best hifi for £400-£500?

[Kokinho]

I know nothing about stereos and music centres. Now I have cleared that up I'm looking to pay no more than £400-£500 for a CD player, speakers (if not part of the CD unit) and maybe mp3 player. Could someone recommend me something good for this price?

I saw a Philips WACS700 in Costco for £480 which seems to look the part, not sure if it is good though.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Kokinho

[shahedz]

by the sounds of it you want an all in one system , i only recommed Denon in my opinon they are fantastic not sure if they play mp3 cds but if you can stretch your budget go for a second hand LInn Classik and seperate speakers, sound will be amazing! but it cant play mp3s

[Spangle2k5]

Seperates could do the trick. For your needs you will need speakers, amplifier and cd player, as well as cables.

I recently purchased:

NAD C320BEE Amplifier - £164 on a pricematch from RS
NAD C521BEE CD Player - £109 in immaculate condition on eBay
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 - £95 in immaculate condition on eBay
Neutrik 0.5m Phono cable - £10.50 brand new on eBay
Wall mounts - £3.20 in good condition on eBay
Speaker cable I bought in America - £5

Total: under £400

I can vouch for the sound being absolutely top notch with real power and incredible detail.

£5 will buy you a 3.5mm jack plug to 2 x RCA phono cable which will allow you to connect up an iPod, PC etc

Although obviously not to everybodys taste, this to me represents real hi fi and I really cannot fault it. The bass from the speakers isn't as deep as my Mission M71i speakers, but it is much tigher and faster. What's more, all the kit in the list above has won top marks in numerous respected magazines.

Just a thought

[Jimholt]

You could try these: http://www.cattylink.com/engproducts-P6.htm Have used them myself and very good. This is high end stuff for little money. Just ask for a price list and convert to pounds. The person who replies is very Knowledgable and he could help you out, just ask. Jim.

[nsherin]

Another thumbs up for the NAD gear here. Not heard the Wharfedale speakers, but I can say that the amp/CD combo make a cracking pair!

[Kokinho]

Cheers for all the advice.

I will go to Richer Sounds at Swiss Cottage and look at Nads and Denon. My mate has Nads and rates them.

[Spangle2k5]

Originally Posted by Kokinho

Cheers for all the advice.

I will go to Richer Sounds at Swiss Cottage and look at Nads and Denon. My mate has Nads and rates them.

The only thing I will say is if you are interested in and/or get to listen to the Wharfedale speakers, they sound truly disgusting until they have been properly run-in, so don't let this put you off of any of the other kit!

[steve998]

I bought a Denon DM50 for £250 , Artacama stands £60, Acoustic Energy evo speakers £130 inc speaker cable.

Total price - £440

System is superb - I have tried it with B&W 601S3 speaker (RRP of £250) and it sounded really good.

My mate has the cambridge audio cd player (£200 one) and the matching 50 wpc amp and connected it into the same speakers.

Denon was smoother but had less headroom - C/Audio more punchy but more expensive and larger equipment.

Both bl@@dy good value IMHO

[Kokinho]

Originally Posted by steve998

I bought a Denon DM50 for £250 , Artacama stands £60, Acoustic Energy evo speakers £130 inc speaker cable.

Total price - £440

System is superb - I have tried it with B&W 601S3 speaker (RRP of £250) and it sounded really good.

My mate has the cambridge audio cd player (£200 one) and the matching 50 wpc amp and connected it into the same speakers.

Denon was smoother but had less headroom - C/Audio more punchy but more expensive and larger equipment.

Both bl@@dy good value IMHO

The Denon you mention doesn't need an amp, which is good as it is integrated. The Denon DM50 doesn't seem to be on sale anymore. Denon DM35DAB is available for about £260 that looks the part.