Would I be better buying 2nd hand or new amp ?

[airliebird]

Hi i am looking to upgrade my present system and have gone with the option of auditioning the Cyrus 6SE and the Roskan Kandy K2 amp in the next couple of weeks. The speakers are still undecided. The shop also sells 2nd hand hi fi and they have a Linn Majik 2100 for £700 in mint condition and boxed for sale. I was wondering if that would be an option to audition aswell. Is the 2nd hand Linn Majik 2100 better option than the Roskan Kandy K2.

Thanks in advance.

 

[d_a_n1979]

What would be handy to know is what music do you listen to and what speakers do you think you'll be demo'ing?

TBH it's as broad as it's long when it comes to new vs 2nd hand separates.

IMO it's great buying new but for a majortiy of the time you can get hell of a lot more 'bang for your buck' when you buy 2nd hand!

The Cyrus 6SE CDp and Roksan Kandy K2 combo will be very hard to beat under a certain budget; more so when partnered with the right speakers (i.e. B&W CM7's, 684's or 685's on decent stands).

Do you have an idea of what your overall budget will be?

 

[airliebird]

Hi I have a budget of between £2000 to £2500 at a push including cables and speakers.

I Have been looking at the B&W 685 and the Dynaudio Audience.

My musical taste is a bit broadrange from The Clash, Ian Drury to Elbow etc.

I just put the Linn into the equations as a mate of mine buys nothing else but I didint know if the Linn would suit the Cyrus 6SE.

 

[Craig M.]

i think you can get a lot more for your money if you go secondhand. for the money a new k2 is you could have a 2nd hand avi lab series. i'm assuming you are talking about the used section at fanthorpes? i think they are a teeny bit pricey and personally would use ebay, as long as you don't buy a dog you could sell any ebay purchases on without loss if you didn't like the sound.

 

[Thaiman]

In this case....LINN. not that they will sound world apart and Kandy K2 is certainly good enough to rival some of a bigger boy but we are talking Linn here

The majik's sound is not for all taste though so ask Nick for a 7 days home trial first, I bet you will love Linn.

 

[drummerman]

Ebay's good if you know what you're looking for but I would'nt discount the used section of a good dealer. They usually give some warranty and you can always haggle. To hear the stuff before buying is a major plus.

Personally and if it was my cash I'd consider two completely different systems for 2 and a half grand. Naim's XS and CD5x. At £2800 (without speakers

) it may not be your first choice but the two make some of the best music I've had the pleasure to listen to for reasonable money. That they did that with a £30 speaker is both testament to these particular Naims and the speakers in question, Mordaunt Shorts MS20i Pearls. You can always upgrade the speakers in the future but I think you will have to spend a significant amount more and look at Neat or Spendor money. I'd have the XS over the Supernait and value for money is higher than with some of the company's outrageously priced systems, residual values and pride of owner ship are high. - Does everything well as long as you don't need silly volumes.

AVI's ADM9.1's active speakers with built-in pre-amp, DAC and powerful amplification is the other one. A bargain at just over 1.1k. They don't have the perceived solidity of sound or punch of the above system, nor do they do rythm quite as well but they have an astonishing clarity and one of the best high frequency performance I heard. Not the best for out and out rock but they do that too with a good sub plus dynamics are simply awesome for a speaker so small.

I heard quite a few systems and these two are the stand-out ones for me at their respective price points. That includes the Kandy's. Can't help with the Linn.