"Blue Vox" wrote in message
om...
Hello all,

I am building my first 'hi-fi' system and would like some advice.
Based on many favourable reviews the Denon DM-31 seems to be a steal
at prices as low as £185 and it seems this is the best sound I will
get for that little money.

I can't agree. I like the DM31, I think it's a great micro-system, but it's
not the best sound for the money. Some carefully chosen 2nd hand separates -
and quite a few new models too - would offer superior performance and
flexibility for future use at the same sort of money. If your need is to
keep the overall footprint small, then that might sway your decision, but if
it's price then there is a wide choice of amplifiers, CD players, tuners,
receivers available in Loot, on Ebay and in the shops etc.

As for the speakers I am wondering what would be the best speakers to
attach: the Denon system doesn't have much power, so I tried to limit
myself to budget speakers with good sensitivity. All of the mentioned
speakers should be easy to drive, right? (Another speaker many people
seem to like is the monitor audio bronze B2's although they seem to be
a bit more expensive).

The Mission M71Is work well with the system and can be had for low prices
right now (discontinued model).

The first question that I have is if I should go for floorstanders, or
standmounters? A fairly decent stand (for my purposes) like the
Atacama Nexus 6 seems to go for about £50 so this almost eliminates
any price difference. Example: The MX2's plus stands would come in at
about £150, while the MX3 goes for just slightly less. Similarly the
M71i's with stands cost almost as much as M73i's. The floorstanders
seem to have better sensitivity also. Is there a reason why I would
want to go with standmounters?

Not really - I'd go along with your reasoning and chose whichever sounded
best. If it's stand-mounters then buy the stands, otherwise don't worry
about them!

It seems a budget of about £350 will buy me sound that will make me
far happier than my current Sony stereo but I would greatly appreciate
some sound advice on the above issues...

For £350 you can pick up a "budget" Sony or Technics CD player brand new, a
quality amp (eg a Rotel RA920/921/930 2nd hand) and, my choice, a pair of
the new Wharfedale Evo 8s. This would fit into your budget - you could
probably pick up a cheap 2nd hand tuner for another £30 that would perform
perfectly.
This is just one of many possibilities that, in my opinion, would outperform
the Denon "sound for pound".

On the other hand, the Denon is one tiny box, no shopping around in
different places, no scouring mags and trawling Ebay - you may prefer that
too!