Starter for £400 ish

[admin_exported]

Hi.

Complete novice looking for some advice on an amp and floorstander combination for new flat. It will be used for both music and home cinema.

Flatmate and I are both ignorant to world of hifi, but have spent a few hours on the site and now have two ideas within budget and have started arguing:

1) Cambridge Audio Azur 340a SE + Wharfedale Diamond 10.3

vs

2) Marantz PM6003 + Tannoy Mercury F3 Custom

Any thoughts would be much appreciated...

 

[Anonymous]

For your budget, if you're looking for floorstanders, I'd give serious consideration to buying used. You'd get say an Arcam A65+ for around 60 quid, great wee amp. You could probably get some Monitor Audio RS6 for around £350.00 or better (outgoing model, might be some unused ones around). You could then get a power amp to buff things up a bit down the line. The A75 is a little more expensive, but tends to get a bad write-up compared to the A65+.

It's just a suggestion, but you really would be a big step up in quality.

Cheers,

Shuggie

 

[chebby]

Denon D-M38DAB for £330 but at most dealers you can buy different speaker packages than the supplied Denon ones.

£399 here (for example) gets you the D-M38DAB system with Monitor Audio BX2 speakers! (No shortage of bass despite being standmounts.)

You can plug an iPod straight into the Denon with the standard iPod lead and it will bypass the iPod's built in DAC and use the one built into the system instead. (It will charge too.)

Better and neater than a seperate dock.

 

[plastic penguin]

CoachR:

Hi.

Complete novice looking for some advice on an amp and floorstander combination for new flat. It will be used for both music and home cinema.

Flatmate and I are both ignorant to world of hifi, but have spent a few hours on the site and now have two ideas within budget and have started arguing:

1) Cambridge Audio Azur 340a SE + Wharfedale Diamond 10.3

vs

2) Marantz PM6003 + Tannoy Mercury F3 Custom

Any thoughts would be much appreciated...

Yup, the Arcam A65+ is fabulous little amplifier for the money, partnered with MA RS5s and your home and dry. Believe me, synergy-wise, there's little to touch the combo.

 

[Anonymous]

hmm , id give this a bit of thought , movies sound so much better with a centre speaker , and obviously rears and a sub , but , coming from someone that started off with just an av receiver and a pair of floorstanders , you will soon want a centre speaker for movies ..

why not get a 2nd hand av receiver with pre-outs ? and a pair of floorstanders ? ok stereo music wont be as good as with a stereo amp like the arcam , but you can add such a cheap amp in time , connected to the pre-outs on the av receiver , then you have also got the option of adding a centre , rears and sub as money allows ..

of course you can get the stereo amp first , and an av receiver later , but i think the compromise with the stereo sound from the avr , as opposed to an integrated , , will be worth it in the short term if you have a centre for movies , depends what you do most i guess , listen to music or watch movies ??

 

[plastic penguin]

maxflinn:

hmm , id give this a bit of thought , movies sound so much better with a centre speaker , and obviously rears and a sub , but , coming from someone that started off with just an av receiver and a pair of floorstanders , you will soon want a centre speaker for movies ..

why not get a 2nd hand av receiver with pre-outs ? and a pair of floorstanders ? ok stereo music wont be as good as with a stereo amp like the arcam , but you can add such a cheap amp in time , connected to the pre-outs on the av receiver , then you have also got the option of adding a centre , rears and sub as money allows ..

of course you can get the stereo amp first , and an av receiver later , but i think the compromise with the stereo sound from the avr , as opposed to an integrated , , will be worth it in the short term if you have a centre for movies , depends what you do most i guess , listen to music or watch movies ??

Mmm, as you said it's coming from a AV owner. Indeed your right for films and tv, but as the OP is looking for a set-up with a limited budget, Arcam + MAs are the ideal compromise. My A65 and RS6s really blew my mind (true, there isn't much of it...

) for the cash.

 

[Anonymous]

ah pp , if i could only find a bookmaker who knows you , or reads this forum , id have a nice little wager that you will end up with a pair of floorstanders next , maybe even rx6s

 

[plastic penguin]

maxflinn:ah pp , if i could only find a bookmaker who knows you , or reads this forum , id have a nice little wager that you will end up with a pair of floorstanders next , maybe even rx6s

An each way bet would be good...

Nah, the OH fell in love the DB1s last year, and the topology topography* of my living isn't great for floostanders. I knew when I bought them there would be a compromise - just passing on some wisdom, and although the A65 is slightly languid in its presentation, marry it MAs lively traits and it's the perfect combo...for the money!

*Like to state I'm not that stupid. Well, yes I am stupid - see I'm a fibber too. Rush, rush, rush it never helped anyone.