The perrenial "Recommend a decent but not overly expensive stereo" question

NAD 2600A amp for ~$250, B&K Pro10 Sonata preamp for ~$250, MSB Link I DACs for ~$150 each, and Vandersteen 2ci speakers for $450 ($1200 or so new [a decade ago]). most audiophiles take good care of their stuff. of course, it's best in the rare case that you can check them out first. i was fortunate in that respect with the speakers, but everything else i bought sight unseen and have been happy with.

Thing is, I don't read the hi-fi press any more so I don't know what's around. Ruark and Epos used to do very nice standmount speakers around the £300 mark, but the former certainly seem to have abandoned that part of the market. All you can do is try to do home trials of display versions of the above in your own room (in-store speaker demos are a bit useless); most good stores should let you borrow speakers for a full-RRP swipe of your card. Ah, but you're in the remote southwest, aren't you? Was this going to be an internet purchase?

Funnily enough, I'm helping the Pinefox buy a separates system at the moment, so maybe YOU could help ME!

I'm thinking something along the lines of:
Pro-Ject Debut III turntable
Denon DCD500 CD player (or NAD T514 DVD player or perhaps just a £100-150 Sony DVD player)
Pioneer A109 or Marantz PM4400 or Denon PMA355 amp (all have phono stage; Marantz/Denon have remote control too)
Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo One speakers

With cables and stands, should be under £700.

-- Sick Mouthy (njsouthal...), December 15th, 2006.

I've got an old Pro-Ject Debut turntable which is terrific, although massively underused (less than 100 LPs vs 1,500+ CDs to choose from), so I'd vouch for the III. You can get a version of the III with a built-in phono too, which seems like a smart idea to me.

My amp before the Cambridge was a Denon PMSA250SE which lasted me for years and was fine, and is still fine now with a mate of mine. It was only 30watts though but presumably the 355 is more?

I don't know the Pioneer or Marantz. The Cambridge Audio amps seem to be the most highly-praised entry-level and low-mid level stuff at the moment, and I'd certainly vouch for mine (hence thinking about getting new speakers).

Speakers is more interesting, cos Wharfedale have been winning awards left right and centre for budget ones lately, and Q Acoustics released a model called 1010 a few months ago which are meant to be small but absolutely great. This is going off reading about them though rather than hearing. I'm imagining Pinefox won be listening to banging techno and hiphop so some small, controlled units like that might be right up his street.

i got them in richer sounds almost exactly 10 (ten) years ago. obviously they are doing well, longevity-wise. i have nothing to compare them to. they were not cheap back then, but definitely a good deal.

That's my CD player with the matching amp. Couple of hundred for speakers, hundred and thirty for turntable, and stands and cables should bring it to around £700.

I did see that NAD combo on the Superfi site but then started to wonder about waiting in for the delivery vs going and buying it yourself; I think PF might prefer the latter. Also, NAD amp is without a phono stage, so that means the pricier (and rarer) Debut III Phono. Buying them separately might be a little too expensive.

Anyway, your mention of Kef set me thinking...thinking and walking, actually, to Tottenham Court Road, where I saw the very lovely Q-Compacts for £130. So they're a contender (as are the Q1s, if I can find them). Discovered that both models above the A109 in the Pioneer range (A209r, A307r) are remote-control and still within budget; chap in one store recommended the Wharfedales or B&Ws with the Pioneer amp, chap in another store recommended the Q Acoustics (which seem tiny!). Both warned me off the Missions, funnily enough. TCR has at least three potential one-stop shops, where PF could get everything he needs - but can you try before you buy?

Debut III is a no-brainer (extra £30 = variety of colours!). Couldn't find the AE Aegis speakers anywhere, so they become a little less attractive. Saw a sleek Marantz DVD for under £100 but it felt a bit cheap and the display was poor; the digital source remains the quandary.

It's not really my choice, any of this, so I'm rather getting ahead of myself...

(And, for you, Nick - I saw some very nice Epos speakers for around £350. Those Quads look the business though.)

Pro-Ject Debut III
NAD Phono PP2/C521BEE/C325BEE
Q Acoustics 1020
Atacama stands
Ixos, QED, Profigold cables

The PF was rather nonplussed at the manual speed-change on the Debut III but even less impressed that push-button 33/45 carried a £95 premium (coming as it did only on a model also sporting a built-in Pro-Ject Phono Box; at that stage we were leaning towards phono-equipped Pioneer and Marantz amps and this seemed superfluous).

Anyway, we eventually found ourselves after about three hours, half-a-dozen TCR audio salons and many different potential permutations listening to Sandy Denny's North Star Grassman and The Ravens through the NAD gear and the 1020s; we'd already seen the NAD stuff elsewhere, been very taken with it but, mindful of the line-level only 320/325 and the slightly high price, had kinda ruled it out. Salesguy offered a hefty discount on the CD/amp pairing and then, upon discovering the 320 was out of stock in PF's preferred finish, suggested the newer 325 at the same discounted price (these TCR fellas are terrified you'll just go next door). Too good to refuse, even if it meant going upstairs and buying a separate phono stage. Also achieved the aim of getting everything in one place.

Did consider Kefs, B&Ws and Wharfedales but Sandy D sounded glorious through the Q Acoustics.

Now, I'd love to say that we set it all up and all was right with the world but...PF's lighting circuit fuse blew in his flat an hour or so after we got back, meaning I was working from the light of a single table lamp and, furthermore, I couldn't unsheath the bare wire from the QED speaker cables to save my life. Back at mine later that night, armed with a Stanley knife and a different approach, I stripped the cables back but it was too late then (PF lives a 30min bus journey away). We had listened to the rest of the gear through headphones, so we knew it all worked (what a pleasure it is to set up that Pro-Ject deck - a doddle).

I hope the PF calls me today and tells me how good Lloyd Cole is sounding...

(Should get to hear PF's system in all its glory Thursday night...)

Anyway, I decided I need something NOW as a stop-gap measure, so I went out and bought a $50 boom-box type thing, since I alreayd had in mind that I'd like to get something portable to take with me if I ever decide to resume practicing dance at my gym. (I never practiced at this one, just a previous one, and the space is not as inviting in the new one, for various reasons.) Anyway, I got it home and it would not play. At first I thought it might just be the CD I put in (which might have been made in Lebanon) so I tried something more mainstream, but no, just no response.

So tomorrow I think I am going to take it back and go stereo shopping, following some of the suggestions made above.

Sounds tinny. Can you believe it? $50 CD player that sounds tinny? I think I am still going to try to pull together a system (I like how I say it as though what I am looking for is going to be so complicated) and pretend I will use this one to take with me for practicing salsa at the gym or wherever.

Wow, it really sounds tinny when there's a big cymbal strike.

anyone have a recc for a combo cd player/ipod dock?

I believe these all have iPod docks, but you'll want to double check.

Yamaha CRX-330 CD receiver, $300 MSRP ($250)
Yamaha DRX-730 CD/DVD receiver, $450 MSRP ($330)
Denon RCD N7 Network CD receiver, $600 MSRP ($444)
Marantz M-CR603 Network CD Receiver, $700 MSRP ($562)
Peachtree Audio Decco, $800 MSRP

Prices in parens are what I found via Google/Amazon/eBay at the time I wrote this in July: http://www.fastnbulbous.com/computer-audio.htm

hmm, thanks -- the first one is generally within my price range.
is there a way to hook up a turntable to it? sorry, i am clueless about a lot of this stuff.

i mean, basically what I'm looking for is this:
a stereo system for my office (which is fairly small), that includes decent speakers, a CD player, a turntable and a way to hook up an ipod... whaddaya think, is it possible for under $500?
for some reason whenever i start looking this stuff up, i get overwhelmed/depressed. help me.

Turn that frown upside down, shopping for gear is fun, plus you have a job where you can play records in your office, you bastard ;)

Audio Technica AT-LP60USB Fully Automatic Belt Driven Turntable with USB Port - $98

Yamaha NS-6490, 70 watts, $150 MSRP ($106)
or
Polk Audio Monitor 30, 100 watts, $200 MSRP ($70)

That should keep it under $500 total.

Normally I'd recommend better speakers, but unless you can lock your office securely, I would hate to keep too nice of speakers at work. You can always upgrade 'em. In the past I've spent as much as I can afford on the speakers, then upgraded the rest gradually.

:D
thanks. i'll check it out. it's actually for my home office (which I'll be spending much more time in in 2012).

Get a bottom of the range Bose Wave music system. It will go a bit over your budget and there aint no i-pod dock, you use the audio jack. At least you will love it. I got one a few years ago for my kitchen. It cost me £450 but is worth every penny. The sound quality is remarkable for such a small system.

I know you are asking for something cheap. I believe you end up spending more on cheap shit. You go into an endless cycle of replacing cheap shit, whereas with a low end quality product you get value for money. Something that is more reliable, lasts longer and makes you happier.

and it sucks you off.

hmmm...
i was looking at some of those bose things. the all in one aspect is appealing, but I'm pretty interested in finally getting something decent to play vinyl on...i've got a ton of it, just haven't had a good system in years.