John Laird wrote:
On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 17:02:33 +0000 (UTC), Stewart Pinkerton
wrote:


Better again, go to Richer Sounds and buy:

Cambridge Audio CD5 - £99.95

Cambridge Audio A300 - £139.95

Mordaunt-Short MS906 - 349.95 (black or maple)

I'm sure if you buy the whole system, they'll throw in all the cables
you need. Total outlay of less than 600 squids, all new gear, and
top-class sound by any reasonable standard.


A tad more than the OP's budget of £200, though ;-)

I don't think that's enough to start buying separates, to be honest. Each
component will likely be so cheap that the first upgrade will show up the
rest of the system. Something like a Denon DM-31 would be a much better use
of the money. Okay it's not upgradeable but it should give good sound for a
long time and will always find a good home somewhere in a house.


I reckon for £200, the OP would be able to put together a system that is
better than a similarly priced mini system (and let's face it, budget
hi-fi prices in UK are a bargain compared to Oz)

£100 for the CD player and amp (look around Ebay or 2nd hand) and the
speakers for £100 (or more, if the OP can stretch the budget).

The first system I actually paid for consisted of a 2nd hand amp and CD
player, and a discounted speaker model for £250. Admittedly, I paid too
much for the amp and CD player (I was going through a nostalgic trip
through early 90s What Hi-Fi mags and decided to get the components I
couldn't afford back then)

I actually wanted to get a Denon DM-31 at first, but the version they
exported to Oz didn't come with the Mission speakers (they had some
really poor Denon speakers), so I said, "stuff it, let's see what
separates system I can put together for the same amount of cash!"

I never looked back. My next upgrade would be improving the conditions
of my listening room.

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:08:39 +0000 (UTC), "Alan Murphy"
wrote:

"Eiron" wrote in message
...

If you are in the Midlands, I have a pair of Mordaunt-Short MS3.40's
with stands you can have for 50 quid.
(Never been thrashed, full service history.)
--
Eiron.

Add a cheap new CD player (£50) with a Meridian 203
DAC (£100 Ebay) and a Pioneer A400 (£75 Ebay) or
similar (Nad 3020 £40 Ebay) amplifier and you have
better than decent sound for less than £300.

Better still, buy a £150 CD player............

Better again, go to Richer Sounds and buy:

Cambridge Audio CD5 - £99.95

Cambridge Audio A300 - £139.95

Mordaunt-Short MS906 - 349.95 (black or maple)

I'm sure if you buy the whole system, they'll throw in all the cables
you need. Total outlay of less than 600 squids, all new gear, and
top-class sound by any reasonable standard.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

600 squids? His budget is £200. Do three of your squids equal
one of his pounds?

From your comments you clearly have ears of cloth. I'm beginning
to sympathise with Trotsky :-)

Alan.

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 19:36:53 +0000 (UTC), "Alan Murphy"
wrote:

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:08:39 +0000 (UTC), "Alan Murphy"
wrote:

"Eiron" wrote in message
...

If you are in the Midlands, I have a pair of Mordaunt-Short MS3.40's
with stands you can have for 50 quid.
(Never been thrashed, full service history.)
--
Eiron.

Add a cheap new CD player (£50) with a Meridian 203
DAC (£100 Ebay) and a Pioneer A400 (£75 Ebay) or
similar (Nad 3020 £40 Ebay) amplifier and you have
better than decent sound for less than £300.

Better still, buy a £150 CD player............

Better again, go to Richer Sounds and buy:

Cambridge Audio CD5 - £99.95

Cambridge Audio A300 - £139.95

Mordaunt-Short MS906 - 349.95 (black or maple)

I'm sure if you buy the whole system, they'll throw in all the cables
you need. Total outlay of less than 600 squids, all new gear, and
top-class sound by any reasonable standard.
--
600 squids? His budget is £200. Do three of your squids equal
one of his pounds?

Name one person who ever went into a hi-fi store and didn't blow his
budget! :-)

He could start with the electronics and Eirons MS3.40s, and get better
speakers as funds allow.

From your comments you clearly have ears of cloth. I'm beginning
to sympathise with Trotsky :-)

From your comments you clearly have guts of jelly - or are you backing
off your comments about 'cable sound'?
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

I took my dog out for a walk.
While it was ****ing on MG Lewis's leg, he seemed distracted by:
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, and perhaps other
aspects have too (amps and so on) 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.

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

Buy new, get some cheap secondhand speakers off eBay. In your price range,
the 'features' are what costs the money. Try to find something without a
graphic equaliser and you're on the right track. Music is about enjoyment,
and they *don't* all sound the same, even at the bottom end.

--
Despite appearances, it is still legal to put sugar on cornflakes.

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:25:04 +0000 (UTC), "Triffid"
wrote:

Buy new, get some cheap secondhand speakers off eBay. In your price range,
the 'features' are what costs the money. Try to find something without a
graphic equaliser and you're on the right track. Music is about enjoyment,
and they *don't* all sound the same, even at the bottom end.

I think I would change the sense of that last bit - the word "even"
gives me a problem. It is especially at the bottom end that things
don't all sound the same. Once you are clear of the bottom end, things
do sound the same - they all tend to sound right. That situation holds
good all the way to the top end, where things tend to fall apart again
and stupid "boutique" designs rear their incompetent heads. That goes
for the electronic stuff anyway.

When it comes to speakers, they carry on getting better right up
into the many thousands of pounds, so to get the best within a budget,
it is a good idea to go secondhand, with the proviso that they be
carefully auditioned before buying.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

I took my dog out for a walk.
While it was ****ing on Don Pearce's leg, he seemed distracted by:
On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:25:04 +0000 (UTC), "Triffid"
wrote:

Buy new, get some cheap secondhand speakers off eBay. In your price
range, the 'features' are what costs the money. Try to find something
without a graphic equaliser and you're on the right track. Music is
about enjoyment, and they *don't* all sound the same, even at the bottom
end.

I think I would change the sense of that last bit - the word "even"
gives me a problem. It is especially at the bottom end that things
don't all sound the same. Once you are clear of the bottom end, things
do sound the same - they all tend to sound right. That situation holds
good all the way to the top end, where things tend to fall apart again
and stupid "boutique" designs rear their incompetent heads. That goes
for the electronic stuff anyway.

When it comes to speakers, they carry on getting better right up
into the many thousands of pounds, so to get the best within a budget,
it is a good idea to go secondhand, with the proviso that they be
carefully auditioned before buying.


erm.. I was thinking more in the sense that even cheap crap can be
distinguished. You just need to lower your terms of reference.

--
Despite appearances, it is still legal to put sugar on cornflakes.

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:30:24 +0000 (UTC), "Triffid"
wrote:

erm.. I was thinking more in the sense that even cheap crap can be
distinguished. You just need to lower your terms of reference.

It is that word "even" that is the problem. It seems to imply that you
would expect more expensive stuff to be distinguishable, but it is
somehow surprising that cheap crap can be - that is the reverse of the
true situation, which is that cheap crap is the stuff that is most
easily distinguished, but once you are clear of that area, everything
is indistinguishable.

Or were you using the word "distinguished" in the "going slightly grey
at the temples" sense?

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

If you have hands, the ability to use them and a spare moment you could
build a kit loudspeaker from the likes of Wilmslow or Falcon, IPL etc and
have much better bang for the buck.