Amp and Speaker Choice

A mate has asked for my advice on an amp and speakers. They're for a
newly built extension, 5m x 4m x 2.4m(h), concrete floor/rugs, lowish
ceiling, lots of glass on 2 sides. He listens mainly through Spotify,
and classical, and has a turntable and CD player.

He's seen a Yamaha AS500 amp and Dali Zensor 3 speakers at Richer
Sounds, so a £500 budget. He has some stands. He also has first refusal
on some Dynaudio Contour 1.1s for £400.

I realise he should look at 'softening' the room - but any views on the
amp/speaker sides of things?

--
Cheers, Rob

On 27/08/2014 13:16, RJH wrote:
A mate has asked for my advice on an amp and speakers. They're for a
newly built extension, 5m x 4m x 2.4m(h), concrete floor/rugs, lowish
ceiling, lots of glass on 2 sides. He listens mainly through Spotify,
and classical, and has a turntable and CD player.

He's seen a Yamaha AS500 amp and Dali Zensor 3 speakers at Richer
Sounds, so a £500 budget. He has some stands. He also has first refusal
on some Dynaudio Contour 1.1s for £400.

I pity those who have to buy speakers these days.
I would go for a pair of Tannoy 615/611/609s on ebay.
Very underrated speakers, IMHO.

--
Eiron.

"Eiron" wrote in message
...
On 27/08/2014 13:16, RJH wrote:
A mate has asked for my advice on an amp and speakers.
They're for a
newly built extension, 5m x 4m x 2.4m(h), concrete
floor/rugs, lowish
ceiling, lots of glass on 2 sides. He listens mainly
through Spotify,
and classical, and has a turntable and CD player.

He's seen a Yamaha AS500 amp and Dali Zensor 3 speakers
at Richer
Sounds, so a £500 budget. He has some stands. He also has
first refusal
on some Dynaudio Contour 1.1s for £400.

I pity those who have to buy speakers these days.
I would go for a pair of Tannoy 615/611/609s on ebay.
Very underrated speakers, IMHO.



Having been down many similar roads my first choice would
probably be a Marantz with almost anything from the NAD
range not far behind. After that Denon, Cambridge, or Rotel
are more than acceptable especially if (as with Rotel) if
pre and power separates can be found.

If he is prepared to buy on fleabay then he should look for
any model of the Audiolab A8000 range in good condition and
working order, or a Musical Fidelity A or B series in
similar state.

25-30Wpc should be enough for that size of room with
reasonably efficient speakers

As for speakers, they are VERY personal and should never be
purchased without an audition first, preferably using disc
of music that are well known to the listener.

Choice largely depends on type of music. For jazz or
classical I would always suggest a speaker with a large bass
driver - there is nothing to beat a big cone to shift air.
Smaller drive units have to move much further to shift the
same amount of air (if they ever achieve it) and can as a
result sound s bit stressed. If on the other hand the
preference is rock which has a very limited dynamic range
and therefore (usually) little detail a smaller but pokey
cabinet may suffice.

Richers do a good range but do remember they own some of the
brands. Have a look at www.superfi.co.uk,
www.fanthorpes.co.uk or www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk
for a broader range, or such as Lintone Audio in Tyneside,
or Vickers or the Sound Organisation in York for more up
market kit. Fanthorpes are in Hull and often have some nice
used kit as well.


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

On 27/08/2014 21:18, Woody wrote:
"Eiron" wrote in message
...
On 27/08/2014 13:16, RJH wrote:
A mate has asked for my advice on an amp and speakers.
They're for a
newly built extension, 5m x 4m x 2.4m(h), concrete
floor/rugs, lowish
ceiling, lots of glass on 2 sides. He listens mainly
through Spotify,
and classical, and has a turntable and CD player.

He's seen a Yamaha AS500 amp and Dali Zensor 3 speakers
at Richer
Sounds, so a £500 budget. He has some stands. He also has
first refusal
on some Dynaudio Contour 1.1s for £400.

I pity those who have to buy speakers these days.
I would go for a pair of Tannoy 615/611/609s on ebay.
Very underrated speakers, IMHO.



Having been down many similar roads my first choice would
probably be a Marantz with almost anything from the NAD
range not far behind. After that Denon, Cambridge, or Rotel
are more than acceptable especially if (as with Rotel) if
pre and power separates can be found.

If he is prepared to buy on fleabay then he should look for
any model of the Audiolab A8000 range in good condition and
working order, or a Musical Fidelity A or B series in
similar state.

25-30Wpc should be enough for that size of room with
reasonably efficient speakers

As for speakers, they are VERY personal and should never be
purchased without an audition first, preferably using disc
of music that are well known to the listener.

Choice largely depends on type of music. For jazz or
classical I would always suggest a speaker with a large bass
driver - there is nothing to beat a big cone to shift air.
Smaller drive units have to move much further to shift the
same amount of air (if they ever achieve it) and can as a
result sound s bit stressed. If on the other hand the
preference is rock which has a very limited dynamic range
and therefore (usually) little detail a smaller but pokey
cabinet may suffice.

Richers do a good range but do remember they own some of the
brands. Have a look at www.superfi.co.uk,
www.fanthorpes.co.uk or www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk
for a broader range, or such as Lintone Audio in Tyneside,
or Vickers or the Sound Organisation in York for more up
market kit. Fanthorpes are in Hull and often have some nice
used kit as well.



Many thanks both - I've passed your comments on.

I'll let you know what he does. A lot of our discussion centred on 'but
What HiFi says . . . '. We moved on, eventually ;-)


--
Cheers, Rob