VIRGIN HI FI BUYER £800-£850 LIMIT

[papagoz]

Hi guys and gals,i have in the garage in smoked cabinet circa 1982 ish a technics amp,record deck,cassette etc not been used for 20 yrs or more.But i love music(r&b,soul,pop) but due to only having an i pod dock (pure avanti)in the bedroom,i feel it's time to purchase a decent hi fi with a budget of £800-£850 all inc,which looking at how much you can spend, may be a miniscule amount to some hi fi gurus,but it is all that i am willing to spend.I have seen the review of marantz pm 6004 amp and marantz cd 6004 paired to either Q 2020i bookshelf speakers(package price £590) or for a little more tannoy v4 floor standing speakers,(bookshelf v floorstaders?)(can either of these speakers sit close to the wall) these are all from Richer Sounds.Added to this i want an i20 docking station to play through the system.All the reviews i have seen seem to give the marantz items very good reviews seperately but also work well together,I know that the gurus out there say you must listen in store which I attend to do,but any comments or advice to see if I am starting my hi fi journey on the right path.my living room is 5m x 4m. cheers

 

[jonathanRD]

Obviously demo them in-store, but I would be keen to demo at home. Your room layout may have a major bearing on the sound quality. 5m x 4m would suggest the Tannoy's - if you can put them in space, but if you are closer to where the speakers will be, the 2020i may sound better. My Mission 780's were ideal in my dining room (3.5m x 3.5m) but now in an open 5m x 4m they struggle to command the space (I'm saving for floorstanders).

 

[the record spot]

If you're looking at streaming or hooking up an iPod but want a good amp with good functionality, some real world power and sounds good, check out Onkyo's TX8050 stereo network receiver. Brilliant bit of kit.

http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/tx-8050-43158.html

 

[Overdose]

If you're looking at streaming or hooking up an iPod but want a good amp with good functionality, some real world power and sounds good, check out Onkyo's TX8050 stereo network receiver. Brilliant bit of kit.

http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/tx-8050-43158.html

+1 or similar receiver.

Spend the rest or as much as you can afford on the speakers.

Take your time and wait for the bargains for the best deals.

I would normally advise my default ADMs, but they just pip your budget (that's if any are left at the price I paid).

 

[richardw42]

The Onkyo is where I'd start.

Btw the last pair of used AVI ADM9s on eBay went for £750. Which was a bit of a bargain but not sure any would come at that price again in near future.

 

[nopiano]

The good news is many items in your price range, such as those you list, have good sound and are great value. However, speakers in particular have very different 'flavours' so you really cannot rely on someone else. You might like fish and they might like ice cream - but they are both food!

Placing pretty much all but small 'bookshelf' speakers (or the few designed for close-to-wall use) close to a wall will make them boomy (too much bass).

Most Richer Sounds have some sort of dem room, and their better stores are shown on their website. It is worth a day off and investing some time in listening. If you can find another store nearby then so much the better. The Marantz models you mention are great, and their all-in-one MCR 603 is also very popular and takes up less space, as well as offering streaming. It is £100 less than it was 6 months ago.

You might even get a few quid on ebay for your Technics items.

Happy hunting!

 

[matthewpiano]

Your budget is a perfectly good one and a system such as the one you suggest will give you lots of pleasure. As others have said, speakers, in particular, can sound quite different to one another, so worth trying 2 or 3 different pairs to get the closest to what you want. I'd suggest trying the Marantz 6004 components with the Q Acoustics 2020i, Wharfedale Diamond 121, and the Dali Lektor 2s, but you could easily substitute one or more of those for MA BX2s or the Boston Acoustics A25 or A26. Plenty of choice around this price point.

 

[papagoz]

Hi JonathanRebecca,thanks for the advice,the tannoys v4 i mentioned are floorstanding at £250 and 5star in What hi fi,in general do floorstanders give more depth to the music than bookshelfs.

 

[papagoz]

cheers for the reply NOPIANO(was it stolen?) To be honest i have only been looking at options for a few days and had not considered an all in one unit because i thought that the sound quality/power for my budget might be inferior to that of the marantz seperates.I have looked at WHIFI and the MCR-603 gets 5 STARS,so i will look into that and other similar units. thanks

 

[jonathanRD]

Hi papagoz - generally floorstanders will give greater depth & bass but it depends on a number of factors and your listening preferences. Years ago when I moved into my current house I ditched my wharfdale speakers for the mission 780's on stands, whilst I lost the bigger, bassier sound of the whardales, the missions gave me a more engaging and clearer sound at lower volume levels in a 3.5m x 3.5m room. I could not play loud music as the room was on the 'inside' of the house adjoining the neigbours. Me & my wife have had years of enjoyment from them in that smaller room.

Now the missions are in the extension (on the outside of the house with no neighbours to worry about) in a 5m x 4m open room and they seem a little lost. I sit further away from them and they do not sound as good at higher volumes. Last year I home demoed Rega RS3 and Tannoy DC6T floorstanders (after demoing a larger range in store) - there was more depth (bass and larger sound) from the Tannoys but I enjoyed the RS3's more as they were more musical. I would have bought them but I decided to purchase HC gear instead. Although I have resisted the temptation to swap them, my BX2's seem to have a little more bass/depth to them than the missions, they are slightly bigger boxes.

As everyone says, demo as many as you can - if possible at home.

 

[drummerman]

I think I would also recommend to wait for some used AVI ADM's at that price (or perhaps look for other hifi s/h, see cheap system thread, in particular Hoopsontoasts systems). The ADM's probably need a sub at some stage but something like an MJ Pro 50 will do fine. - I honestly think there is little comparison with a set of Marantz 6004 separates as good as they may be at the price and you may soon hanker for more.

Alternatively, Kef now make what looks like a tasty active for around £600.

Whatever you do, factor in a decent set of stands and a little bit for cables.

regards

 

[papagoz]

Hey drummer man,thanks for the speaker advice,i am new to the numerous hifi makes and which products offer excellent value for money,which is the most important factor to me.I am sure that the avi adm speakers are excellent,but my budget is £850 full system price max all in,and the adm speakers seem to be at that price used,therefore i am looking at cheaper floorstanders like tannoys v4,or the bookshelf Q2020i or Wharfdale Diamond 121,Dali lektor 2 as recommended by mathewpiano.At this point i am just looking at reviews from online mags and from experienced HIfi users to narrow down this HUGE market.As hifi goes i have no reference point in regard to level of quality because i currently listen to my i pod dock through my Pure Avanti(ok in bedroom) or listen to music on sat music channels on surround system.The one point that seems to be prevalent re some HIFI gurus out there is that everyone has there own preferences eg cost prepared to pay,sound quality wanted,and some on a seemingly endless quest for music nirvana no matter what the cost,i cannot do that,but i am just as excited at the prospect of purchasing my first proper HIFIsystem at my specifed budget.thanks again drummer man.

 

[Overdose]

I am sure that the avi adm speakers are excellent,but my budget is £850 full system price max all in.

The ADM9s are a full system less source. You will be adding a dock in the form of the i20, so you need nothing else. I don't want to say exactly how much I paid for my ADMs, but it wasn't a million miles from your budget, but would concede that if £850 is your absolute max, then you would need to look at used models.

To reiterate though, the ADMs are a full system - DAC, Preamp power amps and speakers.