Recommend my mate an amp/speaker setup

mattyj1085 · 27 Feb 2008 at 08:31

A mate has got around £130 inc delivery to spend on speakers and amp setup. He said he wouldnt mind stretching to £150 if they are a fair bit better

He's not bothered about second hand and would prefer floor standing speakers. They are to connect to his pc

What good second hand speakers and amp can be had for around £130?

(I was thinking on the lines of B&W 601s as i have heard good things about them, i know they are not floor standing but have heard they are really good quality. No idea about amps)

cheers

LewisStuart · 27 Feb 2008 at 20:20

NAD or Cambridge Audio for small budget amps, Tannoy Mission B&W Kef for the speakers.

mattyj1085 · 28 Feb 2008 at 08:54

thanks , which 2nd hand NAD amps are quite good for around £60

Is a Cambridge A500 paired with B&W 601s a good combo? (thats presuming i can get the speakers for 80 and the amp for around 60 or 70)

SoapSurgeon · 29 Feb 2008 at 11:55

Not sure if this helps you or not but I have just sold a Cambridge Audio A500 on ebay for £41.

I always thought it was a good little amplifier, however, I have never actively compared it to anything else other than my AV receiver.

mattyj1085 · 29 Feb 2008 at 14:00

damn, was it you selling it with the shipping costs and not just local pickup. I would have had that for my mate

SoapSurgeon · 29 Feb 2008 at 14:55

nah, i was local pickup only. Still, I'm sure there will be another one along some time...

badbob · 29 Feb 2008 at 14:58

Going to have to go second hand, and really go to £200. Unless you know someone selling off £400 worth of NAD/B&W speakers for £150...which is unlikely.

branddaly · 29 Feb 2008 at 15:49

I've just purchased a new AV amp, so I'm just think about sticking my old NAD 302 onto the MM. Sonically its a good amp, but no remote control (it doesn't have the IR circuitry), and not much power, so its only really suitable for small rooms/sensitive speakers. I'll let you know if I do decide to sell it if you are interested.

badbob · 29 Feb 2008 at 15:51

I've just purchased a new AV amp, so I'm just think about sticking my old NAD 302 onto the MM

I wouldn't. You could keep it just to power the left & rights, with the av amp for the centre & rears. Compare 2 channel on your av amp against the NAD.

branddaly · 29 Feb 2008 at 15:56

badbob said:
I wouldn't. You could keep it just to power the left & rights, with the av amp for the centre & rears. Compare 2 channel on your av amp against the NAD.

The new AV amp is a Cambridge Audio 640r, which is one of the best AV amps for stereo (at the price point). The NAD won't compare in term of power (25 watts vesus 100 watts per channel), and if the sound isn't better the AV amp is going back and I'm getting a new stereo amp instead.

badbob · 29 Feb 2008 at 15:57

25 watts vesus 100 watts per channel)

A Rotel stereo amp @ 25W has more power than a Sony av amp @ 100W :-)

branddaly · 29 Feb 2008 at 16:50

badbob said:
A Rotel stereo amp @ 25W has more power than a Sony av amp @ 100W

The Nad 302 will peak at 50 watts into 8ohms. The CA 640r will peak (in stereo direct mode, which is only 2 channel) at 170 watts into 8ohms. In 7.1 mode it peaks at just over 130 watts into 8ohms.

I love stereo amps, but it came down to the fact I've not got room for a separate stereo and AV amp, so I've gone for the most musical AV amp I could get under 600 quid