Ed Whittaker wrote:

1.) To my un-trained ears, will a cheap, quality amp like a Cambridge
sound much better than whats in my current mini system (Samsung
max-440) or are they (at this level) all very similar.

A Cambridge amp may well sound very acceptable.

Component hi-fi units are almost invariably superior in quality to mini-systems.


2.) For a cheap system, does cable realy matter (currently using
bell-wire!)

Cable certainly matters enough to use better than bell wire !

Don't get suckered into 'name brand cable' though . Cable is cable. There is no *magic* to cable.


3.) It sounds like replacement speakers are the way to go. Are the
L58AY maple floor standing speakers (Eltax) from Maplin at 39.99 a
good deal? Can`t see any good speaker deals on the Richer Sounds
site.

Why are you looking at Maplin ? They aren't a hifi dealer. AFAIK 'Eltax' is cheap rubbish.

Speakers are almost always the weakest link in the audio chain and hence the best place to improve things.

What do you call a good deal ?

Check out this page

http://www.richersounds.com/index.ph...ist.php&c=2110 ( the 'clearance / trade counter' page )

Those Missions look nice for the money, although you'ld likely need a better amp to extract the best from
them. You could do that later though.

What's your budget ?


Graham