Hate having to ask...

...but, I'm in a new country, I'm starting from scratch and I've not got a clue what to get. I don't want to break the bank either, so purchases need to be made ultra carefully!

Budget - well, probably a couple of hundred bucks per component. Think I'd like to try out a multi-box set up, or at least something that can be expanded, should I get the itch again. New, second-hand, DIY, vintage, anything considered. Must look good - HOBBY is taking a back seat in my life, so it's gotta blend into my living room, and not dominate it! In fact I'll probably hide the boxes unless they are attractive. Actually the vintage look has it's attractions at the moment. Speakers - I like floorstanders, I actually think they are less intrusive than stand mounts on decent stands (I'm just weird,OK).

A clean midrange and good seperation is probably most important. I like a fair amount of low end welly, reasonably controlled (I'm asking for budget kit, so trying not to ask the moon).

Amp and speakers will be purchased first and used on the end of a PC until I get my arse in gear and buy a CDP.

So there's the brief. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to advise on an outstanding (for the price level) combination of bits and bobs, available in the US. I can wait for a while so feel free to suggest things that come up on eBay from time to time.

 

I suspect that you're going to find that the low end of new gear has been washed away by home theatre. That said, there are some pretty decent AV receivers around which will do the business for 2 channel (and more should you decide to expand). The denon AVR-2805 looks like a bit of a bargain. Denon also make some fairly tidy DVD players which will double as CD transport. And you can use the receiver to act as a DAC for your computer.

For speakers.. Paradigm and Infinity are worth a look, you'll find Monitor Audio at Best Buy, which is probably one of the better places to shop if they let you road speakers at home for 30 days . Fry's is probably a good place for bargain hunting Receivers, but again Best Buy is pretty cheap.

The "boutique" stores will do 2 channel, but it will break your budget.. Rotel is the low end. There's an arcam dealer in San Francisco.. You can probably find the Brit stuff your looking for, you'll just have to hunt around. If you're in the Bay area there are several "wank fantasy" hifi emporiums that you should steer clear of

Two other websites to check:

audiogon.com - the sane version of ebay; it's classifieds (rather than auction) for most items too. Don't be afraid to "lowball", no-one else is

http://www.jeffssoundvalues.com/Default.htm - this store carries some interesting stuff. Pretty good to deal with - I've bought just one thing though..

 

stumblin,
if you are already using your pc why not go the squeezebox (or airwaz apple thingy ptui) route? get a decent dac at a later date or a high end cinema processor (lexicon etc.) if that's your bag and you'll never know the difference from a really high end cdp.
as for amp and speakers well best buy is kind of the comet equivalent over there or see if there are any decent 2nd hand dealers. you may also want to take a look at some local pawn shops - i built my first system by buying 2nd hand at pawn shops when i was over there.
cheers


julian

 

for a clean mid,s/h PMC DB1?

 

What does a second-hand pair of meadowlark kestrels go for in the US? They should be much more easily available there...

Rotel stuff is excellent performance for the money, and should have no probs picking up a pre/power for not too much, and they make a pretty good combo with the meadowlarks.

 

You don't fancy putting together another Silverline system then?

 

Isaac, have you forgotten? The Rotel RA 1062 is the best amp there is, period .

I know where you can get a cheap DAC that is rather good

Michael.

 

I'd go for a s/h 70s vintage Sansui integrated or Marantz receiver and a pair of smallish Pro JBLs (if possible). All CDPs sound approximately the same, so I'd get something very cheap to use while saving for a proper source

 

Would love to, and given the budget would go back to them in a flash. But I've decided that other things are more important to me than HOBBY. Jumping out of planes, race car driving, learning to fly a cesna, getting my black belt, MBA, all are on the list and something has to give if I'm to achieve even some of them.

 

I had actually considered this. I'll likely get taxed to death bringing it into the US though

 

What, the DAC or the Rotel? I had to pay €43 in duty and VAT to bring it to Portugal. And VAT is 19% here. I can't imagine you'd have to pay more in the US.

Michael.

 

they'll probably think it's a bomb and you'll get deported after a full on bum search.
cheers


julian

 

if you are in the bay area (i didn't catch exactly where in ca you are) just north of sf in marin county is a 2nd hand hi fi shop in san rafael called european electronics. i used to work there and that's where i caught the hi fi bug. often there is some real rubbish in there, but you do find the occasional gem and usually at a great price. in san rafael there is also a place called the banana shop that also is sometimes a good place to trawl. there are also two good places in berkeley, one on university ave and one on shattuck. don't remember the names of these two, but i do recall that the shattuck one was the nicer (new kit and probably higher end stuff) the university one had 2nd hand stuff. i think it was fairly close to campus, but still several blocks down toward the bay, on the south side of the street. hope this helps.