Old vs new

[admin_exported]

Hi first of all im new to hifi and what hifi so hi guys,

Im a student with a very limited budget, my dad gave me his old hifi hes had for 30+ years and has been in the loft, unfortunately the speaker cones had been eaten by moths/ degraded so bought a pair of mission mission mx1s last summer to replace them. Im currently running them though a NAD 3020A. Most music is played through my belkin blue tooth adapter or through my phone via an aux to phono cable. I occasionaly play CDs through a NAD t550 dvd/cd player i got for about £20 on ebay just so i could play CDs.

Although happy with the system sounds i dont think it sounded as good as i remember when i tested he speakers out in my local shop although dont know if this is due to becoming used to the speakers and losing the WOW factor or genuinely inferior sound quality. Bearing in mind i can currently afford upto £150 now and £300 by mid summer would a new budget amp in this price range be any better than what i believe to have been quite a high end machine? Also will getting it properly cleaned improve performance? it currently cracles a lot if you change the volume through the amp and not my mac.

All advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

The NAD 3020 was a great amp in its time but they're old now and they do degrade over time

If I were you I'd stick with NAD and look for a NAD C320BEE on eBay. One of the best budget amps ever made IMO and still holds its own

 

[Rob998]

The 3020 was never high-end, but in its day it was a really decent bit of entry level kit, and performed well above its payscale.

However at 30 odd years old it might need a bit of TLC, for instance the volume pot (the gubbins behind the bit you twist) might be contaminated and/or worn, causing the crackling. You can buy some stuff called de-oxit to spray into it (other contact cleaners are available) and this would be my first port of call (cos it's the cheapest option).

However things have moved on a bit in the last 3 decades (but not as much as you'd expect, compared to the digital revolution) & if I had £300 to blow on a new amp I'd be looking at a Marantz PM6004, which is excellent.

 

[the record spot]

Onkyo TX8050 - you can use its onboard DAC to handle the DVD player, three other digital inputs, it'll offer you network connectivity, Spotify functionality, DLNA so you can stream off your laptop or phone if it's compatible, multiple inputs, front-mounted USB input in for external hard drives or iPhones/iPods100wpc, and it sounds excellent. Partner it well - but this applies to any hifi really - and it'll do you for a good while to come. Versatile amp but not just a feature demon, it's got the performance to boot too.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for the comments,

as ive already mentioned my budget is particulary tight so getting 'the biggest bang for my buck' is pretty important. In peoples opinion would i gain more from

1. buying the marantz (or another £300 amp/reciever)

2. selling my missions and buying better speakers in the £400 range (£300 + whatever i can get for them)

3. selling everything and with about £500 buying a whole new system

Forgot to mention i listen to a wide range of music, oftently a lot of rock/alternative, classical and dance

 

[Anonymous]

Keep the Missions; good little speakers!

Get yourself a decent amp; go 2nd hand for more 'bang for buck' so keep your eyes peeled on eBay & the likes

 

[the record spot]

Yes, hang on to the Missions and wait till the Summer. Use the £300 (or £250 of it) for something like the Onkyo, or go secondhand if you feel happy going that way.

 

[lindsayt]

With your old speakers, is it the bass cone surround that has disintegrated? For £10 to £20 you can get bass foam repair kits that could restore the speakers to working condition. Look for videos on youtube on how to DIY this.

If you buy 2nd hand you can buy a much better amp and speaker combination than your NAD / Missions for your £300 budget.

 

[MajorFubar]

Simple things like the amp's crackly volume-pot can be cured easily by taking the lid off and spraying it with such as Servisol Switch Cleaner, which you can buy from Maplins. In fact do the same with the line inputs at the back, which IIRC face upwards on an original 3020, making them a dust-trap. Both of these things will improve the sound noticeably. Don't use WD40: many people who advocate using it on electrical equipment don't seem to realise that the film it leaves behind is an insulator.

Turn any adjustable volume controls on your source equipment to 100%, to maximize their potential SQ. Some may argue with digital volume controls it makes no odds, but I see no benefit from adding another potential variable.

What are you using as speaker supports? If you bought the speakers from a HiFi dealer I imagine you heard them demo'd on good stands. It's amazing what a huge difference that makes to their sound.

 

[Anonymous]

i accidently made 2 posts so thought id post what i put on the other one,

i suppose what i meant by WOW was how encompassing the sound felt, for classical music all the layers built upon each other but were still clearly audible. For dance music yes there was a heavy bass but not overpowering. Being a student and living mostly in one room, im almost always listening to music (classical when working, rock/alternative e.g feeder, florence + the machine when chilling and dance when going out) so easy listening would be essential, so i would assume less 'clincal' and a slighter 'warmer textured sound', a massive bass is less important, but still reasonably important for parties/predrinks.

My other though is how much of a difference a DAC would make. All of my music is through my laptop/ipad/phone either directly plugged in or through a belkin bluetooth connector.