newbie needs some advice!

[mrgreen]

Hi all,
I am new to the site and definately new to all things audio! at the moment i am looking into buying a system but man alive is there alot to choose from! any help would be appreciated, I have decided on Wharfedale diamond 9.6's for speakers but have yet to decide on an amp and cd player and receiver this is where it all goes a bit cloudy! the only really good amp i've heard was years ago my friend had a yamaha so on that thought i am looking at e-bay to try and get one second hand but not without dissapointment, two unsuccessful bids! i was going for an ax 1050 and an ax900 but missed them both the next one coming up is a denon pma 1560 does anyone have any comments advice on the route i am taking and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as the more i look the more overwhelmed i become,
thanks very much,
Richard
p.s great site by the way!

[blackraven]

Welcome to AR! First you need to answer a few questions so we can help you.

What is your budget?

Do you plan on using this set up for 2ch audio only or both 2ch audio and hometheater in a 5.1 or 7.1 setup?

If you are looking to buy used, checkout wwww.audiogon.com Always be wary of used equipment.

[mrgreen]

thanks for the reply,
at the moment i am looking at two channel audio only as my t.v isn't really doing it for home theatre at the moment but may look at home theatre in the future, is it best to have dedicated amps for both or would it be better to buy a home theatre amp and run it all off that? i am in Austria and my budget is around €1200 with the speakers taking €400 of that straight away! thanks for your help,
Richard.

[blackraven]

If your really into high end audio then I would say go with a high end 5.1 system or 2 separate systems for 2ch and Home theater. But on your budget if you are thinking about HT in the next year then get a HT receiver like the Onkyo TX SR 606 or Marantz 6000 series avr.
For a CDP look at the Marantz 5003, Music Hall 25.2 cdp, cambridge audio 540c, 640c.

For 2ch receivers look at the Harmon Kardon 3480 and 3490, Onkyo 8555 to name a few. Consider the Cambridge audio integrated 540a and 640c amp's, and include NAD as well.

[mrgreen]

thanks so much for the help the cambridge gear looks really good. can you tell me is there any disadvantage to running a surround system as opposed to a 2ch? and also the amp for example is only rated at 75w will this be enought to run the diamond 9.6 speakers? I don't listen to music so loud so that wouldn't be an issue with me all i want is some quality sound!, thanks again for the help the muddy waters are starting to clear!

[luvtolisten]

I would say so. I have a pair of Wharfedale EVO 10's, which are a little less efficient than your 9.6's, with a NAD T754, (70 watts) and there is power to spare.

[blackraven]

One other integrated amp to consider is the Onkyo 9555, 85wpc and a very good buy from all the reviews.