OK... I'm ready to build my first seperates system. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a quite a while now, but lack of finances has prevented me from getting started. Anyway, the key components I'm looking to start off with are: · turntable · amp · speakers · cables. A CD player can follow later, but that is not essential at the moment. My tastes in music tends to orientate extensively around classic rock (Floyd, Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, King Crimson, Yes). I also like some 80s stuff (U2, R.E.M., Smiths), quite a lot of 90s (Oasis, Nirvana) and a smattering of dance/electronic (Mylo, Hot Chip, New Order). Not sure exactly what my price range is, but would like to get the best out of records like Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin IV, In Utero, etc. What balance of funding should I divide between amp, turntable, speakers and cables? How does an initial budget of £500 ($1000) sound? Is it worth looking second hand on eBay for what I require with that budget? Any comments, artciles, sources of info, etc. that anyone can point me to would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Rob.
Where to start
- Thread starter admin_exported
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£500 - if you want to do it good then I would go second hand and you can get some REALLY good stuff second-hand at the moment.
But if you want to go new I suggest the following:
Marantz PM4001 - £99.99
Project Debut III turntable - £149.99
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 - £149.99
QED QUNEX 2 INTERCONNECT - £29.99
QED Silver Anniversary XT Speaker Cable (two core) - £29.70 (I estimated 3meters both ways - Subject to requirements)
Soundstyle Z2 Speaker Stands - £59.99
This all equates to a total of £519.65
I used Superfi and Richersounds for reference to price.
Now, if you're going second hand...
Rotel RA-02 - £150.00-ish roughly (please correct me somebody if I am wrong)
Project Debut III turntable - £149.99 (stick to new stuff)
B&W (Bowers and Wilkins) 601s - £129.99 (please correct me if wrong again)
QED Qunex 2 Interconnect - £15.00 (ebay)
QED Silver Anniversary XT Speaker cable (two core) - £29.70 (new again)
Soundstyle Z2 Speaker Stands - £59.99 (new once again)
This would cost, in total, approximately £535 by my estimations.
Have fun!
But if you want to go new I suggest the following:
Marantz PM4001 - £99.99
Project Debut III turntable - £149.99
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 - £149.99
QED QUNEX 2 INTERCONNECT - £29.99
QED Silver Anniversary XT Speaker Cable (two core) - £29.70 (I estimated 3meters both ways - Subject to requirements)
Soundstyle Z2 Speaker Stands - £59.99
This all equates to a total of £519.65
I used Superfi and Richersounds for reference to price.
Now, if you're going second hand...
Rotel RA-02 - £150.00-ish roughly (please correct me somebody if I am wrong)
Project Debut III turntable - £149.99 (stick to new stuff)
B&W (Bowers and Wilkins) 601s - £129.99 (please correct me if wrong again)
QED Qunex 2 Interconnect - £15.00 (ebay)
QED Silver Anniversary XT Speaker cable (two core) - £29.70 (new again)
Soundstyle Z2 Speaker Stands - £59.99 (new once again)
This would cost, in total, approximately £535 by my estimations.
Have fun!
fatboyslimfast
Well-known member
I agree with MrH above for the new stuff, but you could build a really nice starter system for peanuts second hand if careful...
rotel 820 amp (I know I'm biased, but I've just got one and it's luvverly) -£50
Rega planar 2 / Revolver TT - £100 (make sure the rega has a straight not curved arm)
CD - Arcam 6 or similar (again...I love mine) - £75
Speakers - 601s are good, Monitor Audio B2s are going for around £75 at the mo
Stands - Atacama go for about £25 (wait until you find some near to you and pick them up to save postage!)
Cable - as above (I'm no expert here and am using 25yr old 79 strand!)
Interconnects - as above
I make that about £375. But the best thing is, if you find that you don't like something, bung it back on ebay and try something else...chances are it'll go for the same price you paid, so you are only worse off to the tune of the shipping!
I recently bought a Dual CS505-2 turntable, the rotel amp mentioned and a pair of Mission Model 70 speakers for £65 all in. The missions are a little bass-light, but the rest of the system is lovely...
Have fun sir...
rotel 820 amp (I know I'm biased, but I've just got one and it's luvverly) -£50
Rega planar 2 / Revolver TT - £100 (make sure the rega has a straight not curved arm)
CD - Arcam 6 or similar (again...I love mine) - £75
Speakers - 601s are good, Monitor Audio B2s are going for around £75 at the mo
Stands - Atacama go for about £25 (wait until you find some near to you and pick them up to save postage!)
Cable - as above (I'm no expert here and am using 25yr old 79 strand!)
Interconnects - as above
I make that about £375. But the best thing is, if you find that you don't like something, bung it back on ebay and try something else...chances are it'll go for the same price you paid, so you are only worse off to the tune of the shipping!
I recently bought a Dual CS505-2 turntable, the rotel amp mentioned and a pair of Mission Model 70 speakers for £65 all in. The missions are a little bass-light, but the rest of the system is lovely...
Have fun sir...
Thanks for the info guys. Anyone recommend a good place for good, independant reviews on all of the above? This website?
Cheers,
Rob.
Cheers,
Rob.
Hi Rob,
All our reviews are independent, but not available online - yet (being only a few months away from the reviews being up here, that's getting more and more frustrating to say!)
But the suggestions above are all good ones - the vast majority five-star and Award winning products.
All our reviews are independent, but not available online - yet (being only a few months away from the reviews being up here, that's getting more and more frustrating to say!)
But the suggestions above are all good ones - the vast majority five-star and Award winning products.
John Duncan
Well-known member
[quote user="fr0g"]For £500 start with a starter system from Richersounds, or Superfi. You get a lot more value for money, and a very very nice sounding system. I wouldn't worry too much about reviews just yet...
Although your $ reference leads me to think you may not be in Richer sounds area?
I definitely would NOT go second hand for a starter system - yes you could get a great system, but to begin with the peace of mind of a year or so's warranty is nice... as well as being able to go speak to someone in the trade and sniff the air (that's what it felt like to me anyway
)
Anyway in the UK...
Richersounds systems deals
and
Superfi systems deals[/quote]
Note that he wants a turntable, so you might want to reconsider, though the NAD deal at Superfi, plus a Project Debut, would come in round about budget, and be a great start (if you can hack the aesthetics - sorry nads
)
Although your $ reference leads me to think you may not be in Richer sounds area?
I definitely would NOT go second hand for a starter system - yes you could get a great system, but to begin with the peace of mind of a year or so's warranty is nice... as well as being able to go speak to someone in the trade and sniff the air (that's what it felt like to me anyway
)Anyway in the UK...
Richersounds systems deals
and
Superfi systems deals[/quote]
Note that he wants a turntable, so you might want to reconsider, though the NAD deal at Superfi, plus a Project Debut, would come in round about budget, and be a great start (if you can hack the aesthetics - sorry nads
Yeah, I'm in the UK.
I remember when my brother put his seperates system together back in 97 or so, Richer Sounds offered the opportunity to go in test the equipment he was interested in with some of his preferred albums.
Are they still offering this service, at any particular cost?
Also, is there a hardcopy of Whathifi on the shelves at the moment with any of the above reviewed?
Cheers,
Rob.
I remember when my brother put his seperates system together back in 97 or so, Richer Sounds offered the opportunity to go in test the equipment he was interested in with some of his preferred albums.
Are they still offering this service, at any particular cost?
Also, is there a hardcopy of Whathifi on the shelves at the moment with any of the above reviewed?
Cheers,
Rob.
The further thought has occured that the CD player I may want to add at a later date, may be one that is to be compatible with SACDs. Is it worth getting a surround sound amp with the budget I am on therefore?
fatboyslimfast
Well-known member
I would suggest not to bother with a surround amp and/or SACD at this level, unless you are happy dabbling 2nd hand... you will find that a good stereo amp will easily outweigh a 5.1 at this price break... you can always go that route later on!
My starting budget was the same as yours. All I'd say is that If' I'd have done half as much research before purchasing new, as I have done over the last 3 weeks or so (mainly on this forum, googling and magazines), there is no way I'd have bought new!
There are some (apparently) belting bits of equipment on eBay at the moment - particularly amps from what i've seen.
As a fellow novice, some simple advice you may find useful: Your room size/layout makes a huge difference... especially when choosing amp or speakers. My long narrow rooms eats volume and makes positioning the sound stage tricky... something I hadn't appreciated before purchase of a 60WPC amp... it needs twice that for high volumes. Similarly, speaker location sensitiviity...will your chosen speakers be happy in the location you have in mind/are allowed to put them(!)?.
You've started out by looking here so hopefully you''ll get a good amount of infor to make an informed choice!
Cheers.
There are some (apparently) belting bits of equipment on eBay at the moment - particularly amps from what i've seen.
As a fellow novice, some simple advice you may find useful: Your room size/layout makes a huge difference... especially when choosing amp or speakers. My long narrow rooms eats volume and makes positioning the sound stage tricky... something I hadn't appreciated before purchase of a 60WPC amp... it needs twice that for high volumes. Similarly, speaker location sensitiviity...will your chosen speakers be happy in the location you have in mind/are allowed to put them(!)?.
You've started out by looking here so hopefully you''ll get a good amount of infor to make an informed choice!
Cheers.
Let me also give all you newbees (I've only just passed out of the phase) a good piece of advice - if your coming from a mini, micro, midi system etc I would advise against Cambridge Audio because the sound is very far away from the sound of all-in-ones and it will make you think your music is...not musical. But if you give it a try and like it then that's great!
[quote user="Hughes123"]Let me also give all you newbees (I've only just passed out of the phase) a good piece of advice - if your coming from a mini, micro, midi system etc I would advise against Cambridge Audio because the sound is very far away from the sound of all-in-ones and it will make you think your music is...not musical. But if you give it a try and like it then that's great![/quote]
A really interesting point, perfectly put - I've been wondering if anyone else had experienced this. Having made the jump to seperates (using various amps, mainly CA) from a 16 year old Aiwa with 40WPC with various bass boosting and brightness processors, I was expecting big thngs....perhaps more of the same, just bigger, brighter, better, deeper etc.
After all, if a small 2 piece box containing everything can produce THIS much volume and bass, then my new heavy amp together with floor standers will sound amazing, right........?... hmmmm.........
Upon the initial listen of my first setup, I have to say my expectations were not met. It sounded flat and lacked punch,and sparkle... and wan't very loud!
Since then, I've changed to a better amp (still CA....), bi-amped (using an old CA power amp...), experimented with speaker positioning and now I have a sound I like.
I've not tried to listen to the old Aiwa again since to compare... it wouldn't come even slightly close with the setup I currently have.
It goes to show how your ears can be conditioned by the artificial sound processing of cheap mini systems. They can sound great, just not pure... and you have to work hard, experiment and choose carefully with seperates to achieve the sound you want.
A really interesting point, perfectly put - I've been wondering if anyone else had experienced this. Having made the jump to seperates (using various amps, mainly CA) from a 16 year old Aiwa with 40WPC with various bass boosting and brightness processors, I was expecting big thngs....perhaps more of the same, just bigger, brighter, better, deeper etc.
After all, if a small 2 piece box containing everything can produce THIS much volume and bass, then my new heavy amp together with floor standers will sound amazing, right........?... hmmmm.........
Upon the initial listen of my first setup, I have to say my expectations were not met. It sounded flat and lacked punch,and sparkle... and wan't very loud!
Since then, I've changed to a better amp (still CA....), bi-amped (using an old CA power amp...), experimented with speaker positioning and now I have a sound I like.
I've not tried to listen to the old Aiwa again since to compare... it wouldn't come even slightly close with the setup I currently have.
It goes to show how your ears can be conditioned by the artificial sound processing of cheap mini systems. They can sound great, just not pure... and you have to work hard, experiment and choose carefully with seperates to achieve the sound you want.
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