Hi-Fi system up to £1000

admin_exported

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Aug 10, 2019
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Hi I'm currently looking for either an all in one system, or full sized seperates (preferably from the same company) that can power the B&W 684 speakers, as i have found a great deal offering these in their sale. I also want a DAB radio with iPod conectivity (can be just USB) also on my wishlist is streaming from my PC via ethernet of wi-fi although its not a necessity :) and obviously the CD player itself.

I am curently looking at the Teac reference 600 which i have found for £750 and fits the bill nicely, and also either Arcam Solo Mini or the Neo if i can stretch to that! But others are suggesting the Teac wont be powerful enough, but the Arcam Mini will be? Any thoughts? B&W recommend the amp has anything from 25W-150W which isnt very helpful as the range is HUGE! So confussed, with so many options!

I would really appreciate any help you could give, thanks in advance! :)
Danny
 

Craig M.

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for that sort of budget (ok, slightly over), i personally wouldn't look any further then avi adm9.1. you could use an apple airport express to wirelessly stream audio from your pc, as well as plug a cd/dvd/bluray player in via optical. i can't see how you could equal the sound quality for anywhere near the same money. you could add the sub at a later date for a full range system.

not quite what you asked for, but you could still do all that you wanted if you used internet radio instead of dab.
 
A

Anonymous

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Hi thanks for your suggestion and im sure the sound will be great but i think i would prefer to have a sytem with better UI, ie a screen as i wouldnt be upgrading for a long time and would preferably want a traditional format with the CD player, and AMP either as an all in one unit or seperates.

Will the Teac 600 or the Arcam Solo Mini be able to power the B&W 684's do you or anyone else know?

Thanks again for your input :)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
The Arcam Solo Mini could drive the B&W 684's but not very well. It's not majorly powerful and those speakers do need a good amp behind them to drive them well

At a minimum I'd say 50wpc...

What about a decent amp, CD player and maybe a 2nd hand DAB tuner off eBay and like etc... Possible a DAC as well for the USB input
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi thanks i was looking at that option but then i saw the teac reference 600 which is 75W per channel and apparently sounds really good for the price, have found one for £750.

Do you think seperates would be better than the Teac? Also some people have said the arcam mini's power is modertly rated and if it was a different manafacture they would probably rate it more towards the 80W mark. Not sure about that though!

Thanks for you help!!
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
The TEAC Reference 600 is better than the Arcam Solo Mini and should have no problems driving the B&W speakers. I've heard it driving 686s (which are a very hard drive) and was impressed with what the TEAC could do. I'm a big Arcam fan but in this situation I don't think its the best product.
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Have a look at the specs for Harman Kardon's HK990 amp - now available for under £800 if you shop around. You could do worse than the Home Cinema Centre in Edinburgh who have the amp for £849, but thanks to their 10% off sale, you'd get it for about £760. Handily, they also have the partnering HD990 CDP for £299 at the moment. I heard both last year through a pair of Dali Ikon 5s and they were a great partnership. So, £760 for the amp, £270 for the CDP - ask them nicely, they might cut you some slack to leave you enough off your £1000 to get an Airport Express from somewhere else which would let you stream radio off your computer via optical into the amp....(sorry Nick)....
 
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Anonymous

Guest
That looks so nice!
And the power is unbelievable, 200wpc in practice, my only concern is that B&W have stated that the max power is 150W so do you think that the Harman Kardon HK990 will be too powerful?

Thanks for this suggestion, it looks brilliant but only downside is that it has no radio :( but could i get internet radio via the airport express?

Thanks again!!
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Yep, the speakers will be fine. Just don't drive them hard. Better more than enough than not enough when it comes to power. As for radio, add £100 to your budget and you'll get an internet radio that'll be more than good enough. Hook it up to the amp via a suitable connection and you'll be away. Either that or the AEx Internet radio option. You'll be able to use the iTunes radio option, or alternatively, spend £20 on Airfoil. This is a 3rd party app that lets you stream any of your web sources via your Aex using a simple interface. Simples!

EDIT: And the amp's been rated at peaks of up to 300wpc over short bursts.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Ok cheers mate, i was looking at the airfoil before and it lets you stream to an ipod so i dont need to buy a airport express!
How will i get the radio on the computer exactly, will it be internet radio and will this mean that most/all common radio stations i.e radio 1 will be available? What software would i need?
Also could i connect this up to my T.V as that has radio stations on it!
Thnks you have been a great help!
 
T

the record spot

Guest
The BBC has its own radio stream covering all of its stations, including regional ones. Sites like Radio365 have streaming services, and there's a bunch of others out there. No special software required either. Find the URL, save it to favourites/bookmarks and recall it as and when and you're done.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
OK great, also would i be able to connect it the my T.V (sony bravia HD)

If so what cables would i need?
 
T

the record spot

Guest
The Sony, if it's anything like mine, will have optical, which will go straight to the HK (for isntance), also there's two standard RCA phono cables. Simplest option here would be to use freeview for standard radio and use the onboard DAC on the 990 to manage the signal. Should result in an improvement to the radio you hear. Better bitrates via freeview too by all accounts, so sound quality should be decent anyway.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
OK great, so will i use the RCA cables to enable the use of the DAC in the sterio?
 

AL13N

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dannycarroll:OK great, so will i use the RCA cables to enable the use of the DAC in the sterio?
No, you need to use an optical cable between the TV and Amp.

Have to echo the recommendation of the HD990 / HK990 combo by the record spot. Good choice.

Another option to consider is the XTZ CD-100 / Class-A100D3 combo. Audio Sanctum have a package deal for £920.

Good luck.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I've managed to find the arcam solo neo for £999 so what would be better option:
Arcam solo neo £999
Harman Karden 980 £699
Harman Karden 990 £1284
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Well, the 980 gives you the suite of amp-cd-tuner in one. It really comes down to listening if you can in the end. Your ears would decide. The Arcam would be good too, but I couldn't comment on anything beyond that; personal preference, cost, functionality needed, etc..."what would be better" would be a tricky one to answer!
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Yeh the only problem is that i cannot find any stores in London that have the Hk 980 in for me too listen too.

I listened to the arcam today and really liked it, but i havent listend to the Hk 980 which is £300 less and looks much nicer, but everyone i phone has been recommending the arcam which retails at £1350!!
Also the Arcam has everything the HK has and has wifi and ethernet for streaming!
Also british made and newer!
But at the end of the day sound quality is my main priority and whatever one is better i will go for.
So if anyone has heard both i would really appreciate their opinion! Thanks :)
Be using it with B&W 684
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Anyone heard both, as i cannot find the hk990 available anywhere for a demo!
 

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