On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 20:45:29 +0100, Eiron wrote:

MG Lewis wrote:

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,

Nope, the last *significant* improvement in CD quality happened around
1990, when 'bitstream' converters came in. A cheap modern Technics CD
player is very close to sounding as good as anything you can buy at
any price.

and perhaps other
aspects have too (amps and so on)

Nope, they've been sonically transparent for twenty years or more at
the mid-price and up end of the market. A modern Yamaha AX-582/592
will sound pretty close to state of the art, despite what the
so-called 'high enders' would have you believe.

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.

Nope, get some discontinued separates from Richer Sounds (their
Cambridge range contains some real gems) and you'll be well on the way
to top-class sound on a budget. The *important* thing is the speakers,
and good ones do cost serious money.

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

You can't even get a decent new pair of speakers for £200.

You can, but stick to top brands like B&W, KEF or Mordaunt-Short for
best results. Recently dicontinued ranges will give the best value,
and Richer Sounds is a good source of such.

I have a very nice pair of Rogers speakers from "Cash Converters"
and have seen some decent CD players and amps there.
eBay can also have some bargains.

Indeed so. In fact, there's a pair of Spendor BC 11s on for £95 right
now, which will give you great sound - and serious 'audiophile cred'!

Also B&W 602 Series 2 at £56, and many other excellent speakers
including Mission 780SE and even ATC SCM7s at very reasonable prices.

Within your budget, all CD players and amps will sound the same
and the speakers will make the difference.

Correct - and he'll get little improvement from the electronics until
he has spent at least a couple of grand on serious speakers.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering