I took my dog out for a walk.
While it was ****ing on MG Lewis's leg, he seemed distracted by:
With around £200 budget I've been thinking of buying a new hi-fi
system like a Sony or Panasonic or going to richer sounds and trying
to pick up some bargain seperates from their Trade Counter section.

I keep hearing that seperates invariably offer better quality and it's
tempting to build up a system as and when I could afford to improve
it. However, I've read online somewhere that CD technology has
improved in the last couple of years for example, and perhaps other
aspects have too (amps and so on) and am now wondering whether a new
hi-fi system would sound just as good as seperates that may be several
years old in design.

I'd appreciate peoples thoughts and opinions on the old seperates v
new system choice.

Buy new, get some cheap secondhand speakers off eBay. In your price range,
the 'features' are what costs the money. Try to find something without a
graphic equaliser and you're on the right track. Music is about enjoyment,
and they *don't* all sound the same, even at the bottom end.

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Despite appearances, it is still legal to put sugar on cornflakes.