New system needed. I'm new, grateful for your advice

[Bish909]

Hi all. I'm new to the forum and to be totally honest out of touch with the hi fi world these days (I don't think I knew much about it even back then!).

I've currently got an Arcam Alpha 7 & 8, Mission 751's and a Rega Planner 3. As you've guessed I bought these over 10 years ago when Gladiators was still on the telly! Apart from the Rega everything is very much on it's last legs or in the CD's case dead!

I need a new system that I'd like to invest in over the years to come and I'm looking for a bit of advice as all I've to go on over the past few weeks is my own research (that's a recipie for disaster then!). I've got a budget of around £6000 (I've saved each week for a long while). From what I've managed to glean I'm looking at the Roksan Caspian M2 amp and Cd, PMC 21's (The room is long an thin (Victorian) and I'll hang on to the Rega but upgrade the stylus and give it a service. I've also read that the Naim Nait 5si's might be worth a listen.

I'm booking a date with Audio T soon to have a listen but given you guys are the real experts I hoped you may be able to tell me where I'm going right or wrong and maybe have some other suggestions. Sorry to ask for your help but I'm a bit lost.

Thanks for any help and advice you may be able to offer.

Kindest regards. Bish

 

[Tenson]

I'd strongly recommend you get active speakers (Not sure what these are? Just ask.. or Google). These will give you the best sound for your money and they also let you adjust them to suit your room acoustics.

Most active speakers are professional (for recording studios) but there are some made for domestic rooms such as Meridian and ATC. PMC do make some wonderful active speakers but those available in a domestic finish are probably out of your price range. Though if you don't mind finish do look at other brands like Mackie, Neumann, Genelec etc..

Now, do you want to continue on the CD playing route or move to something more modern like an iPad with a Spotify Premium subscription and a hard disk with all your CDs copied onto it? Or both I suppose!

A CD player like the AudioLab 8200CDQ is a good option. It has a great CD player section but also has inputs to connect other digital equipment (iPad or whatever) and has a volume control. That last point is important because you can connect it directly to your active speakers or power amps. No need for a pre-amp or integrated amp. There are other brands who make similarly featured models like the Cambridge Azur 851C and Quad Elite CDP.

If you do insist on getting a more traditional integrated amp and passive speakers then I can't recommend the Azur 851A from Cambridge and PMC enough.

 

[Bish909]

Thank you so much for your help. I'll take that all on board and start looking into it. Much appreciated. Bish

 

[cumbrian_sounds]

You've got a lot of dosh there,

I've just replaced an ancient CD with a Marantz and the difference was only subtle in terms of sound quality and that's replacing a 27 year old Sony. If you want all the ipod?MP3 facilities on a CD you'll pay for them. My new Marantz CD 5005 has all the sound quality and mechanical precision for £199. It doesn't have the fancy stuff but what the hell? That leaves you with £5800 to blow on the rest. I can't see how spending more than £250 on a CD will give any noticeable difference, unless your hearing is as acute as a bat or a cheetah.

I don't know about active speakers, so I can't comment but I'd definitely set aside a couple of grand for a new speaker set-up. I have Monitor Audio silver RS8 floor standers and an RSW12 sub to match. They're a bit old now but still excellent...they should be at £2500 a few years ago. Position them well and I can't see the need for active compensation. The point is, get good stuff all the way through and don't blow the budget on fancy front end kit and leave yourself short on what makes the sound!

Also, for that budget don't forget good cabling that adds to the cost: and a new amp if you want. I swear by NAD but others may beg to differ.

I wish I had £6000 to spend...I could blow it all too easily! Happy hunting!