HIFI System £1500 Budget for use with Sonos

[admin_exported]

Hi All

Im looking at buying a HIFI system & Sonos ZonePlayer 90 to stream Spotify.

The budget is £1500 excluding the Zoneplayer.

I will be mainly listening to music via the Sonos.

I listen to the likes of Crystal Castles, Gorillaz, Plan B, The Black Keys, Foals, Vampire Weekend, Bombay Bicycle Club, The XX etc

As a novice, what would you recommend I demo?

The room is quiet small, so I think bookshelf speakers would be more suitable. Although I cant help but love the love the look of floorstanders.

On my list to demo so far I have the following:

CD Player:
[/b]Marantz CD6003
AudioLab 8200CD

Amp
[/b]Marantz PM6003
Yamaha A-S500

All In Ones
[/b]Arcam Solo Mini
Marantz CR-603

Speakers:
[/b]Monitor Audio BX2
B&W 685
B&W 684
KEF Q500
Dynaudio DM 2/6

Thanks
Kris

 

[The_Lhc]

If you're buying a ZP90 is there any need for a CD player? Get your CDs ripped to lossless and use the ZP90 for that. I'd be thinking more about a decent DAC to accompany the ZP90 and get the most of it that way.

As to the speakers looking at your list it might be worth you picking up the new edition of the magazine when it comes out as there's a very interesting standmount speaker group test in there which includes the one of the speakers you've listed (the 685) as well as the standmount brother of the Q500, the Q300, the smaller MA BX1, and the Castle Knight 2, well worth a read.

Don't forget to budget for stands if you go for standmount speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

The most important thing is how you connect the sonos to the system. If you use a digital connection you can bypass the internal dac and choose a standalone unit of your choice. The following are good choices:

CA Dacmagic

Arcam rDAC

Rega Dac

Speaker and amplifier selection is a matter of personal preference and matching. Try:

Marantz pm6003/7003 + Dali Ikon/Lektor

Rega Brio/Mira + Rega RS1

Arcam A18 + BMW685

Alternatively you could try the all in one approach. The Marantz CR-603 is a good choice as it is fairly unique with its optical in connection (no need for a standalone dac).

 

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest wall-mounted EB2 speakers, a Rotel 1520 amp and a DAC with the rest. But then I'm very biased at moment

More seriously the DAC is a given, scrap the CD option, and a decent pair of wall-mounted bookshelfs and you're done. I liked the 2/6s when I heard them but IIRC they are rear-ported which makes positioning them near to a wall not so great. The EB2s are not rear-ported but are considerably larger, which might be slightly scary in a small room (how small is small though?). Either of the amps you mention would be fine, a Rotel RA04SE would be good also which would liberate finance for the DAC/speakers.

Are cables to be included in the £1500 budget? Just checking...

 

[Anonymous]

Avi 9.1 Active speakers and your Pc/Sonos just brilliant then you can save for the sub i you feel you need one in the future. £1250.

 

[Anonymous]

the_lhc:If you're buying a ZP90 is there any need for a CD player? Get your CDs ripped to lossless and use the ZP90 for that

Thanks all for the advice.

Will definately look at some DACs as suggested as this would seem the most logical thing to do. Would then be able to buy a better amp and speakers
putt1ck: The EB2s are not rear-ported but are considerably larger, which might be slightly scary in a small room (how small is small though?) Are cables to be included in the £1500 budget?
Room size is 15x10 foot. The budget excludes cables, I will budget for these seperatly

 

[Anonymous]

Another great budget there

IMO better speaker can be had (that havent been mentioned) although I must disagree with the above combo of the Arcam A18 integrated amp and the B&W 685 speakers. For me the amps a bit to soft and mellow. It'll drive the 685's fine but it wont offer the best out of them.

For me the likes of the Monitor Audio RX2's and Dynaudio DM 2/7 speakers need to be demo'd along with the likes of the Rotel RA1520 integrated amp and possibly the NAD C356BEE as well.

Ad the Arcam rDAC & Sonos into this equation and you've got yourself hell of a system (dont forget to budget for cables etc... The likes of Chord and QED would be a good first port of call).

The B&W 685 speakers are great so they need to be demo'd as well as should the QUAD 21L2's or the 22L2's

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'd put a ZP90 through an Arcam rDAC, then through an Audiolab 8200A, then through a pair of KEF Q300's. Great little all round system. If you can afford the little extra for the Rega DAC, it'll be well worth it. Don't worry about the cables for now - concentrate on getting the electronics right - cables can be sorted later.

 

[Fisherking 145]

Don't forget that the Audiolab 8200cd player can be used as a DAC. I heard one the other week, and was very impressed. This would give you the option of having a cd player, and a DAC for the Sonos, leaving you around £800 for the amp, speakers and accessories.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

Just wanted to update my original post.

I decided against spending £1500 on a HIFI system, so my budget was reduced to around £700.

I am now the proud owner of Marantz PM6003 and B&Ws 685 which I am very impressed with. For cabling I purchased Chord Canival Silver Screen. Even without a DAC the Spotify via the Sonos sounds great just using the supplied cable.

I plan on purchasing the rDAC when funds permit later in the year! Was lucky enough to have a demo and was impressed with the results, although not enough to hand over a further £300.

It was a tough decision between the 685s and Q300s. However it came down to the fact that they had the 685s in stock ready to take away and also they looked nicer.

I also found it tough to decide between PM6003 and Yamaha A-S500. Ultimately it came down to cost, as both were great with both sets of speakers but the Marantz was £70 cheaper. In my eyes this was a pair of stands (Soundstyle Z2ii)

So for anyone considering either the Yamaha A-S500 /Marantz PM6003 & B&W 685/KEF Q300 combination you will not be disappointed.

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions.

Kris

 

[bemaniac]

I think I'm qualified to answer on the Marantz and the q500s. The q500s were put up against rx6 and both b&w speakers and won for all 3 of the listeners when I bought my stuff. The Marantz was used for the demo and I own one too. I have wanted to upgrade the Marantz to get higher volumes after a while and will do soon but highly recommend the q500s over all the others. They work well in a small room for me and are not ported so placement doesn't seem so much of an issue.