£1k to spend on basic system for metal, rock etc

[adesw]

My Mini hi fi is on the way out, and rather then blow another £200 on a replacement, I want to think about building up a system in the next 6 months. I know nothing about the techno side of this, or whats good and whats not, so Im really hoping you kind people can point me in the way. I'll have a budget of about £1000, though give or take a bit. I listen to a huge variety of stuff, though alot of it is heavy metal, rock though there is some blues, jazz and what not in there. My collection is purely cd based, so for the moment I dont need a turntable or anything else, though I want easy room to expand in the future.
what I think I want is
-A fairly decent cd player
- a good amp (though Its in a small room, so I dont need anything to loud)
-decent speakers. Probably floor standing, as I do love a good bit of bass.

I want the ability to push the volume, but I would favour clarity and depth over it.

So any help? Do you need to know anything else to help me?

Im really looking for pointers, advice and whatnot, because at the moment, Im looking on websites for stuff, and I dont know what much of it means :s

thankyou

[adesw]

Ok, I can give a bit more info after some thought. Ive been looking around the forums and getting ideas, though Im still a confused newcomer to this.

Im willing to push the budget either way, so in american money Im willing to go up to about $2000 maybe a bit more. Im in a small/medium sized bedroom, so "bookshelf" speakers may be better with the option of adding a sub later on. I want a good cd player at the moment, but I want the possibility to add a turntable with little hassel.

Ive also been told a couple of time "dont spend £300 on a cd player, just get a dvd player for £40" Is there any truth whatsoever in that idea?

[basite]

hi,

and welcome to AR

the 'don't spend £300 on a cd player, just get a dvd player for £40' is a lie. a good cd player will sound better with cd's than any dvd player in the same price region, and even more.

considering your musical taste, I'd look for something that sounds neutral, and even slightly bright (not harsh though )...

you could consider the Denon PMA-1500AE as an amp, it's an integrated amplifier (which means it's a preamp and a power amp in one case, but it has no built in tuner, like a receiver...) sound is superior though than a receiver, and you could add a tuner later on, if you really want radio...

for speakers, you could check out B&W's new 600 line, the 685 might interest you

or, also look at Monitor Audio, their Silver RS line, or maybe their Bronze RS line, both are interesting
here's an example of the RS1

for a CD player, best bang for the buck probably still is a Marantz CD5001, or even a CD6002 (which is slightly better...)


There are thousands of possible combinations, but these will give you a good start

We'd be happy to help you with any questions

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[adesw]

Thankyou, I'll have a look at those bits. ive still got 5 months before I can do it, but I want to know that Im getting the best I can when i do, so the research is vital for me

Thanks again.

Edit-

Ok, just googled that, and it would bring me to about £1200. Which is within my budget, though on the edge. I keep on seeing "upsampling" cd players, are they any better? is it worth the extra or isnt it noticable?
What Id previously been looking at.

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...-AZUR-740C-SIL

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...-AZUR-740A-SIL

With the B&W 685s or maybe some kef speakers. That would come to about £1k which would leave me some money for stands.

[basite]

the upsampling cd players can make a noticeable difference, that Azur 740 is a good cd player too, add it to the list

I'd choose the Denon amp over the cambridge audio one though...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[adesw]

Is there no harm to be had from mixing brand of electronics? Id assumed that like works better with like.

[basite]

no real harm no

if you get all your electronics from the same brand, you will have that brand's sound, all the way. sometimes, this is what people want. But when you mix brands, you can get particular properties from both brands...

just make sure you get a good synergy (that you match the right brands with eachother...).

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[adesw]

Ah, that makes sence. Obviously I'll audition the set up that I want to use, the problem is though, the place I want to get the amp and cd player from, dont stock B&W, though we do have a B&W store locally.

[NickT]

Don't forget that there are hundreds of bargains to be had in the second-hand market. Audio nuts are always upgrading something, so don't be afraid of ebay! I've only recently got into 'proper' hi-fi and managed to get some great sounding gear for not a lot of money. From ebay I got my Harman Kardon CD & Pre-amp for less than £120, and my Quad 306 amp was £150. My gorgeous Ruark Talisman 2 speakers came from a local hi-fi store for £300 (£1500 new!).
I don't need anything any better as I don't have audiophile ears - too many heavy metal gigs as a teenager!

[blackraven]

Cambridge audio makes nice equipment. The 740A is a very good integrated amp and the 740c is a great CD player but I'm not so sure it will mate well with B&W speakers. I had the 740c and 840c and they give great detail and clarity, but they are on the bright side. B&W's tend to lean that way slightly as well. With heavy metal music the combo may be very harsh sounding.
Stick with the 740A amp a look for another CDP.

I would look at the Marantz SA8003 SACDP which has better bass and warmer sound compared to the 740c. This would be a great match with the B&W's. .

The Rega Apollo CDP ( which is highly acclaimed ) would be great for Rock. It has more of an aggressive sound and it would be my pick for your price range and music type. I think it lists for about L498 in the United Kingdom. Others to consider are the Arcam DIVA CD73, and Creek Evo.

Some other speakers to consider would be the KEF IQ9 and Monitor Audio RS6 and RS8, Dali Ikon 6. If your really interested in B&W, consider the 683's over the 685's. 683's are floorstanders and will have better bass and bigger sound over the 685's.
If you go with a Monitor Audio speaker, the 740c CDP would be a good match.

[Spiral Sea]

the floorstanders in the Focal Chorus 800 series sound awesome for heavy metal and rock,excellent soundstage width and depth with a lovely tweeter and a deep bass foundation...they perform very well with the "budget" Marantz,Rotel and NAD equipment.

with a NAD cd/amp combination i'd also suggest auditioning the Dali Ikon and Lektor series.

[adesw]

ok, thanks I'll take a look at those suggestions.

I picked up a new copy of "dark side of the moon" for £6 today, only realising it was the Sacd version when I got home. So I can now properly demo an sacd player when I do that.

[blackraven]

Just remenber all SACD's are not necessarily good recordings just like standard CD. Be sure you have a copy in standard CD to compare.
Some times the difference between SACD and CD is not that noticeable, other times it is a very noticeable difference.