1k Seperates System

[ywouldi]

I have approx 1000 to spend on a nice hifi system.

Most music, if not all, is delivered over Spotify premium, then some on CD.

I listen to bass heavy music, hip-hop, r'n'b etc and would like something that sounds tight but analogue.

I've identified the Yamaha N-R500 as an ideal amp as it includes the streaming and digital abilities of a AV amp but in a higher quality stereo system. I did fancy an AV amp for all it's features but I'd quite like this to be a quality set-up to last for years and I think they tend to date in terms of technology more quickly.

Now I need to identify some speakers, I think a nice set of floor standers for about 600 would be good but need to audition them to see how they compare but am struggling to find somewhere that will help. I popped into Sevenoaks today but was very disappointed at their dismissive attitude at my budget and so other than Richer Sounds which is sometimes a bit of a bunfight can anyone recommend a shop that will be useful. I'm in Herts.

[ywouldi]

Thanks for the input folks. You'll be pleased to know I've already upped the budget to £2000 and decided upon the following:

- Sonos connect as the principle source, using Spotify premium.
- CD player: old Technics thing I've got in the loft. Will upgrade as and when.
- I might splash out on a Samsung Galaxy tab 7 to act as a controller as

This comes to about £400.

The Naim Nait 5SI looks good but I'm a little put off by the fact that it stays on all the time. It sounds like it will have the warm analogue quality that I'm after.
The missions on offer at Ortons seem remarkable value.

I'm interested in second hand stuff but I'll value the opportunity to audition things properly so I'll pop along to Ortons in Hitchin at the weekend to see where I get too..

Does the Sonos connect still stream from the device (iPad via Spotify) etc or does it connect directly to the streaming source?

[ywouldi]

Just a brief update, spent this weekend auditioning some gear.

First tried the Naim Nait 5si with some b&w 683, distinctly unimpressed and considered not bothering with the whole affair. Them onto some monitor audios with the same amp, better but still had the muddy bass and no control of the b&w. Then tried the bigger b&w 684 and they were much much better but massive in size and with a bad black ash finish.

Then moved on the the HiFi Lounge in Bedfordshire. The owner Paul is great and whilst my budget was clearly lower in total than most of his headphones he spent ages with me and we tried some Sonus Faber Toy Tower speakers with a sonos connect hooked up to an Arcam irdac and Arcam A19 amp. Sounded great but with the Naim amp I felt they were spot on. Excellent vocals, clear and tight bass, heard things in the music I hadn't heard before. For final comparison I tried the Naim unilite streamer which was ok but didn't have the depth of the pure amp.

Not quite made the decision but going up there again next weekend to try it again with a view to purchase.

[ywouldi]

Just a follow up, listening now to my 1k system which in the end totalled 3.5k but sounds rather nice.

Naim 5SI amp
Sonus Faber Toy Tower speakers
Sonos Connect
Arcarm iRDAC
Cheap Sony bluray playing CDs through the coax digital for now

Only problem is now that Spotify sounds really mediocre through it. CDs ripped to FLAC sound great as do normal CDs. I think I'll need to get a legal FLAC streaming source sorted out!

[ywouldi]

kenny.R400 said:

Thanks for the update. Interesting choice of kit in the end, I see Sonos featured heavily too. That's something I've not experimented with yet so have no idea how it performs.
As an aside, why does Sonos often get picked for a new set up these days, is it for its ability to stream to various rooms or something else?

I was hoping you'd gone the second hand route in all honesty to see what interesting bits you'd picked up............that £750 (is that what they cost?) would have bought some serious speakers on the used market though. However I bet your new system sounds great anyway, well done.

Spotify, have you upgraded to premium? It makes one hell of a difference if you do to the sound quality.

Interested to see your comment on a "legal" FLAC streamer.
I'm very new to digital audio myself so maybe you or some other guys could put me straight here.
I was under the impression when streaming (say from Spotify) you're playing at 320kbps or similar for hi res music. I thought that FLAC files were tracks you'd ripped from your CD collection via the likes of Jriver and had stored on the HD, or is that classed as streaming too when you play them back? As I say I'm new to this as well so still coming to terms with the terminology.

For my digital source I use a dedicated laptop hooked up to a Micomega MYDAC.
This allows me to use the asynchronous feature of it via class A USB connection and achieves a playback rate of 24bit 192000 when set up right. I don't go in for all the jargon as I don't fully understand it, but it sounds flippin' awesome.

It is this new digital revolution in music that has got me back into Hifi in all honesty.

Again enjoy your new setup, seems like you've got exactly what you want.
Cheers.

I think sonos is popular because the stand alone speakers sound very good but the multiroom is great and the app to control it all is great. I had the sonos side of things set up in about 10 minutes (I actually bought a Play 1 at the same time as well) so it picks up my premium spotify subscription plus my music collection which had been ripped to FLAC in preparation for this new system.

When I say streaming I mean a internet service like spotify.

On further listening, Spotify sounds pretty good actually but I've signed up to Qoubuz to try it out, not sure I can justify the doubling in price really as it is £20 a month and I think I had been listening to a generally badly produced album when judging it all.

I quite fancied the second hand stuff but I wanted to listen to a whole system and to be honest couldn't be bothered dealing with scuffed kit and shipping etc. I'm going to keep an eye out for a second hand naim CD player to match the amp though.

Anyway, bought a few CDs listed as the best produced albums and enjoying listening to them now actually. I'm sure 80s music sounds tighter and better produced than nowadays!