Help Me

Hey guys,
im a bit of a hifi novice, so i wonder if someone could give me some advice
i have about £250 - £300 to spend on a system for my room at university
- i was considering this: http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1380, but im not sure whether it will sound that great
does anyone have any recommendations for seperates that i could buy from a high street store like Richer Sounds [i require amp, cd, radio and speakers]
thanks,

Mike :JPS:

 

Would you consider second hand?

Might be worth looking in the classifieds here and at http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk

The Denon is meant to be very good value for money but I think a decent set of 2nd hand seperates would be better

Andrew

Have just thought, I have a set of Kef Cantor II's for sale (http://www.holystonemill.co.uk/hifi/kef.htm) for £45+p&p, drop me a PM if you are interested

 

As andrew said, the Denon M31 is supposed to be the best mini system out there. It would be the easy way to go but you should be able to put something that sounds better together from 2nd hand separates or even possibly from Richer Sounds but don't let them palm you off with a bunch of brand names you've never heard of.

Michael.

 

I just bought a pair of these speakers at £87 for my brother-in-law's starter system and they sound grand.

http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/CatalogueItem_11155.html

The Kefs are easy to drive and lively and were considered a good buy even at a RRP of £200.

Also, Richer Sounds Marantz CD5400 is a good buy at £100.

http://www.richersounds.com/index.php?f=itemlist.php&c=1002

Then buy a 2nd hand amp for £100 (i.e. Marantz, NAD, Denon) and you're off and running!

Andy

 

As is Richer Sounds Denon PMA255 also at £100 and Mission M71i at £60.

That leaves enough for an interconnect (Cambridge Audio Pacific or QED Qunex 2) and some speaker cable (QED Silver Anniversary).

Later on as funds permit you can add some stands for the speakers. In the meantime just blu-tak them to a chest of drawers or whatever you have handy - or balance them on a pile of text books perhaps

 

replacing the interconnects that come with new kit can make a big improvement IMO, and replacements can be got cheaply s/h from forums like this. try an ad here, explaining what you want:
eg

half-decent interconnect between 0.5m and 1m to go between cdplayer and amp

pair of speaker cables, length xxx

 

This is a thread on cable isn't ????? Could I start another debate now?

 

OK, but there is cable and cable. Its a hardliner who would argue that the interconnects that come with the products are worth keeping, and that cheap new speaker wire is as good as better stuff that can be got s/h.

But let this thread not get too twisted!

So only advice is buy good quality recordings, or good music, whichever takes your fancy!!

Then transfer as directly as possible to the speaker drivers, taking care to choose your room. Good quality rooms can be bought s/h on this Forum.

 

I'd go along to somewhere like your local SevenOaks and have a listen to the Denon, and get them to let you try a couple of other sets of speakers with it.

Oh, and I'd have no qualms whatsoever about sticking with the freebie interconnect in a starter system like this. I did spend some money on a fancier IC in my first system and the difference really was absolutely minimal.

 

As an alternative to some of the opinions already expressed, for the budget and given your circumstances, I don't think you're going to do much better than the Denon. You need an amp, CD, tuner and speakers. It's got them all. The speakers are Mission-built and not that bad. Weigh this up against the time spent time looking for second hand stuff, gambling on the advice of your local RS, and matching ultra-budget components. Then there is the issue of speaker stands, cables and all the crap that comes with hi-fi. Think seriously about whether this is something you want to get involved with. The beauty of the Denon is that it's simple, small, self-contained and sounds great. You can stick it on a desk/shelf and forget about it, and spend your time listening to music, seeing bands, drinking beer, having a good time and writing an essay or two. Also, the Superfi price is keen but I'm sure you can find keener – try a non-chain dealer on your local high street and see what you can get out them. You may be surprised.

 

Good point Ron. I see where you're coming from. Wish I could be happy with a midi system as I sure would have alot more money to spent on CD's, live gigs, beer and women (oops, I'm married!).

Unbeatable.co.uk do the DM31 for a fiver cheaper than Superfi so there's a two pint head start already.

http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/CatalogueItem_12814.html

 

Ditton said,

'Good quality rooms can be bought s/h on this Forum.'

Great, I'd like a loft extension and a conservatory please.

 

Strictly those count as add-ons, tho they do have the effect of creating extra sense of space but at the cost of more boxes, for which the topic of interconects does then figure.

All in all, the advice to Student Quiksliver (watch that spelling mind) is understandably mixed. If you itch to become a hobbyist, then separates is the route, with opportunity to stray into tweaking. If you want a life, and maybe with youth on your side you should, then go do the Denon. It will be fun and do the business, and you have plenty of time ahead of you to become that hobbyist.

yours paternally ... (but with all best wishes) ...

 

Yes, good point Ron. The DM31 is very good...and you can always change the speakers on it which can apparently give a significant improvement.

Michael.

 

i am moving house shortly so i have just sold my amp set up which consisted of a cyrus aca7.5 and 2x cyrus apa7 monoblocks connected with a kimber hero i/c. i replaced said amps with an ex dem denon dra-f100 which i got for £49. the cyrus kit had an rrp of £2500 ish, the denon i guess would be about £150. as long as the denon is not pushed too hard i would suggest that there was little between them. this really has burst the bubble for me somewhat as i had thought that my kit MUST have been good at the price. so either denon are fab and cyrus are not, or expensive hifi is too expensive to dislike when you get it home.
hey! and its got an rds text tuner.

 

i also shifted my icons at the same time for a good price (£1200). a guy at work sold me his b&w 602's WITH stands for a ton. guess what.
everyone who has listened to my set up is in agreemnet that it sounds better now that i have ditched £5000 worth of cyrus gear.
i still roll with my gyro se, ol silver 250, benz mc silver and dino+ though.
the money i have made from my sales will probably go toward tweaking my front end a bit when i get to my new house.

 

Just as an example of a 2nd hand separates system, I bought my first system (below) for £235 on eBay. Sounds great considering the price.

 

I would have to suggest separates as well, have been buying different things for various systems around the house (kitchen, bathroom etc.) and if I put them all together I could get the system below which sounds pretty good:

Marantz Superscope Receiver - £10: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5722641256&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT (serving the bathroom well!)
Marantz CD42 - £12
Denon DCD500 - £12
Mission 760iSE (very good speakers) - £5
Or my now spare Kef Cantor II - £45
(I had spare cables but you would need to add for those of course)

All obviously plus p&p but I could get a very good sounding first separates system from that lot for less than £40!!! I'm fairly sure it would give the Denon a run for its money and imagine the left-over beer money!!

Andrew

 

The challenge is knowing which 2nd hand stuff to buy!

Here's a list of the sort of stuff I was recommended when I first bought my system:

CD Players
Marantz/Rotel/Technics players are good budget stuff, but steer clear of stuff that's older than 10 years, as the transports do eventually wear out.

Amps
Cyrus One/Two
NAD 3020
Various Arcam Alphas
Audiolab 8000A
QED 240CD

Speakers
Various small Missions
KEF Coda 7
Tannoy M1/M2

Just a sample of the stuff out there 2nd hand and cheap, which I'm sure others could add to.

 

hmmm.

New CDP - budget 100 - nothing wrong with a R.Sounds special.

Amp - got to be the early chrome bumper naim gear. budget 200 second hand. I cant see anything mentioned so far being better amp-wise.

some second hand b&w's, or missions, or KEF, or Tannoy.. just the best you can get for the cash.

Getting a second hand quality amp like the Naim at this price point is my advice mate, this is where I think you will notice the difference in your budget.

You can get a cheap interconnect for a tenner, and speaker cable for 20 quid if you want to move up from the free stuff. What would it be like? absolutely fine.

Cheers
Chris

Anyway, welcome to the forum.