Need Help with set up!

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I am a university student looking to for a new hifi but have no idea on set up so please help

I have around £400 to play with, my room is around 30m x 20m. I mainly listen to acoustic music and would like to get get the best out of it. i have around 100gb of music on my ipod and computer and would ideally like to be able to connect both to an amp/hifi.

any advice would be hugely appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

That's a big room! Do you want recommendations for a CD player, or are you just looking for an amp and some speakers?ÿ

Does your computer soundcard have a digital out?

What bitrate are your MP3's/Other filetypes?ÿ

What kind of music do you listen to?ÿ

Is £400 your maximum budget?

(Sorry to bombarde you with questions it will just make it easier to make recommendations)

 

[Anonymous]

sorry typo...it has been a long day, room is around half the size previously stated!!

i have been looking around and wondering whether its better buying a micro system with some decent speakers or just go the seperate hifi way...although i have no idea on adv. and dis adv. of both (sorry total novice!)

all music was ripped to in AAC format at 256kbps or WAV format at highest size and rate? computer i believe does have a digital out.

mainly listen to acoustic music although there is some rock thrown in as well

£400 isn't the maximum budget and i would be willing to pay more (max of £550-600) if i believed it to be worth it, i understand you get what you pay for

thanks for your help

 

[Anonymous]

Ok. I think if you use your computer to rip and play CD's, and prefer to listen to your ipod or mp3's (?) then it would be silly to waste money on an inferior micro system when you can get a good seperate amp and speakers for this money. Are you willing to make the compromise of just using your computers CD player?

The reason I ask about the digital out is that I can recommend you a DAC which sits between your computer and the amp, improving the sound quality of your compressed files. Does this interest you?

For around £500 I could recommend you some systems with DAC's that will be a big step up from a £400 system.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

ok it sounds like the idea of a micro system is out of the window, i am quite happy to just use the computers cd player.

looking at the specs of the pc it mentions nothing about digital output, so im going to persume there isn't one.

a DAC sounds like a good idea, although are they large in size, albeit a system with DACs for £500 sounds like the way forward.

 

[Anonymous]

Is the computer home built or can you tell me what it's called, or your soundcard?. If so I can just confirm it has no digital out.

The other option would be a USB DAC.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

DAC this is a USB DAC so will work with your computer

NAD C315 amp with Wharfedale Diamond 9.0

NAD C315 amp with KEF iQ1

Marantz 6002 with Monitor Audio BR2

Marantz 6002 with these bargain AE Neo 3's from ebay

These go from less than £500 to over. You could look around for best prices. Richer Sounds and Ebay would be the places I would start. The two systems I would choose are the last 2 but they are more expensive.

If you can't afford it all at the same time you could always get the DAC later, as if you are keeping the system a long time you will be getting better electronics.

I would recommend if possible you go to a hifi shop and try and test some setups because they all have their own sound and only your ears could decide what sounds good.

You could look here for your cables as they are a bargain and will help to keep your system within budget.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks very much for your help, it gives me somewhere to start looking as i had no idea!

thanks again

 

[Anonymous]

You're welcome.