Newbie needs help.

[admin_exported]

Complete hi-fi novice - need a new system to go in a fairly small conservatory.

Only want an amp and speakers atm - already have an old yamaha cdx 490 cd player.

Speakers need to be fairly small foorprint- ( her indoors etc.... ) - awful I know - but have to go on window sills ! ( preferably walnut case !!)

Have to have some sort of Ipod/ MP3 connectivity

Only local dealer is richer sounds - and didn't really like or trust the way they pushed Cambridge products over everything else !

I primarily listen to classical / sinatra type stuff etc.. like a smooth nuetral sound if that makes sense ?

just need an opinion on the following :

Nad 326 / 355 BEE amp - Rotel RA04SE .......... paired with either Wharfdale Diamond 9.1 ( shape looks good to me ! )or Q Acoustics 2010 ???

Thanks !

 

[Anonymous]

How about Yamahas HS50M Powered Monitors?

Nice and neat, superb reference quality sound with 70 watt amplification built in.

Price about £119 each.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Welcome to the forums

Whats your overall budget?

IMO the likes of the Rotel RA04SE with the Monitor Audio RX1's (or the RS1's if youre happy with 2nd hand speakers) would be a superb option.

Dont get me wrong I love NAD but the C326BEE isnt best suited to your tastes in music but the NAD C355EE would be a better option (more power and a different soundstage).

Other speakers to consider would be the Dali Lektor 2's (again would work superb with the Rotel or the NAD C355BEE)

The Arcaydis DM1 speakers would be a worthy option too but these cant only be bought online and NOT demo'd but you do have a 30-day return policy

Do the speakers HAVE to go on the windowledge or could you possibly use dedicated stands?

 

[Anonymous]

The Rega Brio 3 and Wharefdale 9.1's sound very nice together and give a lovely smooth sound. You can see I'm a Rega fan

 

[Anonymous]

Budget is around the £450 mark ( give or take £50 ! ) - And any cable recommendation appreciated on top of that !

( maybe I could get her to accept some stands at a later date !)

 

[Anonymous]

b&w dm601 s1-can get them 2nd hand from ebay for about £100,
great bookshelf speakers-had em for years, chk the recent threads on
room acoustics and speaker placement-I'd say thats as important as the
kit your buying-in a conservatory with all that glass there can be quite
a bit of @@@-i dont know the word, /reverb/bounce/brightness/am not
sure-Im a newbie to this forum but its been very very useful.

am
quite partial to chord odessey 2 and 4 cable--again ebay has a few 2nd hand
offers.

one good thing about good condition 2nd hand kit is that
its already been broken in.

nad c370, b&w 601 s1 and 602 s3, monitor
audio 8i, marantz cd67 mkII se, chord odessey 2 and 4

good hunting

 

[Anonymous]

I've actually got a pair of 601's in another room carrying out front AV duties - too big for my purposes here.

- just read a rega 3 review - and would appear to be the type of thing I'm looking for - getting a demo could prove difficult though !

( can I attach an Ipod to a rega ? - can't tell on the info I've found - and what about pairing it to a tuner and cd at a later date ? )

 

[Anonymous]

For me, the Rega Brio 3 is a fantastic amp especially considering its price. It is a lively amp and I'm sure more powerful than the numbers would suggest. Some say its a bit bass light but I think its just very well controlled in the lower frequencies. I've listened to loads of stuff over the years and for my ears at least, this is a truly musical amp. It doesn't have balance, tone controls or a remote or headphone socket but I'm happy not to have these things when the sound quality is so good.

It doesn't have a dedicated ipod dock but I believe you can attach one via one of it's line inputs. it has CD, Tuner and Line 1 inputs as well as Tape in/Out and Phono (with built in phono stage) so unless you have lots of A/V kit you're wanting to plug into it, connectivity shouldn't be a problem.