upgrade or not

[grays155]

Hi was wondering if I would be wise to upgrade my stereo separates (Sony mhc s3) as I was in curry's and I couldn't say any sounded miles better do I still have a decent quality stereo separates or should I think of upgrading? Thanks in advance

 

[ID.]

When in doubt, upgrade. Oh, and be sure to double your budget on the way.

You might get some more helpful replies if you let us know what your budget is and what you listened to in store as well. Maybe even the room you use it in, what you might hope to achieve by upgrading (better clarity, bass, realism, functions, bling...)

 

[grays155]

Hi listened again today to onkyo and pioneer and I have to say the clarity of my separates is the same as these new ones had new caps put in the separates last yr other than that no problems it's now 13 yo and thought quality would have been vastly different and it's definitely not I think I'll stick with what I have they were 600pound when new or could upgrade to a av reciever I'm unsure but the stuff I have sound excellent even though it seems Sony is thought of as budget I beg to differ

 

[BigH]

If not sure stick with what you have. I advise only upgrading for something clearly better. Currys? I advise going to a decent Hifi dealer for an audition in a dedicated room. Biggest difference in sound will probably come from changing the speakers.

 

[MeanandGreen]

I'd just like to clarify that what you have is actually not a separates system. It's a mini system comprised of separate components. If you are comparing it with today's systems of a similar type, then it's very possible there is no real improvement. There will be more changes in facilities rather than sound.

If you were to actually go down the true full size hifi separates route, then even a modest system would be an upgrade in sound quality over what you have.

Are you unhappy with your Sony? Either in terms of sound or facilities?

 

[SteveR750]

Hi listened again today to onkyo and pioneer and I have to say the clarity of my separates is the same as these new ones had new caps put in the separates last yr other than that no problems it's now 13 yo and thought quality would have been vastly different and it's definitely not I think I'll stick with what I have they were 600pound when new or could upgrade to a av reciever I'm unsure but the stuff I have sound excellent even though it seems Sony is thought of as budget I beg to differ

Sounds like you've answered your own question. If you're not sure it's worth it, it probably isn't.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Wise? Or not. That depends on what you want to achieve. The mere fact you were looking in Currys suggest if you really want better sound you need to research a lot more. Do you have a friend who has a decent system around the £1000 mark when new? Good place to start, you should be amazed by the sound and if you think it's worth it then go audition and research more. If you don't stick with what you have or re visit Currys! Ps I'm listening to mine now and it still amazes me.

 

[grays155]

Thanks for the interesting reply's much appreciated and yes I have heard systems in a different league but don't want to spend massive amounts of money I just want to stick with 2 ch stereo. The HiFi I have is surprisingly good quality maybe I should try with better speakers I'd like floorstanding speakers but not sure what will be compatible I don't want to stress any components and not sure how many ohm or watts this is putting out or what sensitivity etc, Any suggestions?

 

[jonathanRD]

The spec sheet for your Sony system shows the amplifier rated Din power output at 60 + 60 watts @ 6 ohms and says it will accept speakers rated between 6 and 16 ohms, so you should be fine connecting a pair of floorstanders.

But you need to indicate what your budget is, the size of your room and how close/far away the speakers will be from wall boundaries, and what type of music you listen to. The more information the better to enable more informed suggestions. Edit - also what is it with the sound of your current speakers that you think you want to improve on (bass, clarity, etc?).

 

[davedotco]

Given the point that you are starting from, I would do the following.

Decide what functionality you actually want or need. The more functionality, the more sources in particular, the more expensive the setup. If you want to keep the budget quite tight, then do not buy stuff you don't really need and would barely use.

Go to a proper local dealer, tell him what you want to play and see if he can offer you anything around the price you want to pay, get him to play it to you.

For example, Richers offer a separates 'starter' package of CD player, amp and speakers starting at around £400. You are not going to get floorstanders for that price, but it may be a decent starting point.

 

[grays155]

Yeah sound like something to think about maybe going to richer sounds and I'd like speakers to improve the general sound nothing in particular and wow only 60 watts a channel lol seems so much louder and you said it's 6 ohm but what if speakers are 4 ohm could I expect and clipping or damage to equipment really sorry for all questions and extremely grateful for reply's

 

[SteveR750]

Yeah sound like something to think about maybe going to richer sounds and I'd like speakers to improve the general sound nothing in particular and wow only 60 watts a channel lol seems so much louder and you said it's 6 ohm but what if speakers are 4 ohm could I expect and clipping or damage to equipment really sorry for all questions and extremely grateful for reply's

Unless you're going to open a nighclub with it, I wouldn't worry about power and impedance. Dave's advice to go and spend half a day in a good retailer, one who has a separate listening room will help. You might not walk out with anything new, in fact it's a good idea to plan NOT to buy anything at the first visit, unless you've been able to hear everything on your shortlist.

Best place to start a shortlist is buy a bunch of magazines and get a feel for what gear is generally popular, and search the forums for reviews / comments, look for comments from people who have similar situation / shortlist / budget etc. It takes a a bit of time, but it's half the fun, and it will focus your final purchase much better. Good luck!

 

[davedotco]

Yeah sound like something to think about maybe going to richer sounds and I'd like speakers to improve the general sound nothing in particular and wow only 60 watts a channel lol seems so much louder and you said it's 6 ohm but what if speakers are 4 ohm could I expect and clipping or damage to equipment really sorry for all questions and extremely grateful for reply's

Unless you're going to open a nighclub with it, I wouldn't worry about power and impedance. Dave's advice to go and spend half a day in a good retailer, one who has a separate listening room will help. You might not walk out with anything new, in fact it's a good idea to plan NOT to buy anything at the first visit, unless you've been able to hear everything on your shortlist.

Best place to start a shortlist is buy a bunch of magazines and get a feel for what gear is generally popular, and search the forums for reviews / comments, look for comments from people who have similar situation / shortlist / budget etc. It takes a a bit of time, but it's half the fun, and it will focus your final purchase much better. Good luck!

If you have a decent dealer to hand, rather than a mass market box shifter, I would try them.

And most definitely do not go in with a shortlist, this will only confuse the issue as what you will hear will bear no relation to what you have been told, trust me on that.

A good dealer will have combinations he knows works well together, this kind of detailed knowledge is priceless.

 

[SteveR750]

Probably good advice if you're relatively new to it. I wouldn't visit a shop and ask them to recommend me a £2k+ amp. I know what I like, based upon rerefencing my observations against others with experience of listening to the same kit as i've owned gives a clue as to what I might like, and might not; but then I've been wasting shop owners time for 30 years or so.

 

[davedotco]

Probably good advice if you're relatively new to it. I wouldn't visit a shop and ask them to recommend me a £2k+ amp. I know what I like, based upon rerefencing my observations against others with experience of listening to the same kit as i've owned gives a clue as to what I might like, and might not; but then I've been wasting shop owners time for 30 years or so.

First of all the OP is very new to this, and his budget is modest.

Secondly even £2k+ amplifiers will react and sound different in different systems, this is the point of a good dealers knowledge, picking the right amp for the system, personally I find most people who go into dems with preconceptions either hear exactly what they want to hear, or get confused when the amplifier they thought they wanted doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the one you have never heard of, recommended by the dealer.

But then I am a pretty old fashioned sort, modern retail methods do not sit well with me.

 

[SteveR750]

Which would be fine if the dealer was close enough, and had all of the possible options. IME it's rare to get more than two lined up at once, and that's before you've found one that has your existing amp / speaker or similar as a baseline ref. Example, I'm driving for over 2 hours each way to hear two amps tomorrow. There are another two I could demo in Coventry, there is nowhere nearer that is practical. I know that the audio retailers in Swansea and Cardiff won't have the range to demo, so I'd just be wasting their and my time! It's a bit of a postcode lottery having a practical localish dealer that can organise every option, plus these guys are running a business, to sell consumer products at as high a margin as they can. There will be a minority who won't necessarily be offering completely impartial advice.

Personally I'd prefer home demo, based upon a cross section of advice.

 

[davedotco]

Which would be fine if the dealer was close enough, and had all of the possible options. IME it's rare to get more than two lined up at once, and that's before you've found one that has your existing amp / speaker or similar as a baseline ref. Example, I'm driving for over 2 hours each way to hear two amps tomorrow. There are another two I could demo in Coventry, there is nowhere nearer that is practical. I know that the audio retailers in Swansea and Cardiff won't have the range to demo, so I'd just be wasting their and my time! It's a bit of a postcode lottery having a practical localish dealer that can organise every option, plus these guys are running a business, to sell consumer products at as high a margin as they can. There will be a minority who won't necessarily be offering completely impartial advice.

Personally I'd prefer home demo, based upon a cross section of advice.

You have put your finger on the issue right there, but not in the way you think.

You clearly have your own way of doing things but it is not the way I that feel gets the best results.

I very much understand the dealer issue, so many of them a cr@p these days but the primary reason that I think you will tie yourself into a knot is the piecemeal nature of your approach.

Again, I am talking in the broadest possible terms here, but having decided that the amplifier is the weak link in your system, going into different shops and different rooms and trying to evaluate what a different amplifier will do in your situation will be very, very difficult.

In an ideal world I would suggest that you try and find the best dealer within reach, don't worry about what brands he stocks, but get him to play you complete systems based as closely as he can on what you already have. If he is any good he will play you a setup that he knows works well, has maybe been refined over time and represents good value for money.

If you like what you hear, move to that setup in the least number of steps, you might need to replace several components.

Again, I do not know you personally, but your forthright views probably would not let you put yourself in the dealers hands to such an extent, which is I think a shame, sometimes a different, experienced viewpoint can really help.

 

[jonathanRD]

Which would be fine if the dealer was close enough, and had all of the possible options. IME it's rare to get more than two lined up at once, and that's before you've found one that has your existing amp / speaker or similar as a baseline ref. Example, I'm driving for over 2 hours each way to hear two amps tomorrow. There are another two I could demo in Coventry, there is nowhere nearer that is practical. I know that the audio retailers in Swansea and Cardiff won't have the range to demo, so I'd just be wasting their and my time! It's a bit of a postcode lottery having a practical localish dealer that can organise every option, plus these guys are running a business, to sell consumer products at as high a margin as they can. There will be a minority who won't necessarily be offering completely impartial advice.

Personally I'd prefer home demo, based upon a cross section of advice.

You have put your finger on the issue right there, but not in the way you think.

You clearly have your own way of doing things but it is not the way I that feel gets the best results.

I very much understand the dealer issue, so many of them a cr@p these days but the primary reason that I think you will tie yourself into a knot is the piecemeal nature of your approach.

Again, I am talking in the broadest possible terms here, but having decided that the amplifier is the weak link in your system, going into different shops and different rooms and trying to evaluate what a different amplifier will do in your situation will be very, very difficult.

In an ideal world I would suggest that you try and find the best dealer within reach, don't worry about what brands he stocks, but get him to play you complete systems based as closely as he can on what you already have. If he is any good he will play you a setup that he knows works well, has maybe been refined over time and represents good value for money.

If you like what you hear, move to that setup in the least number of steps, you might need to replace several components.

Again, I do not know you personally, but your forthright views probably would not let you put yourself in the dealers hands to such an extent, which is I think a shame, sometimes a different, experienced viewpoint can really help.

As someone who lives in South Wales I can understand Steve's predicament. I wanted to upgrade my amp/speaker combo. I had grand plans to drive to a number of dealers between 1 - 2 hours away from my home. I wanted to hear Creek and Exposure amps, AVI maybe, and I was really interested in the new active Epos K2 and had been in touch with a dealer who stocked the passive version. A number of forum members kept advising to look at 2nd hand, or look for discounts. And, whilst there was no sign of the active version of the K2 being released anytime soon, I started to go off the idea of driving around the country for demo's, as the practical issues started to dawn on me. The biggest concern was the difficulty in arranging home demos (distance, time & cost). My local dealer is only 2 miles from my home.

So in the end whilst searchng for 2nd hand deals, I picked up my Rega RS5's for a very good price. It wasn't a completely blind purchase, but a relatively safe one and they have worked a treat in my room with my other Rega gear. In the next couple of months, when I have time, I will go into my local dealer, have a listen to Naim and Rega amps (that my dealer has suggested based on my current system) and see where that leads me.

 

[grays155]

Would i not be able to just get speakers for my existing amp would that make a huge difference as I don't miss any detail from the amp or should I just upgrade the whole system thanks for reply's they make for very interesting reading

 

[jonathanRD]

Would i not be able to just get speakers for my existing amp would that make a huge difference as I don't miss any detail from the amp or should I just upgrade the whole system thanks for reply's they make for very interesting reading

I don't think anyone wants to commit themselves, as ultimately it's your ears and money. Apologies if I missed it, but you have not mentioned your budget, and if you can go along to a hifi dealer and have a listen to a few systems at different prices. This will give you a better idea of whether it is worth upgrading. If you like the sound of a system, you might even just take the speakers home for a demo with your current kit. It might sound better, and if you get the new speakers, you will have an idea of an upgrade path. The other option is to do a little more reading and reasearch and keep a lookout for a decent 2nd hand pair of speakers. At the right price, the risk will be relatively small.

 

[SteveR750]

Which would be fine if the dealer was close enough, and had all of the possible options. IME it's rare to get more than two lined up at once, and that's before you've found one that has your existing amp / speaker or similar as a baseline ref. Example, I'm driving for over 2 hours each way to hear two amps tomorrow. There are another two I could demo in Coventry, there is nowhere nearer that is practical. I know that the audio retailers in Swansea and Cardiff won't have the range to demo, so I'd just be wasting their and my time! It's a bit of a postcode lottery having a practical localish dealer that can organise every option, plus these guys are running a business, to sell consumer products at as high a margin as they can. There will be a minority who won't necessarily be offering completely impartial advice.

Personally I'd prefer home demo, based upon a cross section of advice.

You have put your finger on the issue right there, but not in the way you think.

You clearly have your own way of doing things but it is not the way I that feel gets the best results.

I very much understand the dealer issue, so many of them a cr@p these days but the primary reason that I think you will tie yourself into a knot is the piecemeal nature of your approach.

Again, I am talking in the broadest possible terms here, but having decided that the amplifier is the weak link in your system, going into different shops and different rooms and trying to evaluate what a different amplifier will do in your situation will be very, very difficult.

In an ideal world I would suggest that you try and find the best dealer within reach, don't worry about what brands he stocks, but get him to play you complete systems based as closely as he can on what you already have. If he is any good he will play you a setup that he knows works well, has maybe been refined over time and represents good value for money.

If you like what you hear, move to that setup in the least number of steps, you might need to replace several components.

Again, I do not know you personally, but your forthright views probably would not let you put yourself in the dealers hands to such an extent, which is I think a shame, sometimes a different, experienced viewpoint can really help.

Dave, you're right I'd never relinquish so much of the decision making process to a retailer, mainly for two reasons. Only a few specialist ones appear to actually understand how it works, and why it sounds the way it does. Secondly, I cannot trust that someone with the ulterior motive of selling me something will give me a completely unbiased opinion. In addition, I really don't want to start the process again, having come this far. You're right about one thing though, the amp change is only a step, I have a fairly clear idea of how my system will be in 2-3 years time assuming status quo.

 

[SteveR750]

Would i not be able to just get speakers for my existing amp would that make a huge difference as I don't miss any detail from the amp or should I just upgrade the whole system thanks for reply's they make for very interesting reading

My advice would be to find the nearest dealer to you that has a demo room and take that question to them. If they have your amp ask them to try different speakers. Similarly if they stock your speakers, try a different amp. The difficulty with older kit of course is they won't have it any more, but a good dealer should have something sonically similar. If you spend a lot of time listening to lots of combinations in different rooms you'll be able to make a more focused judgement based upon that experience, but where you're at I think seeking a more experienced (which does not imply better) set of ears will help you. What you could do is then validate the dealer recommendations by reading reviews and asking opinions on these forums.