Hi Fi advice - 10k budget
Discussion
dazzalse said:
Looking for a little advice here on a decent set up, 10k budget, need amp, speakers and a CD player
I'll start, room size and furnishings?, music genres you'll be listening to?, your preferred sound, meaning smooth and laid back, grab you by the throat or inbetween?Eta, bad start, must've bogged down.
dazzalse said:
Looking for a little advice here on a decent set up, 10k budget, need amp, speakers and a CD player
If you've got £10k to spend then I'm assuming you have some sort of passion for hi-fi so what sort of presentation are you after? Valve/hybrid/solid state/electrostatic/conventional box..........?Personally I have a love for Martin Logans so would buy myself an all valve or hybrid (Copland) type setup (although £10 for all that is stretching it a bit).
I don't mean to sound negative but I think you need to give us a bit more info if you want any decent advice. Even then you really need a long shop/home demo to narrow down what you're really after.
Great situation to be in though so best of luck!
OP,
Find 3 decent hifi shops near you.
bell em up, tell them your budget, and spend a day or 2 having a listen.
Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend (they will let you for a 10k system normally), then do it that way - sound is personal, and everone on here will simply reccomend the system that suits them, not you.
Find 3 decent hifi shops near you.
bell em up, tell them your budget, and spend a day or 2 having a listen.
Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend (they will let you for a 10k system normally), then do it that way - sound is personal, and everone on here will simply reccomend the system that suits them, not you.
Some Gump said:
OP,
Find 3 decent hifi shops near you.
bell em up, tell them your budget, and spend a day or 2 having a listen.
Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend (they will let you for a 10k system normally), then do it that way - sound is personal, and everone on here will simply reccomend the system that suits them, not you.
I know it's miles away from the OP, but I've always had great service from Jack Lawson at Audio Salon in Glasgow, good guy, who stocks great stuff and is happy for you to listen to it.Find 3 decent hifi shops near you.
bell em up, tell them your budget, and spend a day or 2 having a listen.
Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend (they will let you for a 10k system normally), then do it that way - sound is personal, and everone on here will simply reccomend the system that suits them, not you.
Some Gump said:
OP,
Find 3 decent hifi shops near you.
bell em up, tell them your budget, and spend a day or 2 having a listen.
Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend (they will let you for a 10k system normally), then do it that way - sound is personal, and everone on here will simply reccomend the system that suits them, not you.
"Near you" might not be what's needed, some of the equipment that might be relevant may be from a dealer further away from the OP.Find 3 decent hifi shops near you.
bell em up, tell them your budget, and spend a day or 2 having a listen.
Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend (they will let you for a 10k system normally), then do it that way - sound is personal, and everone on here will simply reccomend the system that suits them, not you.
That's part of the problem with buying at this sort of budget, there's a host of stuff that could be worth listening to.
I'd never just recommend a system that suits me, hence my questions above.
JustinP1 said:
Don't get a CD player.
Waste of cash. Get a streamer/mac and a good DAC.
Waste of cash. Get a streamer/mac and a good DAC.
So nice to agree with you on a controversial hifi subject 
OP: Might be a tad over budget but B&w 800 series and Classé pre/power amp is what I'd go for. Don't waste money on stupid speaker cables (don't pay any attention Justin
) Some Gump said:
Spend a day or 2 having a listen. Once you;re nearly sure, borrow the kit for a weekend - sound is personal.
Wise words Some Gump.........Dazzalse.....it is what sounds best to you that matters and equipment advice from me or others is only really helpful in selecting a shortlist of products for you to audition; having said that I'm going to stick my 2P worth in
. Try to take some music you know intimately well to the auditions if you can.The following will take some beating playing CD's, SACDs, DVD-Audio discs ~ flexible enough for other sources too i.e PC,TV,DAB radio etc etc. The ATC active speakers in particular are spectacularly good. Justin P1's setup below might run it close though.
Benchmark DAC1/PRE http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/dac/dac1-pre
ATC SCM50ASL active speakers http://www.atcloudspeakers.co.uk/scm50slat.php
Cambridge 650BD Universal transport http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=492
Meridian also make superb 'active' systems.....
http://www.meridian-audio.com/systems/music-system...
Edited by CRACKIE on Saturday 5th February 11:07
Forget about what brands to buy for the moment - outline the listening environment, its dimensions, shape/etc.
Is it to be shared with TV/domestic living, or is it a retreat/single use room?
If the latter, I'd be proposing £8K worth of equipment, used and/or new, and the rest on acoustic treatment to get the best out of the system.
Is it to be shared with TV/domestic living, or is it a retreat/single use room?
If the latter, I'd be proposing £8K worth of equipment, used and/or new, and the rest on acoustic treatment to get the best out of the system.
CarbonM5 said:
I curently use B&O Beolab 9 paired with Beosound 9000,cost me around 8k used with warranty and the sound is superb.
If you can dismss all the audiophile naysayers you are in for a treat indeed!
Carbon,If you can dismss all the audiophile naysayers you are in for a treat indeed!
The naysayers' theory is thus:
For the same price as a B+O system that looks nice, you could have an ugly system that sounds nicer. This is why above I reckoned OP has to check out everything for himself, then in his gaff - my JBL Array's sound great, but Vaseessa Feltz' arse is probably nicer to look at. Thankfully, I have a wife that is willing to forgo asthetics as long as I let her beast Girls Aloud on them occasionally*
<manmode> When I'm out, obviously</manmode> <reality>Whenever she feels like it</reality>
[quote=Some Gump]
Carbon,
The naysayers' theory is thus:
For the same price as a B+O system that looks nice, you could have an ugly system that sounds nicer. This is why above I reckoned OP has to check out everything for himself, then in his gaff - my JBL Array's sound great, but Vaseessa Feltz' arse is probably nicer to look at. Thankfully, I have a wife that is willing to forgo asthetics as long as I let her beast Girls Aloud on them occasionally*
Yeah,I had one of those ugly expensive systems and ....woke up.
As said,it's whatever suits your needs.
Carbon,
The naysayers' theory is thus:
For the same price as a B+O system that looks nice, you could have an ugly system that sounds nicer. This is why above I reckoned OP has to check out everything for himself, then in his gaff - my JBL Array's sound great, but Vaseessa Feltz' arse is probably nicer to look at. Thankfully, I have a wife that is willing to forgo asthetics as long as I let her beast Girls Aloud on them occasionally*
<manmode> When I'm out, obviously</manmode> <reality>Whenever she feels like it</reality>
Yeah,I had one of those ugly expensive systems and ....woke up.
As said,it's whatever suits your needs.
^^ From my limited experience B&O are like Alfa Romeo (apart from the reliability/dealer issues though!). Beautifully built and stunning to look at but very slightly wanting in the performance department. Not bad by any means though so is down to personal preference.
I think I sit somewhere inbetween as performance is a high priority but I would buy a Michel Orbe over an equivalent due to looks.
I think I sit somewhere inbetween as performance is a high priority but I would buy a Michel Orbe over an equivalent due to looks.
Firstly the priority is what do you have Musically? CD, Files, Vinyl, Tape etc. Build your system around what you have not what you may get. Secondly £10,000 is a decent amount of money but prioritise what you need from the system. Do looks matter? Is space a problem? (Living Voice Olympian's or Tannoy Westminster's are great but won't fit in a Box room). Lastly at that money take your time, find the music you want to listen to that sounds great to you and also that that sounds awful. Those are your references. You Need to find a dealer you can trust. Find all of them in your area and explain what you want and audition it. Then try it at home. It may be that some bits from one dealer take your fancy with bits from another. This is your system and you need to be happy with it.
Driller said:
So nice to agree with you on a controversial hifi subject OP: Might be a tad over budget but B&w 800 series and Classé pre/power amp is what I'd go for. Don't waste money on stupid speaker cables (don't pay any attention Justin
) I've owned B&W 804s, 803s and currently running 802s. You might get some 803s for £4k.
B&W promote Classe now because they own them. They used to like Chord. Chord amps are perfect. An integrated Chord amp you could get for £3k.
As a DAC the Chord DAC 64 won't be beaten at £1k s/h unless you pay a multiple more, and even then any difference would be subjective.
Finally, I'd stream from a Mac Mini, digital output to the DAC.
You'd get change from £10k and have an awesome system.
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