New System

Hi All, My first post here.

I will shortly have a budget of £3-£3.5K for a complete system i.e. CDp amp & speakers. It seems for that budget that I can basically get an entry level offering from the likes of Naim,Cyrus, MF, Quad etc etc. It seems an awful lot of money to start at entry level so my questions is wether it is worth trying to get slightly bettter components.
This is just an example or two but the new MF Xray V3 looks very nice, but I may be able to get a higher spec amp from MF than the X-150, 2nd hand, or ex demo, that should work well with the Xray as they are both from MF. Or maybe the quad 99 cdp but picking up a 2nd hand quad amp etc.
On a different note could you use a couple of Quad 909 power amps as mono blocs.
cheers

 

welcome!
it's up to you if you want try going second hand with any of these items.you really need to be sure of what you want to make this route work.
on the subject of new you need to book an audition of all your options. think hard about where your speakers need to go and size/colour preference in advance.
as a starter for ten my best suggestion is...

naim cd5x
naim 112x
naim 150x
proac tablette reference 8 on mission stance.

price without speaker cable is £3485.

if you find a better sound i wanna hear it!

 

Its funny that you of all people should reply as I live in Aldershot and I was going to visit your shop shortly, in fact I might pop over this weekend if I could get a little advice?

I perhaps didn't phrase it very well but I meant to say that i could audition an entry level kit in a dealer or risk getting a better system by puying 2nd hand ex demo etc?

 

Before jumping the gun wih suggestions and prices, Eon, what size is your listening room and what types of music do you listen too ?

What have you heard before that you did/didn't like and why ?

 

At the moment the listening room is quite small, but I should be moving shortly to somewhere larger. I have a lot more money to spend than the £3.5K

I mostly listen to chilled techno, dub, downbeat dance, a little hip hop, mostly music without vocals though.

I am open to suggestions as I haven't had a chance to listen to anything recently but I have been doing a little research in mags & online etc as my cash doesn't hit my account for a month.

 

Get Alan at PJ to do the work: he should be able to set up three or four different systems in that price range so you can have a listen to some of the options.

If it was me, i'd buy secondhand or ex-dem, but if you're not really sure what you're after a dealer dem may be a better bet.

-- Ian

 

If I had to replace my whole system tomorrow with a budget of £3.5k, I would go out and buy the following without hesitation:

Arcam DiVA CD192 £850
Van den Hul D102mkIII £85
Arcam DiVA A90 £850
Chord Odyssey 2 x 3m biwired £204
Castle Conway3 £930
Equipment Rack £300
Olson Sounds Fantastic £85
Eupen GNLM 05/2.5 x 2 £96

That's a grand total of £3400

 

Used Wadia 830 £1100
Used B/C 200.2 £1100
Pair of Meadlark Kestrals usd £500
that leaves £900 for a stand, cables and plinths
It'll take the naim system apart, and be more rewarding.
Genuine PRaT, music, dynamics and serious bass control, with plenty of groove and no mechincaly forced pace.
A nice little musicaly involving and poweful system, that will give long term enjoyment and pride of ownership. Wm

 

And those components at those (used) prices come up all the time of course. He'll only be searching eBay and Audiogon for...ooohhh....about A YEAR

Agree that it would probably be the better system though

Michael.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I have been googling your suggestions and there are some nice looking bits of kit.

I will probably try and buy new as once I have my cash I won't want to wait I'm afraid

 

there's a surprise

I'd certainly recommend a Wadia front end (integrated or Trans/Dac).
Their s/h prices are excellent and that is not a poor reflection on their staying power as the s/h models are generally a victim of their owner's desire to upgrade to an even better Wadia.

I'd say that the popular consensus over here is that Wadia front-ends are pretty decent. They may not suit all tastes but no single product ever does.

Eon, it may be an idea to hang about here (and other forums ) for a while to build up knowledge of what you're after as >£3,500 is a lot of dosh for your first foray into hi_if but there is no substitute for listening to systems before buying. I think we can all admit that we've bought equipment that was great at first but just didn't cut the mustard in the long term.

One of the great things about Z/G is the openness of the members here and the fact that invitations to come and have a listen to their systems are quite common. I don't know if there are any 'bake-off's' coming up soon but it might be an idea to come along to one or two. Experience has taught many of us that while some magazine/forum recommendations can carry weight, they can also be disappointing for you.

You also mentioned that you'll be moving soon and your listening environment will be changing, I can't stress enough the need to match equipment to your room. The Proac 8's which have been recommended may be fantastic in your current room but the increase in space may rob them of their qualities. For example, the room may create a bass 'suck-out' and consequently rob the sound of mid-range and have an adverse affect on the high frequencies or it may bloat the bass and have the opposite effect.

Building a great system, which suits your needs will never happen over night.

Oh, and welcome to the forum .

 

But then of course if you do go down this route, it is only proper that you buy new from the dealer!

 

buying second hand involves a huge amount of trial and error if you dont know what kit sounds like, and you dont know what it will sound like together.

Its what many (most?) of us have done, and its taken (me for example) years to get a setup that Im happy with.

There are loads of shops where you can get a dealer demo of kit they have, mixing in their ex-demo and second hand kit so you can save money and get a better sound... maintaining the luxury of the dealer dem, and the instant-money-burning-whole-in-pocket thing!

the setup WM reccomended, or a dozen other ready-made ex/dem second hand setups I can think of will be the preference if sound quality is top of the agenda.

Some shops have more ex-dem second hand kit than others.. where do you live?

Cheers
Chris

 

Being from the hi-fi camp of 'music should stir the soul' I'd go for Daytona's choice.

It may not be the most 'accurate' in terms of colouration and detail but it'll swing yer pants just fine.

 

Well, what I did (and would happily do again), albeit with a budget a bit lower than you're talking about, is go for a used NAD silverline system - S500 CDP and S300 amp should come in maybe round £1200 used, or for a few hundred more you could get S100 / S200 pre/power. That'd leave plenty for a nice big pair of speakers of your choice, plus whatever faffing around you want to do with magic wires and the like.

 

If you are going to buy new or ex dem, do try to get a listen to the new Exposure stuff mated to some smooth meaty speakers (the Vandersteens seem to be a match made in heaven)

 

I'd second Robbo's comment. If you take advantage of dealer's time and space it would be a poor show to then buy the kit you heard used.

If I were you I'd consider trying to get hold of a decent used CDplayer - one example based on my preferences and certainly one to consider: Sony 777ES quite easy to obtain used for around £800 (seen two go at that price last week), far better CD playback than a Cyrus CD8 (IMO) and good SACD playback, and bullet proof. easy resale if you dont like it. EDITED TO ADD: I'm not rec' this simply because I use a similar machine, but specifically because I find them lively, punchy, good bass, good with techno, house and hip-hop (and other genres too.

Then take the CDp to a dealer to determine your best options for amp and speakers. Merlin would probably counter this by saying choose speakers first, then get an amp that will drive them properly and dont get too hung up on the quality of the source. Equally valid advice really.

 

Yes, that exposure/vandersteen setup at the Bristol show was great fun and superb VFM.

 

I had my face squashed up to PJ Hifis window on Sunday (apparently they go to church on Sundays which is why they weren't open )
I think I will probably buy new and listen to a few choices. I am just debating now whether to go for something at the top of my budget or go for something a little cheaper and spend the extra cash on other stuff.