Idea Shopping

[chris_bates1974]

Idea hunting for a friend...

Room is 12x12ft roughly. No limitations on placement for any kit.

Sought is a new hifi. Not using CD or vinyl.

Budget is £2k.

My non-exsitent knowledge of streaming immediately thought chromecast or AEX into either Rega Elex-R and KEF R300, or Cyrus 6DAC and KEF LS50.

Thoughts? Recommendations? Left-field suggestions?

Cheers.

 

[jjbomber]

Sought is a new hifi. Not using CD or vinyl.

What is the source, as in laptop, phone, radio (FM, Internet, DAB, Digital), you tube, NAS, USB, Spotify etc

 

[Andrewjvt]

Ls50w

 

[tino]

- A couple of Sonos Play:5

- Yamaha NX-N500 streaming active speakers

- Dynaudio Xeo 2

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

A better combo than the 6dac and ls50 with cca if sticking with a cyrus amp would be

- cyrus one , a lot better more powerful amplification than the 6dac and the dacs in the node 2 will probably be better. I’ve owned a 6dac and trialed a node 2. £750

- ls50, about £800

- bluesound node 2, £500

that would be the system I’d try against kef ls50w’s.

 

[insider9]

How about?

Rega Elex-r £900
Arcaydis EB2s - £800
Yamaha WXC-50 - under £300

 

[davedotco]

Rather a lot on what functionality is required, it also depends on the owner, does he/she like a few boxes or something simple, prefer stand mounts or floorstanders?

For example, I can not think of any active floorstanders that are within budget, so a preference for floorstanders would pretty much rule out actives. If stand mounts are acceptable them streamer/pre-amps such as the Yamaha WXC 50, Cambridge CXN or Oppo Sonica can be paired with actives such as the AE1a, AVI DM5, Dynaudio Lyd or models from Adam Audio.

Conventional systems will probably be a choice of components, all in ones from Naim, Linn, Hegel etc will take you over budget so you will most likely need a compedent dealer to show you some options.

Personal recomendation for a flexible but performance oriented system at this level would be either a Cambridge CXN or an Oppo Sonica with a pair of Dynaudio Lyd 8 if you have the space or a pair of Lyd 7 or Adam A7x for a less large room.

 

[davidf]

There are products out there now that can be directly connected to products with a USB input, and controlled directly, negating the need for a stand alone streamer. Innuos' media servers will do this if controlled by the likes of iPeng or Squeezepad, which will give you TIDAL/Spotify/Qobuz as well as internet radio and any music you store on it or is sitting on your network. There's also some upcoming media servers from Convert Technologies - which I'll be demonstrating (for the first time in the UK) at the Home HiFi Show later this month - that are stand alone streamers with TIDAL/Spotify/Qobuz with integral hard drive storage - just plug in to your DAC or digital active speakers via optical or coax and away you go.

Things needn't be complicated any more.

 

[chris_bates1974]

Thanks for the ideas so far...

Didnt occur to me to mention the source! Ooops. Currently he uses an iPhone and uses Spotify (don't ask).

As for number of boxes, perhaps only one will help with WAF considerations, and as mentioned previously, I believe the preference is for standmount speakers.

David, I'm not too far from you, so once a shortlist is complete, I would imagine we'll be heading over for a listen!

 

[Al ears]

Ls50w

Just blown the budget in a oner...good call though. ;-)

 

[mond]

Linn Sneaky DSM plus what ever speakers you can afford to go with it

Streamer, amp, internet radio all in one; just add speakers

https://andreweverard.com/2013/10/21/review-linns-sneaky-dsm-like-a-kiko-but-invisible/

 

[mond]

Linn Sneaky DSM plus what ever speakers you can afford to go with it

Streamer, amp, internet radio all in one; just add speakers

https://andreweverard.com/2013/10/21/review-linns-sneaky-dsm-like-a-kiko-but-invisible/

 

[CnoEvil]

Linn Sneaky DSM plus what ever speakers you can afford to go with it

Streamer, amp, internet radio all in one; just add speakers

https://andreweverard.com/2013/10/21/review-linns-sneaky-dsm-like-a-kiko...

+1

I had a similar brief and wrote about it here.

https://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/devine-inspiration

 

[Al ears]

Linn Sneaky DSM plus what ever speakers you can afford to go with it

Streamer, amp, internet radio all in one; just add speakers

https://andreweverard.com/2013/10/21/review-linns-sneaky-dsm-like-a-kiko...

+1 However unless he can get one second-hand it's not going to leave him much for the speakers / stands / cables etc., and pretty OTT if he is only going to play Spotify through an iPhone....

 

[lpv]

1) avi dm10, complete system ( just add source, ie AEX) if great stereo image, clarity, smoothness and presentaion similar to sennheiser hd800 is high on your list you wont find better for the money

2) kef ls50w, again complete system ( even more complete as tidal is built in) and again great soundstage, clarity, smoothness but these are closer to sennheiser hd650 presentation so more forgiving and easy to listen to with more material

 

[davidf]

Thanks for the ideas so far...

Didnt occur to me to mention the source! Ooops. Currently he uses an iPhone and uses Spotify (don't ask).

As for number of boxes, perhaps only one will help with WAF considerations, and as mentioned previously, I believe the preference is for standmount speakers.

David, I'm not too far from you, so once a shortlist is complete, I would imagine we'll be heading over for a listen!

Always welcome

If only a phone or tablet is needed, other than the LS50 Wireless option, a Cyrus One with a pair of Amphion Argon 1 or Ophidian Mojos will work nicely. Also, a Bluesound PowerNode leaves around £1200 for a pair of speakers - KEF Q550s fit well within budget if a fairly compact floorstander can be accommodated.

Theres a few other options, but I don't want to exhaust them all in one go

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. You should convince your friend to audition for himself, preferably in his own room. There's a lot of hype about the new Kef LS50w, so they are a must on the audition list imo (although, untill they bring gapless playback, they would be a no-go for me, but if he's not into concept albums, with tracks that flow one into the next, this should be of no concern).

After very recently having listened to Dynaudio LYD 8 active monitors, they get a +1 for me. Very, very good indeed. Dynaudio LYD 7 could be worth taking a look at. Pair them with something like Cambridge Audio CXN, and that leaves enough budget for good stands + whatever XLR cable to connect the speakers to the CXN, and you're set (Chord Shawline, Atlas or Tellurium Q if you wanna go fancy). Also, the Dynaudios don't look as ugly as the usual studio monitor, so...

 

[maroonbells]

Very impressive speakers, big sound from such tiny boxes, they are amazing.

 

[davedotco]

Hi. You should convince your friend to audition for himself, preferably in his own room. There's a lot of hype about the new Kef LS50w, so they are a must on the audition list imo (although, untill they bring gapless playback, they would be a no-go for me, but if he's not into concept albums, with tracks that flow one into the next, this should be of no concern).

After very recently having listened to Dynaudio LYD 8 active monitors, they get a +1 for me. Very, very good indeed. Dynaudio LYD 7 could be worth taking a look at. Pair them with something like Cambridge Audio CXN, and that leaves enough budget for good stands + whatever XLR cable to connect the speakers to the CXN, and you're set (Chord Shawline, Atlas or Tellurium Q if you wanna go fancy). Also, the Dynaudios don't look as ugly as the usual studio monitor, so...

Given the room size and shape, the Lyd 8 might be a bit much, it has massive scale and presence, so they could be worth a try though the Lyd 7 might be more appropriate. The DSP in the speakers will help a lot with room placement and this is a big plus in controling the bass, for me a huge plus.

Any of the streamer pre-amps will drive them fine, CXN, Node 2, WXC 50 etc. All can be hidden away, have Spotify Connect and other streaming services and room for some expansion, such as Tv sound or Cd player.

Would definitely be the route I would take, but then that is pretty much what I have now, but with Adam speakers. Couldn't really see myself going back to a passive system, certainly not at this sort of price range.

 

[jjbomber]

Thanks for the ideas so far...

Didnt occur to me to mention the source! Ooops. Currently he uses an iPhone and uses Spotify (don't ask).

Naim Mu-so is the left of field suggestion. Does Spotify (+Tidal) built in. Also has Bluetooth and Airplay. For the money he can have 2 and use them in party mode. Or even a Mu-so and 2 Qubes for a multi-room system.

Normally I would have gone with the KEFs, but if it is only Spotify, then 2K is probably overkill. If you or he do any demos, make sure they are done with Spotify as the source.

 

[chris_bates1974]

We'll certainly be doing some listening - not sure on timescale, but at least I now have a lot more info and suggestions to throw his way.

Thanks everyone.

 

[davidf]

Thanks for the ideas so far...

Didnt occur to me to mention the source! Ooops. Currently he uses an iPhone and uses Spotify (don't ask).

Naim Mu-so is the left of field suggestion. Does Spotify (+Tidal) built in. Also has Bluetooth and Airplay. For the money he can have 2 and use them in party mode. Or even a Mu-so and 2 Qubes for a multi-room system.

Normally I would have gone with the KEFs, but if it is only Spotify, then 2K is probably overkill. If you or he do any demos, make sure they are done with Spotify as the source.

The KEFs have TIDAL - I'm wondering whether Spotify might be added further down the line if they introduce their 'hi-fi' quality streaming, and seeing as it is the most popular.