Recommendations for a micro-system?
Discussion
Somewhat nostalgic, it's a 1988 Aiwa VX-1500 separates system that has served us very well from day one. It's beginning to fall apart (well, only the CD deck tbh) but with a complete revamp of our sound system i thought it best to move it on. I don't have the model number for the speakers but i understand they are rated for a max of 80w. The amp is 50w.
Problem is, the Denon seems to be only 30W and am concerned that it won't at least match the level of the Aiwa. The (Aiwa) speakers are a snug fit on the shelves so are to remain.
I can't seem to find a good micro that is powerful enough to drive the speakers and am now leaning towards putting together a two-unit separates. However, it's not looking too good as i am keen to have all the bells and whistles that comes integrated with the micro's like MP3 and iPod support.
With the old amp rated at 50W and the proposed Denon at 30W, is the real difference as large as it seems or am i missing a trick here? And yes, the speakers do get turned up quite high
Problem is, the Denon seems to be only 30W and am concerned that it won't at least match the level of the Aiwa. The (Aiwa) speakers are a snug fit on the shelves so are to remain.
I can't seem to find a good micro that is powerful enough to drive the speakers and am now leaning towards putting together a two-unit separates. However, it's not looking too good as i am keen to have all the bells and whistles that comes integrated with the micro's like MP3 and iPod support.
With the old amp rated at 50W and the proposed Denon at 30W, is the real difference as large as it seems or am i missing a trick here? And yes, the speakers do get turned up quite high
tbh, speakers that came with old Japanese hi-fi systems were generally rubbish. Speakers are generally the most critical component in a system and you'll be doing any new system a disservice if you re-use those old speakers with it. High watts quoted on the back of amps/speakers often doesn't equate to actual decent loudness and sound quality, a new 25wpc or so Denon or Yamaha micro system with a decent pair of British bookshelf speakers will easily out perform a old midi/micro system.
Cheers chazola, I'll add speakers to the list perhaps. While I would agree with you on the old Japanese tech, these speakers took me by surprise and felt like old school Awia quality before when they got bought out. Still going strong too!
I managed to find a pic on the web after searching for an hour (!). Not good enough to tell the specs but enough to form an opinion perhaps.
I managed to find a pic on the web after searching for an hour (!). Not good enough to tell the specs but enough to form an opinion perhaps.
Edited by Popolou on Wednesday 9th May 21:33
actually, I'll eat my words a bit- they don't look too bad compared to a lot of what you used to get with old systems, if they're standard impedance (6-8 ohms) and fairly sensitive (anything over around 85db) then you could keep them, and always upgrade later if you're not happy with the sound. A good way to often judge speaker quality is depth and weight, if they've got a good heft to them then that's usually a sign of decent quality magnets inside and good construction.
Edited by chazola on Wednesday 9th May 22:40
I think you'll probably be surprised, Denon power figures for their amps are usually pretty conservative, if your speakers are pretty efficient then it'll drive them to decent levels. If you want to fill a massive living room with party level sounds it probably ain't gonna do it cleanly though
chazola said:
I think you'll probably be surprised, Denon power figures for their amps are usually pretty conservative, if your speakers are pretty efficient then it'll drive them to decent levels. If you want to fill a massive living room with party level sounds it probably ain't gonna do it cleanly though
Cheers chaz, i'm determined to do this right so will pass by a few shops in central London to test drive a few options. I'm going in to this with an open mind....Popolou said:
Thanks for the input Telecat.
Am i being somewhat optimistic of a mini system that comes in at several hundred quid with a hope that the 20+ years between the tech is going to be a leaps and bounds improvement?
A smaller system could be an improvement, but the tech hasn't (excepting CD) changed that much. The presentation of the sound is the problem. Micros' tend to go for the throat so finding a "good" one means spending a lot of money. Yamaha as well as Denon do some good Micros' and Teac produce a separates range at that size. I just think if you like the sound of your current system and you can live with its size just replace as it fails if you cannot get it repaired. The speakers could well be very good. If they feel heavy for their size and are well constructed with "proper" speaker connections then it's likely they were made by either a specialist division or somebody like Wharfedale or B&W to the spec of Aiwa who did produce some good Audio kit. Spend £79 on a Pioneer BDP-140 and you can set it up for Stereo output from Bluray/DVD/SACD and CD. And it's a great Audio player for the money as well as a good Video player if you need it. Am i being somewhat optimistic of a mini system that comes in at several hundred quid with a hope that the 20+ years between the tech is going to be a leaps and bounds improvement?
Popolou said:
I'd be keen to hear about your observations Richy. Have you listened to that set up somewhere before?
No just going by whathifi's award winners. Seems to have a lot of useful stuff - iPhone integration, dab, cd player etc. I'm just fed up with crap sounding iphone docks, a b&w zeppelin is something like £500 and I doubt that could match the denon/monitor audio package. The deal I got was £379 plus free QED speaker wire and 24 month guarantee. Some sort of headphone hum issue, I wonder if it's resolved:
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/denon-dm38dab-...
I wonder is it worth getting one of these for the DAB:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/6-section-telescopic-dab-a...
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/denon-dm38dab-...
I wonder is it worth getting one of these for the DAB:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/6-section-telescopic-dab-a...
I've had a Denon UD-M30 since I was 16 (nearly 10 years now!) and it still impresses me and works just as well as it did when it was new. Proper solid piece of kit.
Denon make great kit (IMO) and I wouldn't think twice about recommending one of their new systems - plenty of features, great sound and good build quality.
I keep thinking about replacing it but I've not been able to justify it, yet!
Denon make great kit (IMO) and I wouldn't think twice about recommending one of their new systems - plenty of features, great sound and good build quality.
I keep thinking about replacing it but I've not been able to justify it, yet!
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