What amp?...I have certain requirements

[admin_exported]

Hi there, newbie on this site so hello everyone 🙂

I'm looking to get my first decent hifi setup, but haven't got a clue. I know the amp is the centre of the system and everything else to be built around it. So what I'm hoping to aquire is a CD player, LP turntable and be able to play the sound from my laptop through the amp.

So is there anything that I can get this all from? Money is tight so I'd appreciate suggestions at the lower end, unless something is really worth the extra cash. I'm also more than happy to buy second hand to get the right gear at the right price.

Many thanks, Andy

 

[matthewpiano]

Pro-ject Genie 2 turntable
Musical Fidelity V-DAC
Cambridge Audio 340c CD Player
Cambridge Audio 540P Phono Stage
Cambridge Audio 340A SE Amplifier
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Speakers

I reckon this little lot should give you a super-budget system that sounds great, though remember to budget £60 for a pair of Atacama Nexus 6 stands for the speakers. Use the V-DAC for both the CD player and your computer.

 

[the record spot]

The world is your oyster in that case, especially when you consider what can be bought for a good price secondhand (my speakers cost me £80, my amp cost me £200 last month), so it's perhaps worth you telling us what kind of sound you like to hear (as opposed to sounds!) as that's going to be the thing that underpins your eventual choice.

 

[matthewpiano]

As a 2nd hand challenge...

Pioneer PL12-D turntable (about £50-£60 for a good one)
Sony CDP-597 (a cracker and probably only about £30 for a decent one)
Pioneer SA-508 amplifier (again £50 should pick up a good example)
Mordaunt-Short MS25Ti speakers (about £30-£40)

Add a decent DAC such as a Beresford or MF V-DAC and you'll have something very special for litte outlay.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano, thank you! I love nice concise lists for me to go and have a look at. I've spotted a lot of Cambridge Audio stuff on Richer Sounds and the rices looked so good I presumed that the quality may not be up to it. Would you say otherwise then? Also, just had a quick google for the MF V-DAC...to get my laptop playing through the amp is a DAC the only way...and if so what's the minimum I should spend on the little magic box?

The record spot: I mainly listen to rock and indie, so I like things with a full and deep sound. I'm sure that's a very vague description but I'm not very technical when it comes to my music.

Cheers for the advice guys, I definately came to the right place.

 

[John Duncan]

How much do you want to spend for the whole lot?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi John. I haven't thought too much about price really. Something along these lines...

Amp: £100-150, CD: £50-75, Turntable: up to £100. I hadn't figured in the DAC and phono amp (I thought it would be best to try find an amp which had a phono...I don't really know) and I've got some bog standard speakers which I will upgrade in time. I live in Hammersmith and we have an X Electrical Shop which sells second hand hifi stuff. There's quite a good assortment of stuff with the odd NAD amp and Cambridge Audio stuff in there. Is that a good place to be looking?

 

[the record spot]

It could be, but check it all over carefully, if in doubt, don't buy.

For that money try and clap hands on Sansui's AU-217 or 317 amp, both of which you'll get for easy money (and I'm thinking less than £60 here). Vastly underrated as people think they just turned out pap and from the turn of 80s they progressively did. In the 70s though, their stuff was the business and the -17 series kit is well worth checking out. I have the 217 (before the getting the 717) and it's superb. £30-odd serviced and delivered and it's near mint.

CDP - see if you can land a Philips 960 or Rotel RCD965BX, Marantz CD52 would be good too but really getting on a bit (early 1990s) so tread carefully. Speakers, well, you need to be careful there and depending on space considerations you might have to compromise a little. Turntable, wouldn't touch much at less than £100. Would direct you towards saving a little and landing a Rega P1, NAD 533, used Sansui SR222-V, Rotel RP-850, forget Technics unless it's a decent 1200/1210 and that should be enough to get you going. The used gear comes from the 80s, well rated all, and new belts and cartridges would be very easy to come buy.

Forget separate DACs and phono amps at this stage.

Single out one to buy - the Sansui amps, absolutely superb VFM and wonderful sound; great build too.

EDIT: We have a similar taste in music - well, I like rock as well as a pile of other stuff - so bearing in mind all the above, put £140 aside and check out the Q Acoustics range - if you can get floorstanders, try out the 1030i speaker, if not, go for the new range and try out the 2010 standmount for the same money. Both are excellent while the brand is well reviewed and going places.

 

[Anonymous]

If you can do without a remote on your amplifier, look an early 90s Audiolab 8000a. If you get the right generation it has switchable MM/MC phono stage which is pretty good. At least the MM is quite good. Currently there's one on fleabay going for £40. I paid £150 for mine a few years back and considered it a steal. I upgraded yesterday to a Naim Nait 5i, but only because I wanted to try something new, and because I'm lazy and switch inputs a lot and wanted a remote. Not totally convinced it's an improvement across the board yet.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers for the help guys, this is a fun learning curve for me. So this is my plan...to get sorted with an amp and CD player. I can make do with my current speakers for a while and a friend has some Technics 1210s that I can borrow until I get myself my own turntable.

So CD players, there seems to be plenty of choice. And just at my local 2nd hand audio shop they often have a few Sony, Cambridge Audio and NAD stuff in stock. I've always been told that Marantz is a pretty safe bet as well when it comes to CD players. So I'm not too worried about that really.

Amp is still a bit confusing. If I want to have three inputs (CD, turntable and laptop) I thought I'd have to have an amp with a phono (or seperate phono/pre-amp) and a DAC for the laptop input. Is that right?

 

[Anonymous]

I just came across this. Apart from the champagne finish I love the look of it, nice and classic. Any thoughts on if it's suitable for me?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marantz-PM450-Powerful-Amplifier-Amp-2x-Phono-Input_W0QQitemZ150412894960QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers?hash=item23054ea2f0

(Apologies if I'm not allowed to post links, if so then could a mod please remove it).