My first system, HELP!!

[admin_exported]

Hello to everyone!

I am a complete novice in the world of Hi Fi and would be very grateful of your expert knowledge and opinions.

I want to buy my first separates system but there is soooooo much choice I don’t know where to begin! There is also one tiny problem…the budget. I have around £1000. I know this isn’t a lot but at the moment it’s the best I can do!

The system I want to start with is basic, CD player, AMP, iPod dock and speakers. I would like to add a record player to this when more funds become available. The room the set up would be in is a 6x4m rectangle, a typical modern living room with sofa, carpet etc. My music tastes are eclectic, from classical to heavy rock and everything in between. (Except country music and terrible teen rock!)

I have done as much research as fully as I can but need to narrow down my choices so when I go for a demo so I will be picking between two or three set ups not hundreds. I would love to hear some new ideas and your opinion would be great as I’m just starting out.

So far I have researched the;

NAD C545BEE CD player

NAD C326BEE amp

Marantz PM6002 amp

Rotel RA05 amp

Fat iTube 182 amp and iPod dock (which I have found at £499)

Arcam iPod dock

B&W 685’s

B&W CM1’s

Monitor Audio Silver RS1’s

Haven’t even thought about cables! I would love to know what combos work and just any feed back people can give. Am I going down the wrong paths, are there better products about and what is peoples feeling on the Fat iTube????? I really do appreciate the help and look forward to falling down the slippery slope that is HiFi,

Regards,

Sam

 

[the record spot]

Hi Sam - welcome to the forums.

£1000 should get you on the road to a very good starter system that'll do your music justice. First thing to clear up is not so much the kind of music you like, but the kind of sound you like to hear - do you like to hear all the detail in a recording, warts and all, in which case you probably lean to a more transparent sound with as little of the components' respective characters shining through, or do you want a little more warmth and "personality"?

There's no right or wrong; everyone's different, but it's probably a good thing to know what you like and then you can start to whittle away at the choices.

What you definitely do want to find is a good and working balance in the gear you eventually buy. Synergy is all IMO and this is the real route to audio happiness! There isn't one bit of kit under the sun that'll float your boat if one or other of its' partners are mismatched.

Another thing to consider is whether to go down the brand new or the used/ex-dem route. The latter needn't mean casting endless bids to Ebay, but dealers will very often offer a good warranty with some slightly older kit and this means your money goes further in the end.

There's a ton of dealers out there offering used stuff, so have a browse around to get an idea of what's available - check out dealers on Ebay too; one seller was recently (as in last week) selling some Rega R3 speakers for about £350 I think - they had previously sold at £500 and these were new boxes, or maybe ex-dem. Stunning deal to be honest. You get the idea.

Dealers: BADA Marketplace (UK wide), Glasgow Audio/Holborn Hi FI (Glasgow and Aberdeen respectively), Classique Sounds (Leicester), Billy Vee (Lewisham, South London), Big Ears Audio (not sure), Loud and Clear (Edinburgh)....the list goes on. All of these are worth a look to see what your options are.

Me? I'd go for a mix of old and new probably, though of my current kit (see my signature line below), the CD player is current as of last year, my speakers were used buys of Ebay last November for £80 (great buy, from Mission's heyday IMO - can't go wrong with the 75 series), and my amp goes all the way back to 1986 and was brought off the subs bench a couple of months back. Turned out to be the ace in the pack though; great amp still.

What would I be looking at now though? Some hints:-

amps
Harmon Kardon HK980 amp - (£250 in Richer Sounds)
used Rotel RC980/RB980 pre/power combo (circa £200)
Cambridge Audio 650A amp (£350)

speakers
used Mission 75 series - 751/752 (circa £100)
Dali Lektor 2
MA RS1

CD player
Marantz SA7003
used Eastern Electric Minimax (£450 - Big Ears Audio)
Cambridge Audio 840C - used or on a deal if RS have any

There's a ton of stuff out there; NAD, Arcam, Mission, Rega...too many to mention, but worth you spending a couple of hours getting an idea and shortlisting from there. I think you've got a good list of the popular stuff there, but don't disregard the lesser sung manufacturers if you get a chance to hear one (NVA spring to mind as an example, although you're unlikely to get anything like that at your price unless you happen on a great deal; I mention it to highlight the point really).

Apart from that, happy hunting!

 

[Anonymous]

record spot,

thank u for your input point taken, i would be more than happy to look at ex demo etc. more bang for your buck is a good thing with a budget. the list you gave me is fantastic and im going to do some research.

im heading in the warmer sounds, nothing to harsh but crisp enough for the rare evening with out anyone around for a good old music sesion.... again thank you very much,

sam

 

[Anonymous]

May I ask why you are looking towards bookshelf and not floorstander speakers? given the dimensions of your room, I would think that floorstanders would be better suited.

 

[the record spot]

In that case, I should add the Q Acoustics 1050i floorstander; big speaker, loads for the money but well worth checking out. Big fat old analogue type sound, £370 but widely available for less than £300. Hi Fi World product of the year last year, 4* review on here. Well worth a second glance.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry wasn't very helpful was it, since I didn't suggest anything lol, alongside the above recommendation, look at Acoustic Energy Neo 3 and Tannoy F4.