Power / Volume on a budget

[cayorob]

Guys,

A good friend of mine has asked for some advice about a new amp and speakers to replace his old Technics all in one. His budget is £250-£300 and is happy to go second hand.

Not really into finesse, he'd rather his system has plenty of power, Dance / Rock for parties etc... he'll only be using Apple TV / Airport / Playstation 3 as sources.

Any ideas on what to begin a search for?

Cheers

 

[d_a_n1979]

Hmmm

For that budget tell him to have a good nosey on eBay for the likes of the Acoustic Energy AE109 or even the AE120 speakers

As for amps have a look at the likes of the Arcam Alpha 8 and even possibly with the matching 8P power amp

Other amps to look at would be the NAD C320BEE or even the ROTEL RA-930AX

 

[basshead]

for 2nd hand - a NAD amp with b&w speakers, 601 s2/s3 or even better 602 s2/s3. plenty of power and punch for parties ect

 

[d_a_n1979]

Deffo agree with the above comments but unfortunately the B&W's have gone up in price again on the 2nd hand market that's why I didnt mention them. The budget would be blown just for the speakers!

The AE109's are damn good speakers and have hell of a lot of clout so with a good enough amp they'd do very well indeed

 

[Big Chris]

d_a_n1979:Deffo agree with the above comments but unfortunately the B&W's have gone up in price again on the 2nd hand market that's why I didnt mention them. The budget would be blown just for the speakers! The AE109's are damn good speakers and have hell of a lot of clout so with a good enough amp they'd do very well indeed

I noticed that too. People are selling 602 S3s for upwards of the £300 they cost when new! Maybe I should stick mine on and see if I can make a profit after 8 years of use!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Hmmm maybe a bit narrow minded then but they are still fetching close to £200 if not more currently.

The B&W 602 S2's and the 603 S3's seem to keep their value well.

 

[Anonymous]

If you want to party very loud with an iPod you should investigate these.

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B2031A.aspx

More than 100w per channel, active crossovers, 8" woofers, should allow for some serious volume at parties.

I only have the relatively tiny MS40s and they do a good job for the kids parties in my garage.

 

[ESP2009]

A second-hand Pioneer A400 amp at approx £100-£120 would be good - plenty of power and enthusiasm for lively music.

 

[cayorob]

Thanks very much guys, plenty of ideas to get him searching

 

[the record spot]

Power and volume for £300? Get looking out some speakers with a high sensitivity, these won't need much of a boot from the amp to get them rocking. Check out the Sansui AU-317 mk2 currently on Ebay for £90 postage included (good seller, the amp will be good) pair it up with a set of Q Acoustics 1050i floorstanders (Hi Fi World product of the year in 2008, great big fun sound, but more than capable boxes that'll withstand many an amp upgrade) - that'll get him rocking, no danger.

Job done, and in under his £300 budget. Check the web for the deals on the 1050i, it's been superceded by the newer 2050, so you ought to find a pair for around £200.

 

[davemartin01]

basshead:for 2nd hand - a NAD amp with b&w speakers, 601 s2/s3 or even better 602 s2/s3. plenty of power and punch for parties ect

Any idea if a pair of dm602 s3 with one driver that is faulty is worth anything? Or is it a skip job?

 

[d_a_n1979]

davemartin01:
basshead:for 2nd hand - a NAD amp with b&w speakers, 601 s2/s3 or even better 602 s2/s3. plenty of power and punch for parties ect

Any idea if a pair of dm602 s3 with one driver that is faulty is worth anything? Or is it a skip job?

Contact B&W; I'm sure they'll be able to get them repaired.

Not worth chucking them as they're still good speakers

 

[the record spot]

£50 the lot. Total bargain.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HI-FI-JVC-SANSUI-PIONEER-MISSION-/140405757088?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_CompleteHifiSystems&hash=
item20b0d5d4a0#ht_711wt_1165