Anyone into HiFi?

I would ask on AVForums but I’m slightly intimidated and it’s not clear where I can ask a starter for 10. Years ago I had a stereo system with Mission 751 speakers, Arcam amp and a Marantz CD player. It was superb for the money and I’m looking to recreate the experience so my son gets to hear music “properly” at home instead of via his phone. That’s my excuse anyway...

I’m hoping for recommendations on floor standing speakers, amp and whatever I need to stream one of the high quality music services. Preferably Amazon Music HD/Ultra HD. Nothing high end, just a budget starter setup. Ideally, kit I can pick up secondhand would be nice. Large listening room.

I also want something for the kitchen party. It seems odd that you can’t buy a nice compact unit that does it all in one or am I looking in the wrong places?

Grateful for any advice. Thanks.

you will need to tell us your budget as theres a big difference in price to what each person considers 'budget' gear.
*also what you need completely - i.e do you need a turntable ,cd player etc

This item is a solid purchase with a solid sound.

https://www.richersounds.com/denon-dm41-dab-blk.html

And if your budget can stretch to these

https://www.richersounds.com/monitor...e-2-black.html

you'll be good to go !!

Rod from the parish will offer good advice

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Originally Posted by pugster

you will need to tell us your budget as theres a big difference in price to what each person considers 'budget' gear.
*also what you need completely - i.e do you need a turntable ,cd player etc

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I want what I mentioned. Speakers, amp and whatever I need to stream Amazon Music HD. Budget is flexible but I’m at the lower end. I want to try secondhand and pick up some ~200 quid floor standers, a middling amp and whatever box of tricks does streaming. Change from a grand would be good.

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Originally Posted by reggie747

This item is a solid purchase with a solid sound.

https://www.richersounds.com/denon-dm41-dab-blk.html

And if your budget can stretch to these

https://www.richersounds.com/monitor...e-2-black.html

you'll be good to go !!

Rod from the parish will offer good advice

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Useful, thanks. I had the original Denon Mini system years ago too. Can’t see that this does streaming though. And I want floor standers. Bigger sound hopefully, dog friendlier. That system looks ok for a second room but it’s not self contained enough for my kitchen.

at that price range i'd prob get a used amp and speakers (take your pick lots out there )and pair them with a streaming DAC ( yamaha wxad -10 )
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072BHJ8...72986969000-21

when choosing your amp/speakers just take a look around forums to see which pair well (such as naim and neat etc )

Responses will likely vary based on brand loyalty and cost. For me thats Arcam and B&W.

Have a look at:
- Q Acoustics 2050i or 3050 (dog friendly)
- Marantz PM6006 or Cambridge CA60
- Blusound Node 2i or Cambridge CXN or Google CCA

Get on AVF and YouTube for reviews of the above but only your ears will like what comes out, and your eyes will like what it sees. Room acoustics make a huge difference too, just remember an in-store demo room will be acoustically treated and likely near near no resemblance to your lounge / listening room.

Let us know what you find down the rabbit hole.

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...d-Sound-System

We’ve got a Sonos Move in our kitchen which to me sounds good, streams from net or my NAS can use Apple air play and has Bluetooth option. As name suggests it’s movable so can take into garden and still works on Wi-fi , if out of range switch to Bluetooth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Thomps68

We’ve got a Sonos Move in our kitchen which to me sounds good, streams from net or my NAS can use Apple air play and has Bluetooth option. As name suggests it’s movable so can take into garden and still works on Wi-fi , if out of range switch to Bluetooth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I’ve got a mk2 ford Granada 2.8i Ghia X in metallic red, hope this helps the op. ;-)


On a more serious note, if you are buying second hand I’d venture that there aren’t any really bad components these days and you could simply go with known brands. If bought at the right price and the don’t fit your needs/sound right, then buy something else and move them on.
I’d venture that even the worst component system will equal / better a all-in-one mid-low end streaming box.

I use Sonos for my streaming source but that doesn’t do hi res so can’t help there.
Amp wise, marantz, nad, Cambridge Audio, Cyrus, Yamaha, Pioneer etc...
Speakers, kef, b&w, MS, Castle, MA, Q, Mission, etc...

Go on gumtree and check the hifi stuff within a c. 25 mile radius. Then check reviews of the stuff that catches your eye. You'll get a decent wee system and have some fun too.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by stefmcd

Go on gumtree and check the hifi stuff within a c. 25 mile radius. Then check reviews of the stuff that catches your eye. You'll get a decent wee system and have some fun too.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

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Good call. Might brave Facebook marketplace too!

Something like the Marantz MCR612 will fit the bill. Unlike some streamers is genuine all-in-one with amp, streamer, CD and radio all included.

https://petertyson.co.uk/marantz-mel...2-music-system

I’ve a relatively high end system I may be looking to move on comprising linn axis turntable arcam dt 91 digital tuner arcam cd 192 CD player arcam a80 integrated amp arcam p80 power amp and bowers and Wilkins cm4 floor standing speakers sounds great it was quote pricey when new I think the speakers and cd alone were about 2k

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Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

I’ve got a mk2 ford Granada 2.8i Ghia X in metallic red, hope this helps the op. ;-)


On a more serious note, if you are buying second hand I’d venture that there aren’t any really bad components these days and you could simply go with known brands. If bought at the right price and the don’t fit your needs/sound right, then buy something else and move them on.
I’d venture that even the worst component system will equal / better a all-in-one mid-low end streaming box.

I use Sonos for my streaming source but that doesn’t do hi res so can’t help there.
Amp wise, marantz, nad, Cambridge Audio, Cyrus, Yamaha, Pioneer etc...
Speakers, kef, b&w, MS, Castle, MA, Q, Mission, etc...

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I was referring to the kitchen part of OP , I was assuming they weren't needing full scale HiFi in the kitchen!

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Originally Posted by Kingstepper

Something like the Marantz MCR612 will fit the bill. Unlike some streamers is genuine all-in-one with amp, streamer, CD and radio all included.

https://petertyson.co.uk/marantz-mel...2-music-system

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Thanks for that. It’s something like that I was envisaging.

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Originally Posted by Kingstepper

Something like the Marantz MCR612 will fit the bill. Unlike some streamers is genuine all-in-one with amp, streamer, CD and radio all included.

https://petertyson.co.uk/marantz-mel...2-music-system

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Originally Posted by Jubal

Thanks for that. It’s something like that I was envisaging.

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I have the Marantz M-CR 611 and wouldn't touch a Marantz music system again with a barge pole! Several problems, all following firmware updates. The last update caused a permanent failure of one component parts of the system and Marantz won't do anything about it as it's 6 months out of warranty!

Very poor customer service IMO.

I would go for the Denon PMA 60 HD streaming amplifier £400 and look for a pair of KEF Q35 floor standers on Ebay for about £130 a pair. These were award winning speakers, I sold loads of them and were awarded 5 stars in most reviews. They were very efficient so will make use of the power in the Denon.
You could bluetooth to a decent speaker in the kitchen, maybe Bose?
The Q Acoustic floor speakers are pretty decent, but I found the top end is very slightly exaggerated, however that is subjective and may suit a heavily draped/carpeted room.

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Originally Posted by Rod

I would go for the Denon PMA 60 HD streaming amplifier £400 and look for a pair of KEF Q35 floor standers on Ebay for about £130 a pair. These were award winning speakers, I sold loads of them and were awarded 5 stars in most reviews. They were very efficient so will make use of the power in the Denon.
You could bluetooth to a decent speaker in the kitchen, maybe Bose?
The Q Acoustic floor speakers are pretty decent, but I found the top end is very slightly exaggerated, however that is subjective and may suit a heavily draped/carpeted room.

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Thanks Rod. That’s the kind of steer I need to get started. Much appreciated!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

I’ve got a mk2 ford Granada 2.8i Ghia X in metallic red, hope this helps the op. ;-)


On a more serious note, if you are buying second hand I’d venture that there aren’t any really bad components these days and you could simply go with known brands. If bought at the right price and the don’t fit your needs/sound right, then buy something else and move them on.
I’d venture that even the worst component system will equal / better a all-in-one mid-low end streaming box.

I use Sonos for my streaming source but that doesn’t do hi res so can’t help there.
Amp wise, marantz, nad, Cambridge Audio, Cyrus, Yamaha, Pioneer etc...
Speakers, kef, b&w, MS, Castle, MA, Q, Mission, etc...

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FYI Sonos will be releasing a new S2 OS in JUne that will support "higher resolution" which people are expecting to mean Tidal and Qubos. Just that some older Sonos won't be able to take the update. But any new stuff will be fine

You might be interested in Cambridge Audio SX speaker series. I have large floorstanders from Monitor Audio and they are excellent but with young kids I have put them in storage for a couple of years. So I wanted some half decent bookshelf speakers for the interim period and bought the SX60s after a good review on What Hifi. Those Cambridge speakers were well under 200quid and I'm seriously impressed with them.

Cambridge Audio / Richer sounds do very good streamers they are a bit pricey though but worth it. There are others but I've not had a huge amount of luck with the cheaper ones.
For amp and speakers I'd be looking at 2nd hand on ebay or other more local sales sites. Modern names are more for the source component as you want streaming but all the old names you used to know - marantz, technics, b&W, Tannoy, Arcam, Mission, Monitor Audio, Quad, and more are still very good amps and speakers and if you pick right are available for peanuts.

If you want a one box solution there are things like Sonos, amazon's alexa (2 for stereo + available sub) or higher up the beanpole things like the B&W zeppelin or naim muso. You can also go DIY - find a cheap digital bluetooth amp on amazon for £20 and a pair of cheap bookshelf speakers from gumtree or ebay. I ran the latter as a kitchen system for a few years and it was just fine (not very aesthetic though). It held its own streaming from my phone as acceptable against my big Audio Synthesis / Chord Electronics / Cambridge audio / IPL 'office' system, at low volumes at least.

Have a look at dynaudio speakers, I’m on my fourth pair now and find they pair up very well with arcam amplification and CD player, just be aware they are 4 ohms so need some power to drive them effectively. You can pick up audience 40/50 bookshelf spears or the 60/122 range of floor standers for sensible money nowadays.

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Originally Posted by Kevin Glover

Have a look at dynaudio speakers, I’m on my fourth pair now and find they pair up very well with arcam amplification and CD player, just be aware they are 4 ohms so need some power to drive them effectively. You can pick up audience 40/50 bookshelf spears or the 60/122 range of floor standers for sensible money nowadays.

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Seconded, but do require some driving as you said. You'll need a decent 50 or 60 watts RMS to get the minimum out of them.
I've had a few blown tweeters through low power amps going into clipping.
Given my recommendation to the OP I would go for efficient speakers especially as he has a large room.

If you're on a budget and want a one box solution for streaming you could do worse than one of these, then just add the speakers of your choice

https://www.richersounds.com/bluesou...-2i-white.html

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Originally Posted by Rod

Seconded, but do require some driving as you said. You'll need a decent 50 or 60 watts RMS to get the minimum out of them.
I've had a few blown tweeters through low power amps going into clipping.
Given my recommendation to the OP I would go for efficient speakers especially as he has a large room.

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Good points well made as always Rod. I found with mine a power amp made a big difference for my front 3 in a 5.1 set up. I replaced the rears (audience 42’s) with some M&K Tripoles which for their size are amazing