"Ian Iveson" wrote in message
.uk...
SteveAl wrote

I'm 'doing up' my office. Part of the deal with my wife is that I can
install a music system and therefore keep out of the living room even
more...
The last time I ventured into 'Hi-Fi' I bought an AVI CD/amp with Ruark
Talisman speakers. This has served us well for 10 or so years (and
continues to do so in the lounge).

I got all enthused about a pleasant, low key system to play mainly
accoustic folk and classical music. I read a few newsgroups and
magazines and they lead me, right or wrong, to buy a chinese valve amp
on Ebay. It's a single-ended 300B job, which I haven't received yet.

I'd like to build some horn-loaded speakers in the not too distant
future, but for now I'd like to buy a suitable, inexpensive pair of
used speakers (Ebay?). Can anyone suggest a suitable pair for a 9
watt/channel amp in my 17ft X 11ft room?

The other component I need is a CD player. I guess I could buy
something new like a Cambridge Azur job (or perhaps Arcam CD 73), but I
was wondering if used CD players of a slightly higher quality are a
sensible buy? Names like Cyrus, Naim, Marantz drift in from the mists
of time...

Any help with these would be appreciated.

Chinese doesn't say much about it...could be anything from the best to the
worst. It's a big place.

The chances are that the output transformers will be of poor
quality...true of most SETs, unfortunately, which is why they have an
unnecessary reputation for being unable to drive much bass, and for
distorting what bass there is.

I'm not a speaker expert, but I guess it is important to get speakers that
present as flat a load as possible, as the amp will probably tend to
emphasise variations as a result of a highish output impedance.

Kind, sensitive standmounts, ones that don't need bullying into
submission, I suppose.

Now, I bet Trevor has a list of well-behaved standmounts or bookshelves
suitable for driving with low-power SETs in his head, but he won't say.

**You'd lose that bet. As I already stated: Buy the damned speaker FIRST,
not last. THEN choose the amp. I can only tell what speakers _I_ like.
Telling another person to buy the speakers I prefer, is a little like
telling a man which woman he should live with, or what car to buy. It is a
personal preference thing.


Hi-fi is a journey, not a destination. The suggestion that you must pick
speakers first, and then choose an amp, carries within it a fundamental
presupposition about the nature and purpose of domestic audio that is
ill-conceived, especially if you want to try the SET route.

**The bottom line is this: SOME amplifiers are fundamentally unsuited to
SOME speakers. The choice of a SET amplifier restricts one's choice of
suitable speakers considerably. Given that speakers overwhelmingly affect
the overall sound of a system more than any other component, it makes sense
to decide on speaker first. Buying the amplifier first, is a little like
buying some tyres, then finding a car to fit them.

How can you listen
to the speakers without an amp? And vice-versa, of course.

**Indeed. That is what dealers are for. You pop into the dealer's showroom
(or a friend's place) and listen to some speakers. Buy the ones you like.
Kinda like buying a car. Pop down to the dealership and thake the damned
thing for a test drive.


Trevor would not be wherever he is without making mistakes.

**Indeed. I've made plenty. I am trying to assist those who need help. I
will tell you something for nothing, though: I have NEVER, nor will I ever,
buy a piece of audio equipment, without first listening to it. That would be
a stupid, fatal mistake. BTW: I do not mean the ACTUAL piece of equipment,
but a representative sample.


Almost any CD player from a reputable producer should be OK. You pay for
what you get, so avoid features you don't need.

**Indeed. Whatever you do, buy the speakers FIRST. Not last.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au



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