Help with setting up budget hi-fi system

[wesjay66]

Hi Everyone,

Just looking for some help in choosing and setting up a budget hi-fi system!!

Some background - as most casual music listeners I have been listening to standard mp3 files on my ipod classic through an Altec dock for the last few years and am finnaly fed up with listening to low quality music. I remember my teenage days of listeing to vinyl and CDs through a wharfedale seperates sytem with mission speakers and want to get back to having some bass, depth and qwuality to my listening experience!

So I have started looking at option to replace my dock and have found that there is a whole new worl in hifi with wireless streaming, bluetooth, multiroom, sonos etc etc. After much thought and going back to the real reason for a new hifi( better music quality) i have decided to go for a traditional seperate amp and speaker system rather than the sonos thing. I mainly listen to music in one room anyway and if i do want to take music elswhere i can use my existing ipod dock.

So I am looking for a budget system (500-600 New Zealand Dollars) which is 250-300 uk pounds. I would like an integrated stereo amp, two bookshelf speakers and a Ipod dock so i can listen to lossless (FLAC) files from my 120gb ipod. I think this still gives me the flexability of the ipod and easy storage of my music but hopefully some better quality sound.

I have been looking at a basic set-up of Cambridge Audio AM1 amp, Cambridge Audio SX60 speakers and a pure i-20 dock to get the better sound from my ipod. I may also want to add a record player to this set-up ata future date.

Any thoughts, suggestions on this plan????

 

[davedotco]

Given your now and future reqirements, your choice seems fine.

My only thought being that the antipodean market is usually an expensive place to buy uk branded hi-fi.

To be honest the difference in components at this level means that it usually makes sense to buy whatever offers the best value in your particular market place. Not knowing that, it is difficult to advise.

BTW. Is the new (in the uk) Yamaha R-N301 availabe there, it has built in airplay so saves on the price of a dock, just add speakers.

 

[wesjay66]

Thanks davedotco. Yes the antipodean market is expensive for almost everything! To be honest i am looking at buying UK and shipping, i have family there who can do it cheaply or even bring it out on a visit. Not sure about the yamaha but i will look into it. I should note that the majority of my music is on a 120gb ipod classic so not sure if airplay would work with that. I'm not savvy with smartphone tech etc. I do plan to re-rip my CD collection to my Ipod at high quality. I do have concerns regarding the future as i know apple have stopped producing the ipod classic but maybe the integrated amp gives me options to connect whatever there may be in the future. I also want to go back to listening to my favourite albums on vinyl.

 

[davedotco]

Thanks davedotco. Yes the antipodean market is expensive for almost everything! To be honest i am looking at buying UK and shipping, i have family there who can do it cheaply or even bring it out on a visit. Not sure about the yamaha but i will look into it. I should note that the majority of my music is on a 120gb ipod classic so not sure if airplay would work with that. I'm not savvy with smartphone tech etc. I do plan to re-rip my CD collection to my Ipod at high quality. I do have concerns regarding the future as i know apple have stopped producing the ipod classic but maybe the integrated amp gives me options to connect whatever there may be in the future. I also want to go back to listening to my favourite albums on vinyl.

I do sympathise, I used to run a hi-fi shop in Sydney, the local pricing, particularly of britsh branded product skewed the value for money equation massively, buying in the UK is much easier if you can sort the shipping.

You are right of course, the iPod Classic does not have Airplay. Many modern amplifiers have an 'Apple approved' usb connector that will save you the cost of a dock but you would have to check compatibility with the older Classic.

Wired docks are becoming much rarer, The i20 is about the cheapest right now, the onboard dac is ok rather than great but given the digital outs it could be upgraded.

I mentioned the Yamaha receiver simply because it ticks so many boxes and gives an entry level system a lot of functionality. if you are into streaming, it has Spotify Connect and for a modest cost you have access to virtually all the music you might need. It costs £279, just add a pair of speakers, Wharfdale Diamonds say and you have a nice system that will cope with almost anything. No iPod input sadly, but it does have Airplay which is likely to be of more use down the line.

 

[JamesMellor]

Hi,

The ipod classic dosn't have airplay , but if the PC/Laptop you are using to rip CD's is using itunes and is on a wifi network it will stream to the amp.

James

 

[wesjay66]

thanks James,

i'm assuming you need to have the PC/laptop on to stream and control what files you are playing etc. if so, it seems a bit cumbersome to do that when you can just dock the ipod next to the stereo. Especially when other family members want to use the laptop.

Are their any other solution i should be considering - amps that store the music themselves? i've never got into streaming from spotify or other providers and still prefer to download my music, preferebly at a higher quality or convert from CD. Remembering the whole reason for a change in set-up is for an increase in the sound quality.

 

[davedotco]

thanks James,

i'm assuming you need to have the PC/laptop on to stream and control what files you are playing etc. if so, it seems a bit cumbersome to do that when you can just dock the ipod next to the stereo. Especially when other family members want to use the laptop.

Are their any other solution i should be considering - amps that store the music themselves? i've never got into streaming from spotify or other providers and still prefer to download my music, preferebly at a higher quality or convert from CD. Remembering the whole reason for a change in set-up is for an increase in the sound quality.

To be honest, I think you have things a little back to front. Given the budget and the resolution of the system it will buy, anything above CD standard (arguably, anything above high bit rate mp3) will most likely be inaudible, there are far to many other factors at this level limiting the SQ.

If you are determined to buy and own your own music collection, then buying and ripping CDs is the cheapest most sensible option. you can buy second hand with reasonable confidence, modern ripping software will allow you to play discs that some cd players will not, a win/win situation.

The best way to do this is with a NAS drive on your network, a network capable amplifier with a decent control systen, either on board or with an app. Even buying in the uk, you are unlikely to get that for the budget available, particularly if you want a decent, easy to use interface that everyone can use. Although more expensive, this is really the way forward, the structure of the system is solid and longterm, you can upgrade amps or speakers as you see fit.

All in ones, with onboard storage are attractive but expensive for what they produce in terms of SQ. The Cocktail X10 is the cheapest option I know, it starts at £350 without speakers.

 

[JamesMellor]

I was just chipping in that your laptop is a NAS drive and streamer so you have those already for free , if you have a iphone or tablet or any other smart thing that can download the apple remote app' you have a full colour display and remote control still for free.

Yes the laptop has to be on , but itunes runs in the background so it can be used for other things by other people in the house .

James

 

[David Palmar]

To OP

For that price and your requirements I would try and get something like the Denon M38dab / M39dab. You may be able to find one on trademe. Harvey Norman had them in stock (earlier this year) and when they have their 'special sales' the price dropped down to around $800 NZ. Otherwise $600 probably won't go too far in NZ, unless you're lucky with 2nd hand purchases off trademe.

Anyway, I'd recommend the denon (it's my kitchen's sound system) as the sound quality is great and it is capable of playing from an IPOD. The one caveat is I'm not sure it supports FLAC via it's DAC directly, you'd need to feed another dac via the optical input if you were fussed. However, it sounds pretty damn good with 320kbps and unless you're using higher end gear you won't be able to hear the difference between FLAC and 320kbps on most budget set-ups anyway. I own quite a few 'budget' hifi speakers, plus 2 pairs of monitoring speakers and some slightly higher end speakers (Kef LS50s) and it's only on my main listening setup I've been able to differentiate between FLAC vs 320kbps (even on this system this is difficult - high end headphones are easier!).

http://www.whathifi.com/denon/d-m39dab/review

I should add, the M39 has surprisingly good bass for its size (obviously it can't do sub-bass) but it also has a sub-out connector so you could later add a sub if desired. The other bonus is you can swap the speakers with other bookshelf speakers if you want. They default speakers sound pretty good and I end up periodly swapping in Tannoys for a change of sound.

*** ADD IN ***

If you find a decent stand-alone amp and are considering speakers, the wharfedale diamond series are very good speakers and seem to be common in NZ. A friend picked up a pair new for ~$300 a few years ago. Check trade-me, there are usually a few pairs and you'll probably find some for $100-200. Anything from the 9.1 upwards are fantastic speakers. Just make sure your AMP is decent and can drive them (they're not too difficult to drive).

Just saw some Diamond 9.1 on trademe currently at ~$43 bidding - what a steal! Check them out, they are seriously good speakers for the price. Good luck!

 

[Thompsonuxb]

If you are after serious performance the Denons are not the way to go.

They're cosy bedroom systems. Bought the 38dab for my daughter it's ok but not what the OP is describing.

A modern budget reciever and speakers will serve you better.

Last year's models will be heavily discounted now and it will most likely have all the connections you'll need.

To OP

For that price and your requirements I would try and get something like the Denon M38dab / M39dab. You may be able to find one on trademe. Harvey Norman had them in stock (earlier this year) and when they have their 'special sales' the price dropped down to around $800 NZ. Otherwise $600 probably won't go too far in NZ, unless you're lucky with 2nd hand purchases off trademe.

Anyway, I'd recommend the denon (it's my kitchen's sound system) as the sound quality is great and it is capable of playing from an IPOD. The one caveat is I'm not sure it supports FLAC via it's DAC directly, you'd need to feed another dac via the optical input if you were fussed. However, it sounds pretty damn good with 320kbps and unless you're using higher end gear you won't be able to hear the difference between FLAC and 320kbps on most budget set-ups anyway. I own quite a few 'budget' hifi speakers, plus 2 pairs of monitoring speakers and some slightly higher end speakers (Kef LS50s) and it's only on my main listening setup I've been able to differentiate between FLAC vs 320kbps (even on this system this is difficult - high end headphones are easier!).

http://www.whathifi.com/denon/d-m39dab/review

I should add, the M39 has surprisingly good bass for its size (obviously it can't do sub-bass) but it also has a sub-out connector so you could later add a sub if desired. The other bonus is you can swap the speakers with other bookshelf speakers if you want. They default speakers sound pretty good and I end up periodly swapping in Tannoys for a change of sound.

*** ADD IN ***

If you find a decent stand-alone amp and are considering speakers, the wharfedale diamond series are very good speakers and seem to be common in NZ. A friend picked up a pair new for ~$300 a few years ago. Check trade-me, there are usually a few pairs and you'll probably find some for $100-200. Anything from the 9.1 upwards are fantastic speakers. Just make sure your AMP is decent and can drive them (they're not too difficult to drive).

Just saw some Diamond 9.1 on trademe currently at ~$43 bidding - what a steal! Check them out, they are seriously good speakers for the price. Good luck! 

 

[David Palmar]

If you are after serious performance the Denons are not the way to go.

I don't disagree, however the difficult thing will be getting a decent budget amp for a reasonable cost, unfortunately NZ doesn't have quite the wide selection of the UK. Hopefully he'll do some research on good budget amps and try and hunt one down second hand (unless he bites the bullet and is prepared to shell out a few hundred more NZD for a new amp).

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Actually Davedotco made the same suggestion.

Not familiar with NZ pricing or available kit but with his speaker choice a budget receiver like a Yamaha 377 would be worth investigating.

It's now £197ish in the UK.....again not checked exchange rates but worth looking at on the net.

If you are after serious performance the Denons are not the way to go.

?

I don't disagree, however the difficult thing will be getting a decent budget amp for a reasonable cost, unfortunately NZ doesn't have quite the wide selection of the UK. Hopefully he'll do some research on good budget amps and try and hunt one down second hand (unless he bites the bullet and is prepared to shell out a few hundred more NZD for a new amp).

 

[davedotco]

Actually the OP is planning to buy in the uk. Given the limited budget, this is probably a job for Richers. There is always clearance stuff that will help with value for money.

 

[ifor]

What about this?

http://www.digitallivingroom.co.uk/index.php/news/iqaudio-pi-amp

spend an much as you can on the best speakers you can get to go with it.

 

[wesjay66]

HI Everyone, thanks for all the posts - i'll spend some time reading through this and researching suggestions. I will also be looking at trademe (NZ Ebay) for bargains.

Wes