Not necessarily floor-standers but certainly larger speakers than the little Regas. A big stand-mount will do and efficiency of he speaker matters more than the amp. My son drove Fyne F502SPs with a Rega IO no problem.
£1,200 system for sister, Rega System One or...?
- Thread starter glenda
- Start date
Allaboutmusic
pfm Member
Yes agreed, so long as they are reasonable size with highish efficiency and are an easy load you should be fine with an IO or similar.
The Brio-R has a useful amount of extra power over the IO and I think its fuller sound would suit a big room better too.
However, I'd still be inclined to look for an older Rotel as the money saved might make a big difference to the speakers open to you.
Hazelberry
sister
What are their shortcomings? Can you compare and contrast them with other small speakers?
colasblue
pfm Member
That's a very big room!
Unfortunately most of the suggested starter systems suggested so far are just going to get completely lost in it.
To get something acceptable within budget I think you need to be going a bit more retro.
I'd be on the look out for a well sorted pair of Kef 104.2's and maybe something like a Nad c370 to drive them. Add source components to taste.
Unfortunately most of the suggested starter systems suggested so far are just going to get completely lost in it.
To get something acceptable within budget I think you need to be going a bit more retro.
I'd be on the look out for a well sorted pair of Kef 104.2's and maybe something like a Nad c370 to drive them. Add source components to taste.
Del monaco
Del Monaco
It is indeed and has its own good quality internal amp and Bluetooth plus a very nice starter cartridge. It’s superbly built too.
Jezzer
Unspecified
I’d take a trip to Sevenoaks or Richer Sounds for a fuss-free and warrantied hi-fi shopping experience. Sevenoaks have £310 off the Marantz cd and amp combo. So that’s £800 (alternately thry have a NAD cd player and amp for less than £600). Just add speakers and a turntable. Q Acoustics 3050i floor standers for £450 (£300 off) then just get a used turntable! (or a Pro-Ject for under £300)
Jezzer
Unspecified
They’re still about!
Sevenoaks Sound and Vision
Sevenoaks Sound and Vision - Specialist Hi-Fi and Home Cinema retailer
www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk
narabdela
who?
They’re still about!
Sevenoaks Sound and Vision
Sevenoaks Sound and Vision - Specialist Hi-Fi and Home Cinema retailer
Yes, I did some digging on that after I posted. It's difficult to track down reliable info on the net, but it seems they were in a bit of financial trouble a while back, but they did some restructuring, closed down quite a few branches, had a brief merger with AudioT, which didn't last long, and now seem to be as sound as a pound.
I wouldn't even consider buying new. Hi-Fi hasn't moved on much in decades and old kit can sound just as good, or better, than new kit. My speakers are forty years old, amplifier is the same. You could easily get a decent system for a lot less than the budget but having a bit to play with is nice. Maybe get an ex-dem or nearly new turntable for instance.
I've put together a few cheap systems for people. Friend of mine has a big old pair of Celestions he got for a couple of hundred and they sound fantastic. I keep wondering how long they'll last but that's about ten years and they're still fine. He loves them so much he's talking about buying another pair for spares.
Rega turntables are a no-brainer as the are so reliable and good sounding. Very little to go wrong and easy to fix if it does. Plus a lifetime warranty and they mean it.
CD players are kind of the opposite, guaranteed to pack in eventually, but so cheap who cares? Micromega player for sale on here sounds as good as a new player costing a lot more and it's fifty quid. Of buy a Rega DAC for £200 and plug any disk player you like into it. Your Bluray player, DVD player and of course you can plug the TV, Sky box etc into it too. Much more flexible than a CD player.
Yeah, lot of fun to be had as long as you avoid dealers. You need to remember these guys exist to get as much money as possible out of you! Go in with £1,200, they'll talk you up to £2,000, because you need to. Just don't walk in the door. Stay away.
I've put together a few cheap systems for people. Friend of mine has a big old pair of Celestions he got for a couple of hundred and they sound fantastic. I keep wondering how long they'll last but that's about ten years and they're still fine. He loves them so much he's talking about buying another pair for spares.
Rega turntables are a no-brainer as the are so reliable and good sounding. Very little to go wrong and easy to fix if it does. Plus a lifetime warranty and they mean it.
CD players are kind of the opposite, guaranteed to pack in eventually, but so cheap who cares? Micromega player for sale on here sounds as good as a new player costing a lot more and it's fifty quid. Of buy a Rega DAC for £200 and plug any disk player you like into it. Your Bluray player, DVD player and of course you can plug the TV, Sky box etc into it too. Much more flexible than a CD player.
Yeah, lot of fun to be had as long as you avoid dealers. You need to remember these guys exist to get as much money as possible out of you! Go in with £1,200, they'll talk you up to £2,000, because you need to. Just don't walk in the door. Stay away.
remiorange
Well-Known Member
I would go for a rega io amp paired with focal 806 speaker.
The focal 806 can sill be found at 300/400€ and are a very good match to the rega io
The focal 806 can sill be found at 300/400€ and are a very good match to the rega io
Fatmarley
"It appears my intelligence circuits have melted"
Has anyone here tried the cheap amps cheapaudioman recommends? I'm sure I've seen others agree with him (possibly on hifiwigwam) - https://www.youtube.com/@cheapaudioman/videos - Those little Fossi? amps seem incredibly good value for money.
For an honest opinion on second-hand speakers (and other gear), I like Stereo Review X. He may not be the most professional, but you just know he's being totally honest (Far too many are paid shills) - https://www.youtube.com/@stereoreviewx
With a good quality, braced speaker enclosure being the most expensive thing to produce, budget floorstanders are the thing I'd try to avoid, or at least be wary of.
Vintage speakers can suffer from all kinds of age related problems, from dried up capacitors, dried up ferrofluid, and rotten surrounds. If I were going that route, I'd want to be certain they were still in spec.
I don't know what a second-hand pair of Audio note J or K would set you back, but they often get good feedback at shows, and the ones I've heard have always impressed me (I didn't like the 'E' though)
For an honest opinion on second-hand speakers (and other gear), I like Stereo Review X. He may not be the most professional, but you just know he's being totally honest (Far too many are paid shills) - https://www.youtube.com/@stereoreviewx
With a good quality, braced speaker enclosure being the most expensive thing to produce, budget floorstanders are the thing I'd try to avoid, or at least be wary of.
Vintage speakers can suffer from all kinds of age related problems, from dried up capacitors, dried up ferrofluid, and rotten surrounds. If I were going that route, I'd want to be certain they were still in spec.
I don't know what a second-hand pair of Audio note J or K would set you back, but they often get good feedback at shows, and the ones I've heard have always impressed me (I didn't like the 'E' though)
I've never heard one of these chip-amps but folk I know who have say they can be ok. Never trust someone else's reviews though. I've heard some highly rated shite over the years!
Another thing that puts me off chip-amps is that they can take out your speakers when they fail. Might not be all that likely but conventional amps tend not to have failure modes that destroy the rest of your system.
SteveG
pfm Member
I've got one of those Micromega Leader 2 players and despite being old it does sound very decent. You've heard it in fact Mr. Pig, as I we had it plugged into your system when I visited you years back.
I'd have that one that's in the classifieds myself if posting was an option.