What System to get?

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Looking to buy a new CD and Amp and possibly speakers. I have a pair of KEF Q35 on the loft, but are they good enough?

Do I spend £1000, £2000 or £3000.?

Never had a proper system (most I have spent is on a £300 midi system) for just listening to music, but have a lot of CD's and think I am missing out on the quality.

So can I get a good system for £1000 or by spending more will I notice the difference?

Any surgestions on how much to spend and examples and use the KEF's or get new all round?

Cheers Chunky
 

chebby

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Jun 2, 2008
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Keep the KEFs if they are in good (cosmetic) condition and work well.

I had a pair from 1996 - 2007 (Q35.2 I think) and only ended up selling them to a friend because I was fed up with looking at large black, boring cabinets. They are still in daily use at a friend's place in his NAD/Arcam/KEF/X-Box/TV bedroom system. They are a little 'warm' in sound but good quality.

This leaves your budget free for spending a bit a bit more on amp & cd.

I would suggest a Yamaha A-S700 (amp) for about £400 & matching CD-S700 (£300) duo.

(Prices based on listing from the first Yamaha dealer I could think of.)

Yamaha gear is built like the proverbial 'battleship' and sounds great. With a bit of luck it will be working well in 20 years time. (I know of Yamaha gear still in daily use after 30 years.)
 
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Anonymous

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Chunky71:
Looking to buy a new CD and Amp and possibly speakers. I have a pair of KEF Q35 on the loft, but are they good enough?

Do I spend £1000, £2000 or £3000.?

Never had a proper system (most I have spent is on a £300 midi system) for just listening to music, but have a lot of CD's and think I am missing out on the quality.

So can I get a good system for £1000 or by spending more will I notice the difference?

Any surgestions on how much to spend and examples and use the KEF's or get new all round?

Cheers Chunky yes you can get a good system for £1000 and yes if you spend more youll notice the difference

the kefs are fine for but if you get something like a naim xs setup youd need to think about changing the speakers

id suggest heading down to audio t or sevenoaks and having a listen to some systems just to give you an idea what to expect at the different price points
 

Frank Harvey

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As Chebby mentions, the Yamaha is a nice sysem for very little money, with a great retro look. Also consider the Rega Apollo/Brio amp and CD, which can be had for about £800 - probably the most musical combination this side of a Naim Nait 5i/CD5i, which you could also consider if you want to push your budget a little.

The KEF's were a nice speaker - not perfect, but will be good enough for you to appreciate the above recommendations. This will also allow you to concentrate your budget on the electronics initially - you can upgrade the speakers later on when you have more funds.
 
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Anonymous

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david if his budget is £3000 then i wouldnt agree id be looking at naim XS plus spendor or totem if its £2000 id think nait5i plus naim or rega cd player plus totem or similar
 
Chunky71:

Looking to buy a new CD and Amp and possibly speakers. I have a pair of KEF Q35 on the loft, but are they good enough?

Do I spend £1000, £2000 or £3000.?

Never had a proper system (most I have spent is on a £300 midi system) for just listening to music, but have a lot of CD's and think I am missing out on the quality.

So can I get a good system for £1000 or by spending more will I notice the difference?

Any surgestions on how much to spend and examples and use the KEF's or get new all round?

Cheers Chunky

Hi Chunky71

You can have very good components up to the £1k. The Q35 is a good design so i would suggest that you hold on to them and consider the NAD C355BEE amp/C545 cdp and also Yamaha's A-S700 amp/CD-S700 cdp.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft
 
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Anonymous

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must be me but everyone seems obsessed with recommending a budget system which doesnt necessarily answer the ops original questions

maybe its me just being crabby like hancock on a wet sunday
 
Chunky71:

Looking to buy a new CD and Amp and possibly speakers. I have a pair of KEF Q35 on the loft, but are they good enough?

Do I spend £1000, £2000 or £3000.?

Never had a proper system (most I have spent is on a £300 midi system) for just listening to music, but have a lot of CD's and think I am missing out on the quality.

So can I get a good system for £1000 or by spending more will I notice the difference?

Any surgestions on how much to spend and examples and use the KEF's or get new all round?

Cheers Chunky

This is a little tricky - if you're happy with no more than £1,000 i would go for the following:

Roksan Kandy LIII matched with Arcam FMJ CD 17 = £950 approx

Or Rotel RA-06 matched with either Arcam or Nad player = £ 900 (depending which Nad player you go for).

Budget £2,000 Leema Pulse matched with Cyrus CD6S + Neat Motive 3 speakers = £2,000

Most of these products and prices are based on s/hand or ex-dem.

Budget £3,000 - not a clue (not much anyway)
emotion-1.gif
 

drummerman

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Chunky71:
Looking to buy a new CD and Amp and possibly speakers. I have a pair of KEF Q35 on the loft, but are they good enough?

Do I spend £1000, £2000 or £3000.?

Never had a proper system (most I have spent is on a £300 midi system) for just listening to music, but have a lot of CD's and think I am missing out on the quality.

So can I get a good system for £1000 or by spending more will I notice the difference?

Any surgestions on how much to spend and examples and use the KEF's or get new all round?

Cheers Chunky

If you can hear the difference and think it's justifiable, then 3 grand is money well spent. Otherwise, don't. That's where a dealer will help you. Anything will be an improvement on what you have now ... probably
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the record spot

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You have several paths open to you influenced by form and functionality issues, space which influence separates and / or all in one systems. I like separates and the ability to fiddle around with the sound to some extent. But, for a change, I'll resist posting about Q Acoutics 1050i, or buying a turntable or waiting forever on Ebay for a Sansui late-1970s integrated to come up of a particular type.

Rather, I'm going to suggest a one-box system for a change; the Aura Note Premier. Rave reviews from 6moons, The Absolute Sound and Hi Fi World and a wonderful design from Kenneth Grange have come up with a winner. Well worthy of consideration, it'll handle a variety of formats - just add speakers and some cabling and you're away.
 
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Anonymous

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First I would just like to thank everyone for their comets and suggestions. But I need to stir it up a little as I just got the Q35 off the loft and the wife does not like them. She said she would prefer some form of speaker on a nice silver stand. LOL

If I was going <£1000 was thinking Marantz PM6003 and CD6003, Acrama Equinox stand and interconcetors.

>£1000 Naim CD5i Amp and CD, Acrama Equinox stand and interconcetors.

So any surgestions on speakers?

I take on board the going to listen at the local dealers as well which will be in Carlisle.
 
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the record spot

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Just out of interest, does it have to be one make, or would you swap around were you to go down the separates route?
 

crusaderlord

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If you are pairing up the Naim 5i's i would definately try the Neat Motive 3 if you want standmounts. Naim are a good match for Neat and the company itself recommends them.
 
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Anonymous

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the record spot:Just out of interest, does it have to be one make, or would you swap around were you to go down the separates route?

I prefer things to match, so would probably opt for same make.
 
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the record spot

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Okay, cool, I'd add the Yamaha 700 range amp and CD player to that then. They make some nice sounds together by all accounts, along with the 1000 pairing. The latter obviously more expensive.
 

Frank Harvey

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one off: david if his budget is £3000 then i wouldnt agree id be looking at naim XS plus spendor or totem if its £2000 id think nait5i plus naim or rega cd player plus totem or similarThe OP asked if he could get a good system for £1k, so I confirmed that he could and gave him an example.
 

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