Newbie sub £60 System - Views and Advice Please

[benham3160]

Hi all,

I'm trying to build a starter hifi system, so far having spent less than £60 (admitedly the speakers were gifted to me) I have aquired, I love the thrill of buying second hand "bargains", and taking better quality older stuff over shiny new crap stuff!

Dual 505 mk2 Turntable

Marantz CD56 CD player

Kenwood KX5030 cassestte deck

Accoustic Solutions SP100 amp

Tannoy 603's with stands.

Now I'm guessing (having read some cursory reviews) that the amp is the weakest part here, and I think it has a problem with it's phono stage, and it's quite noisy... I only cost £5 so I'm happy to throw it away, however I need advice on what to replace it with, I'm more than willing to buy second hand or wait for something to show up on eBay but any suggestions around the £40-60 second hand, or £150ish new are very welcome!

I listen to music at "normal" volumes, and am after improvement over true audiophile quality (as suggested by my budget kit!) but I do enjoy music and want to get the best out of what I can afford.

So suggestions, comments or critcism valued and welcomed, I'm very new to all of this! At present I have absolutely no brand devotion or pre-formed ideas, so I'm an ideal "blank canvas" for suggestions lol

Regards,

Andy

 

[matthewpiano]

There are all sorts of possibilities here but I would suggest focusing the search on Denon and Rotel amps from the 1990s. The Rotel RA930AX or similar would be a great buy and their strong build make them reliable too. Some of the better Sony models from the 90s are excellent too.

If you fancy something a bit older but superb sounding look for a Sansui AU217. Great amp, very musical and an excellent phono stage too.

Well worth taking a look at Steve's Hi-Fi for properly checked out used kit. A google search will bring the website up. I've bought from him before and can highly recommend him.

 

[Anonymous]

yes a sansui 217 its a very good amp and on the bay can be picked up for a good price

 

[benham3160]

Many thanks guys, I've managed to salvage the A.S. amp, not sure whether to keep it or go with one of the suggestions above? I guess my system is a bit crap anyway, so not sure whether I *need* to upgrade the amp at present.

Also, with regard to tuners my father swears by using the audio out from a Freeview box over DAB or mediocre FM, does this sound correct or would you recomend a traditional FM tuner, or a DAB tuner instead.

Also, any suggestions for cabling?

Regards,

Andy

 

[matthewpiano]

Your system isn't rubbish and those Tannoys are good speakers. They'll certainly benefit from a better amplifier.