System upgrade

[admin_exported]

Hi, be gentle with me as it's my first post.

My current set up is absolutely donkeys years old. My trusty old Wharfdale Glendale XP2s (30 years old) have died.

My old CD player is a Trio (before they became Kenwood) and although it works, it is 25 years old.

My amplifier is a relatively 'new' Arcam Alpha 5 Plus. which if my memory serves me correctly is about 40w per channel.

My plan is to retain my Arcam amp and add some new speakers - first choice Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders, according to the reviews I'll need to spend £700 plus to better them.

Second off is to ditch the CD player and replace it with a Panasonic DMP-BDT210 Blu ray. (my DVD is yonks old too)

I suspect that the true audiophiles won't like the idea of playing CDs via the blue ray and I'm not sure either, but funds aren't unlimited and if I can kill two birds etc...

My listening/watching nowadays is largely concert/music DVDs the odd CD, and MP3 music from the laptop via cable to an aux input on the amp. Given my relatively modest requirements am I on the right track?

Paul.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi, be gentle with me as it's my first post.

My current set up is absolutely donkeys years old. My trusty old Wharfdale Glendale XP2s (30 years old) have died.

My old CD player is a Trio (before they became Kenwood) and although it works, it is 25 years old.

My amplifier is a relatively 'new' Arcam Alpha 5 Plus. which if my memory serves me correctly is about 40w per channel.

My plan is to retain my Arcam amp and add some new speakers - first choice Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders, according to the reviews I'll need to spend £700 plus to better them.

Second off is to ditch the CD player and replace it with a Panasonic DMP-BDT210 Blu ray. (my DVD is yonks old too)

I suspect that the true audiophiles won't like the idea of playing CDs via the blue ray and I'm not sure either, but funds aren't unlimited and if I can kill two birds etc...

My listening/watching nowadays is largely concert/music DVDs the odd CD, and MP3 music from the laptop via cable to an aux input on the amp. Given my relatively modest requirements am I on the right track?

Paul.

Hello and welcome

Those Glendales were good speakers in their day. I used to own Linton XP2 and E20s. Anyway, enough about memory lane...

Firstly, the Arcam Alpha 5 was a pretty good amp in its day but I think the Tannoys won't be heard at their best. Looking at CDPs I'd be looking at Arcam Alpha range or DIVA CD73T,

One of the other forumites used to have the Alpha 5 and changed it to Arcam A65, the same amp I owned for 7 years. They can be picked up for about £100 on auction sites, and will certainly give you a decent lift in sound quality.

If you go Arcam route look at Monitor Audio speakers. There are quite a few MA naysayers on here, but from personal experience Arcam and MA are a dream combo (had Arcam amps for 14 years before changing to Leema and MA RS6 speakers for 41/2 years).

Secondly, as regards Bluray instead of a dedicated CDP is a tricky one: Some on here say the Cambridge 651BD (I think) will outperform a budget Arcam CDP for music playback. On the flipside when I spoke to Sevenoaks Sound and Vision they reckon a £1,000 Bluray is a minimum to match budget CDP.

In respect of Bluray playback you'll need to visit a decent outlet like Richer Sounds and compare a CDP with a Bluray and then decide for yourself.

Good luck, pp

 

[tino]

If you intend to keep your amp, you might be better of with a DAC, something like the upcoming DacMagic Plus, to use with your Blue Ray player. This will also help you get the most out of your PC also since you can dispense with the analogue aux cable and use USB. If you are open to replacing the amp, you could get an amp with digital inputs, an AV receiver, or even go with active speakers (so long as you have a way of connecting to and swithcing between your DVP and computer). Those choice of active speakers means you can kill 3 birds with one stone ... amplification, DAC (for your PC and DVP), and of course speakers.

 

[DandyCobalt]

I would take with a pinch of salt the SSAV opinion that you have to spend at least £1,000 on a blu-ray player to match a budget CD player.

I started with a CA BD650 "universal" player, then moved up to a BD751, and they have both been excellent. Both have been five-star players. However, SSAV don't stock CA products, you need to go to Richer Sounds for them.

I sold my 1-year old BD650 on fleabay - I actually got more than £300 for it (ie. less than 25% depreciation at 12 months - that's pretty rare!) and is a sign of their quality. This could be a route for you to save some money and get a very good player as folk like me have moved to the 751.

If you also watch blu-rays, or also have SACDs, then I'd highly recommend the universal player as a good approach.

 

[plastic penguin]

I would take with a pinch of salt the SSAV opinion that you have to spend at least £1,000 on a blu-ray player to match a budget CD player.

I started with a CA BD650 "universal" player, then moved up to a BD751, and they have both been excellent. Both have been five-star players. However, SSAV don't stock CA products, you need to go to Richer Sounds for them.

I sold my 1-year old BD650 on fleabay - I actually got more than £300 for it (ie. less than 25% depreciation at 12 months - that's pretty rare!) and is a sign of their quality. This could be a route for you to save some money and get a very good player as folk like me have moved to the 751.

If you also watch blu-rays, or also have SACDs, then I'd highly recommend the universal player as a good approach.

It was because of SSAV opinion why I mentioned an audition for the Bluray. And yes, I know Cambridge is sold exclusively through Richer...

 

[Overdose]

The Blu-Ray player you linked to, will be just fine.

If you like the speakers that you hve chosen, get them and be happy with your system until you have the means to upgrade the amplifier.

 

[chebby]

The CA 651BD is £500.

I got the impression from the OP that he was on a much tighter budget than that.