within budget. Again looking at some classic design from yesteryear such as Yamaha NS1000's or Goodmans Magisters.

I wouldn't bother with a CD player. Just keep streaming from your PC / laptop / Mac. The Asus soundcards should be fine. You might want to compare it against an external DAC such as a modded Behringer (£250 new) to see which you prefer the sound of.

 

[lindsayt]

And as for interconnects and speakers cables, I'd start with the chepaest gold plated interconnects (£4) plus some lawnmower flex (free) for the speaker cables. And use these as a baseline to compare against anything else such as the van den hul ones.

 

[CnoEvil]

I'd be looking out for a cheapo classic amp such as the A&R A60 (for less than £50) that was quite rightly very favorably reviewed by What Hi-fi magazine when it was new.

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I have an A&R A60, bought in the early 80s, and still going strong....pleasant sounding amp.

 

[Anonymous]

I have bought an old reciever, Luxor 4788, for 39£ - if it is bad, then it was just a tiny bit of my savings anyway.

Fun facts: The reciever was made in the town i live in, so it might be happy to come home again after 20+ years.

Can someone explain some stuff for me:

Z = 4 oHm

Max outeffect: 2x20 W

The reciever only have 5-pin din, can and should i use my riaa then?

Do you think this was a total waste of money?

What is lawnmower flex?

 

[lindsayt]

If your Luxor only has Din inputs, that's not a problem. Just buy some Din to RCA adaptors (aboout £4 from eBay) or some DIN to RCA connecting leads (starting from about £3 from eBay).

Lawnmower flex is the power lead from electrical lawnmowers. Just cut the lead off a faulty old lawnmower and use that. If you don't have one of these to hand, there's plenty of other electrical cable that's free or very cheap that you could use instead.

 

[Anonymous]

I bought something else for half the money, a 12-string Hagström acoustic guitar + Strings to my classic guitar. I have wanted a 12-string a bit longer than i new stereo, so i bought one finally!

 

[Anonymous]

Gratz!

But now you have to play something and upload to youtube for our pleasure! 😀