As this is my first post on this forum, I would like to say hello to everyone reading this.
I have recently caught the hi fi bug and have been spending a lot of time on this forum / website. I have always been interested in hi fi but never really took it seriously as I was expating in a country where access to equipment was very limited. I will be moving out to Abu Dhabi soon and after some research, I was pleasently surprised to see the outward signs of a vibrant audiophile community with suppliers to boot.
I have no previous experience with anything beyond commercial audio systems (HK, B&O, Bose) therefore I apologize in advance for any faux pas that I may make. I am also brushing up on my knowledge of acoustics which was woefully limited until recently.
With my impending relocation to the UAE, I have taken the decision to set aside a budget of about 2500 - 3000 GBP for a system. I want to use it to mainly listen to classical music in a dedicated space (don't think a full on room will be an option just yet). After browsing the classifieds, I was happy to see quite a few options for speakers, DACs, amps and cables available in the second hand market (brands like Marantz, Klipsch, KEF, Cambridge Audio etc). Ideally, I would like to have a pair of floor speakers, an amp, a DAC (+ CD player eventually) and high quality cables. I am happy to mix and match new with used items.
My concerns are that I will likely be living in a modern condo with tile floors and concrete walls (typical UAE style apartment units for those who know). Some form of acoustic treatment will likely be neccessary.
Given the above, I am quite lost as to where to start. I want to avoid going in "too low end" and having to sell up and upgrade. I also want to avoid jumping in way over my head from the get go and overspending (I tend to blow through budgets quite easily when I am excited). In light of all this, I would highly appreciate your general feedback/reccomendations. Resources, links, videos any and all information would be more than welcome. Also, to any fellow forum members who are based in the UAE; it would be great to connect and get your country specific feedback as well. I wouldn't say no to any invitations to view your setups either!
Thank you in advance,
Berk
I have recently caught the hi fi bug and have been spending a lot of time on this forum / website. I have always been interested in hi fi but never really took it seriously as I was expating in a country where access to equipment was very limited. I will be moving out to Abu Dhabi soon and after some research, I was pleasently surprised to see the outward signs of a vibrant audiophile community with suppliers to boot.
I have no previous experience with anything beyond commercial audio systems (HK, B&O, Bose) therefore I apologize in advance for any faux pas that I may make. I am also brushing up on my knowledge of acoustics which was woefully limited until recently.
With my impending relocation to the UAE, I have taken the decision to set aside a budget of about 2500 - 3000 GBP for a system. I want to use it to mainly listen to classical music in a dedicated space (don't think a full on room will be an option just yet). After browsing the classifieds, I was happy to see quite a few options for speakers, DACs, amps and cables available in the second hand market (brands like Marantz, Klipsch, KEF, Cambridge Audio etc). Ideally, I would like to have a pair of floor speakers, an amp, a DAC (+ CD player eventually) and high quality cables. I am happy to mix and match new with used items.
My concerns are that I will likely be living in a modern condo with tile floors and concrete walls (typical UAE style apartment units for those who know). Some form of acoustic treatment will likely be neccessary.
Given the above, I am quite lost as to where to start. I want to avoid going in "too low end" and having to sell up and upgrade. I also want to avoid jumping in way over my head from the get go and overspending (I tend to blow through budgets quite easily when I am excited). In light of all this, I would highly appreciate your general feedback/reccomendations. Resources, links, videos any and all information would be more than welcome. Also, to any fellow forum members who are based in the UAE; it would be great to connect and get your country specific feedback as well. I wouldn't say no to any invitations to view your setups either!
Thank you in advance,
Berk