Budget HIFI for my mate

He has finally out grown his Sony mini system and wants seperates but is on a budget.

He already has access to a turntable so the amp will need an amp with a phono stage he is willing to buy the amp second hand but I have suggested that he buys a new CD player and new speakers.

He is into indie/punk and rock so I thought the Denon PMA255 would be ideal as you can get them quite cheap second hand but it has no phono stage. Then there is the Marantz PM4000 but it probably would sound too warm for his tastes, the PM6010OSE or KI would be ideal and have phono stages but may be out of his league.

For the CD player I have suggested the Sony CDP370 which can be bought new for £80 and sound pretty good, and for the speakers the Tannoy M2.5 which can be bought from Richers for £60

http://ws4.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=TANN-M2.5-ROS

He was looking to try and get it all for £200 excluding speaker stands.

 

i should imagine you can pick up a Marantz PM66se for £55 from ebay- i've seen them for £50 BIN. Same amount would buy you a CD67 or £70 would buy you a Sony CDPXB920/930. Either sound MUCH better than an entry level Sony CDP.

Those Tannoy M2.5s are a good buy for £60- not sure where they originated from- they are at least 8 years old so not sure where they've been in hiding but they were originally around £150 and they certainly kick out a nice slab of bass

 

I think the PM66 is looking like a good bet, the only thing that puts me of a second hand CDP is the lasers tend to go fade. My parents Sony CDP is 5 years old now and its still working without a hint of problems.

PS Sorry this is slightly off topic but are you a student now? (looking at location)

 

that is a fair point AT but the QS and ES range of Sony cd players (CDPXB920/930/XA20es) are extremely well made and i would have no hesitation about buying a 2nd hand one. Certainly more confidence inspiring than Marantz efforts. But a CD67, especailly a CD67mk2 OSE for £50 would be worth a shot imo

erm...i kinda still am a student- got to resubmit a piece of work for my PGCE Post Graduate programme and thats it then...hopefully. I'm sick to death of kids. Thats why i have a car audio sales rep job lined up

 

I must say I am very impressed with my old Sony (now my parents) my Marantz CD6000 OSE LE sounds very very good but the Philips transport dosn't inspire me with confidence I have also heared problems relalting to Marantz reliability.

Its such a shame Richers don't have many genuine bargains any more

Edit also how would a £200 Toshiba DVD player peform as a CD player? I am not sure what model it is he paid £80 for it from Richers as it was ex display but it has an RRP of £200.

 

it will be 'ok' but not a match even for an entry level £80 cd spinner.

You could look for a old battleship dvd player as a potential candidate- a Pioneer 737 or 747 like mine, the Sony DVPS7000, Kenwood DVF9010, Toshiba SD900...seen all these, bar teh 747 and kenwood, for less than £100 on av forums recently

 

I think this may be a SD900 actually as that rings the bell, it has a metal chasis and its very solid. I guess the stereo output DAC is still poor quality though.

I might suggest he uses the DVD as a source if it means not buying speaker stands etc but then Linn has it right when they say garbage in = garbage out

 

The giant killer amp Pioneer A400 (but not the A400X) can be bought for around £70. Tom Evans modded A400 GTE is even better but costs more and difficult to find. A300R Precision is another excellent amp.

More details and links of this no-nonsense audiophile amp, see the data sheet at
http://www.gbaudio.co.uk/data/a400.htm

 

yes that is a point actually BM...had forgotten about the A400. I can thoroughly recommend the parterning cdp to the A300P too- the PDS505Precision as I had one! Very good cd player and a bit of a stonking transport too Again...something i would have no qualms about buying 2nd hand. Your mate should really have snapped up my old Teac I was flogging for £55 but timing wasn't quite right- was sold last Friday iirc

 

Why not 2nd hand speakers? For tha amp a creek £40

 

Just to add to the mix, I've got a PM6010OSE & CD6000OSE sitting doing nothing.

And, if you haven't sorted speakers, I've got a pair of Cresta 2's that are feeling lonely

 

I've got a yamaha cdc675 cd player going cheap too...

 

- 2nd hand Mission Cyrus One/Two amp
- 2nd hand Marantz CD-player of the '67' variety.
- 2nd hand B&W DM110i

Will sound remarkably life-like with Indy music. The Cyrus also has an excellent Phono stage.

 

He will probably want a proper turntable on as well when he has heared what I have done to my Project, I have fixed the problems and it sounds great, its actually blown me away, the first time HIFI has done that for a while.

It sounds like I am in a club but with much much tighter bass, clear vocals and a much softer treble.

He seems to like the look of the PM4000 as they are going to cheap and have a remote control, he dosn't want anything to old. He is looking at Pioneer, Denon and Rotel amps as well.

As for the CD player he is still open, he wants new speakers for ashetic(sp) reasons as these cannot be hidden like the separates.

I think the main issue though is he has £200 inc speakers and stands for a system which will blow away his Sony.

 

Stretching the budget a little bit, he might take a look at Marantz PM4000 en Marantz CD-player, connected to Mordaunt Short speakers. This system will do good justice to Indy, but beware of bright speaker cables. The Tannoy M2.5 is a safer bet, they never get strident.

 

Yeah thats what he wants to get there are cheap at Richers at the moment, as for interconnects I have a few that I sold on here, they are easily as good as the £10 ones you get in the HIFI shops.

I also have loads of bits of speaker cable so cables are not really an issue.

I know its a stretch but my sisters system sounds pretty good and that costs less than £100 all in.

 

well, theres more info of my cd player here - http://www.yamaha-service.de/products.php?idcat1=2&idcat2=12&lang=e&idcat3=12&idprod=48

http://www.yamaha-service.de/products.php?idcat1=2&idcat2=12&lang=e&idcat3=12&idprod=48

make me an offer...