Should I invest in a hi-fi system?

[Anonymous]

Nicely starred out Tarquinh... old son.

 

[the record spot]

Tarquinh:
RS,

I haven't laughed so much in a long time, almost made me forget the ongoing flu. s

Always a pleasure, never a chore.

I'm still shaking off an infection that started at the end of November (well, there's been a few thanks to my kids passing them on to me at various times...) - were it not for our own little credit crunch, I'd be out getting some new kit myself I think...!

 

[KayJay85]

Bah I was unable to make it to the store in time yesterday so I guess I will just stalk the forums for another week before I get time to make it over to SuperFi/HiFi Confidential

 

[KayJay85]

With the benefit of an uninterrupted sunday I have been giving this alot more thought and am seriously considering investing in a 2.1 AV system rather than a pure hifi system. Thought being that by doing so I can improve what I get out of my skimpy mp3 files while also getting the most out of my HDTV and 360.

Recommendations on AV receivers that have a musical bend to them? Or shall I turn my attention to the home theatre section of these forums?

PS: my roommates are incedibly amused by how much time I am spending researching this purchase

 

[Anonymous]

Should you invest?

Only if you listen to perfectly recorded hi-fi test discs of little or no musical value

 

[Anonymous]

1k GBP budget and most of your tunes on mp3? Has no-one mentioned AVI ADM9's yet? I guarantee will beat most of the low/mid end systems recommended hands down.

I must sound like a tired record on here, so excuse me, but I recently moved abroad and sold my c. 6k GBP system (Cyrus DAC and transport, Bel Canto amplification, Dynaudio speakers and a lot of cable) and bought the AVI ADM9s. They're basically an active bookshelf speaker with built in DAC and pre-amp. You can connect input either optical or analgoue and they do the rest. Give them an audition

 

[Alec]

Just my tuppence but while i would say its worth getting a better system ive noticed farmore improvement with lossless files than mp3s when using a dac, so id suggest it isnt really urgent. you would, imo, see quite an improvement with a decent amp and speakers, certainly if you spend 1k just on those. you may have to take a trade off in that some mp3s may sound worse depending on their quality, but this shouldnt be the case most of the time, so using mp3s doesnt preclude you using better kit.

 

[KayJay85]

Yeah after seeing all the input I think I have reached a decision to invest in an A/V receiver and use it with 2.1 speakers for the time being. By doing so I hope to get something better out of my mp3s and can also use the kit to bring out the best in my HDTV, Sky HD and 360.

Any suggestions on a receiver which can do stereo sound well?

I keep hearing good things about the Onkyo TX-SR606 but get the impression its suited more towards movies. Am I looking for a Yamaha (which is apparently impossible to get my hands on)?

 

[up the music]

You're thinking of an AV receiver for 2.1.

Unless you're planning on going for surround speakers soon I'd say use a conventional stereo amp (maybe with a DAC). If your HDTV has enough inputs use that for switching picture signals.

Using an AV amp you'll be paying for extra amplification and for surround processing capability you won't use. Also bear in mind that depreciation on AV amps is steep as they quickly get replaced by new models.

You can still use a sub with a stereo amp if you so choose.

 

[KayJay85]

Up

Thanks for that...when you say check how many inputs my TV has...can you explain further what you mean? I have my 360 and sky plugged into the TV (iirc)

 

[up the music]

Basically does your TV have enough video inputs (HDMI, Scart, SVHS, Component, Composite or UHF Aerial) to be able to plug in all your components (Sky, DVD, PS3, VCR etc) directly?

This would allow you to use the TV remote to choose what to watch (probably like you do at present). The audio signals from these components can then be fed to a stereo amp and use that to select what to listen to.

Switching picture and audio seperately through the TV and amp is a little less elegant than switching both with 1 button on an AV amp perhaps but is no big problem.

 

[Anonymous]

I would stick to a stereo amp, with a DAC for digital inputs. Your XBox, Sky receiver (assuming it has digital out) and music files can be hooked to the dac's inputs then onto the amp and anything analogue (ie your tv's stereo outs, sky if it's analogue) can be connected to the line ins.

AV amps dont cut it for me when it comes to music. Ive seen a few people claim they get good results with messing around with power supplies etc, but I think at the end of the day you 'cant polish a turd' so to speak

 

[KayJay85]

This gets curiouser and curiouser!

Did you folks have the same indecision when buying your first kits?

Now I am leaning back towards a stereo amp/DAC/speakers.

Its also so much worse for me since I can only get to dealers on saturday as work only lets me off after shops close but at least it will pay for a nice system

 

[the record spot]

KayJay85:

Did you folks have the same indecision when buying your first kits?

Nope, always been an LP man; then radio. No CD players when I was a lad anyway!!

 

[idc]

KayJay85:

Did you folks have the same indecision when buying your first kits?

You'll find many of the contributers this forum have gone through numerous combinations, upgrades in the search for a sound that they are happy with. But there will always be the 'what if I try' question hanging about. That indecision will never really go away, it just fades if you get a setup you are happy with. Format changes often force your hand when deciding to upgrade.

I pondered and researched for about a year before I took the leap of changing from a CD, cassette based system to an all ipod set up.

 

[KayJay85]

So if I were to choose a stereo amp and 2.0 or 2.1 speakers and also feed my TV/360 sound into them, would recommendations still be for the Denon/Onkyo minisystem? Can those power speakers big enough to support a small house party (be that floorstanders or standmounts)? Or am I better off with another kind of system?

 

[KayJay85]

Separates I am considering:

Amps: NADC325BEE, Marantz PM 6002, CA Azur 340A SE, Rotel RA04

Speakers: Dali Lektor 1, B&W 685 (can these standmounts pump tunes out for a small house party if called upon?)

Would connect with DACmagic/Beresford (though I DO have a soundblaster xfi external card for my laptop which I might start with and then upgrade to a DAC once I get some more lossless music)

Thoughts?