Hi-Fi

[The Heretic]

Hi All,

Feel free to change the title to make it a more general topic relating to sound systems...

Any Hi-Fi enthusiasts on the forum?

I'm looking to build myself a Hi-Fi system using separates..no record deck (for now) just a cd player (with usb/mp3) amplifier and speakers. Always wanted one but never owned one. Budget is €500-600. Possibly a little more if recommended or if €500-600 is not viable to get something decent. I just need something that will do my cd's justice..I'm done with mini systems...

Cheers!!

[Anvil]

You really need to go into a shop and listen to a system for your self. Sound is very subjective. Also the size of room you listen to will be important for decided what kind of speakers you want.

saying that a system i have used i  might be a good starting point if you go into a shop for a demo.  Probably the best CD player you can get for around £300 is the Marantz CD6006. It is designed to go with their PM6006 amplifer, which is a similar price. You'd want similar priced speakers, I had a pair of Monitor Audio ones paired with these and was very happy with the sound. But the speakers got too bassy when they were positioned too close to a wall.

I've recently up graded my amp and speakers but kept the same CD player... Well bought the newest version and am going to put the old system into a different room.

[The Heretic]

You really need to go into a shop and listen to a system for your self. Sound is very subjective. Also the size of room you listen to will be important for decided what kind of speakers you want.

saying that a system i have used i  might be a good starting point if you go into a shop for a demo.  Probably the best CD player you can get for around £300 is the Marantz CD6006. It is designed to go with their PM6006 amplifer, which is a similar price. You'd want similar priced speakers, I had a pair of Monitor Audio ones paired with these and was very happy with the sound. But the speakers got too bassy when they were positioned too close to a wall.

I've recently up graded my amp and speakers but kept the same CD player... Well bought the newest version and am going to put the old system into a different room.

cheers Anvil...great starting point for me there!!

[leoos]

Ok, so the more audiophile about here will say that €500 is way too low for a system but it truly is a case of you get what you pay for unfortunately.

I work in a music college. From speaking to people here in general conversation the general agreement is that the item that makes the biggest difference to your experience in a separate setup is your speakers.

I truly went the budget route down the years and still do.
When looking for speakers last year I went with these in a complete bang per buck equation.
They were affordable and had generally great reviews
https://reviewsleague.com/wharfedale-diamond-9-1-review/

For an amp I replaced a budget Sony one with a Denon DNA-100 principally because I got it for free.
Its not the best reviewed item you will find but for me it does the job.
https://www.canford.co.uk/Products/79-7241_DENON-DN-A100-INTEGRATED-AMPLIFIER-2x-45W-8-70W-4-IR-control-rackmount-kit-3U

And in probably a move of complete heresy I used a DVD player as my CD player. Formerly my DVD unit, it didnt have HDMI, I upgraded to bluray and it had all the regular play, skip, pause buttons you'd associate with a CD player.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Toshiba-SD-3800-DVD-Player/55042741

I stuck a Chromecast Audio into the mix for streaming and a 1980's vintage Pioneer LP player I have had for 20 years.

If I went out to buy all that today I could probably get it all for €500.
I would also get what I paid for.
Not top shelf sound but I think its €500 worth of hifi setup and I couldn't hope for much more at that price.

Keep an eye on your local Cash Converters or car boot sales, DOneDeal etc. You may be able to make up something like this to get started and upgrade piece by piece later as finds allow

[The Heretic]

Ok, so the more audiophile about here will say that €500 is way too low for a system but it truly is a case of you get what you pay for unfortunately.

I work in a music college. From speaking to people here in general conversation the general agreement is that the item that makes the biggest difference to your experience in a separate setup is your speakers.

I truly went the budget route down the years and still do.
When looking for speakers last year I went with these in a complete bang per buck equation.
They were affordable and had generally great reviews
https://reviewsleague.com/wharfedale-diamond-9-1-review/

For an amp I replaced a budget Sony one with a Denon DNA-100 principally because I got it for free.
Its not the best reviewed item you will find but for me it does the job.
https://www.canford.co.uk/Products/79-7241_DENON-DN-A100-INTEGRATED-AMPLIFIER-2x-45W-8-70W-4-IR-control-rackmount-kit-3U

And in probably a move of complete heresy I used a DVD player as my CD player. Formerly my DVD unit, it didnt have HDMI, I upgraded to bluray and it had all the regular play, skip, pause buttons you'd associate with a CD player.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Toshiba-SD-3800-DVD-Player/55042741

I stuck a Chromecast Audio into the mix for streaming and a 1980's vintage Pioneer LP player I have had for 20 years.

If I went out to buy all that today I could probably get it all for €500.
I would also get what I paid for.
Not top shelf sound but I think its €500 worth of hifi setup and I couldn't hope for much more at that price.

Keep an eye on your local Cash Converters or car boot sales, DOneDeal etc. You may be able to make up something like this to get started and upgrade piece by piece later as finds allow

cheers leoos..yeah already it looks like I'm heading to 1k to get something decent if I just want to buy new and off the shelf..may just buy each component when I can and eventually get everything together....

[Hambeast]

Probably the best CD player you can get for around £300 is the Marantz CD6006

I've never understood spending money on a cd player. It's all digital so assuming your cd player is decent enough to read a disc reliably (which isnt much of an issue considering modern error correction) what does an expensive player do? Even better, if you got a reliable player with digital outputs then how can there be any output difference if it's all digital?

Is it more snake oil or am I missing something?

I don't see the need to spend 1k either. Assuming you just want a solid system which sounds great, 500 is plenty. Anything more is just an extra cherry on the top if you've got the money to throw at it.

[Anvil]

You still need to convert the digital information on the CD to an analogue signal so that the amplifier can then drive the speakers.  I suppose the argument is that the more expensive CD players do this better.  With the CD player i recommended, I personally think the DAC is pretty good as even stuff off my phone sounds pretty decent through it.  The headphone jack is very good as well.  Also I had no problems in seven years with it. 

The audiophile world is definitely full of snakeoil salesmen, but your own ears don't lie that is why I always suggest going into a shop and listening for yourself. Bring your favourite album and give it a listen. 

 

[Hambeast]

So my argument about a digital output still stands? There's no analog conversion and you'd be sending a fully lossless signal into your amp, which would then provide the DAC?

[Anvil]

Like you I'd assume the laser creating a series of zeros and ones would be the same in most CD players but it is what happens to the zeros and ones afterwards is what is different amongst different players. Audio companies will argue that their players will convert these signals better.  Some amps have built in DACs, some don't.  My current amp, doesnt .  The Marantz one I mentioned does though I've never put a digital signal into it to test it 

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Anyone have any recommendations for large storage capacity mp3/media players? What I want is something I can put essentially all my mp3 albums for listening to on the other side of the house from where the record player is. I'd prefer to not have to turn on a computer every time I want to access an album that pops into my head like. So, doesn't need to be particularly mobile or fancy, just sturdy and plenty of space. Any recommendations welcomed.

Edit: nevermind, just got a great deal on an old stock Sony yoke that looks like just the job for me!

[Kurt Cocaine]

Go for a Sony pal. One of the old ones.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Go for a Sony pal. One of the old ones.

Nice one!

[Trev]

Get yourself an old 7th gen ipod and an iflash quad drive. Ye can stick four sd cards into it and should be possible to hold up to 1tb

[astfgyl]

Go for a Sony pal. One of the old ones.

I'm in love with the Sony walkman mp3 players. On me 4th or 5th one now. they never failed, I just have a bad habit of losing my shit, like Nicolas Cage

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Get yourself an old 7th gen ipod and an iflash quad drive. Ye can stick four sd cards into it and should be possible to hold up to 1tb

I did check this one out before deciding, although hadn't twigged the iflash drive option. I've gone Apple on nothing yet; in my head it was going to be hassle to use an ipod without installing apple software, and I have a notion in mind that it's head-wrecking for imported mp3s, but maybe that's no longer an issue? Either way, the Sony one is on its way already!