Need hideaway system and speakers with great sound on £600 budget - help!

[admin_exported]

Hiya, I'm returning to the hi-fi fold after a 10 year break (previously had systems comprising 'budget' components from Cyrus, Meridien, Audiolab, Mission, Linn, Creek, and others). But now I'm no longer a credit-rich student I have a relatively meagre budget of £600, and want a system that can fit on the shelf under the TV (i.e. no full-size stacks) and speakers that don't confront the wife when she enters the living room! I want a system that gives good music for the money, and have 'researched' the following set-ups... - Denon S-81DAB (I'm not into lifestyle systems, but this does fit the bill other than lack of deep bass) - Denon S-102 (anyone know what this sounds like for music?) - NAD L54 CD / DVD Receiver - Onkyo 515DAB For the last 2 options, I was thinking of a 2.1 speaker system comprising Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 sats plus SW150 sub -these would be discrete enough for my wife and seem well regarded in What Hi-Fi, but I'm not sure how they would perform as a 2.1 setup ??? Regarding features I'd be happier with a really good CD only system than a lesser quality feature-rich one (the systems above are feature-rich only because they seem the only ones that fit the requirements for compact size!) Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks, hifiAngst

 

[Anonymous]

Hello there mate, i have a freind whose syestem is as follows, arcam 7se cd, arcam 8r amp, arcam 8 power amp and a pair of quad 11l speakers. These were all bought from e-bay for around 450 pounds wich i think is a rather good deal, if you want new then camberidge offer really good boxes these days but for your cash i would start bidding!

 

[Anonymous]

The syestem i just sugessted isnt exactly hideaway but for the cash its an eye sore worth haveing.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Jimm,

Thanks for the advice - I must admit I've been browsing eBay and also the ex-demo and s/h dealer listings, and it is very tempting to get more for my money this way (I remember selling my good gear for half price 10-15 years ago, when eBay wasn't heard of >sob

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm - my message seemed to have got chopped - anyway, I'm now also looking at a nifty s/h Linn Classik Music system.

Cheers, hfA