"Signal" wrote in message
...
"Keith G" wrote:
I think it's worth mentioning that the OP appeared to want a
smart/matching
stack (a lot of people do) - I merely pointed him to an impossibly cheap
stack of quite smart and really quite clever brand new kit for less than
secondhand prices
Sure, if the guy wants some plasticy boxes that you can put on top of
one another he should proceed immediately to Argos...
Hmm....
This is where people go wrong - they make sweeping statements about that
which they have not personally experienced. FYI, the Argos kit is not
'plasticky' it's actually got a tin front painted in a rather pleasant matt
'frosty silver-grey' and is surprisingly substantial. The Denon PMA-655R amp
I bought shortly after and the Marantz CDP both have/had plastic fronts. The
AS amp weighs 9 kg, the considerably more expensive Denon weighs 7 kg.....
I buy stuff to *find out* about it....
Full specs here, if you are interested:
http://www.acousticsolutions.net/cat...?Cat=Separates
Remember the amp/CDP/ and tuner were about 60, 70 and 80 (or 90?) quid
respectively and then note the functionality (digital everything on the
amp), inputs and outputs, headphone sockets with volume control &c....
Again, here is the stack:
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/stack.JPG
and dropped the hint he should spend the bulk of his
budget on a decent pair of speakers. Mid-fi electronic gadgets change year
on year (for some obscure reason), but a good pair of speakers is
*eternal*.....
I think you are exaggerating a tinsy winsy bit when you say eternal..
but I agree speakers is where the bulk of the money should go
Not eternal? Ask anybody with a pair (or even one) of the original Quad
panels. Ask anybody with original Tannoys...
But at least we agree on something - ****e speakers will knacker any setup,
no matter how much has been spent!
That one doesn't wash with me - there's hardly a 'name' now that don't get
its stuff built in China (where the purported 'sweatshops' are) and some
'respectable names' have been doing it for years.
My speakers were made in France, my amp in Sweden, everything else is
Japanese or British Bulldog. Oh.. the XBOX is Chinky.. ack...
I couldn't even begin to list the 'country of origin' of all the stuff I
have here, but take it there's summat from most countries that produce hifi
gear!!
I doubt any budget DVD player is sonically on a par with a decent
current mid range player. Trevor Wilson can probably give a technical
explanation for this.
Oh, I'm sure he could, but if I can't personally distinguish between two
pieces of kit then it's academic AFAIAC
Fine, but some hear differences and proffer advice accordingly.. 
Sure, but note I said about half a dozen people failed to split the players
when I had them matched up - it was a button press on the remote to switch
between them. (If it wuz only me that couldn't tell them apart it wouldn't
mean a thing - I ain't CD's biggest fan here...!! ;-)
and if a twenty quid player only
lasts so long, then that's OK too - the last thing you want these days is
a
bit of kit lasting forever it seems!!
May I offer a contrary viewpoint? I want my equipment to last as long
as possible!!!
Fine.
The important thing to take into account is that I already *owned* both
pieces of kit - nothing in it for me if one was (or wasn't) worse than the
other. It's no hardship to get rid of spare kit these days - asitappens, I
flogged the Marantz and it virtually paid for the Argos stuff!! :-)
I'm not surprised.. the Marantz is probably worth more! :-)
Only to someone who prized Audio BS over Harsh Reality....
Just for you, a pic of the stack with the Marantz on top:
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...ithmarantz.JPG
;-)