Advive on a separates system for around £800 to £1000

I am interested in purchasing a separates system and have a budget of between £800 and £1000. Having looked around the internet it seems the Nad C521BEE cd player & C320BEE amp seem decent value.

I have demo'd the Rotel RA 01 (amp) and Rotel RCD 02 (cd) with B&W DM602 S3 (speakers) and was really impressed. I have booked a demo for next week to test the NAD equipment with Mission V60 speakers (the shop didn't have V61s in stock - is there a big difference?).

As a bit of a hifi novice I'd appreciate any opinions on the above equipment and also i'm unsure regards speakers - i liked the B&Ws but have seen a really good offer on Monitor Audio S2s - is it worth demoing these?

Cheers

Chris

PS I mainly listen to indie and rock music but would also use the system to listen to a bit of hip hop

[Harry T2]

The Rotel/B&W combo is a safe, unadventurous option. It also provide a fine base to which to upgrade from.

The system has many strengths, however on the negative side it can be “bright”. Given your taste in music it may not be the best package for you (depending if you suffer from “brightness”).

Replacing the amp or CDP with the equivalent Arcam or NAD would help control the “brightness”.

The S2’s are definitely worth an audition. If you are keen on the 602’s, you will probably find the V60’s a little bass light. The V61 would help address this.

[tom_nieto]

Look into second hand kit too, you'll get a completely different performance league if you do.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by tom_nieto

Look into second hand kit too, you'll get a completely different performance league if you do.

Definitely, there's some excellent kit out there going for a huge amount less than you'd pay new.

Thanks for the help. I'll try out the S2s and have a look into 2nd hand kit

Cheers