New Room - System Recommendations Please

[sae2003us]

Hi all,

We're building a new room to the back of the house and would like to get some ideas/recommendations from the WhatHiFi community.

The room's dimensions will be approx 8m x 5m.

The budget isn't too great, I'd say max is around the £2k mark +/- a few hundred.

At this stage, I've been considering B&W 684s as I do really like the look of them however feel they won't fill the room well enough, so am also considered the B&W 683s.

So what are your thoughts and suggestions for speakers that would (a)- give me good quality, detailed sound and (b)- look interesting/tidy as well as an amplifier/Network streamer/CD player to match??

The music will be sourced from CD's and FLAC files mainly. Internet radio would be a plus.

I know thats very open but please shoot any ideas you all have.

Cheers,

T.

 

[toyota man]

Hi what sort of music . system 1 roksan caspian m2 amp + m2 cdp + kef r700

system 2 roksan kandy amp + cdp + kef r700

system 3 musical fidelity m6i or m3i + kef r700or r900 + roksan caspian cdp I woul have bought r700 if they had not been to big for my room 3 x4 mters + atc scm 40s sounded better in my room as they are not ported I am sure there are more systems which others will recomend good luck if the r700 are a bit rich for you££ the r500 are also realy great speakers

 

[sae2003us]

Ok I'll look into that - although from initial googling just the speakers would touch the 2k budget

Music listened to varies a lot, so from house, latin, jazz, rock, techno, rock.

 

[relocated]

Buy some AVI ADM 9RS which are about £1250 delivered. Active speakers that include DAC, pre and power amps, remote control and necessary power leads and interconnects.

Presumably you have a router so add an ATV [£99max] and a pair of stands[max £90] and you have a system that will demolish most everything else that will be recommended as an alternative.

Then you have over £500 to spend on what you like in tunes or some little frivolity.

Good luck.

:cheers:

 

[jjbomber]

Naim Uniti Lite with B&W 683s. Ticks all the boxes.

I have a Uniti, so I am totally biased, but that is the way on here. People with Roksan will recommend them, people with AVI go for them etc. You will have to listen to these yourself and make your own mind up. There is no right and wrong solutions; the answer is different for all of us. Happy shopping!

 

[sae2003us]

Wow - that Naim Uniti Lite looks awesome, seriously everything I need + with a name like Naim I'd presume I'd be getting decent amplification.

However the price, I'd be going over 700 or so pounds (seeing Naim for 1700 + 1000 for speakers).

Is the Naim really worth it? Any other experiences to share with 683s?

Any other cheaper ideas ?

How do seperates compare e.g. Marantz 7004 set (amp, cd player, network player)?

Also come across the Arcam Solo Neo?

A lot of questions!

 

[jjbomber]

Those are RRPs. No need to pay them. Shop around and you'll find someone in the £2,300 area.

Naim worth it? Absolutely the best valus for money product in the World today. I may have exaggerated a bit!!!

B&Ws I went with your choice, as it's your system and your ears they have to please.

Cheaper ideas? Yes. Better value for money? No.

Seperates on sound per pound? Time you purchase all the seperates and decent cables, I doubt it very much. You asked about matching looks wise. Nothing will ever match one box for matching looks.

Arcam Solo Neo. Light in the bottom end but horses for courses. Well worth a look (as they do look beautiful).

A lot of answers. :clap:

 

[richardw42]

Buy some AVI ADM 9RS which are about £1250 delivered. Active speakers that include DAC, pre and power amps, remote control and necessary power leads and interconnects.

Presumably you have a router so add an ATV [£99max] and a pair of stands[max £90] and you have a system that will demolish most everything else that will be recommended as an alternative.

Then you have over £500 to spend on what you like in tunes or some little frivolity.

Good luck.

:cheers:

+1 all the way.

I had Roksan before AVI, and the AVI way is miles ahead.

The ADM 9RS are £1250, or spoil yourself and go with the Scanspeak tweeter option for just £1399.

 

[sae2003us]

Hi,

Thanks for all the info so far.

I'm think I'm going towards either all in one route with Naim being at the top of the list at the moment. The AVI's look good however i'll need something like an Apple TV fr internet radio etc. and prefer the general useability of a all in one such as the Naim.

My question now is, I've seen the Naim Uniti and there's a Uniti 2 the key difference for my useage between the 2 appears to be one has 50w amplification and the newer one 70w. In terms of driving B&W 683s (or similar) what difference would this make to the sound quality and ability to drive the speakers at higher volumes with minimal distortion and ease.

On top of all that if anyone has other suggestions for a strong all in one please let me know

(the other one Ive seen is the Arcam however can't get it in black )

Cheers.

 

[richardw42]

That's a really big space. Can't help but feel the Naim might not be the answer. If pushed I'd def go for the 70w.

 

[sae2003us]

Hi,

An update on this:

At the end of all this I'm deciding to go for the Yamaha RXV673 av reciever

The only all-in-one that I'd really be happy with was the Naim Uniti 2 however I simply cannot afford it.

I went to a local audio retailer and I demoed the B&W 684 with a Marantz MCR603, Roksan amp and finally when i told the seller all this is going next to the TV he pulled at this amp. The Marantz was fine at low vols but when you put the volume up the bass is muddled, the Roksan is very good however no USB then the Yamaha didn't sound bad at all. With the high per channel output as well the speakers were driven well. Furthermore, the reciever does all the FLAC playing i want + a few other nice pieces like net radio.

So i'll use that amp as a 2 channel setup then buy a respectable BluRay(as its all next to the TV)/CD/SACD player later on.

Hopefully sounds ok when i purchase it all - biggest thing i learnt through all this is you really have to demo. Only way!