First Hi Fi for daughter

[wesimmo]

Thinking about buying my 15 year old daughter her first taste of her own Hifi for Xmas.

When she's at my house festering in her room she's normally happy listening to stuff off her phone through my Bose Soundlink II Bluetooth speaker, so doesn’t have massively high expectations.

She does like vinyl and has use of a turntable at her mum's so has some of her own records, therefore at some point adding that in might be a requirement, but she doesn’t own even one CD that I'm aware of.

There's not a lot of room to play with so looking at a compact set up.

I like the quirky look of the Fosi Audio MC331 - https://www.richersounds.com/fosi-audio-mc331-black/

And was going to add Wharfdale Diamond 9s - https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-diamond-9-0-black/

I can get the package for ~£200 which is about where I want to be as a price point.

Is either of those a glaring mistake?

 

[hornetstinger]

I had 9's they're decent but need a little bit more bass (or add a subwoofer)

I'd step upto 9.1, worth spending the extra

 

[Gray2233]

Agreed on the 9.1's, you can actually get them from the rainforest for £129 so only a tenner more and a big difference imo.

If you want to add a turntable the Audio-Technica LP60X for £120 or so is a solid entry level bit of kit.

 

[hornetstinger]

There's wiim amp, that's a DAC, integrated amp, headphone amp, and a good streamer- plus it has room correction and bass management, subwoofer integration.

 

[whitecrook]

+1 for wiim amp pro

 

[hornetstinger]

+1 for wiim amp pro

Or Wiim Amp Ultra that has a (small) screen.

Also Eversolo Play that isn't bad price, much bigger screen, also option of CD player. I think it can rip and encode music too? Not sure if on connected USB drive or to a NAS drive, if so that's pretty useful, whether flac/vorbis/mp3 not sure

Eversolo Play Streaming Amplifier All in One Player

Eversolo，Play，Streaming Amplifier， All in One，Player

www.eversolo.com

 

[wesimmo]

The 9.1s might be worth looking at for a tenner more, though the neighbours might prefer less bass from the 9s..

But spending 4 times the amount on the amp is a bit excessive.

 

[Gray2233]

The 9.1s might be worth looking at for a tenner more, though the neighbours might prefer less bass from the 9s..

But spending 4 times the amount on the amp is a bit excessive.

If volume levels are kept in check I imagine they'd be happier with the 9.1's, it's not so much about thumpy bass as balancing out the low end. I wouldn't be surprised if the 9.0's were worse in that regard and did get a touch thuddy/one tone that tends to drive people up the wall, great speakers don't get me wrong but ideally best suited as rears in a 5.1 imo.

I think the AMP/DAC you're looking at is decent choice, just hold in mind you might have to deal with valve replacement over time, which may or may not be a problem depending on what they're supplied with. Good aesthetic but I'd personally be more inclined toward a fully solid state offering, but that's more of a personal preference than anything specific.

 

[hornetstinger]

If volume levels are kept in check I imagine they'd be happier with the 9.1's, it's not so much about thumpy bass as balancing out the low end. I wouldn't be surprised if the 9.0's were worse in that regard and did get a touch thuddy/one tone that tends to drive people up the wall, great speakers don't get me wrong but ideally best suited as rears in a 5.1 imo.

Also at louder levels you're working that little driver harder

 

[mid_gen]

Well this thread went as expected

For £200 what you’ve linked is going to be absolutely fine.

 

[Gray2233]

Well this thread went as expected

For £200 what you’ve linked is going to be absolutely fine.

Hey, don't look at me! I just think the 9.1's are worth an extra tenner over the 9.0's.

 

[wesimmo]

Well this thread went as expected

For £200 what you’ve linked is going to be absolutely fine.

I did fear it might...

It's not like she's even that bothered by having to use my Bluetooth speaker but she does love music and I want her to have something to unwrap, plus claim my speaker back for kitchen use.

Her main present is tickets for us to go to All Points East to see Tyler The Creator, not my first choice...and that soon gets expensive fast when we live in Newcastle.

 

[Gray2233]

I did fear it might...

It's not like she's even that bothered by having to use my Bluetooth speaker but she does love music and I want her to have something to unwrap, plus claim my speaker back for kitchen use.

Her main present is tickets for us to go to All Points East to see Tyler The Creator, not my first choice...and that soon gets expensive fast when we live in Newcastle.

If it's Upon Tyne you might be able to nip into Richer Sounds on Clayton Street and get a better combo deal, as long as you're strict about your budget they're generally pretty happy to help and have a certain amount of leeway to give you deals.

The only thing I'd be adamant about is that you don't need cables/banana plugs, any sufficient gauge CCA or OFC cable for less than a tenner will be just fine and plugs can be had for less than a fiver (unless of course they throw that stuff in for free).

 

[hornetstinger]

If it's Upon Tyne you might be able to nip into Richer Sounds on Clayton Street and get a better combo deal, as long as you're strict about your budget they're generally pretty happy to help and have a certain amount of leeway to give you deals.

The only thing I'd be adamant about is that you don't need cables/banana plugs, any sufficient gauge CCA or OFC cable for less than a tenner will be just fine and plugs can be had for less than a fiver (unless of course they throw that stuff in for free).

Richer sounds is a retail store they're salespeople.

That's fine if you want to be sold something...

Bet they'll recommend Dali first thing lol

 

[Gray2233]

Richer sounds is a retail store they're salespeople.

That's fine if you want to be sold something...

Bet they'll recommend Dali first thing lol

They're not awful people if you go in with a little knowledge and very specific terms, which I suspect the OP can manage just fine.

He'd be buying from them anyway, salespeople work on commission more often than not so it very much goes both ways if you can turn the fact against them. They'll give a good sale to a savvy person rather than get no sale at all, I rarely meet anyone in the audio industry that will argue the toss at that level for those reasons.

Same with anything where there's a negotiable factor, buying a house/car etc.

 

[wesimmo]

If it's Upon Tyne you might be able to nip into Richer Sounds on Clayton Street and get a better combo deal, as long as you're strict about your budget they're generally pretty happy to help and have a certain amount of leeway to give you deals.

The only thing I'd be adamant about is that you don't need cables/banana plugs, any sufficient gauge CCA or OFC cable for less than a tenner will be just fine and plugs can be had for less than a fiver (unless of course they throw that stuff in for free).

Yeah, the amp looks like its a deal with the store thing anyway for some reason, can't add it to the basket online so was resigned to a trip into town.

I've probably got some half decent interconnects in one of my baskets of cables somewhere and I can probably cut off enough length of speaker cable from the excess on my living room stereo for what she'll need.

 

[Gray2233]

Yeah, the amp looks like its a deal with the store thing anyway for some reason, can't add it to the basket online so was resigned to a trip into town.

I've probably got some half decent interconnects in one of my baskets of cables somewhere and I can probably cut off enough length of speaker cable from the excess on my living room stereo for what she'll need.

The only thing I'd let them fiddle you with a little would be asking you to buy the 12.1's depending on what your own speakers are, it is £50 more than the 9.1's at base value but they're legitimately hardcore at that price point.

Could arguably be worth replacing your own kit and giving her your old depending on what you have, and they might even give you a wee' discount as they're prone to do in store.

That said, it's always a little bit of a creep in cost and the 9.1's are timeless, if you've a fairly hard budget stick to it.

 

[Admetos]

Yeah, the amp looks like its a deal with the store thing anyway for some reason, can't add it to the basket online so was resigned to a trip into town.

I would also check Peter Tyson clearance section, there is often some quite good discounts in there.

Peter Tyson Clearance - Audio & Home Entertainment Sale

Discover amazing audio & home entertainment products at great prices in the Peter Tyson clearance sale. Sign up to PT VIP for exclusive offers & benefits.

petertyson.co.uk

 

[Vogon]

Yep 9.1 considerably better than 9's IMO.
Recently got a Denon Unit for my son and paired with the 9.1s, pretty decent sound for the budget IMO.

 

[john_smith]

Jumping into this thread as i'm in the same situation as the OP.

You can buy the amp now....but pre order for Jan stock. Is there a better / equilivent one available for a similar price? I've just ordered a pair of 9.1s