Hi-Fi recommendations

Inspired by the tasty hi-fi set ups in the other thread, I thought I’d start a separate one to ask for recommendations.

I currently have a modest set up that consists of:
Pro-Ject Debut III S Audiophile deck
Pro-Ject Phono Box pre
Onkyo CR515 mini receiver
Monitor Audio Radius 90 speakers

I mainly use the above for listening to records but I think the smallish speakers and receiver could be replaced with something a little more purposeful.

Budget for speakers and receiver/amp would be around £700 total.

TIA

What sort of music do you listen to? This will determine the basic criteria for amp and speakers.
If this is mainly for music, forget the idea of an a/v receiver and get a good integrated amp for around the 300 GBP mark. eBay is good. Don’t be afraid of 70’s and 80’s Japanese amps from JVC, Sony, Sansui etc. They can be serious bargains if you do your research. I’d avoid most boutique UK amps in that price range as they can prove problematic although there are some good ones from the like of quad and Cyrus that may just fall into your price range.
Speakers take the rest of your budget and here I would go UK boutique, mission, B&W, Tannoy etc. All made some cracking speakers but you really need to play some music through them before deciding.
If it was my money I’d be looking for a Technics class aa / vc-4 integrated amplifier and a pair of B&W floorstanding speakers. It won’t be the last word in detail but it will play music and not dissect it like some hiFi can.
There are a million correct answers to your question though but buy wisely and you should be able to flip though many combinations until you find the one you like best.


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Hi Julian,

Thank you for your comment. I mainly listen to heavier stuff - rock/metal etc if that helps form a more specific recommendation. I appreciate it’s a broad area for which I am asking!

For that budget nothing is going to come close to a good pair of ADAM active speakers:

Start with these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adam-A5X-...UAAOSwPeRd1-8Z

Then add a nice user preamp with built in Phono such as this Rotel

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rotel-RC-...MAAOSwSRtdxSds

That leaves you a little budget for a tuner. For £700 I think you will be much happier with the sound :eagerness:

I have a Cambridge CXR120 that I’m about to eBay (upgraded to an Arcam 390).

Works very well for AV and Hi-Fi duties. I only upgraded as I wanted Atmos.

https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/gbr/e...ucts/cx/cxr120

I have a Sugden audition C integrated amp I’m about to eBay. Well within your budget and if you can find a better amp for the money I’ll eat my hat.

Check out Marantz stuff, I listen to variety of music and their stuff was the most neutral sounding to me. Should be within the budget too!
I would highly recommend going to your local audio shop, and see if they can show you few setups, so you can hear the difference for yourself.
Good luck!

I'll be watching this thread with interest.

Just moved house, so now have space to consider building and homing a system [emoji108]

I have been through a number of speakers, I have now finally settled with Miller & Kreisel, so precise, love them.

THey work with a Denon amp, Oppo player and a DIY FI 18" sealed sub

Now also considering these amps:

Cyrus One
Audiolab 6000A
Quad Vena II
Arcam SA10

Anybody have any experience with them?

I was thinking of buying a Cyrus One as i've been using their stuff for years, but it seems the Rega Brio amp might be a better buy - the reviews are good, maybe worth a look?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vulcangascompany

I was thinking of buying a Cyrus One as i've been using their stuff for years, but it seems the Rega Brio amp might be a better buy - the reviews are good, maybe worth a look?

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This is what dealers are for, depending on what part of the country you are in you might find one who can demo them both back to back.
Both brands have a good reputation especially Rega.

Don’t dismiss second hand but be aware that capacitors do degrade over time. The good thing about British brands is you can often get them re-capped. I have just sold a 20 year old Naim pre-power that was still going strong but replaced it with a unitiqute 2 for less than £600.

if not already join one of the hifi forums like hifi wigwam, lots of stuff for sale on there , add another 100 quid to your total and will probably get a preowned naim 5i-2 and a set of pre owned neat motives which is pretty much all you will ever need unless you decide to spend many thousands .

*ive owned the audiolab 6000a , personally i think its way over rated
*cyrus amps are pretty bright so make sure you match speakers /have a listen (your monitor audio speakers and a cyrus amp would make most ppls ears bleed)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pugster

if not already join one of the hifi forums like hifi wigwam, lots of stuff for sale on there , add another 100 quid to your total and will probably get a preowned naim 5i-2 and a set of pre owned neat motives which is pretty much all you will ever need unless you decide to spend many thousands .

*ive owned the audiolab 6000a , personally i think its way over rated
*cyrus amps are pretty bright so make sure you match speakers /have a listen (your monitor audio speakers and a cyrus amp would make most ppls ears bleed)

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Interesting, can I ask why you found the 6000A overrated?

There do seem to be some good bargains for pre-owned gear but the bluetooth and digital inputs are steering me towards newer tech.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rico

Interesting, can I ask why you found the 6000A overrated?

There do seem to be some good bargains for pre-owned gear but the bluetooth and digital inputs are steering me towards newer tech.

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i found the 6000a muddy and flat sounding (tried multiple speakers) , a marantz 6.1 receiver i had at the time as part of a dolby set up played music better , i got the 6000a as at the time i knew they had a sort of cult following and wanted to try one out.
not sure what inputs you need but most things can be sorted with a separate DAC .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pugster

i found the 6000a muddy and flat sounding (tried multiple speakers) , a marantz 6.1 receiver i had at the time as part of a dolby set up played music better , i got the 6000a as at the time i knew they had a sort of cult following and wanted to try one out.
not sure what inputs you need but most things can be sorted with a separate DAC .

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The only inputs I 'need' are for phono and maybe digital. I have a separate phono pre for my turntable.

I'm also looking at s/hand stuff on eBay - seem to be some veritable bargains on older stuff. Arcam A75 circa £100, A85 circa £250. Can't be a bad deal?

I have not got enough popcorn for another HiFi thread so close to the last one...

I’ve just bagged a Naim 5si amp on eBay. Any recommendations for speakers that would work well with this amp?

What's your budget Rico? You had £700 originally, ignored my advice and then bought an amp near to the value of your original budget. Nothing wrong with ignoring my advice but an acknowledgement for the 30mins spent looking for you would have been appreciated.

You still will not better a good set of active ADAMs with your increased budget at this level, in my experience.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mondie

You had £700 originally, ignored my advice

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Me too, it's bad form to ask for advice, get it from members who even go to the trouble of
sending a photo, and are left without even a thank you.... or even not knowing if he even received the advice.... bad form in my book.

Apologies for the lack of acknowledgement chaps, been getting excited.

I picked up the Naim for about £500 so I’d wager I’ve got around £350 for speakers.

Nice amp the nait 5 I had one years ago, be careful as they can lead to serious expenditure on power supplies and power amps in the future.
I’d not pair the naim with b&w speakers as they like a bit of power up ‘em and good though the nait is it’s just not got the grunt.
If it was me I’d be looking for something traditional like tannoy or mission where the speaker is on the warmer sounding side with good sensitivity.
These look just the ticket.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F264303236389



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as ive said in other posts , im using a naim 5i-2 and and have gone through several different speakers - the neat motive 2's are by far the best ones ive used (they are also suggested on most naim forums ) - through you are prob going to have to dig deeper than £350 for a used pair (500-600 ) -imo there no point buying sub standard speakers when you have a good amp, if you have to wait and save a bit more money.

*if you are near london i'd grab these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Neat-Moti...kAAOSwxH1d4jKV

The NEATS are good speakers. I know Bob Surgeoner personally, and he designs his speakers on extensive personal listening rather than relying on too much tech. He's also a very good musician.