new setup required.

[admin_exported]

hi,

I used to read the hifi mags a lot, but have lost touch over the years as many of us do. So my old system needs replacing, and I would appreciate some advice.I have a 15yr old Rotel Pre/Power amp, a Nakamichi DR3 Tape deck, and some floor standing KEF Carlton III's.Vinyl was played through a Technics 1210, a throwback from my DJin in the 80's & 90's.

what I would like is to spend approx £1000 on;

Amplifier, that must have a turntable input. (I guess some dont now?)

CD Player, would be handy if it could play MP3's? but not essential.

Speakers, these need to be bookshelf size, as thats where they will go.

Long gone are my batchelor days of "me" deciding where to put my hifi and large speakers!!!!.....I have now been relegated to the office (along with the cat!) by the family, so space is at a premium, I would love to play CDs and some old Vinyl now and then, the sperates or system would again be shelf mounted. I will keep my Nakamichi DR3 tape deck, as it was such a joy and pleasure to listen to it.

I have been looking at what is around and will pick up What HiFi in town today, I like the look of the Cambridge Azur 640C, and I see it mentioned here in other posts.

any ideas anyone?

Many thanks. The cat and I.....

 

[Clare Newsome]

Hi there,

Welcome back to the world of hi-fi, even if you have been annexed!

I would indeed recommend the Cambridge Azur 640C (£250), coupled with the Rotel RA-04 (£250) and the Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 speakers (£200). I'm pretty sure that (like most budget amps) the Rotel doesn't include a phono stage for your turntable, but no problem: simply add Cambridge Audio's tiny Azur 640P phono amp (£60) and you'll be sorted.

If you haven't got decent wires in your old system, don't forget to budget for new cables - say QED Silver Annivesary XT speaker cables (£5.50/m) and Chord Crimson interconnects (£38 for a metre pair).

Also, as you're planning to shelf-mount the components, i'd strongly suggest investing in some sort of isolating supports, as otherwise vibrations could seriously compromise what's a system with great potential. At the very least, some squidgy isolation feet (such as Brightstar's Isonodes - £15 for 4) would help.

Over to anyone else with suggestions?

 

[Andy Clough]

Hi there

If you want an amp with a phono stage for your turntable, then I'm afraid the Cambridge models are out as they don't have one. There are a couple of Marantz models that do - the PM4001 (£180) and PM7001 (£350) - but, like Clare, I'd plump for the Rotel RA-04 at £250, which sounds terrific for the money (if you want remote control, you'll have to go for the £350 Rotel RA-05). Both the RA-04 and RA-05 do have an MM phono stage, so you're sorted there.

Try partnering that with the Cambridge Audio 640C V2 CD player (£250) and Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 speakers (£200), as Clare suggests, or alternatively try the Epos M5 (£349) speakers if you can spend a bit more. And yes, you should definitely keep the Nakamichi tape deck!

 

[Razz]

Hello there.

As Clare suggested, I'd also go for the Cambridge Audio 640 CD player; but for the amp I'd go ebay and look for an Arcam A85 which is a gorgeous amplifier (was 750 pounds new) and offers a glimpse of the high-end audio... You can find it second hand at 350-400 pounds. Then I'd go for a new pair of Epos M5 at 350 - or even a reduced pair of the legendary Epos M12.2 (I've seen them at around 380 quid in some shops - see http://stores.ebay.co.uk/brotherhoodofsound). This way you could get a more sophisticated system, far above the 'budget' level... Don't worry about the Arcam A85 being second hand - buying second hand electronics is fairly safe. Also these amps are ALWAYS on the ebay - so you won't even have to wait a lot.

Well I am crazy about good amps so, whenever on a tight budget, I think the ebay route is the way to go 🙂

The Epos speakers are also amazing - they have been the pick of the crop in the audiophile world for more than a decade.

Give this a thought 🙂

Good luck!

Razz

 

[Andrew Everard]

...Or you could have a look at sites such as www.exdem.com or the marketplace on the British Audio Dealers' Association website, where you'll find a lot of used and secondhand equipment for sale.

A brief rummage turned up a Marantz PM-66 KI Signature (an amp with a great phono stage) here for just £199, and an Arcam Alpha 10 with optional phono stage fitted here for £299.

CD players? How about a Linn Mimik for £279 here, or a Rega Planet for just £275 here?

As far as speakers are concerned, the same kind of places will find you a very nice pair of Spendor SR5s for £320 here.

 

[Clare Newsome]

The Epos M12.2's are indeed excellent speakers - i'd just worry they'd bust both the budget and bookshelf space in question... Get that tape measure out! (Full dimensions of all components in the Buyer's Guide in the back of the mag).

 

[Razz]

Clare is right - the Epos M12.2 might be too big AND too expensive -
in which case perhaps the M5s could be a better alternative... I may be wrong but I still think they offer better sound than most budget options.

Special thanks to Andrew for putting together a mouth-watering second hand setup. Now I myself am tempted by these amazing offers 🙂

A great day to you all!

Razz

 

[Anonymous]

great stuff, thanks for all the help, I will now make a list of your suggested items and go shopping!

I will check out some S/H stuff as well.

nice advice for the cables and isolating feet for the shelf, that brought back old memories of advice in a 80's HIFI mag, that cleaning your 13amp plug "pins", on all your HIFI separate components with wire wool and duraglit may improve the sound quality, sounded silly, and I dare not tell anyone, but I did it anyway!!! and you know what, I could swear I heard a difference!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

thanks all.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have seen this on a website today:

CD Player
Cambridge Audio Azur 740C

Amplifier
Cambridge Audio Azur 740A

Kef Q1
Bookshelf Speakers

£999 the lot, does that seem ok?

thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes.

Or, if you'd prefer it in big type, YES

 

[Razz]

That's not a bad deal since they're offering the speakers for free. However those speakers are not good enough in that set-up - so you'll have to give them away anyway and upgrade to something better... If you could sell them you cood get 200-250 quid or something to which them you need to add like 200 quid for a decent pair of speakers to complement the electronics... So it's a good deal but not a life-saver if you know what I mean...

However you do get 2 very good separates, and a pair of speakers (which are not bad truth be told, just in a lower league) which at least you could use until you save some money for better speakers.

So, I'd say go for it what the heck! :-D

Razz

 

[Anonymous]

thats what I thought, sounded a good deal.

I may get that.

sorry for the BIG type, it was the copy and paste!

cheers