Upgrading, or is it worth it?

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About 15 years ago, in a pre kids life, my wife and I bought a HiFi system based on listening to various systems in a dealers shop (long since gone). The dealer continued to change various components (ever increasingly expensive) until we could not spot the difference in sound quailty. I am pleased to say I think we have relatively 'cheap' hearing. The same system is still working well, but after 15 years we want to move our current system to a second smaller room and buy a new system for our lounge. The lounge is rather a large room (5mx7m) with a vaulted ceiling. The speakers would be 5m apart (could be less if need be, say 3-4m). We play CDs of classical music, easy listening (Ella F, Frank S etc) and 'pop' music from the 80s. We also listen to Radio 2,3,4.

The system we bought all those years ago was:
Amplifier Denon PMA 250 III,
Tuner Denon TU260,
CD player Marantz CD52 and
2 Tannoy 6o5 speakers (we never heard these- we were just told they were the best in our range).

My questions are:

1. Based on
a) Technical changes over the last 15 years
b) Our listening tastes
c) Size of our room
d) Level of our hearing capability
e) Budget £1k-£2k (I would prefer to nearer £1k than £2k)
what would you recommned for a new system? AND would we spot a difference in sound quality from our cuyrent system?

2. If the answer to the above is technology has not move on much then would I be better sticking with our 'old system' and buying say a Bose radion/CD player for the second sitting room?

3. Which brings me to my final question. Are Bose systems as good as separates?

Sorry for the long winded question, but if anyone could give guidance I would be most grateful......

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Simon M"]The system we bought all those years ago was:
Amplifier Denon PMA 250 III,
Tuner Denon TU260,
CD player Marantz CD52 and
2 Tannoy 6o5 speakers (we never heard these- we were just told they were the best in our range).[/quote]
Nice system. I can say components you have are still worth a listen, for the exception of the speakers, which I haven't heard in person. Tannoy did a few great loudspeakers in past. I hope 6o5 were one of them. Going by the rest of your system, they should be a great sounding pair.

[quote user="Simon M"]what would you recommned for a new system? AND would we spot a difference in sound quality from our cuyrent system?

2. If the answer to the above is technology has not move on much then would I be better sticking with our 'old system' and buying say a Bose radion/CD player for the second sitting room?[/quote]
Technology has moved forward in all these years for sure. You can have systems that would outshine your current system by a huge margin. But I don't think any of them would fall inside £1k.

[quote user="Simon M"]3. Which brings me to my final question. Are Bose systems as good as separates?[/quote]
I do not think so. Bose systems have a characteristic sound. Unless you are a fan of that sound, you can put together a system at much less cost than a Bose, and this one will provide fuller, richer and more tonally accurate sound.

 

[Anonymous]

I heard that Musical Fidelity one box system kw250 is available for £1500. At that price its a steal. If you could bump up your budget a bit, may be you could pair that with any of MA GR, Dali Helicon, Epos M 22 or a ProAc studio floostander. That will be a brand new sound and brand new feeling.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response. I must admit the speakers always looked the weakest link in this system. So

1. If I justy changed the speakers what would you recommend and..

2. If I change the entire lot with a budget of £2-£3kk what would you suggest? (not sure I have heard of Musical Fidelity, but I will look in the What HiFi mag).

Thanks again.

 

[matthewpiano]

Listening is going to be the only real way of finding out whether you can justify changing, and which components. I would certainly forget the Bose idea. Its convenient audio equipment but can't match carefully chosen seperates in either sound or overall build quality.

Neither do I think you need to go as far as the £3k price range and I don't think you need to replace ALL of your current components.

Unless you hanker after DAB, I would stick with your Denon TU-260L tuner. Its a classic and you would have to spend a lot to make a considerable improvement. I would suggest drawing up a shortlist of mid-price components and booking auditions to hear them in different combinations. If it were me (and I listen to a great deal of classical music), I'd be including:

CD Players: Rega Apollo, Arcam CD73T, Naim CD5i

Amplifiers: Naim Nait 5i, Rotel RA-06, Arcam A70, NAD C372, Marantz PM7001KI Signature
Speakers: Current models from B&W (DM685), Quad (11L2), Epos, KEF (iQ5), and the new Mordaunt-Shorts at £450.

Once you have put together a combination which sounds good in the dealer's demo room, then arrange for a home demonstration, preferrably for a period of a couple of days when you can listen for extended periods within your own lounge. Any room, but particularly one such as your own with its vaulted ceiling, will put its own particular spin on the sound and so this stage in the process is vital.

The key thing is to take your time, and make sure that you are absolutely satisfied before handing money over. You will easily better your current system as long as you take the care to match components up carefully. Your CD player, whilst superb in its day, is now far behind some of the current mid-range models and the move from a decent entry level amp like the Denon to something like the Nait 5i will pay great dividends.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Simon M"]1. If I justy changed the speakers what would you recommend[/quote]

I'd recommend you listening to B&W 683, Monitor Audio Gold Series and Epos M22.

[quote user="Simon M"]If I change the entire lot with a budget of £2-£3kk what would you suggest?[/quote]

I'd recommend an all Cyrus 6 system, with Dali IKON6 or Dali Mentor 2. I am sure you'll love the sound when you hear it.