chebby:Noteworthy audio?
They're not my main dealer (although I have bought some stuff from there), no Overture Hi-Fi.
They're not my main dealer (although I have bought some stuff from there), no Overture Hi-Fi.
Hughes123:
Andrew Everard:...And being on the Forums beats hurtling down a hill on a tea-tray anyday!
Pah to that! I built not an igloo, but a snow house! It must have been the best part of 10ft high and we managed to build two floors in it!
Here's mine
Andrew Everard:...And being on the Forums beats hurtling down a hill on a tea-tray anyday!
Pah to that! I built not an igloo, but a snow house! It must have been the best part of 10ft high and we managed to build two floors in it!
Here's mine
Um just check the language on the sign, Mr Hughes. Doesn't look like French to me.
But then, it's easy to get muddled when you have a home in every continent!
But then, it's easy to get muddled when you have a home in every continent!
Mr Tarquin
Now that this topic has your undivided attention...care to share your thoughts on the matter at hand?
Thanks in advance
PS: is that a picture from the Harbin ice festival?
Now that this topic has your undivided attention...care to share your thoughts on the matter at hand?
Thanks in advance
PS: is that a picture from the Harbin ice festival?
That's what I thought about the picture - certainly China, anyway.
I agree with Chebby. A friend of mine has the Denon hooked up to a pair of Q acoustic 1010 speakers, and, in her relatively small apartment, the sound is excellent.
I agree with Chebby. A friend of mine has the Denon hooked up to a pair of Q acoustic 1010 speakers, and, in her relatively small apartment, the sound is excellent.
So just to understand the recommendations for the mini-system:
It has an amp and cdp combined as opposed to a separate system which has each part discretely. But after browsing these forums I keep hearing great things about the NAD amp and B&W speakers. Whats the reason for not getting that kit with an ipod dock/external DAC over the mini-system.
I assume its because playing mp3s over such a system would just not justice to it?
It has an amp and cdp combined as opposed to a separate system which has each part discretely. But after browsing these forums I keep hearing great things about the NAD amp and B&W speakers. Whats the reason for not getting that kit with an ipod dock/external DAC over the mini-system.
I assume its because playing mp3s over such a system would just not justice to it?
Yes, that's correct, except that the minisystem such as the Denon has a DAB and FM/AM radio built in as well. In the Denon's case it also has a USB input so you can plug in a flash drive or MP3 player in directly.
MP3s aren't particularly good in terms of quality, though it does depend on which compression rate you choose when creating the files. Most mp3 downloads don't come in particularly high quality. Since you have few CDs, there wouldn't be much point in buying an expensive system unless you either change your mp3 format to something close to lossless or buy some CDs. The Denon has the advantage that it does play CDs, so if you want to you can test the difference. Also don't think you'll be shortchanged with something like the Denon, it can hold its own against many a budget system.
Separates, as in the NAD + B&W you like, are more flexible and easily upgradable. As you say, you can connect your ipod directly, but then you have the quality of the mp3 files as an issue plus that of how good the ipod is as a source. You can plug the ipod directly into the amplifier, by the way, using the appropriate cable.
If you choose separates, unless you buy a receiver (combined amp/tuner) then you'll need a tuner as well.
Your best shot now is to head down to a dealer and have a listen to minisystems and separates, and decide which you like best.
MP3s aren't particularly good in terms of quality, though it does depend on which compression rate you choose when creating the files. Most mp3 downloads don't come in particularly high quality. Since you have few CDs, there wouldn't be much point in buying an expensive system unless you either change your mp3 format to something close to lossless or buy some CDs. The Denon has the advantage that it does play CDs, so if you want to you can test the difference. Also don't think you'll be shortchanged with something like the Denon, it can hold its own against many a budget system.
Separates, as in the NAD + B&W you like, are more flexible and easily upgradable. As you say, you can connect your ipod directly, but then you have the quality of the mp3 files as an issue plus that of how good the ipod is as a source. You can plug the ipod directly into the amplifier, by the way, using the appropriate cable.
If you choose separates, unless you buy a receiver (combined amp/tuner) then you'll need a tuner as well.
Your best shot now is to head down to a dealer and have a listen to minisystems and separates, and decide which you like best.
Thanks for the rundown Tarquin. Now this mention of tuners.....its the first time I have heard them mentioned so far as a separate entity. Are they incorporated into most integrated amps? Does the Denon minisystem have one built in?
I am going to head over to a dealer today (hopefully before they shut) and am going to try and have a listen. Any good dealers in central london recommended? The closest to me is HiFi Confidential and their range of speakers seems slim plus I read somewhere here that their demo room is meh.
One more thing. Is there some limit to the power of speakers I can aim to drive with a minisystem?
Thanks
I am going to head over to a dealer today (hopefully before they shut) and am going to try and have a listen. Any good dealers in central london recommended? The closest to me is HiFi Confidential and their range of speakers seems slim plus I read somewhere here that their demo room is meh.
One more thing. Is there some limit to the power of speakers I can aim to drive with a minisystem?
Thanks
Sorry to butt in but looking over the posts so far I can only disagree with what has been said.
Judging by the fact you have no CDs and your entire music collection is MP3 based I guess you don't have the intention of suddenly garnering a wealth of CDs nor a CD player.
Given that you won't be getting the best possible output from MP3 (though a 320kbps file is most adequate to anyone but the perfectionist) I may hesitate to spend a grand on DAC / amp / speakers.
It's rather hard to test set ups involving DACs though I reckon if you bought a Beresford, a Rotel RA-04 and a pair of B&W 685s or something similar you will be pleasantly surprised.ÿ
Judging by the fact you have no CDs and your entire music collection is MP3 based I guess you don't have the intention of suddenly garnering a wealth of CDs nor a CD player.
Given that you won't be getting the best possible output from MP3 (though a 320kbps file is most adequate to anyone but the perfectionist) I may hesitate to spend a grand on DAC / amp / speakers.
It's rather hard to test set ups involving DACs though I reckon if you bought a Beresford, a Rotel RA-04 and a pair of B&W 685s or something similar you will be pleasantly surprised.ÿ
Minisystems tend to have tuners built in. Integrated amplifiers do not.
Yes, there is a limit to what speakers both minisystems and integrated amps can drive. The Denon puts out 30W, which is roughly what you'd expect from budget integrated amps, too.
Can't recommend dealers as I don't live in the UK.
Good luck with your listening!
Yes, there is a limit to what speakers both minisystems and integrated amps can drive. The Denon puts out 30W, which is roughly what you'd expect from budget integrated amps, too.
Can't recommend dealers as I don't live in the UK.
Good luck with your listening!
Do you have an xbox 360, or ps3? if so, connect the mp3 player to the ps3, connecting an av cable from the said consoles to the amp, buy a nice pair of speakers and voila! then it will sound good.
KayJay85:
Record Spot...
Of that I am now sure...any specifics you would care to share?
£1k budget? It depends on what you want really. You mentioned floorstanders earlier, so I'm assuming you have the room to accommodate them. That said, smaller rooms don't preclude them, I used a pair of Mission 733i's for a few years and they were fine in a very compact living room.
Are you planning to buy new or would you consider some used kit too? Ex-dem and end-of-lie or new old stock (NOS) are other ways to make you budget go a bit further.
I'd be inclined to sniff out a deal - I know you mentioned not having many CDs earlier (MP3 mostly?) is that right? Rather than blow £1000 and end up wishing you'd maybe not gone the whole hog, why not dip your toe in the water and see how it suits you? Superfi have a brilliant NAD/Q Acoustics system going for £370 and it's been there for the last couple of months. It's in this month's WHF again (see their ad near the back in the buying guide) and see if you can have a listen. I think it's a top deal for the money and the quality's good, albeit, the 1020i Q's are standmount only so that might negate the option for you. Richer Sounds do similar stuff, but I'm not convinced about some of their speaker matching at times.
On the other hand, NAD's new CD spinner looks like a winner, see also an end of line deal on the Marantz SA7001 KI which is a superb player. I'm sure others have mentioned the usual suspects at the £250-£500 price point too, so no point repeating those.
Amps: Audiolab 8000S at £270 or so in Superfi is an obvious candidate, upgrade potential to add power amps in the future, NAD's kit is worth a look, end of line Marantz PM7001 KI and Roksan's LIII should be available for good money too.
Speakers: Q Acoustics are a bit of a favourite of mine; see their 1030i and 1050i (the latter if you have the space) for great sound for little money. The latter won another mag's award for speaker of the year - it's a lot of box and a good one at that. I hear that the company themselves were formed by a former Mission guy, who just happened to be there when Mission were enjoying their mid-90s heyday. Looks like the tradition's continued elsewhere.
Subwoofer - only if you must, I've owned floorstanders and standmounts alike for years and if the kit's well matched, you've got enough bass on tap for most music. I think it's an offshoot of the home cinema set-up that's bled into 2-channel unnecessarily, but that's just my feeling and others rate them highly.
Cables: Don't skimp, but don't go mad. Chord are well rated here, I rather like Audioquest and would recommend their products if things are a bit too bright in your system, but not so much as you need to make a wholesale component change.
Hope that helps and enjoy the search - it's a good time to be buying given the current climate for retailers (I don't mean the snow either!) and it's fun!
EDIT: Used kit - some dealers offer as much as a one year warranty on good quality used gear. See the BADA Marketplace for a list of new/end of line/used/ex-dem kit. Other benefit which doesn't get mentioned too often is if you buy from a BADA dealer, and you move or your supplier goes bust, another BADA dealer will step in and honour the guarantee. It's part of their Code of Conduct and worth mentioning.
Used is definitiely worth considering. My Mission 752s were around the £600 mark, new, just over a decade ago; I got mine off Ebay just before Christmas for £75 and they're a class act. Ca' canny with Ebay though; no warranty (in that majority of cases) and one seller's "excellent" is another buyer's "rubbish". Caveat emptor and all that.
Right, time for a cuppa!
Record Spot...
Of that I am now sure...any specifics you would care to share?
£1k budget? It depends on what you want really. You mentioned floorstanders earlier, so I'm assuming you have the room to accommodate them. That said, smaller rooms don't preclude them, I used a pair of Mission 733i's for a few years and they were fine in a very compact living room.
Are you planning to buy new or would you consider some used kit too? Ex-dem and end-of-lie or new old stock (NOS) are other ways to make you budget go a bit further.
I'd be inclined to sniff out a deal - I know you mentioned not having many CDs earlier (MP3 mostly?) is that right? Rather than blow £1000 and end up wishing you'd maybe not gone the whole hog, why not dip your toe in the water and see how it suits you? Superfi have a brilliant NAD/Q Acoustics system going for £370 and it's been there for the last couple of months. It's in this month's WHF again (see their ad near the back in the buying guide) and see if you can have a listen. I think it's a top deal for the money and the quality's good, albeit, the 1020i Q's are standmount only so that might negate the option for you. Richer Sounds do similar stuff, but I'm not convinced about some of their speaker matching at times.
On the other hand, NAD's new CD spinner looks like a winner, see also an end of line deal on the Marantz SA7001 KI which is a superb player. I'm sure others have mentioned the usual suspects at the £250-£500 price point too, so no point repeating those.
Amps: Audiolab 8000S at £270 or so in Superfi is an obvious candidate, upgrade potential to add power amps in the future, NAD's kit is worth a look, end of line Marantz PM7001 KI and Roksan's LIII should be available for good money too.
Speakers: Q Acoustics are a bit of a favourite of mine; see their 1030i and 1050i (the latter if you have the space) for great sound for little money. The latter won another mag's award for speaker of the year - it's a lot of box and a good one at that. I hear that the company themselves were formed by a former Mission guy, who just happened to be there when Mission were enjoying their mid-90s heyday. Looks like the tradition's continued elsewhere.
Subwoofer - only if you must, I've owned floorstanders and standmounts alike for years and if the kit's well matched, you've got enough bass on tap for most music. I think it's an offshoot of the home cinema set-up that's bled into 2-channel unnecessarily, but that's just my feeling and others rate them highly.
Cables: Don't skimp, but don't go mad. Chord are well rated here, I rather like Audioquest and would recommend their products if things are a bit too bright in your system, but not so much as you need to make a wholesale component change.
Hope that helps and enjoy the search - it's a good time to be buying given the current climate for retailers (I don't mean the snow either!) and it's fun!
EDIT: Used kit - some dealers offer as much as a one year warranty on good quality used gear. See the BADA Marketplace for a list of new/end of line/used/ex-dem kit. Other benefit which doesn't get mentioned too often is if you buy from a BADA dealer, and you move or your supplier goes bust, another BADA dealer will step in and honour the guarantee. It's part of their Code of Conduct and worth mentioning.
Used is definitiely worth considering. My Mission 752s were around the £600 mark, new, just over a decade ago; I got mine off Ebay just before Christmas for £75 and they're a class act. Ca' canny with Ebay though; no warranty (in that majority of cases) and one seller's "excellent" is another buyer's "rubbish". Caveat emptor and all that.
Right, time for a cuppa!
Octopo, its no problem at all!
Trying to understand what you recommend though...seems you are saying get a DAC/amp/speakers but just dont go all out upto £1000? Am I understanding you correctly?
Trying to understand what you recommend though...seems you are saying get a DAC/amp/speakers but just dont go all out upto £1000? Am I understanding you correctly?
Newbie
I do have a 360 and could very well do that I guess but it begs the question I have been asking:
what amp and what speakers?
thanks though
I do have a 360 and could very well do that I guess but it begs the question I have been asking:
what amp and what speakers?
thanks though
Octopo:
Sorry to butt in but looking over the posts so far I can only disagree with what has been said.
Judging by the fact you have no CDs and your entire music collection is MP3 based I guess you don't have the intention of suddenly garnering a wealth of CDs nor a CD player.
Given that you won't be getting the best possible output from MP3 (though a 320kbps file is most adequate to anyone but the perfectionist) I may hesitate to spend a grand on DAC / amp / speakers.
It's rather hard to test set ups involving DACs though I reckon if you bought a Beresford, a Rotel RA-04 and a pair of B&W 685s or something similar you will be pleasantly surprised.
Why? Most posts, OK, not all, recognise the no cd/mp3 only factor. That's why the recommendations have been for kit, in the most part anyway, cognisant of this. Same goes for the quality of mp3 issue.
Also, am I wrong in thinking that if you choose the integrated amp solution, you don't need a DAC either? My ipod connects directly to the inputs of my NAD, it's not connected to my DAC. A DAC isn't going to help much anyway if the mp3s aren't of good quality.
Agreed about the Rotel RA-04, though. It's a fine amp.
Sorry to butt in but looking over the posts so far I can only disagree with what has been said.
Judging by the fact you have no CDs and your entire music collection is MP3 based I guess you don't have the intention of suddenly garnering a wealth of CDs nor a CD player.
Given that you won't be getting the best possible output from MP3 (though a 320kbps file is most adequate to anyone but the perfectionist) I may hesitate to spend a grand on DAC / amp / speakers.
It's rather hard to test set ups involving DACs though I reckon if you bought a Beresford, a Rotel RA-04 and a pair of B&W 685s or something similar you will be pleasantly surprised.
Why? Most posts, OK, not all, recognise the no cd/mp3 only factor. That's why the recommendations have been for kit, in the most part anyway, cognisant of this. Same goes for the quality of mp3 issue.
Also, am I wrong in thinking that if you choose the integrated amp solution, you don't need a DAC either? My ipod connects directly to the inputs of my NAD, it's not connected to my DAC. A DAC isn't going to help much anyway if the mp3s aren't of good quality.
Agreed about the Rotel RA-04, though. It's a fine amp.
To begin with don't even think of playing music through your 360. It is dreadful.
I take it you get your music from iTunes or some less well looked on download sites? The bitrate of the files has a lot to do with how serious you are about spending that amount of money for quality value. For instance if your MP3s are 128kbps (very low quality) I would urge you away from spending oodles of money on hifi though if your music is of a much higher bitrate and maybe you have the intention of moving into lossless files I would urge you to blow the lot.
I take it you get your music from iTunes or some less well looked on download sites? The bitrate of the files has a lot to do with how serious you are about spending that amount of money for quality value. For instance if your MP3s are 128kbps (very low quality) I would urge you away from spending oodles of money on hifi though if your music is of a much higher bitrate and maybe you have the intention of moving into lossless files I would urge you to blow the lot.
Huh? I wasn't attacking your opinion. That was mine.
ÿ
ÿAgreed though, the RA-04 is a good amp.ÿ
ÿ
ÿAgreed though, the RA-04 is a good amp.ÿ
Really? i think you might be off the mark on that as i don't think the inner working of the ps3 and xbox 360 aren't too much different and i know that playing mp3's through the ps3 results in a pleasing sound quality but obviously i can't say for absolutely certain because i have yet to hear the xbox 360 for myself.
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