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Dans

Correctly predicted Portugal to win Euro 2016
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A thread for audophiles. What do you have? How much did you shell out? Do you spend disgusting amounts of money on interconnects? Better still, do you spend outrageous amounts on mains connecters?

I have an old system and am looking for a new CD player on a limited budget - 300-350 quid. I am looking at Marantz, Cambridge, NAD and audiolab mainly, but also looked at an Onkyo player that can also play SACDs. Anyone have anything to say about SACDs?

Brag away.........
 
Well, in case this could be of use to anyone else, I'll report on my limited testing of the cdplayers I have been considering.....

I listened to the NAD 545, 2 Onkyos and the Marantz CD6003.

The Onkyos were first, both recommended by the salesman (not in a dedicated hifi shop I should add) and they weren't bad, very bright but somehow lacking in feeling.

The NAD on the other hand was the polar opposite lacking a little in brightness with an extremely warm sound. Too warm.

The Marantz was the worst of the bunch, disjointed with a rather unfocussed bass I thought.

As a result I have ordered an Audiolab 8000cde!
 
I cancelled the Audiolab order and went for a Creek Evo instead. Will report back on how fecking brilliant it is.
 
Dans said:
I cancelled the Audiolab order and went for a Creek Evo instead. Will report back on how fecking brilliant it is.
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Just out of interest - having never really had ears good enough to tell that there is much difference in quality from one half decent CD player to one very expensive one - what type of music do you listen to on your system?
 
I know, I missed that at first then noticed after I posted - hence the edit. Sorry!

You are a quick sod for noticing!
 
decorativeed said:
Just out of interest - having never really had ears good enough to tell that there is much difference in quality from one half decent CD player to one very expensive one - what type of music do you listen to on your system?
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All sorts. But you should hear for yourself - you can demo stuff at home if you leave your cc details with the shop, at least I could when I lived in UK. The difference between a bottom of the range system which might cost you 3-500 (whereby cd player, amp and speakers are a system) and a mid range system where you might pay 1500 for the same 3 components is huge in my opinion. It's the difference between a 1500 system and a 10000 system that is harder to notice. Music on a decent system is a must, otherwise you miss out.
 
WeasteDevil said:
My PS3 plays SACDs, and I own very few SACDs.
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I have one too, but I am not convinced it's the best machine to play them on, though I may be completely wrong on that. I may actually buy one of the very few SACDs available and find out!
 
Oh, it's quite capable of playing them, it outputs the sound untouched in pure digital form, so then it's down to your receiver or amp. Audiophiles don't use AV receivers, they always go for a proper dedicated amplifier. The trouble with the PS3 is that there are not really enough outputs that a dedicated player will give you.
 
Dans said:
All sorts. But you should hear for yourself - you can demo stuff at home if you leave your cc details with the shop, at least I could when I lived in UK. The difference between a bottom of the range system which might cost you 3-500 (whereby cd player, amp and speakers are a system) and a mid range system where you might pay 1500 for the same 3 components is huge in my opinion. It's the difference between a 1500 system and a 10000 system that is harder to notice. Music on a decent system is a must, otherwise you miss out.
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See, that's the thing - if it's good music, it'll hit the emotional buttons whatever I play it on. If I start shelling out on a decent system (if I had that kind of money to spend) then I won't be listening to the music any more, I'll be listening to the system. Then every time I play a CD, I'll be wondering whether any newly perceived improvement/flaw is: A) Because of the CD player, B) because of the amp, C) because of the cables, D) because of the speakers, E) because of the production of the CD, F) because of the original recording.

I'd drive myself mad (and possibly bancrupt) in the persuit of perfection, basically!

What do you think is the most important componant of your system for contributing to an improved sound?
 
Dans said:
Well, in case this could be of use to anyone else, I'll report on my limited testing of the cdplayers I have been considering.....

I listened to the NAD 545, 2 Onkyos and the Marantz CD6003.

The Onkyos were first, both recommended by the salesman (not in a dedicated hifi shop I should add) and they weren't bad, very bright but somehow lacking in feeling.

The NAD on the other hand was the polar opposite lacking a little in brightness with an extremely warm sound. Too warm.

The Marantz was the worst of the bunch, disjointed with a rather unfocussed bass I thought.

As a result I have ordered an Audiolab 8000cde!
Click to expand...

How much have you spent on your system inc speakers?
 
Spoony Youngblood said:
How much have you spent on your system inc speakers?
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I bought my amp in 1997 or so for about 500, speakers in 93 for about 300, the CD player on the way cost 500 (discontinued model down from around 650-750 when it was released) and lastly I think I spent around 125 or so on some cables and speaker plugs. The cable was the CD to Amp interconnect and cost the majority of that (about 100 if memory serves) and that really did improve the sound even more.

To decorativeed - I can only say when you have the money, demo a system and I think you'll be happy you did.
 
Dans said:
I bought my amp in 1997 or so for about 500, speakers in 93 for about 300, the CD player on the way cost 500 (discontinued model down from around 650-750 when it was released) and lastly I think I spent around 125 or so on some cables and speaker plugs. The cable was the CD to Amp interconnect and cost the majority of that (about 100 if memory serves) and that really did improve the sound even more.

To decorativeed - I can only say when you have the money, demo a system and I think you'll be happy you did.
Click to expand...

I'd love a decent system but I wouldn't know where to start. I used to buy What Hi-Fi? magazine. . .and it gives you some sort of an idea, although reviews'd probably influence me far too much. I'd rather try a few systems and be able decide for myself. And have your tried classical music on your system? Oh and back to a point you made earlier, I recall watching a Gadget Show episode in which they tested an Arcam. . .or some other top of the range system to a middle/decent music system. The difference wasn't as great as you'd imagine, however you couldn't really hear the machine turn on and off in fact you couldn't hear the system working at all. . .except for the music itself. So basically you pay a lot of money for a relatively small improvement. . .when compared to system worth around 2000 quid,
 
The differences are huge at this price level I'd say. See what I wrote about the cdplayers I listened to earlier this week. The difference between them was really startling. The NAD was so, so different from the other two. It's not until you compare two or more machines during one sitting that you can really appreciate the difference between each though.

It's a long term relationship too - you build a system up over time. Some components last a long time, others not. I've been lucky with what I have so far but I did have a budget Rotel (about 120 quid back in 1988 or so) before I graduated to the Audiolab. It's a bit of a love affair really.
 
As for what hi fi - take them with a pinch of salt. They would appear to be fairly well paid by manufacturers to write favourable reviews.

If you want to start with separates, you need about 300 quid to get going. Call that your first budget system and spend the money about 25% on a CD and 25% on speakers and the rest on the amp. You can find decent enough pieces at those prices and they WILL sound much better than a midi or micro or whatever they are called these days.
 
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