Spec me a sound set up, for this budget

devilkazuya

devilkazuya

devilkazuya

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i am starting to put money aside for a hi-fi set up.

i have a real thing about sound quality, and like to know i am getting the best for the money i am spending. I will be buying an amplifier, a cd player, and a pair of speakers.

I think i will budget at £300-400 for each piece of equipment (so approximately £1000 overall)

Could those who are really in the know spec me what they would go for in this price range, and preferably with detailed reasons in terms of the kind of sound, and component quality.

I listen to different kinds of music, but some primary examples would be funk, ambient, rock, progressive rock.
 
Audiolab 8000S for the amplifier (around £200-£250 second hand, not the new ones)
Speakers whatever floats your boat.

Visit a local hifi shop.
 
devilkazuya said:
anyone know enough about this to help with recommendations?
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Best recommendation is to go listen to some kit and get a feel for it. DON'T just buy the first thing that catches your eye or sounds better than a midi system. You should put some effort in a try a variety of gear. Most manufacturers tend to have a "house sound", i.e. a style of presentation which only their kit does. The tricky part is deciding which suits your needs, often because you yourself probably don't know what you like yet.

In addition, don't go an automatically buy something just because someone else recommends it (which includes recommendations on Audiolab). Make sure that YOU like it.
 
i guess what i am looking for on this thread, is a list from those who have knowledge/experience of a range of each of these components in my price range, which are reputed for their quality. Then list them, with a brief summary of their sound, so i have a few in my head to consider.
 
devilkazuya said:
i guess what i am looking for on this thread, is a list from those who have knowledge/experience of a range of each of these components in my price range, which are reputed for their quality. Then list them, with a brief summary of their sound, so i have a few in my head to consider.
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You can try looking around for cheaper s/h kit from say Naim, Linn, Quad and Rega, all of which have slightly different sounds.
Of those, if you can stretch to some s/h Quad gear, would definitely be worth getting a dem on.
 
i am going to be auditioning some KEF iq5 floor standing speakers tomorrow, and some b&w cm1 book shelves. The guy at sevenoaks is telling me that the book shevles are better, and that book shevles are better in general for sound, as the drivers are easier to drive etc.

What do you guys think?
 
devilkazuya said:
i am going to be auditioning some KEF iq5 floor standing speakers tomorrow, and some b&w cm1 book shelves. The guy at sevenoaks is telling me that the book shevles are better, and that book shevles are better in general for sound, as the drivers are easier to drive etc.

What do you guys think?
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For similar price bracket, standmounts are usually of higher quality. However he's wrong in that standmounts are easier to drive, usually floorstanders are (if using a certain bass driver arragnemnt push-pull which I believe improves speaker efficiency) So he's talking out of his hole (generally) Of course you can buy inefficient monitors ie NHT...it's all about speaker design.

Kefs have gone downhill, and I don't think much of B&W sound. Spend some time demoing various makes, and don't just buy something on your visit demo /in one shop.
 
i am interested in QUAD after your recommendation. They look very nice too with the piano gloss finish.

I will give the ones in sevenoaks a listen tomorrow. Hopefully i can get some cheaper elsewhere though. The 12L seems like it's got some good write ups, as well as the lesser 11L .
 
Quad are more suited to classical music? (more laidback sound?) If you like the Kef sound keep a eye out for Reference series, you might be able to get a pair of Model 1.1's for around £400. These are far better than the Q series (I've owned both Q and Reference)

I'll still stick with my Audiolab recommendations, it has the speed and attack suited for modern music, music like Enigma sounds fantastic. However it does show up poor recordings ie Oasis. It also has a pre-amp bypass mode when you move into HT (some other amps lack this feature)
 
i demoed some stuff today in sevenoaks.

tried the b&w cm1 speakers, which were excellent i might add. For the price apparently they really sound like something more expensive. I was listening for about 90 mins in joy.

The first hour i spend on an audiolabs 8000s and and audiolabs cd player. I was really enjoying myself. Everything was detaield, yet very full and enveloping.

The remainder of the time i tried some arcam stuff, and i jsut wasn't having as much listening.

Definitely of these, the audiolabs stuff is winning out. Going back tomorrow for another demo to try the audiolabs with a different set of speakers.

Squiffy, why do you say not to go for one of the new ones of the 8000s?
 
devilkazuya said:
i demoed some stuff today in sevenoaks.

tried the b&w cm1 speakers, which were excellent i might add. For the price apparently they really sound like something more expensive. I was listening for about 90 mins in joy.

The first hour i spend on an audiolabs 8000s and and audiolabs cd player. I was really enjoying myself. Everything was detaield, yet very full and enveloping.

The remainder of the time i tried some arcam stuff, and i jsut wasn't having as much listening.

Definitely of these, the audiolabs stuff is winning out. Going back tomorrow for another demo to try the audiolabs with a different set of speakers.

Squiffy, why do you say not to go for one of the new ones of the 8000s?
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Because they were bought out by IAG/Wharfdale, and no longer made in the UK (China now I believe) Good call on Arcam, they do seem lacking compared to Audiolab sound quality (a mate sold his Arcam 9/9P combo after borrowing my S/SX combo) :D

I don't think Audiolab matches well with B&W, and I think B&W are generally overrated speakers (I own a pair btw) personal preference of course. I think Kef matches well with them (try Kef RFM range if possible)
 
if the Kef you are suggesting are reference, then they cost like £1300 don't they, which is well out of my price range. I am stretching to about £450-£500 ish for the b&w cm1's if i go for those. I really did enjoy those speakeres today. I think i am trying some floor standing monitor audio SR6's tomorrow. I'll tell you how they go with the audiolab.

Oh, and the audiolabs 8000s i tried is the new kind obviously, made in china. What is wrong with that in your opinion, it was really good sounding. Didn't Tag McClaren buy them before hand, then over engineered them and went bankrupt for spending to much money on development, and they were selling them at like £1000, yet the compnenets were pretty much indentical, just the finish on the housing was nicer i am told.

Which b&w speakers do you own by the way?
 
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Can i jump in here, slight OT.

I have always liked the B+W/Arcam combination, based on your findings i will be trying an Audio Lab - can i ask what model + price the amp you where listening too was ? I have some b+w speakers already but i am after a 2 chanel amp for the fronts/music duties.
 
Shimmyhill said:
Can i jump in here, slight OT.

I have always liked the B+W/Arcam combination, based on your findings i will be trying an Audio Lab - can i ask what model + price the amp you where listening too was ? I have some b+w speakers already but i am after a 2 chanel amp for the fronts/music duties.
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i was testing out the audiolabs 8000s, and it was excellent really, and distinctly better than the arcam amp i was also trying. The speakers i was testing were the b&w cm1, and iw as heavily impressed by them. I'll have more to say after this next afternoon as i am going back in for more testing.
 
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