20 years since I had a separate stereo system !!

memphisto

memphisto

memphisto

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
12,925
Hi all,

Just wanted to post somewhere about today. So I'm a home cinema fan and moved from a stereo system to home cinema probably 20 years ago. Anyway fast forward and I finally have the room and the funds to get a stereo system again.

So using a combination of Facebook and eBay I've managed to put together a system. Given a budget of less than £150 by the Mrs my system and cost can be seen below

Amp
Nad 312 - £35

Tuner
Pioneer f-477l - £5

Speakers
Wharedales Diamond 220 - £30

Now I'm missing a cd player but have bought a Denon dcd 520 AE which I'm awaiting delivery of £65

However hooked the other bits up to my pc for some YouTube and I've been blown away by the sound which says 2 things

1: I thought music peaked with Alexa
2: omg what have I been missing !

Now I know it's a budget system and I know it's also old but just so happy right now and also can't wait to see what it sounds like when I get the cd player :)

So if there's any stereo people out there like me who have though there home cinema system can cut it with music I'm just going to say maybe, but if you can put together two systems then it might be the way to go !
 
Well finally got the cd player delivered today,

Put on a bit of Def Leppard (saw them in Glasgow last night )

And from the first listen hearing louds of stuff haven't heard in the songs before so clear things like the wobble in the guitars the different drum sounds. I know it's cheap and cheerful in the grand scheme of things even throwing in the £30 I spent on cables but one happy listener !
 
Moving on,

I had bought some gear it cable 14awg and banana plugged as well as 2 pairs of j&d RCA cables which hooked everything up and formed my first impressions.

All worked great but then the guy who I bought the amp off said he had some chord carnival biwire cable.

Purchased 2x2m cost £10 and wow what a difference but unfortunately the upgrade bug caught.

So I've also sourced some black rhodium symphony interconnects for £30 which used to retail for £200 ?

Again an old cable but I'm hoping a upgrade if not just for now but for future system upgrades ??

Anyway got the bug again and absolutely loving listening to every song I ever heard in a totally different way.

This is a budget system total cost so far £215 and although budget hoping I'm on the right path !
 
Thanks for the comments not sure what the chord carnival is awg wise but it's significantly thicker in that respect :)

And as for interconnects I'll let u know £5 Amazon cable versus the one I've bought when it arrives but I'll be honest it's the only £30 I'll be spending on interconnects for a number of upgrades to come !
 
Hi when I say big I was happy and must say was maybe over egging it, it may have just been the cable upgrade in itself rather than the bi wiring as it's not comparing like for like.

However listened to the same song before and after dry county bon Jovi and the bass was tighter the notes just a tad crisper and I could hear the tinkles if the piano in the background as well as the high hats etc just clearer.

And for a tenner well worth it.

The black rhodium cables have come today but I need to re position a few things as there only 0.5m long but looking forward to the £5 Amazon interconnects versus £200 RRP black rhodiums
 
All good points we spend what we can and we like what we like at the end of the day !

Plugged in the black rhodium symphony's and left the Amazon cables in another input so could basically play a few songs with each plugged in.

Now not going to say there was an earth shattering difference but my everything just seems to bit harder, be a bit more expressive and there was just a bit more detail.

My gut tells me this cable is way better than my system and could stand a fair few upgrades but I'm at the point where I'm thinking I'm pretty much getting as much as I can out if the system I have without spending silly money and damn does it sound good !
 
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