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Budget Micro System…

BLACKMASS

BLACKMASS

pfm Member
My Sister is looking to buying a budget Hi-Fi system for her Husband for his Birthday. The budget is £400.00. Needs to have a CD player and DAB radio. Speakers will be situated on/in a bookshelf in the living room.

I’ve suggested one of the Denon models? No idea on speakers? Any advice welcome.

Cheers
Rob
 
The Denon DM41 is a solid suggestion. The Dali Zenzor 1 is a solid performer and will work well with the Denon, they’re £149 at richer sounds, the Denon is £199 so even with cables, it’ll come in below £400.
 
The Denon is a good suggestion if you are buying new.

If you wanted something better sounding but secondhand you could grab an Arcam Solo unit plus some small bookshelf speakers.
 
Pioneer make a few good models in the price range you are talking about and add a pair of cheaper bookshelf speakers and they'll end up with a pretty good starter system.
 
peterm said:
The Denon quoted above seems favourite, I bought one for my wife's last birthday along with a pair of Q acoustic 3010 speakers and it's great!
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I do have a real soft spot for the Q Acoustics speakers but tend to find they thrive most when driven with an amp with some grunt, good to hear that the Denon is up to the task and they should certainly be on the audition list. I find that the Q Acoustics are more dynamic and exciting (given a bit of welly) whilst the Dalis are more detailed. Both excellent in their own way.
 
Speakers wise, it might be worth looking at a certain famous auction site and seeing what is available. I bought a pair of Wharfedale Diamond IV's for my second system not so long ago for £30 and they are quite excellent for the price. Yes they are not uber Hifi quality, but they are more than good enough and can be driven easily by the Denon, Pioneer or equivalent.
 
I have the slightly earlier Denon DM40 with Q Acoustics 3020 speakers in a second bedroom system (all bought on a Richer Sounds deal).

The sound is very good for the money but perhaps lacking a little detail. I think if I was buying new I go for the Denon DM41 with Mission LX2 speakers (which are actually cheaper than the Q Acoustics). This will likely be better balanced combination IMHO.
 
theadmans said:
I have the slightly earlier Denon DM40 with Q Acoustics 3020 speakers in a second bedroom system (all bought on a Richer Sounds deal).

The sound is very good for the money but perhaps lacking a little detail. I think if I was buying new I go for the Denon DM41 with Mission LX2 speakers (which are actually cheaper than the Q Acoustics). This will likely be better balanced combination IMHO.
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+1 for Denon. We have the DM-41 in our conservatory and it is very good. At that price then I would be surprised if you could find anything significantly better. I have Cambridge SX-30s with it and the overall tone is pleasantly weighty without being fatiguing.
 
Might be worth taking a trip to Currys/Richersounds with a USB stick/CD and actually having a listen. I did that a few years ago and bought the girlfriend a Sandstrom mini system. A mate did the same but a long time ago and bought a Technics mini system, rather than the What hi-fi? recommended (Sony something or other).
 
fatmarley said:
Might be worth taking a trip to Currys/Richersounds with a USB stick/CD and actually having a listen. I did that a few years ago and bought the girlfriend a Sandstrom mini system. A mate did the same but a long time ago and bought a Technics mini system, rather than the What hi-fi? recommended (Sony something or other).
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My Sister and brother-in-law should be going to Richer Sounds Sunday. I'll report back.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.
 
BLACKMASS said:
My Sister is looking to buying a budget Hi-Fi system for her Husband for his Birthday. The budget is £400.00. Needs to have a CD player and DAB radio. Speakers will be situated on/in a bookshelf in the living room.

I’ve suggested one of the Denon models? No idea on speakers? Any advice welcome.

Cheers
Rob
Click to expand...
I’ve recently purchased the Denon D41 and here it comes with the Denon speakers. It’s suprisingly good in a small room-sure not the utmost detail or grunt, but very pleasant to listen to and as the hifi scribes like to say ‘sins of omission’ that you can abide.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
The Denon DM41 is a solid suggestion. The Dali Zenzor 1 is a solid performer and will work well with the Denon, they’re £149 at richer sounds, the Denon is £199 so even with cables, it’ll come in below £400.
Click to expand...

set one of these up this week for a relative , the little denon dm41 was a piece of cake to set up . couldn`t quite get to grips with the dab bit but they use the TV for radio anyway . used the optical in for the tv and plays dvd`s beautifully through their ancient KEF speakers . nice sound for 179 quid and so compact . gets 9.5 out of 10 [ would get 10 if it had FM as well !!!]

it replaced a 250pma denon
 
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