Pls. help !!! (need your advice how to choose the right hi-fi)

[admin_exported]

Hello,

I am not really experienced (as you find out from my text below ) and I would be glad if somebody could help me - After 1 month of searching for Best Buy option I dont know what to buy I have moved into new flat, I have just LCD TV and Playstation 3 and I need something to listen a music. My budget is approx. 2000£. I would like to:

1) listen stereo music from CDs in a good quality - important requirement - thats why I started to look for something

2) I would like to listen a radio (originally I was thinking about amp+cd+tuner from Marantz 6002 or NAD3xx (both I had a chance to listen to) or PioneerA/D6 and some relevant speakers)

... BUT:

3) I have lot of good MP3 music I want to listen to as well, its 120GB which means I need to store it somewhere and play it somehow

4) I would like to listen Internet radio too

5) I´d like to „turn it on and listen“ (without switching on PS3 - dont really like PS3 as a source)

6) it would be good if I could connect my TV/Playstation too - for better sound of the TV (the Samsung LCD TV original sound is really bad)

7) ideally if I play PS3 than It would be good to have an option to listen a CD/radio in parallel

8) DivX/DVD movies I watch just sometimes - I am not really sure if I need 5.1 home theatre system -> (and if than 2.1 systems I like more)

Could you suggest what would you decide for in my situation ?

Whats the best buy combination to fulfil all my requirements and to get for my approx. 2000£ as much as possible ? (Amp+CD+tuner and some extra home theatre system/internet radio ? Or some AV receiver + some CD player/MP3 source/extra intenet radio ? Or some all-in-one solution ? (if such exists ?))

Thank you very much for your tips.…

j.

 

[plastic penguin]

It seems like your looking for a JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES type solution.

Most modern-day integrated amps have inputs for MP3's and/or IPods. What you'll need is an amp with lots of inputs, like Marantz, the Rotel is good for inputs also. The Arcam, also, has a shed load of phono inputs. It really depends what sort of sound you like - and, of course, your budget.

If you like a fairly neutral to warm sound go with Arcam. If you like an amp that really punches then the Rotel would be ideal. Otherwise, for all-round ability, the Marantz would fit the bill. But contact a local dealer like Sevenoaks or Richer Sounds and run it past them.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

I'd highly recommend dropping into your local hi-fi shop and having a chat. I'm quite new to this hi-fi lark, and I've found the forums are brilliant for advice if you have a very specific question, but if you're just exploring options then your hi-fi shop will be able to show you some of the setups you're considering. Most importantly, they'll also let you have a listen, so you can get an idea of the sort of sound quality you should expect. Then you can compare an AV receivier with a straight stereo setup for yourself.

For what it's worth, I'd probably suggest a high-quality AV receiver, coupled with a Squeezebox or similar. A colleague at work uses this sort of setup and loves it to bits. Partly for the convenience of just having two devices to control, and partly because that way he can put all his money into a really top-notch receiver (and connect the digital out from his Squeezebox into the receiver to use its DAC, which is easily audibly superior to the DAC on the Squeezebox) which really does sound very good. The Squeezebox will then handle all your MP3s (my colleague has ripped all his CDs to a lossless format, so he doesn't need a CD player either) and the receiver handles everything else.

But that's just a thought - go and use your ears and make up your own mind!