Hi-Fi advice required

[Penarth Blues]

Many thanks to you and all the other contributors. I don't NEED to spend a grand but thought it's about time I bought a decent system - and if that's what it takes I would have to bite the bullet. I realise that listening to these systems is advisable but I can't imagine that it's easy with a sales person hanging around and being the centre of attention in a shop whilst each one is tried out.

The specialist HiFi stores are not like that. Ring and book an appointment, giving an idea of price and features you are looking for. They will then get various options set up for your visit in a separate listening room with a sofa. Be aware they will always try to stretch your budget but then that's their job. Yours is to make sure you're getting what you want. If £500 does what you need then that's enough.

It's your ears and wallet, so make sure you know your limit and what you want the stereo to do for you when you get it home. I mostly use mine with the TV as the difference in sound quality compared to the crappy TV speakers makes the cost worth it on its own.

I spent over 3 hours in store and had 3 different systems and sets of speakers at home before finally purchasing my mid-life crisis system. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and it was great to hear what is possible nowadays.

In the end I went just a little further up the Naim line than the Muso, but still just a single box plus speakers as I really didn't want the stereo to take over the house or my life...

Final point - most stores will offer 24 months interest free credit if you want to stretch the cost out over a few months.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

The specialist HiFi stores are not like that. Ring and book an appointment, giving an idea of price and features you are looking for. They will then get various options set up for your visit in a separate listening room with a sofa. Be aware they will always try to stretch your budget but then that's their job. Yours is to make sure you're getting what you want. If £500 does what you need then that's enough.

It's your ears and wallet, so make sure you know your limit and what you want the stereo to do for you when you get it home. I mostly use mine with the TV as the difference in sound quality compared to the crappy TV speakers makes the cost worth it on its own.

I spent over 3 hours in store and had 3 different systems and sets of speakers at home before finally purchasing my mid-life crisis system. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and it was great to hear what is possible nowadays.

In the end I went just a little further up the Naim line than the Muso, but still just a single box plus speakers as I really didn't want the stereo to take over the house or my life...

Final point - most stores will offer 24 months interest free credit if you want to stretch the cost out over a few months.

I will ponder on those points. Cheers.

[MacAdder]

Music nowadays is an effin minefield.
We were all duped into buying CDs because there was no difference in sound when compared to vinyl and they would last forever. We all now know that they do break and the sound is by far inferior to vinyl. You also got far less for your money... because 'smaller was better'.

I rarely listen to music nowadays, it was a far simpler life we led 'back in the day', that though is only part the reason.

I chucked a perfectly decent system, receiver, amp and turntable with aforementioned top quality cables for the latest state of the art Bose iPod docking station, I lashed £200 out quid about 10 years ago.
Problem I've got now is that I download my music (mainly because it is much cheaper) directly to my smart phone - which is not an iPhone.
Okay, I have got a lesser sound quality Bluetooth speaker but the perfectly good, working docking station is redundant unless I want to play my old stuff.

"Why don't you get one of those Bluetooth receivers to attach to the Base docking station?" I hear you ask.
Well, I did.
Problem was the receiver wasn't compatible with the earlier docking station versions
Feckin apple. Hate them with a passion!

Anyway, my advice is don't think you've ever got the latest gear. If you are a proper gadget person who's got plenty and has to have the latest for social standing reasons then crack on but personally I'd have a whole bunch of rigs doing what I want them to and that is to simply play music.

Just be clear in your own mind on what you want to achieve - good luck

[bobh]

Anyone recall an experiment about 20 years ago -
Some music was played on Radio 1 in stereo, but it was explained on Tomorrow's World at the same time.
CD technology allowed for recordings to 'fool' the ears/brain by playing certain instruments/frequencies at a slight delay (millisecs)
This fooled your ears into thinking the music came from different places - and I could have sworn there was someone playing drums behind my sofa.
It promised a lot, "surround sound" could be played on standard equipment, but I've never heard of it since.

[Penarth Blues]

Music nowadays is an effin minefield.
We were all duped into buying CDs because there was no difference in sound when compared to vinyl and they would last forever. We all now know that they do break and the sound is by far inferior to vinyl. You also got far less for your money... because 'smaller was better'.

I rarely listen to music nowadays, it was a far simpler life we led 'back in the day', that though is only part the reason.

I chucked a perfectly decent system, receiver, amp and turntable with aforementioned top quality cables for the latest state of the art Bose iPod docking station, I lashed £200 out quid about 10 years ago.
Problem I've got now is that I download my music (mainly because it is much cheaper) directly to my smart phone - which is not an iPhone.
Okay, I have got a lesser sound quality Bluetooth speaker but the perfectly good, working docking station is redundant unless I want to play my old stuff.

"Why don't you get one of those Bluetooth receivers to attach to the Base docking station?" I hear you ask.
Well, I did.
Problem was the receiver wasn't compatible with the earlier docking station versions
Feckin apple. Hate them with a passion!

Anyway, my advice is don't think you've ever got the latest gear. If you are a proper gadget person who's got plenty and has to have the latest for social standing reasons then crack on but personally I'd have a whole bunch of rigs doing what I want them to and that is to simply play music.

Just be clear in your own mind on what you want to achieve - good luck

You are dead right - things are moving really quickly at the moment. This is why I went with a company that updates even its old products for many years. I've added TIDAL and Spotify to my Uniti2 since buying it, despite it not being a feature when I did. It sounds as if MQA might be the next 'thing' but hopefully I will continue to be able to enjoy my music for a while yet.

I'm probably going to put everything I own CD wise onto my own NAS drive so it's always there regardless of what happens in the online streaming world. I can also get the quality I want it saved at then as well.

Whatever I do, I'll probably miss something out, but provided the basic pre-amp, amp and speakers are good then you will always be able to plug something into them...

[Penarth Blues]

Anyone recall an experiment about 20 years ago -
Some music was played on Radio 1 in stereo, but it was explained on Tomorrow's World at the same time.
CD technology allowed for recordings to 'fool' the ears/brain by playing certain instruments/frequencies at a slight delay (millisecs)
This fooled your ears into thinking the music came from different places - and I could have sworn there was someone playing drums behind my sofa.
It promised a lot, "surround sound" could be played on standard equipment, but I've never heard of it since.

Yep - it's now called DSP and is in everything virtually, from your car stereo through to your TV speakers.

[headlight]

If you really want a good sound & one customised to your own personal listening tastes then book a session with a proper hi-fi store.
Tell them the type of music you like to listen to, the layout of the room you will be listening in at home &, if you know it, the type of sound you like & that you will be using an MP3 player as a source.
Ask them to set up a suitable amp & speakers within your budget & go & have a listen.
Play tracks that you know well.
After listening to what they have set up you can ask them to swap speakers or the amp to tailor the sound to your own personal tastes.
For well under a thousand pounds you will get a very good sound.
I have a very good set up but it is pointless suggesting my kit to you as everyone has different listening tastes, for instance I like quite a warm sound others don"t etc.
Let us know if & when you settle on a system.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

If you really want a good sound & one customised to your own personal listening tastes then book a session with a proper hi-fi store.
Tell them the type of music you like to listen to, the layout of the room you will be listening in at home &, if you know it, the type of sound you like & that you will be using an MP3 player as a source.
Ask them to set up a suitable amp & speakers within your budget & go & have a listen.
Play tracks that you know well.
After listening to what they have set up you can ask them to swap speakers or the amp to tailor the sound to your own personal tastes.
For well under a thousand pounds you will get a very good sound.
I have a very good set up but it is pointless suggesting my kit to you as everyone has different listening tastes, for instance I like quite a warm sound others don"t etc.
Let us know if & when you settle on a system.

MQA, NAS, TIDAL, DSP.....This may as well be a foreign language to me. I don't even know what a 'warm sound' is, to be honest. As a result I would feel quite self-conscious about having different components being put together in different combinations in a shop. I can see myself forking out for the Naim Muso after a quick demo and saving the embarrassment. I looked it up on the net after it was mentioned above and it has very good reviews. No Dolby though

[Penarth Blues]

MQA, NAS, TIDAL, DSP.....This may as well be a foreign language to me. I don't even know what a 'warm sound' is, to be honest. As a result I would feel quite self-conscious about having different components being put together in different combinations in a shop. I can see myself forking out for the Naim Muso after a quick demo and saving the embarrassment. I looked it up on the net after it was mentioned above and it has very good reviews. No Dolby though

You don't need to know anything - just go in and listen. Ask if you can borrow a Muso for the weekend to try at home - the room it is in is always a key component to any stereo. This also gives you a chance to extend your bluffer's guide to HiFi knowledge through trial and error

Seriously, who gives a shit what the shop staff think of you, you're not asking them out for a date. You are offering to spend money with them - they should be grateful, and can talk you through where everything is going now so you can consider all the options.

I'd consider the Muso to be a good, safe bet for future proofing as it's small enough to go in nearly every room in the house, and could be taken on holiday too at a push (though it needs to be plugged into the mains).

Spending money should be fun - go and enjoy asking questions, you come over as curious on this MB so this should be enjoyable

[Taunton Blue Genie]

You don't need to know anything - just go in and listen. Ask if you can borrow a Muso for the weekend to try at home - the room it is in is always a key component to any stereo. This also gives you a chance to extend your bluffer's guide to HiFi knowledge through trial and error

Seriously, who gives a shit what the shop staff think of you, you're not asking them out for a date. You are offering to spend money with them - they should be grateful, and can talk you through where everything is going now so you can consider all the options.

I'd consider the Muso to be a good, safe bet for future proofing as it's small enough to go in nearly every room in the house, and could be taken on holiday too at a push (though it needs to be plugged into the mains).

Spending money should be fun - go and enjoy asking questions, you come over as curious on this MB so this should be enjoyable

[Penarth Blues]

You travel a lot - hence you seem to have curiosity - not you are curious

PS:

MQA: A new way of encoding high resolution music that is meant to convey exactly what was recorded in the studio
NAS: Network Addressable Storage - basically a box with hard drives in to back up your computers or music in this case. Can be fond by the Muso to enable you to play your music through the music from the NAS. Almost all control is via an iPAD/iPhone or similar. Basically all your music available through an App
DSP: Digital Signal Processing - a way of manipulating the source file to suit your tastes via filters, and/or to tune the signal to the amp/speakers, etc it is being played on. The Muso uses this to optimise the whole package to sound as close to the music source as possible given the laws of Physics
TIDAL: A high resolution version of Spotify ie. CD quality streaming via the internet to a Muso or similar. Subscriptions cost around £20/month but you get a huge collection of music you can listen to as you wish. Spotify is about £10/month. I use Spotify to explore music and then buy the CD if I like it enough.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

You travel a lot - hence you seem to have curiosity - not you are curious

PS:

MQA: A new way of encoding high resolution music that is meant to convey exactly what was recorded in the studio
NAS: Network Addressable Storage - basically a box with hard drives in to back up your computers or music in this case. Can be fond by the Muso to enable you to play your music through the music from the NAS. Almost all control is via an iPAD/iPhone or similar. Basically all your music available through an App
DSP: Digital Signal Processing - a way of manipulating the source file to suit your tastes via filters, and/or to tune the signal to the amp/speakers, etc it is being played on. The Muso uses this to optimise the whole package to sound as close to the music source as possible given the laws of Physics
TIDAL: A high resolution version of Spotify ie. CD quality streaming via the internet to a Muso or similar. Subscriptions cost around £20/month but you get a huge collection of music you can listen to as you wish. Spotify is about £10/month. I use Spotify to explore music and then buy the CD if I like it enough.

Good lord, man. You are a veritable glossary. May you have a thousand offspring

[Penarth Blues]

Good lord, man. You are a veritable glossary. May you have a thousand offspring

I bloody hope not - why do you think it took me so long to buy a decent stereo?

[neilw65]

You travel a lot - hence you seem to have curiosity - not you are curious

PS:

MQA: A new way of encoding high resolution music that is meant to convey exactly what was recorded in the studio
NAS: Network Addressable Storage - basically a box with hard drives in to back up your computers or music in this case. Can be fond by the Muso to enable you to play your music through the music from the NAS. Almost all control is via an iPAD/iPhone or similar. Basically all your music available through an App
DSP: Digital Signal Processing - a way of manipulating the source file to suit your tastes via filters, and/or to tune the signal to the amp/speakers, etc it is being played on. The Muso uses this to optimise the whole package to sound as close to the music source as possible given the laws of Physics
TIDAL: A high resolution version of Spotify ie. CD quality streaming via the internet to a Muso or similar. Subscriptions cost around £20/month but you get a huge collection of music you can listen to as you wish. Spotify is about £10/month. I use Spotify to explore music and then buy the CD if I like it enough.

If you have downloaded a lot of music, as well as having loads of photo's, video's etc, then it is well worth investing in a decent NAS box to store all your data on.

[AlwaysAway2]

Reading some parts of this interesting thread I would add this.
If you are listening from a computer and you have WAV files invest in a DAC between your computer and active speakers. An Audioengine D1 at £110 Amazon is superb.

Stereo is much more than an effect. Try to find a MONO album.
The mix engineers work in stereo because we have two ears....the stereo adds everything for me like black and white to colour.

External computer speakers on either side of a desk are perfect. Harmon Kardon sticks £100 Amazon my favourites. For a sitting room set up the air moving speakers should be about 8 - 12 feet apart and OFF the floor. Positioning relative to walls is everthing. EXPERIMENT.

Buy .... What hi fi ... for six months and read everything. It is a fascinating subject and a good hi fi set up is a JOY.

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

If it's just music you want to listen to then get yourself a set of 50/80 Uni-Plangers from Charney's of Borneo, you'll obviously have to import them and pick them up from the container ship at Lowestoft. Remember to bring money for the import taxes, you'll have to weigh the Plangers first to work out the tax so bring some good scales. You can get decent Planger scales from www.plangerscaleworld.com

If you also want to hear the C and F notes in your music then you'll be wanting a full DGS set. They don't come with the ceiling screws though so grab them separately from Super Screws in Hull. They don't have a website, you have to go there but it's well worth it. Needless to say, make sure they give you the noise-dampening screws or it won't be worth the effort and don't let the robbing bastards tell you that you need 16 of them, you only need 12 max.

Then all you need to do is an 8-month Open University course to learn how to configure the high-end jangle with the sub lateral d-range.

Hope this helps.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

If it's just music you want to listen to then get yourself a set of 50/80 Uni-Plangers from Charney's of Borneo, you'll obviously have to import them and pick them up from the container ship at Lowestoft. Remember to bring money for the import taxes, you'll have to weigh the Plangers first to work out the tax so bring some good scales. You can get decent Planger scales from www.plangerscaleworld.com

If you also want to hear the C and F notes in your music then you'll be wanting a full DGS set. They don't come with the ceiling screws though so grab them separately from Super Screws in Hull. They don't have a website, you have to go there but it's well worth it. Needless to say, make sure they give you the noise-dampening screws or it won't be worth the effort and don't let the robbing bastards tell you that you need 16 of them, you only need 12 max.

Then all you need to do is an 8-month Open University course to learn how to configure the high-end jangle with the sub lateral d-range.

Hope this helps.

But doesn't if suffer from high-end wiffle?

TBG
HT
CCS

[Penarth Blues]

But doesn't if suffer from high-end wiffle?

TBG
HT
CCS

He dun evn no what a Hi 5 is...

[kingbillyboy]

NAS: Network Addressable Storage

network attached storage.

[Penarth Blues]

network attached storage.

My mistake - you are correct. I thought it didn't look right but couldn't be bothered to check...

[Banc Blue]

I'd go for a Sonos system, if you like watching films you can use it as a 5.1 surround sound system. Amazing for watching action films.

Or just use your phone/tablet to play your music through the Sonos system.

I subscribe to Spotify and have an endless amount of music I can stream.

My system has got a sound bar, sub, and two speakers (called Play 3's) behind my sofa.

My system didn't cost that much more than the £1000 you want to spend.

If you've got a Richer Sounds near to you pop in and have a listen.

[Banc Blue]

I should have posted you can easily add extra speakers wirelessly to other rooms in your house.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I'd go for a Sonos system, if you like watching films you can use it as a 5.1 surround sound system. Amazing for watching action films.

Or just use your phone/tablet to play your music through the Sonos system.

I subscribe to Spotify and have an endless amount of music I can stream.

My system has got a sound bar, sub, and two speakers (called Play 3's) behind my sofa.

My system didn't cost that much more than the £1000 you want to spend.

If you've got a Richer Sounds near to you pop in and have a listen.

Thanks to you and all the other contributors. I'm not into action films and am only interested in music - and the poster who mentioned the stereo aspect returned me to my original thoughts about having true stereo.

Is there something simple like the Muso but with speakers that offer the full benefit of stereo?

[Penarth Blues]

Thanks to you and all the other contributors. I'm not into action films and am only interested in music - and the poster who mentioned the stereo aspect returned me to my original thoughts about having true stereo.

Is there something simple like the Muso but with speakers that offer the full benefit of stereo?

If you are looking for a 'proper' system then you have to go to a specialist shop. The only advice I would give now as I haven't listened to equipment in this price range for a fair while, so don't know what is available, is do not buy anything without hearing it as a whole system in your home. Stuff which sounds impressive in a shop can rapidly become a nightmare when you get it home and listen to it properly.

I'm going to make one last recommendation that you make sure you listen to the Muso properly before buying separates, as I still think you'll struggle to beat it for your budget.

I looked for the closest dealer to you in Taunton and came up with this bloke: http://www.mikemanningaudioshop.com/...n-one-systems/ who coincidentally seems to be heavily into Naim too...

Best of luck with your search!

[Taunton Blue Genie]

If you are looking for a 'proper' system then you have to go to a specialist shop. The only advice I would give now as I haven't listened to equipment in this price range for a fair while, so don't know what is available, is do not buy anything without hearing it as a whole system in your home. Stuff which sounds impressive in a shop can rapidly become a nightmare when you get it home and listen to it properly.

I'm going to make one last recommendation that you make sure you listen to the Muso properly before buying separates, as I still think you'll struggle to beat it for your budget.

I looked for the closest dealer to you in Taunton and came up with this bloke: http://www.mikemanningaudioshop.com/...n-one-systems/ who coincidentally seems to be heavily into Naim too...

Best of luck with your search!

Cheers, you are very thoughtful, old fruit