Love Music - Hate Technology - Building a System from Scratch

[admin_exported]

Wow... I had not expected to find a forum along these lines and very appreciative that I have. Like the look of what everyone is saying and it certainly looks the case that building systems is enjoyed.

Well... Kind of sucked a little too much, so any advice appreciated as I am really a guy that loves music, but does not understand anything other than that.

The majority of my music is ambient with a good bass line to it. The Orb, Lemon Jelly and Orbital being my main CDs of choice. I do get a kick out of hard dance and late 80s Techno, but purely phases rather than the main.

I find bass very important to my listening experience, but not to the point that it overwhelms the melody and sampled lyrics that add to the experience. A friend has a set-up that does not focus on the bass and the experience for me listening to music is somewhat heartless and cold. The bass in my car would be at maximum if it was not for the resonance on the darn thing!

I am only as far as the Cyrus 6SE (maybe push to the 8SE) and considering BW CM9 speakers. The speakers may be too powerful for the size of the room I intend to set this up (14x10), so may opt for the CM7. Wish to plug my Archos into the system to directly play the MP files from.

Have not considered the addition in the future of an additional 2 speakers to complete an all round system of sound.

I really do not understand the woofer or amp inclusion into the set-up and that is certainly where I fall down worst.

Unsure whether I should talk on budget, so will opt out unless it is particularly required.

Any help appreciated and kind regards.

 

[Craig M.]

without an idea of what you want to spend, any recommendations could be way off.

i'd also be wary of putting the speakers you mention in a room that size. you would probably be better off with standmounts. as you mention the cd6se, you might want to try a cyrus amp and some dynaudio standmount speakers. also, it might be helpful to state whether you would consider ex.dem or 2nd hand kit. the most important bit of advice though is whatever recommendations you get from people here, you should definitely audition it and other stuff before making a decision, everyone has different hearing and what suits one might not be right for another.

the way i read your comment about an amp is you're not sure why you need one? you do, unless you just want to look at your new speakers.

 

[pete321]

I'd suggest the new Monitor Audio RX8's for sepakers. From what I've been told about them, they've got fast bass and although detailed like their predecessors (RS8's) they not quite as clinical sounding and should therefore be a good match with Cyrus.

 

[the record spot]

If you were prepared to go down the secondhand route, see if you can find a pair of Linn Keilidhs with the Ku-stone bases; used to retail for £900 or so, two big bass drivers on either side of a soft dome tweeter. A big speaker, which, would work to tame what may be an overly enthusiastic Cyrus set-up with some dance recordings. You'd get dynamism and bass in spades, with a good balance throughout the spectrum.

Depending on condition (but assume typically good given their original RRP) expect to hand over around £300-£400.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the reponses.

I fell asleep (long week) last night and am in work at the moment, so wil check through the items tonight.

I live on second hand stuff, but for the music system I want to go brand new... Just feel the satisfaction etc..., and my budget for everything is around £3-3.5k including stands, cable etc...

Will certainly be listening to the set-up on two separate occassions, but do wonder if I get an idea of the system from here, how would a store actually put it together as potentially I could walk away leaving the store with equipment they never actually wanted to bring in.

Maybe that is just the risk they have to run?

Cheers.

 

[Anonymous]

With that budget you can get some good kit.

I can only recommend you try at least one, but perhaps 2 or 3 decent hi-fi shops that will sit down with you and cuppa to hear some of their kit and give you comparative dems.

They will listen to your tastes in music & budget & room size etc, to offer solutions for you to hear.

It takes anyone else's opinion out of the equation and allows YOU to make up your mind based purely on what you hear.

 

[Don Jr]

[The speakers may be too powerful for the size of the room I intend to set this up (14x10), so may opt for the CM7. Wish to plug my Archos into the system to directly play the MP files from.]

Is that 14X10 feet or meters? If it's feet, forget about floorstanders all together. If it's meters, that's one big room.

 

[Anonymous]

The room would be around 14ftx10ft, but may be 14ftx14ft

 

[Anonymous]

I listened to a brand new setup today that costs in excess of £3500 .... my advice to you is go the vintage/classic route ... with your budget, you can get a really good system ... just my opinion

 

[Ant8519]

Hi Roj

Do you only (or primarily) listen to electronica? I ask as it has a huge bearing on what may be suitable...

My feeling is that electronica does necessarily test a system fullly and may not need the same level of expenditure in order to sound fantastic as may be the case when your music tastes are more varied. That is if you listen to say, the orb one minute and follow it with led zeppelin, and then some joni mitchell, a bit of classical then some acoustic or maybe some jazz (if you must) then it would need a different system from one which pretty much only plays the orb, or similar.

To qualify I love all the above (except the jazz obviously) and probably listen to each style of music in equal measure.

IF you only or mostly listen to electronica then I would suggest that your budget exceeds that which is necessary to get the best out of this...

The second and more important point is do you really want a cd player? If I were starting from scratch I would be looking at a music server and a good amp. Nothing else needed. Squeezebox duet is must try as is sonos, or maybe a mac mini and itouch. Amp wise maybe try the cambridge audio 740 or 840 amp (dac and digi in) or the cyrus forget the number but also has a dac. Good AV amps may also suit depending on your needs....

Thirdly, electronica can sound great with surround systems as well as traditional stereo, so depending on your AV needs this may also be a route worth auditioning.

With your budget you can put together a system that few could beat, but just as easily be conned into picking up all sorts of innappropriate exotica. Trust your ears, ignore audio snobs and take shop advice with a pinch of salt...

Good luck. Ant

 

[Anonymous]

ant: Do you only (or primarily) listen to electronica? I ask as it has a huge bearing on what may be suitable...

ant, with a budget of 3.5K, I would expect the system to do very well with any type of music ...

with that sort of budget on good 2nd hand gear, you will get a system that will outclass and outperform any brand new system that costs several times more (if you do your research properly and shop wisely) ... that is a lot of money (in my books)

 

[Ant8519]

hi Dim_span

of course, this is why I think his budget may well exceed that which is needed. Given the stated music preferences I feel he could get the best possible sound for considerably less. If he gets something like the cyrus amp, some good speakers and a squeezebox I reckon it would probably be as good as he ever needs.

Regarding used, I agree to an extent, but when spending big I would be wary of ebay etc and would want some form of guarantee...

cheers, Ant

ps - may be a bit confused re: cambridge audio amps - thought they had internal dac but possibly not?

 

[Anonymous]

with a budget of £3500 .... my choices:

cd player : Rega apollo brand new = £600

------------------------

amp: Krell KAV-400xi Integrated Amplifer ... ebay item: 260487475303

buy it now of £1599

-------------------------

speakers: IMF transmission line Proffesional monitor speakers (4 way transmission speakers)... ebay item 330371144094 ... in auction format ... expect to pay up to £800 for these ... send them to wembley speakers in London for a once over (an additional £150) ... may sell for £600?

-------------------------------------

so .... total spent = £3150 ... that leaves £450 to set up to a pc (spotify etc) and get cables

I have just had a quick peep on ebay, ther are most prob better combinations, however I challenge anyone to show me a brand new system for the same price that will truly outclass this combo (assuming the items I have quoted are in good working order as the sellers have stated)

 

[Anonymous]

I would go for AVI ADM9.1's and sub-woofer. Thread closed.

A system that costs sub-£2k, but better than systems worth thousands more. You can retain your Cyrus CDP, but for best results, get a Logitech Squeezebox, rip your CD's to lossless and sell the Cyrus.

 

[Anonymous]

Cable Lover:

I would go for AVI ADM9.1's and sub-woofer. Thread closed.

A system that costs sub-£2k, but better than systems worth thousands more. You can retain your Cyrus CDP, but for best results, get a Logitech Squeezebox, rip your CD's to lossless and sell the Cyrus.

I am old fashioned and still cannot come to grips with adding a sub woofer to a decent stereo system??? ... or like adding an external dac to a cd player??? ... or buying expensive power cables??

 

[Anonymous]

An audition will help you decide

. As soon as i heard this combination, I knew that improving this system would cost literally £000's!!

This system requires no interconnects nor speaker cables, or even third party mains cables.. It is a triumph!!

 

[matthewpiano]

Cable Lover:
An audition will help you decide

. As soon as i heard this combination, I knew that improving this system would cost literally £000's!!

This system requires no interconnects nor speaker cables, or even third party mains cables.. It is a triumph!!

...but it isn't for everyone and there are several different ways to achieve the same sort of sound quality.

 

[Anonymous]

I primarily listen to electronica, but the spread of music does dip into hard dance (guessing classed as electronica all the same), but the wife is into Bon Jovi and Kerrang's channel in general.

Have advised that the system will be more than adequate for her and she will love it..., just a little more geared for my tastes

Will be buying new. I have never had experiences to put me off second hand, but for once, I just want something new and unopened when it arrives.

Will be discussing the wall mounted over floor standing speakers, but is there some actual reason for avoiding floor standing other than space?

Will also eventually expand to 4 speakers (more?), but a starter pack will work for now

Would avoid the CD player, but in a house of 5 I am unble to guarantee that I can lay my hands on equipment. Everyone knows to not touch my music collection though

CHeers all.... Made a difficult decision impossible Thank you all in all seriousness.. More to talk and discuss tomo

 

[the record spot]

Cable Lover:
An audition will help you decide

. As soon as i heard this combination, I knew that improving this system would cost literally £000's!!

This system requires no interconnects nor speaker cables, or even third party mains cables.. It is a triumph!!

All it needs is the subwoofer and that'll help lean out the slightly lean tonality some feel affects the AVI kit though. Oh yeah and you have to deal with some of the most condescending people in the trade who take pleasure in slagging off part of the customer base that put them where they are now, yet still refer to "audiophiles" on their site when it it suits them to plug their kit.

That apart, they're fine. [sarcasm] Couldn't recommend them highly enough. [/sarcasm]

 

[Anonymous]

Well.... What a pleasurable experience. Being a self confessed technophobe I was gently introduced to various systems and the guy (Simon) spent ample time in listening to what I wanted and wish from a system.

It looks like I will be opting for a Naimuniti :

http://www.naimuniti.com/

With speakers similar to the following.

http://www.kudosaudio.com/cardeaC20.html

The set I listened to are partly in development and the only set in existance. Sorry guys I did not take the model, but the store owner has a huge hand in the specification, design etc... of the speaker.

I have a 1.5hour session booked in to have a second listen, and will also be trying a coulpe more speakers including a very heavily bassed orientated set-up to completely rule out in my mind the onsession with bass.

The set-up above is delivering good punch on the bass whilst holding the clarity and "bounce" feel to the music around the bass.

Looks like it will be the new year before I am able to have the set-up delivered, but I do not mind...

Hopefully I will not change my mind on the second go!

Thank you all.... Wonder where (if) this thread will go from here.

Cheers

 

[Alec]

the record spot:Cable Lover:

An audition will help you decide

. As soon as i heard this combination, I knew that improving this system would cost literally £000's!!

This system requires no interconnects nor speaker cables, or even third party mains cables.. It is a triumph!!

All it needs is the subwoofer and that'll help lean out the slightly lean tonality some feel affects the AVI kit though. Oh yeah and you have to deal with some of the most condescending people in the trade who take pleasure in slagging off part of the customer base that put them where they are now, yet still refer to "audiophiles" on their site when it it suits them to plug their kit. That apart, they're fine. [sarcasm] Couldn't recommend them highly enough. [/sarcasm]

I pretty much agree, tho i like the speakers. And its a set of speakers i bought; not a lifestyle, philosophy, allegiance to a group of people or a comapny. Just some speakers.

Anyway, what i really wanted to say is they do require leads (whether you want to call them speaker cables or interconnects or whatever. Its just that they come with the speakers. If, however, they do not supply sufficient lengths, you will have to get some longer ones yourself. AVI would then recommend the comapny who make the cables the speakers come bundled with, naturally...