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| Audio/Visual - Standard and HD Discussions about audio and visual equipment, media and content for both standard and HD |
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20-03-2009, 04:11 PM
| #1 (permalink) |
| First time daddy!  Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rainey Park...
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| Buying new Hifi... So, the big day came to buy my new hifi. I trotted down to the hifi shop with a rough budget in mind (somewhere between £500 and £1000) but no other preconceptions apart from that it must sound good with my KEF iQ5se's. I listened to 4 things within my budget and 1 outside and had a very interesting time! First up came the Marantz 5003 range. Sounded nice. Really nice and easy listen. Played the musical genres I wanted nicely- Jazz, hiphop, Mogwai, new folksy/country and some indie. Good start, or so I thought! Next came the Rotel 04 models. OMG! I suddenly realised how poor the Marantz was in comparison. You could hear every instrument and the sound was lovely and warm. It again worked for all genres. Next we went up to the Marantz 7003 range. Again, better than the 5003 but not up to the Rotel at all. It lost some of the detail and warmth but it just didn't excite. Still going.... Pioneer AA6 range next. Stuck Mogwai on and OMG it sounded awful. It was very abrasive with very bright treble. Almost painfully so! Kanye West's Gold digger sounded better but the bass was really big. If not slightly too much. It was a tiring listen. So within my budget it looked like the Rotel gear. I was very happy indeed... Then the salesman says why don't you just listen to this... Arcam FMJ A18 and CD17. £100 over budget and obviously a damn good salesman. I stuck in the Mogwai CD and BOOM! it just came to life. It sounded like the Rotel's big brother. Warm and lovely but with such instrument separation and definition that you would not believe. The same happened with the next few CDs I listened to. Finally put on Herbie Hancock and POW! Cantalope Island just burst out of the speakers as bouncy and juicy as the fruit in the title. What a difference. Going backwards and forwards between the Rotel and the Arcam and the differences were very, very obvious. I just had to have the Arcam. I put on my best hang dog look at the price and managed to get enough knocked off for it to come in under budget! I will be picking it up next week but now have to get about installing my Sonos system. I can highly recommend Unilet over in New Malden, Surrey. http://www.unilet.net/ Not only do they have great AV equipment and nice, friendly staff they also have a huge selection of new and used vinyl that nearly left my brother broke! (Also big thanks to firefox that saved this post when the battery detached itself from my lappy but it had saved what I had typed!)  |
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22-03-2009, 12:25 PM
| #2 (permalink) |
| Moose Muppet!  Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Planet Earth
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... Sounds like a nice setup. I have an old MF XA200R and a Sony SCDXB940. Not cutting edge by any means but TBH sounds great to me!!  Baltar's quote of the day:"All we need is strength! Strength that comes from within! .....and guns! More guns! Bigger guns! Better guns! And when we have those, we will win!" Moose counter-quote of the day:"[Moose] can fly and [moose] can land,Just not very well." |
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22-03-2009, 12:38 PM
| #3 (permalink) |
| roll the dice...  Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Coventry Uni
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... Sony DG820 and Q Acoustic 1050is here, not exactly cutting edge either but i love it to bits! Cant wait to build up a 5.1 audio setup up over the next few years! |
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22-03-2009, 02:59 PM
| #5 (permalink) |
| Moose Muppet! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Planet Earth
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... I personally think that Musical Fidelity and Creek also make excellent products. Baltar's quote of the day:"All we need is strength! Strength that comes from within! .....and guns! More guns! Bigger guns! Better guns! And when we have those, we will win!" Moose counter-quote of the day:"[Moose] can fly and [moose] can land,Just not very well." |
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22-03-2009, 07:16 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| First time daddy! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rainey Park...
Posts: 4,813
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... It just shows that auditioning pays off. It really did show me the differences and helped me pick out what sounded best to me. It really has convinced me that it is not what is reviewed and recommended to you but actually what sounds good! However it could turn into a very expensive hobby! It all gets delivered next week so in the mean time I am warming up my speakers with the Sonos system I picked up at the same time. All I can say to Sonos is wow! It really is just plug in and go. With Napster access and last fm it really does do all I wanted and its so simple even my father in law can use it! |
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23-03-2009, 07:37 AM
| #7 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Reading, Berkshire
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... When you get above the middle-of-the-road all-in-one hifis, it really starts getting down to personal preference and the type of music you listen to. My setup is more for pop/classical/jazz and is very detailed (but not clinical) but admittedly it's not gonna shake the house with some heavy going grunge rock! For those who like clear sound, I can't recommend trying out DSD and i-link / firewire as your CD to amp connection, along with a digital amp. It's truly scary the imagery, seperation and clarity you get. Just as if someone had removed a curtain muffling the sound. Glad to hear you're in audio heaven! It's amazing what a "good sound" can do to you  |
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23-03-2009, 04:29 PM
| #8 (permalink) |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Up North
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... I've always liked Arcam - used to have the CD92 which was a very nice CD player. They have a really nice fatigue free sound. Swapped to Sugden Masterclass amp and CD a bit back. As far as digital connections go I route everything back through the CD player (it has two digital coaxial inputs) as its DAC has a nicer sound than most others I've heard. Its the same with all hifi though, the best one is the one you like the most. |
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23-03-2009, 09:35 PM
| #10 (permalink) |
| First time daddy! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rainey Park...
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... Originally Posted by jimborae Lets hope I don't experience any of that! I can't wait to get it all setup including my Thorens TD150 mkII to crank up some vinyl... 
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23-03-2009, 10:35 PM
| #11 (permalink) |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Up North
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... Originally Posted by menthel Good to see you're going to use the MM phono stage.
Running a TD 160 Super in a henk plinth, RB300 and a Denon cart. Still the best way to listen to music. |
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24-03-2009, 09:24 AM
| #12 (permalink) |
| First time daddy! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rainey Park...
Posts: 4,813
Thanks: 211
Thanked 79 Times in 64 Posts
| Re: Buying new Hifi... Originally Posted by kushtibari Nice. My TD 150 is in its original state, well looked after and recently serviced. Can't wait to get it up and running!
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30-03-2009, 08:47 PM
| #13 (permalink) |
| Atari Falcon 030 Join Date: Feb 2006
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... Arcam fan here too I have the DiVA stuff, a CD192 with an A85 amp, hooked up to Monitor Audio RS6 speakers. I planned to add a power amp and tuner but have decided to save the pennies and put the upgrade off for a year or two, to see what new AV receivers they bring out. I'd love the AVR600 but it's a few bob over my budget! Hope you enjoy it when it arrives, keep us posted with your findings |
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31-03-2009, 04:09 PM
| #15 (permalink) |
| sneaks quietly away.  Join Date: May 2004 Location: Wiki Wiki Wild West side... of Sussex
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| Re: Buying new Hifi... Originally Posted by menthel Put it on the floor, you big girl...
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| arcam, marantz, new hifi, pioneer, rotel |
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