Hifi upgrade path recommendations
Discussion
I used to be really in to my hi-fi and spent a fortune on separates through the years, but back in 2013 I sold it all as I never got the chance to listen to it what with the kids being young, too busy with the job etc.
I digitized all my CDs to FLAC, put them on the NAS drive and bought in to whole Sonos thing with a stereo pair of Play 1s in the lounge and another pair in the kitchen. This, along with a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited is where we currently are and it works well; we listen to a lot of old and new music and it's always in use.
However, the kids are now older and I have more time to sit and listen to music. Mrs GP is ok with me buying another separates setup now so I want to look at look at getting something (half) decent again to listen to. Things have moved on and although I've done a lot of reading, I wanted to find out what I should shortlist to audition. Budget is £1500 for the full system.
First thoughts were a separates amp and speakers and the new Sonos Port, or a just a Sonos Amp to speakers. But the current End of Life Sonos b
ks is making me think twice about spending more with them. Other possibilities are an all in one streamer like the Marantz Melody MCR612 or the PM7000N (as they cover Amazon Music) and then chucking all the Sonos for HEOS at the same time. I've no experience of HEOS and reviews vary.
Anyone any thoughts?
I digitized all my CDs to FLAC, put them on the NAS drive and bought in to whole Sonos thing with a stereo pair of Play 1s in the lounge and another pair in the kitchen. This, along with a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited is where we currently are and it works well; we listen to a lot of old and new music and it's always in use.
However, the kids are now older and I have more time to sit and listen to music. Mrs GP is ok with me buying another separates setup now so I want to look at look at getting something (half) decent again to listen to. Things have moved on and although I've done a lot of reading, I wanted to find out what I should shortlist to audition. Budget is £1500 for the full system.
First thoughts were a separates amp and speakers and the new Sonos Port, or a just a Sonos Amp to speakers. But the current End of Life Sonos b
ks is making me think twice about spending more with them. Other possibilities are an all in one streamer like the Marantz Melody MCR612 or the PM7000N (as they cover Amazon Music) and then chucking all the Sonos for HEOS at the same time. I've no experience of HEOS and reviews vary.Anyone any thoughts?
Edited by AndrewGP on Friday 14th February 15:54
I'm a bit biased as I tend to like the Cyrus stuff but this appeals https://www.cyrusaudio.com/products/cyrus-one/ as a one stop streamer amplifier. It's fairly small/discrete and paired with the right speakers I'd wager will sound great. If you decide to get a record deck (it's very in right now don't you know) at some stage it can accommodate this. Unless by the 'not separates' you mean the speaker integrated with the amp/source.
edit: It's the One Cast that I was thinking of and that's a little more expensive.
Then there are speakers that offer streaming built in. Again, personal bias but the Kef wireless systems sound great https://uk.kef.com/pages/wireless-speakers having listened to them a few times. These can be positioned around the room where ever you like and don't come with the wires and space requirements of a traditional separates system.
edit: It's the One Cast that I was thinking of and that's a little more expensive.
Then there are speakers that offer streaming built in. Again, personal bias but the Kef wireless systems sound great https://uk.kef.com/pages/wireless-speakers having listened to them a few times. These can be positioned around the room where ever you like and don't come with the wires and space requirements of a traditional separates system.
Also, it's the Bristol Hifi Show next weekend. Always a good day out to go and have a sample of some of the latest equipment. Small rooms are set up in the hotel with furniture and allow for a 'test' listening environment. I'm sure there will be a few examples of the type of system you're looking at there and you can take your own source material to try if you wish. I go on the Friday as it's a bit quieter than the weekend days and you can get into some of the bigger demonstrations.
Thanks Tom, I used to have a Cyrus system so that's very interesting! Unfortunately, I'm away with work this weekend so getting to Bristol is not possible though.
I should have said in my OP that my wife isn't completely against separates (ie she'll go along with it if I decide that's what we'll get
) so they are definitely an option and indeed I'd prefer some form of separates with floorstanding speakers as the solution. Sorry for the confusion! OP now edited....
I should have said in my OP that my wife isn't completely against separates (ie she'll go along with it if I decide that's what we'll get
) so they are definitely an option and indeed I'd prefer some form of separates with floorstanding speakers as the solution. Sorry for the confusion! OP now edited....So I run a Cyrus 3i preamp, Cyrus power amp and a set of Kef R500s. I use a Linn Axis turntable and enjoy the sound this gives. You could probably pick the speakers up for around the £700 mark leaving the rest of the budget for an amp. You could probably pick up something second hand that would do all of your amplification duties for around the £300 mark. Then add in a streaming device of your choice. I like the idea of the One Cast though.
Having said that, the Kef LSX Wireless are a great option. Not floor standing but sound really good. The have the ability to take a deck or a cd player if you wish to add at a later date. They take care of streaming with Tidal and Spotify Connect.
Having said that, the Kef LSX Wireless are a great option. Not floor standing but sound really good. The have the ability to take a deck or a cd player if you wish to add at a later date. They take care of streaming with Tidal and Spotify Connect.
Edited by Sford on Friday 14th February 17:02
With a budget of £1500 ish you should be able to put something pretty nice together.
I would recommend the Cambridge CXN streamer but it's going to push the budget too high so would settle on this Pioneer streamer for £300 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-Multiroom-Streami...
Then personally I would go for secondhand naim amps as they sound fantastic, are well built and offer great factory servicing and longevity - ideally something like the Naim NAC62/NAP90 combo (around £600) or if you get lucky a NAC102/NAP180 (more like £1000)
In speakers there's lots of options and the best choice will depend on room size, genres of music you play and desired volume levels. Without question the best speakers I have heard are ATC, but they're expensive and you will have to go in secondhand. They do work brilliantly with naim amps though and have a very accurate full range sound. There's some SCM12's on the bay at present for £700, SCM11's might come within budget but the cheapest floorstander the SCM20 is likely outside the budget. If you don't fancy ATC's then there are any number of options at all price points from B&W, Kef, Proac, Dynaudio etc. I quite like Epos speakers too and their ES 22's are likely around £500 secondhand and are floorstanders.
Good luck,
Saxon
I would recommend the Cambridge CXN streamer but it's going to push the budget too high so would settle on this Pioneer streamer for £300 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-Multiroom-Streami...
Then personally I would go for secondhand naim amps as they sound fantastic, are well built and offer great factory servicing and longevity - ideally something like the Naim NAC62/NAP90 combo (around £600) or if you get lucky a NAC102/NAP180 (more like £1000)
In speakers there's lots of options and the best choice will depend on room size, genres of music you play and desired volume levels. Without question the best speakers I have heard are ATC, but they're expensive and you will have to go in secondhand. They do work brilliantly with naim amps though and have a very accurate full range sound. There's some SCM12's on the bay at present for £700, SCM11's might come within budget but the cheapest floorstander the SCM20 is likely outside the budget. If you don't fancy ATC's then there are any number of options at all price points from B&W, Kef, Proac, Dynaudio etc. I quite like Epos speakers too and their ES 22's are likely around £500 secondhand and are floorstanders.
Good luck,
Saxon
I would as other say go second hand or do a lot of shopping around. For me things should start with the speakers and I would put £1000 into them (I know a lot of the budget). The rest I would split between Amp and streamer.
You can then plan upgrades as you go, but with a good base you get do a lot more.
You can then plan upgrades as you go, but with a good base you get do a lot more.
I see the KEF LSX are mentioned above, but if you're willing to go pre owned/second hand, there's a couple of pairs of KEF LS50 Wireless on ebay for a smidge under £1400 delivered (they're £2k new) but it really depends on how you plan to listen to music going forward? If it's much as you are doing currently, via NAS and a streaming service, then I think they're a tricky proposition to better for the money given they're an amp/dac/streamer contained in a very good pair of speakers.
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/kef-ls50-wireless...
https://youtu.be/Sg4d7EOVmwE
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/kef-ls50-wireless...
https://youtu.be/Sg4d7EOVmwE
Mrs Shadyduck bought me a Cyrus One Cast last week for my birthday, and I matched them with a set of Q Acoustics 3050 (not the newer i), total 1500. Starting to run in really nicely. Although I have a Marantz KI Signature set up else where I found the only time I used it was to stream via Alexa’s 3.5mm jack to twin RCA, negating most of the hifi to the weakest point, the source.
The Cyrus brings the quality of a decent hifi and streaming technology together brilliantly. I also had a look at the Cambridge Audio CXN steamer and also their 851N amp. If you want to multi room in the future there is massive (a few seconds!!!!) between rooms. Nice sounding, but lacks functionality for me.
The other advantage of the Cyrus is that it streams (AirPlay 2 or chrome cast) via native phone apps (ie not Cyrus’ own one) so your apps are always lovely to use.
I have no regrets. Welcome to come and listen if you’re in SE London.
The Cyrus brings the quality of a decent hifi and streaming technology together brilliantly. I also had a look at the Cambridge Audio CXN steamer and also their 851N amp. If you want to multi room in the future there is massive (a few seconds!!!!) between rooms. Nice sounding, but lacks functionality for me.
The other advantage of the Cyrus is that it streams (AirPlay 2 or chrome cast) via native phone apps (ie not Cyrus’ own one) so your apps are always lovely to use.
I have no regrets. Welcome to come and listen if you’re in SE London.
Thanks all. Some great ideas being suggested and some I'd not thought of too which is great 
I'm off to Audio T on Friday for a listen to some stuff and see how things have progressed in the last few years. That'll give me some ideas and I'll go from there. Not ruling anything out right now, new or second hand!
I'm off to Audio T on Friday for a listen to some stuff and see how things have progressed in the last few years. That'll give me some ideas and I'll go from there. Not ruling anything out right now, new or second hand!
Just to update this thread I've bought some stuff today 
On the first demo last week, I had a listened to the Marantz PM7000N and wanted to love it as I've had great results with them in the past. Despite a 5* WHF review and putting it through 4 different sets of speakers (B&W, KEF LSX's, Monitor Audio and Acoustic Energy), I found it quite harsh, lacking in detail and a touch bright for my tastes. I then moved on to a Rega Brio being fed by a BlueSound Node 2i which sounded much, much nicer being richer, warmer and with more detail. Food for thought, I went away to have a think.
Second demo was a Cyrus One Cast and just for a laugh a Naim 5Si as I've never heard them and a used one would be in budget as suggested earlier in the thread. The Cyrus sounded great to my ears, but having had Cyrus in the past I wasn't keen on the form factor and wanted something more conventional as we're a bit limited on where it can go. The Naim was a bit of an enigma, it sounded ok but I was expecting more so it was ultimately a little disappointing. The lack of digital inputs was also a bit of an issue for me.
Today I went to Richer Sounds and listened again to the Marantz just to check I wasn't going mad and I found it as before (sadly). I then tried the Node 2i again with a Cambridge CXA61 and a CXA81 all through Monitor Audio Silver 200s and Dali speakers. Just to compare, I also listened to the Cambridge CXN V2 streamer.
After over 2 hours of swapping and changing and listening again to check, I finally settled on the Cambridge CXA81 amp, the BlueSound Node 2i and Monitor Audio Silver 200 speakers. The amp is amazing, I was genuinely delighted at the way it sounded, warm, detailed, with clear treble and great imaging, it's fair to say I was pretty stunned. It's also got a huge range of anologue and digital inputs, as well as it's more normal form factor which all work great for me and hopefully means I won't have to upgrade it in a few years. Finally, it's also beautifully built and looks stunning in the Lunar Grey colour scheme.
The only downside of today is that I would have loved to have gone for the Cambridge CXN V2 streamer but it doesn't have Amazon Music integration and it took the budget way too far (I've already gone from £1500 to £2500 so any more was just too much). But never say never, I may well treat myself down the line
All in all very happy (if quite a bit poorer!)
On the first demo last week, I had a listened to the Marantz PM7000N and wanted to love it as I've had great results with them in the past. Despite a 5* WHF review and putting it through 4 different sets of speakers (B&W, KEF LSX's, Monitor Audio and Acoustic Energy), I found it quite harsh, lacking in detail and a touch bright for my tastes. I then moved on to a Rega Brio being fed by a BlueSound Node 2i which sounded much, much nicer being richer, warmer and with more detail. Food for thought, I went away to have a think.
Second demo was a Cyrus One Cast and just for a laugh a Naim 5Si as I've never heard them and a used one would be in budget as suggested earlier in the thread. The Cyrus sounded great to my ears, but having had Cyrus in the past I wasn't keen on the form factor and wanted something more conventional as we're a bit limited on where it can go. The Naim was a bit of an enigma, it sounded ok but I was expecting more so it was ultimately a little disappointing. The lack of digital inputs was also a bit of an issue for me.
Today I went to Richer Sounds and listened again to the Marantz just to check I wasn't going mad and I found it as before (sadly). I then tried the Node 2i again with a Cambridge CXA61 and a CXA81 all through Monitor Audio Silver 200s and Dali speakers. Just to compare, I also listened to the Cambridge CXN V2 streamer.
After over 2 hours of swapping and changing and listening again to check, I finally settled on the Cambridge CXA81 amp, the BlueSound Node 2i and Monitor Audio Silver 200 speakers. The amp is amazing, I was genuinely delighted at the way it sounded, warm, detailed, with clear treble and great imaging, it's fair to say I was pretty stunned. It's also got a huge range of anologue and digital inputs, as well as it's more normal form factor which all work great for me and hopefully means I won't have to upgrade it in a few years. Finally, it's also beautifully built and looks stunning in the Lunar Grey colour scheme.
The only downside of today is that I would have loved to have gone for the Cambridge CXN V2 streamer but it doesn't have Amazon Music integration and it took the budget way too far (I've already gone from £1500 to £2500 so any more was just too much). But never say never, I may well treat myself down the line
All in all very happy (if quite a bit poorer!)
Nice gear.
I’ve listened to the CXN V2 quite a few times and it’s very impressive but it makes sense adding a simpler streamer and using your amps DAC. With the CXN you’d be paying for a redundant DAC.
It worth noting that Qobuz has just dropped it’s hi-res subscription to £15 - the CXNv2 may not integrate with amazon but it’s spectacular with 24 bit FLAC from Qobuz.
I’ve listened to the CXN V2 quite a few times and it’s very impressive but it makes sense adding a simpler streamer and using your amps DAC. With the CXN you’d be paying for a redundant DAC.
It worth noting that Qobuz has just dropped it’s hi-res subscription to £15 - the CXNv2 may not integrate with amazon but it’s spectacular with 24 bit FLAC from Qobuz.
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