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Starting a Hi fi journey with £350

£350 is very easy if it's a CD based system but a bit harder (but do-able) for a turntable based system.

The system my son is currently using consists of a new Rega Planar 1 (£250) plus a Arcam Alpha 5+ amp and Mission 731LE speakers which you might be able to find for £100 or so (they were free in his case though, as they'd been spare for ages and were up our loft). Planar 1's seem to hold their value quite well so aren't that much cheaper 2nd hand, but entry level Project decks can be had reasonably cheap.
 
If I was trying to stay under a budget like this I probably wouldn't aim for a TT based system from the outset. IMO RPi and other digital options for sources are just too much of a no-brainer if money and space are tight.
 
Del monaco said:
After some thought I would get a Nad C320, a Rotel 965BX(which I use now), a Yamaha CT1010 tuner(which I have now). That’s around £220-230. I’d need a turntable so I would go for a Dual 505 with an AT cartridge and a Nad PP 1 phono amp. Cheap cables to finish. Would land me somewhere around the £350 I think with some canny purchasing. I’d be very happy with this. Nad is neutral and disarmingly powerful. Rotel is a gem. Yamaha lovely for FM. Dual is an unknown quantity for me but I’m sure it will suffice for my extensive classical vinyl. The PP 1 I’ve used before and liked it’s simple but effective approach. I could probably get an integrated with a built in phono or even a receiver but unsure about where I’d go.Edit.. forgot to include Wharfedale 505.2s.
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Losing the Yamaha tuner means I could also afford a Pi, a good Dac Card and PiCoreplayer software to access high quality streaming and BBC IPlayer. Would make more sense.
 
Yamaha vintage receiver on a well known auction site £140 (so rain as well)
Mission floor standing speakers (no need for stands) oawkas £120
cheap DAC £25 oawkas/amazon
inexpensive DVD player for the balance of £75 with a few quid for some wire from B&Q
 
I'd keep it simple, minimize boxes and stick with streaming (music on a HDD or internet radio or spotify etc) - a pair of (new or s/h) JBL LSR305s and a s/h SBT.
(or a pi in place of the SBT if that way inclined, but I like the SBT interface & remote).
 
mbu said:
1. Marantz cd63Ki Sig. £170 ?
2. Pioneer A400. £120 ?
3. Mission 752 original. £60 ?

Im sure somebody will be along soon to say they hated the A400 though. Hey ho !
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Me! The A400 is horrible. Buy almost anything else, say Rotel, Yamaha, Creek, loads out there.
 
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Consider second hand Rotel kit paired with any number of speakers as an entry into the world of hifi.
 
Beobloke said:
Definitely not! The 5000 is a massively better system.
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I thought the slide out CD shelf was neat on the later ones (5500+?), but I like my Beosystem 4500's design a lot more than the stacking setup. So futuristic back in its day.
 
Kef Coda 9 speakers - £70
Cambridge Audio A1 amplifier -£50
Cambridge Audio CD5 cd player - £40
Cambridge Audio DAB300 tuner - £60
Dual 505 turntable, including tonearm and cartridge - £70
Behringer PP400 Microphono Ultra Compact Phono Preamp - £20

That leaves 40 quid for connectors, and speaker cable. I'd be interested to hear that little lot together.
 
drummerman said:
Topping MX3, CCA, Mission Speakers + Spotify Premium for a year.
£250
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I am so glad someone gave this answer as I was going to recommend the Topping MX3 and Chromecast Audio myself. The Topping MX3 is a ridiculously capable device for the 80 odd quid you will pay for it, I have one on the kids gaming TV/System and it is brilliant. There is a lot of staggeringly good cheap gear out there at the moment, say it quietly, but the high end is dead and buried in my view.
 
I’d probably find a pair of Keilidhs and an LK85/100 and pair them with an airport express/chromecast audio and a suitable volume pot, you’d do it all within £350 if you were patient... of course you’d need a phone/tablet/computer and a music library either stored on it or a subscription to a streaming service but most of us already have that. This setup would fill a room with sound properly. I can’t think of much else that would offer such visceral impact and refinement for the money.

I actually did build a cracking CD system for (nearly) that money consisting of a Linn Genki CD player that needed a new mech, an LK85, a pair of Royd sapphire speakers, a pair of Mission Stancette speakers, Linn Black interconnect and some QED silver anniversary XT speaker cables. No preamp necessary because the Genki has a variable output (works from the remote too)... the total cost was more like £400 (including the new CD mech) but it sounds really good, way, way beyond £400 type good, and it would be very difficult to repeat that deal, however that is my “budget” setup that is actually in use in my home. The Royds don’t drive a room like the Keilidhs I mentioned above can, but they just so damned musical that I don’t care. I have a big system for when I want too feel the air moving.
 
John Channing said:
I am so glad someone gave this answer as I was going to recommend the Topping MX3 and Chromecast Audio myself. The Topping MX3 is a ridiculously capable device for the 80 odd quid you will pay for it, I have one on the kids gaming TV/System and it is brilliant. There is a lot of staggeringly good cheap gear out there at the moment, say it quietly, but the high end is dead and buried in my view.
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The Topping looks really interesting. I see they have released a DX3 Pro recently that looks even more interesting. I’ll maybe have to try one of these.
 
Del monaco said:
The Topping looks really interesting. I see they have released a DX3 Pro recently that looks even more interesting. I’ll maybe have to try one of these.
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Yes, very good. Be aware though that the DX3 is a Headphone amp/Pre/DAC.

Re. MX3, I thought about adding a tube buffer but the thing sounds nigh on perfect as is so I may not bother.
 
John Channing said:
I am so glad someone gave this answer as I was going to recommend the Topping MX3 and Chromecast Audio myself. The Topping MX3 is a ridiculously capable device for the 80 odd quid you will pay for it, I have one on the kids gaming TV/System and it is brilliant. There is a lot of staggeringly good cheap gear out there at the moment, say it quietly, but the high end is dead and buried in my view.
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I do wonder how the MX3 would sound (and look) with one of Kenricks monster JBL's ... :)
 
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