Hi-fi system advice

dairec

Hi there,

I'm looking to build a basic hi-fi system consisting of CD player, amp and speakers. My upper limit is €4k-5k, and it also needs to...
accomodate additional connections of a turntable and an input from my PC
have sound that fills a fairly large bedroom
have a headphone socket.

I'm gonna head out to Cloney to road test some bits n pieces but can anyone offer advice on a ggod combination of seperates for the above criteria. Also is there much of a second-hand market in Ireland? I couldn't find anything in Buy&Sell or eBay.ie.

Thanks in advance,

Daire

voxpop

it might be worth heading over to england for a day or two to do some demoing - alot more options there

Fazer6

Daire,

You should also try Kronos Hi-Fi in Dungannon, I've dealt with them in the past and are very helpful.
You could also try Richer Sounds in Belfast, many of my mates speak highly of them.:)

Regards,

Fazer6.

commited

dairec wrote:

Hi there,

I'm looking to build a basic hi-fi system consisting of CD player, amp and speakers. My upper limit is €4k-5k, and it also needs to...
accomodate additional connections of a turntable and an input from my PC
have sound that fills a fairly large bedroom
have a headphone socket.

I'm gonna head out to Cloney to road test some bits n pieces but can anyone offer advice on a ggod combination of seperates for the above criteria. Also is there much of a second-hand market in Ireland? I couldn't find anything in Buy&Sell or eBay.ie.

Thanks in advance,

Daire

Hey Daire,

For 4-5k you could get a ridiculously good system used.
What is the size of your room? If it's less than 3m x 3m then standmounts are your only choice, and between 3mx3m and 5mx5m, it mainly depends on the speakers as to whether floor standers or standmount are best. For more than 25sq m, you're looking at Floorstanders as your best choice.

Hifi is all very personal - thats why there are loads of brands out there.
First thing to think about is whether looks are important to you or not. I dont care, others do.
Getting over to the UK is a good idea - expensive but worth it. Dont bother with Richersounds at your budget.

What kind of music do you listen to and what kind of sound do you like?

Cloney usually has a nice stock of pre-owned stuff. Used amps are always a good choice, as are used speakers (as long as you can listen to them and ensure they havent been damaged by distortion). CD Players are a different matter, and there are some gems from the past (Meridian 200/203 combo, Meridian 500 transport etc), but it's best to stick with less than 5/6years old if you're getting a lower end CD Player.

Cloneys Pre-owned has some gems at the moment:
Audiolab 8000 MCX Mono Blocs 1590.-
Audiolab 8000C Pre amp - 395.-
LINN Wakonda Pre-Amp (pre-owned) 499.-
Quad 24/240 Valve pre/power (pre-owned - will be revalved before sale) 1995.-
EAR 834L Pre-Amp (pre-owned) 399.-
Classe DR2 Power Amp Classic Unit (pre-owned) - 795.-
Audio Analogue Donizetti Mono-Blocks (2) S/H €700.00
Triangle Solis 260 Loudspeakers Maple €1195

Their classified forum also has some bargains from time to time...
AURUM CANTUS LEISURE SE MKII SPEAKERS AND STANDS - €700
FS Neat Elites speakers - €1000 ono

If you buy a pre-amp/amp without a phono stage, you can always add one later. Dont let it disuade you from something you really like the sound of!

As far as new stuff goes, check out the usual stuff - there are no real "bargains" in cloneys new selection.

There is always ebay.co.uk aswell - you wont get to demo the stuff, but if you find a sound you love, then it's bargain time all the way. There are a couple of Meridian 557 power amps on there at the moment that will probably go for about €1000 each and they are a ridiculous bargain at that price! You could also demo stuff in cloneys and then see if you could find it cheaper online too (I found System Audio speakers for €775 + del online from a danish place - they're €1620 from cloneys!)

Mark

dairec

Hi Mark, thanks for that; it's all good stuff.

commited wrote:

Hey Daire,

For 4-5k you could get a ridiculously good system used.
What is the size of your room? If it's less than 3m x 3m then standmounts are your only choice, and between 3mx3m and 5mx5m, it mainly depends on the speakers as to whether floor standers or standmount are best. For more than QUOTE-owned - will be revalved before sale) 1995.-
EAR 834L Pre-Amp (pre-owned) 399.-
Classe DR2 Power Amp Classic Unit (pre-owned) - 795.-
Audio Analogue Donizetti Mono-Blocks (2) S/H €700.00
Triangle Solis 260 Loudspeakers Maple €1195

Their classified forum also has some bargains from time to time...
AURUM CANTUS LEISURE SE MKII SPEAKERS AND STANDS - €700
FS Neat Elites speakers - €1000 ono

Is this equipment quite old? I couldn't find most of it in the hi-fi magazines so I'm not sure how to evaluate it (other than to ask Cloney to book me in for a week ).

If you buy a pre-amp/amp without a phono stage, you can always add one later. Dont let it disuade you from something you really like the sound of!

I was thinking I'd just get an integrated amp. Won't most of these have a phono input and an aux input for my PC?

As far as new stuff goes, check out the usual stuff - there are no real "bargains" in cloneys new selection.

There is always ebay.co.uk aswell - you wont get to demo the stuff, but if you find a sound you love, then it's bargain time all the way. There are a couple of Meridian 557 power amps on there at the moment that will probably go for about €1000 each and they are a ridiculous bargain at that price! You could also demo stuff in cloneys and then see if you could find it cheaper online too (I found System Audio speakers for €775 + del online from a danish place - they're €1620 from cloneys!)

Mark

That's some bargain alright. I think I'll go with the plan of demoing stuff and then looking for the cheapest source online. It seems too much like hardwork and pressure to head over to England for a weekend to demo, evaluate and buy equipment at my level of (non-)expertise.

I tried the SA 1530s and the B&W705 when out in Cloney, both of which were pretty sweet. I started with a Rotel CD and amp and then switched to the Copland CDA823 which seemed to have higher definition but at four times the price of the RCD02 I'm not sure I noticed enough difference. We then switched amp to the Arcam80 but I could hardly notice any change.
I'm gonna head out there again this week to check try some Primare and some second-hand SA speakers.

Daire

red dave

where is cloney? or do they have a website? i googled but could just get them "quoted" but nothing more. i'm looking to buy new speakers as i bought the completely wrong ones for producing last year:(

thanks

dave

commited

dairec wrote:

Is this equipment quite old? I couldn't find most of it in the hi-fi magazines so I'm not sure how to evaluate it (other than to ask Cloney to book me in for a week ).

Some is, some isnt. Dont bother reading magazine reviews - they are complete crap. Use the internet to find real user opinions - www.audioreview.com is good. Most of all - go in and listen to EVERYTHING you can afford. Cloney will be more than willing to facilitate you. About 5 years aog, I was only spending about €1500, but I auditioned absolutely everything I could afford, and some stuff over that. They didnt mind, I probably spent about 7-8hours in their demo room over the two weekends I was there.

I was thinking I'd just get an integrated amp. Won't most of these have a phono input and an aux input for my PC?

Pre-power setups are better, and lots of them come with phono inputs also. You dont need an "aux" input for your PC, you can put it into any input apart from phono.

That's some bargain alright. I think I'll go with the plan of demoing stuff and then looking for the cheapest source online. It seems too much like hardwork and pressure to head over to England for a weekend to demo, evaluate and buy equipment at my level of (non-)expertise.

Cloney has some bargains in their used stuff - definately worth a sniff in my opinion. It'll be hard to source more expensive stuff online. Ebay is good and bad - you could end up with a lemon.

I tried the SA 1530s and the B&W705 when out in Cloney, both of which were pretty sweet. I started with a Rotel CD and amp and then switched to the Copland CDA823 which seemed to have higher definition but at four times the price of the RCD02 I'm not sure I noticed enough difference. We then switched amp to the Arcam80 but I could hardly notice any change.
I'm gonna head out there again this week to check try some Primare and some second-hand SA speakers.

Daire

Dont rush into buying your stuff. Have you listened to any Naim stuff? I love it. Primare are also well regarded.

PM sent btw

Reddave - www.cloneyaudio.com

Mark

red dave

thanks mark