This forum was incredibly helpful to me last year when I was trying to buy my husband a separates system for Christmas. Sadly, the snow scuppered all delivery plans, so he had to make do with a new coat instead. Sad, but true. However, This Is The Year. So - would it be okay if I ran my selection past you to make sure you've not got a better suggestion for me? HK 3390 receiver Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speakers Denon DCD510AE CD player I'm a tiny bit over budget, so if you can suggest anywhere to lose £'s that would be much appreciated. Also, can you point me to any necessary leads? Thank you!
I'm guessing this system comes in at about £500 or so, does that sound right based on the prices you found. First, do you need a radio (AM/FM)? If so, then Harman is probably the best choice for about £250. Now if you don't need a radio, there are a few other choices at similar prices. The Diamond speaker are an exceptional bargain, However, if you can go as high as £160/pr rather than £99/pr, then consider the Diamond 10.1. Still nothing wrong with the Diamond 9.1 and probably the best speaker at that price. I would expect the Denon DCD510 to be as good as any for the price. RicherSounds.com has them for £159. SuperFi has them for £169. A bargain either way. If you can push the CD to £199, you can get the matching Harman Kardon CD HD980. There is some asthetic benefit to them matching, but only if you can justify it within your budget. Use a Google-UK Shopping search if you want to find the best possible prices. Google-UK - Shopping Search Again, if you need radio, not much can touch the Harman at about £250. If you don't need radio, then I can think of several Intergrated amps that would fit your budget. The complete system from SuperFi, which is the single source for the Diamond 9.1 at £99/pr, would be like this - £249 = Harman Kardon AM/FM, 80w/ch £_99 = Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 £169 = Denon DCD510 CD Player ---------------------- £517 = Total If £500 is your limits, and I've correctly determined your requirements, then this is a good system. In amps only, no radio, consider the Denon PMA510 45w/ch amp (£170), the Yamaha AS300 60w/ch (£206), Yamaha CDS300 CD (£199). A Radio Tuner could always be added later for roughly £150 to £200 (Denon TU1510 (£199), or Onkyo T4355 (£149). But again, for about £500, I can't think of anything better than what you originally selected. Steve/bluewizard
Just wanted to drop in and say a huge THANK YOU - the above system was the total star of Christmas Day, and the husband has been utterly blown away with my seriously knowledgeable and top notch hifi-buying ability... *winks*