Have your say & ask the experts

Hi to all,

As my username suggests, I know nothing whenit comes to hi fi. I am now retired and getting into music, classical in a big way to ease my health concerns.

I am limited to a budget of £1000. and need, or would like, the following; ALL HI-FI.

1)  speakers.

2) cd player.

3) amp.

4) speaker cable, connectors etc to set up and how many.

I would also like to add to the basics in time and would like a turn table. My preference is on quality and sounds etc. though my budget cant cope with megga money. Am very grateful for any knowledgable persons help. Thank you.

would you consider used items, or only brand new?

To get a hifi that will sound great to you, start by reading and researching the reviews in What Hifi. If at all possible pay a visit to a hifi dealer and listen to what they have got. You want to get a feel for the products first, otherwise you get random advice based on what others think.

Have you got any CDPs, amps or speakers in mind?

PS - £1k is a great budget to start with, dont think of it as limited.

Manwell I know nothing:

As my username suggests, I know nothing whenit comes to hi fi.

Or classic British sitcoms apparently.

"Manuel"...

idc:

To get a hifi that will sound great to you, start by reading and researching the reviews in What Hifi. If at all possible pay a visit to a hifi dealer and listen to what they have got. You want to get a feel for the products first, otherwise you get random advice based on what others think.

Have you got any CDPs, amps or speakers in mind?

PS - £1k is a great budget to start with, dont think of it as limited.

listen to whatever anyone and everyone says ... ask many questions from those who own the equipment ... then make a shortlist and audition if you can ...

if buying 2nd hand it becomes a bit more difficult as you cannot always hear before buying ... main thing, is do not rush and dont believe everything you read or hear ... confirm everything from multiple sources 

£1000 is a good budget for both new or 2nd hand so good luck!

A thousand and one options, with as many suggestions to come no doubt. Mine, as AVI seems to be a popular theme at present once again, are exactly those ... AVI's active 9.1.

The maker, a keen classical listener himself. The product, a steal at the price but of course only if you like the sound. Good luck.

Thank you all so very much for the help and advice. Yes I will call at my local dealer and arrange a demo. I would rather obtain information from those in the know prior to attending a show room and have a sales person give me his/her opinions. I have read some articles on whathifi and found the guidance into equipment interesting and helpful. For those who have given me a greater insight into my lack of knowledge, I truly thank one-and-all.

As for the person who criticised the spelling of my pseudonym, "Manwell" as he rightly pointed should be spelt, "Manuel" as per the actor from Faulty Towers, well what can I say exept, have a nice day, were I you I would consider counselling for the apparent lack of understanding. I know nothing clearly depicts I can't even spell my name.....for you sir it's good night.  

Once you have had a listen at the dealers, let the forum know about what you think with specific kit in mind and then you should get some positive replies!

I'd recommend that you have a listen at the showroom and them come back and report your findings before commiting to a purchase. It'll give you time to mull over your options and prevent an impulse buy which you may subsequently regret.

As for the_lhc, he's a good guy really.

I wrote a suggestion a day or two back but I seem not to have posted it. This is the gist of it:

In my opinion, a good way of choosing a £1000 system is by being willing to sacrifice deep bass in exchange for better timing and expressiveness. Specifically, this can be achieved by choosing good but less expensive speakers that lack deep bass, making more of the budget available for the CD player and/or amplifier

I must emphasise that  the following system, since I have not heard it, is a suggestion for listening rather than a recommendation. It is based on other people's opinions, What Hi-Fi reviews and my previous experience of components from the same manufacturers. The suggestion is: Rega Apollo CD player (which seems to be less than £500, these days), Rega Brio 3 amplifier and Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 speakers (which are currently advertised for £50). This will leave enough for cables, interconnects and speaker stands.

Manwell I know nothing:

I am now retired and getting into music, classical in a big way to ease my health concerns.

I am limited to a budget of £1000. and need, or would like, the following; ALL HI-FI.

Arcam Solo-Mini  £750 and WHF 5 star review and award winner. (Contains amp, CD player, FM tuner and DAB tuner)

Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speakers £200. Also 5 star reviewed and award winners etc.

Atacam Nexus 6 speaker stands for about £65 - £70

Frankly if you spend £1000 and don't get some £65 stands and some decent speaker cable thrown-in with the deal (at least), then find a dealer who is more up-to-speed with the current economic realities.

If you can go a bit over the £1000 (or you find an Arcam Solo-Mini for a decent ex-demo price) then put the extra money towards better speakers. The  Solo-Mini can easily shine with £500+ speakers so long as they are reasonably 'efficient' (or sensitive if you like).

 

Hi Mate give the marantz 6003 cd and amp a listern you can get them with a pair of wharfdale 10.1 for around £600 project Genie 3 for £180 which will leave you £120 for phono leads and speaker cables 2 x Merlin Mozart £80 £40 pound left for speaker cable. Should be able to get 4 to 6 metres of decent speaker cable for £40. The only thing after that are speaker stands you could choose cheaper phono leads and speaker cable and fit stands into your budget and barter with your retailer.

With your budget i'd be looking at splitting it equally over cd amp and speakers, and certainly not a £500 cd with £50 speakers as suggested above. Maybe more of a leaning to speakers and/or amp than cd.

I found much less of a jump between a £300 cdp and a £700 one than between £200 (or were they £300) speakers and £850 ones.

The system i started with was the Nad C542, C320bee and B&W 601 S2's which was great and i'd suggest the latest versions of the CDP and Amp as worth a shot, with regard speakers my dad recently bought the warfdale diamond 9.1's which dispite being on sale now (and so only about £100 i think) sound great, or go for their replacement 10.1's