Hifi or Streamer Help! (4 ceilling speakers already mounted B&W 382)

Lucalex

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Hi,

I would like some suggestions as I need to buy a Hifi/streamer and I am completely lost!

I had 4 speakers mounted into my ceiling 7 years ago and they have never been used as each time it would cut the power of my Sony mini Hifi HCD BX70dbi.

I need something that:

Has a CD (not deal breaker)
4 speakers output (Ideally) I have 8 wires.
Good at streaming Deezer Hi-FI (is Wifi better than Bluetooth?)
I would love to add a turntable to play my old records(Is there one that can be stacked on top? I do not have a big footprint)
I am on budget (£300-£600)

My speaker Spec: B&W 382
  • Compatible Amplifier (Watts RMS): 90 - 90
  • Frequency range (Hz): 45 - 30000
  • Impedance (Ohms): 5 - 8
  • Sensitivity (dB): 90
  • Driver Information
  • Bass: 1
  • Biggest Driver Size (mm): 200
  • Tweeter: 1

Thanks for your suggestions.

Alex
 
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I had 4 speakers mounted into my ceiling 8 years ago and they have never been used as each time it would cut the power of my Sony mini Hifi.
That issue needs addressing before you do anything else Alex.
You need to ask / answer a few questions:
What are the speakers? Is each a full-range driver?
What is their impedance?
How are they wired? Can you get above them to see whether they're wired together (in series or parallel)? How many wires have you got at what would be the amp end?

Their effective impedance may have been too low - which may be why they cut the power on your Sony (presumably it's protection was triggered).

I would suggest the lack of such detail is one of the reasons that your query has gone unanswered so far.
It's unconventional and a bit of a vague query as it stands.
If you wanted to feed a single pair of 'nornal' speakers for example, you'd have a few suggestions.
Otherwise, those speakers could probably be used.....once you're able to answer those questions.
 
That issue needs addressing before you do anything else Alex.
You need to ask / answer a few questions:
What are the speakers? Is each a full-range driver?
What is their impedance?
How are they wired? Can you get above them to see whether they're wired together (in series or parallel)? How many wires have you got at what would be the amp end?

Their effective impedance may have been too low - which may be why they cut the power on your Sony (presumably it's protection was triggered).

I would suggest the lack of such detail is one of the reasons that your query has gone unanswered so far.
It's unconventional and a bit of a vague query as it stands.
If you wanted to feed a single pair of 'nornal' speakers for example, you'd have a few suggestions.
Otherwise, those speakers could probably be used.....once you're able to answer those questions.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, o really appreciate.

Here is the spec of my speakers and I will trey to amend my initial request.

I am a complete newbie and don’t really understand much.!

  • Detailed Specifications
  • Compatible Amplifier (Watts RMS): 90 - 90
  • Frequency range (Hz): 45 - 30000
  • Impedance (Ohms): 5 - 8
  • Sensitivity (dB): 90
  • Driver Information
  • Bass: 1
  • Biggest Driver Size (mm): 200
  • Tweeter: 1
They are B&W I guess the 382 ones, they are 7 years old and have not been used much at all. Just want to get back into music!

Many thanks
 
So not just any old ceiling speaker then Alex (some can be a bit basic), but B&W!
Nice 👍
Are all 4 in the same room?
Obviously 2 are all you need for stereo, 4 in the same room is not ideal for stereo.
But would you prefer to have all 4 on together....i.e. 2x stereo pairs?
When you say you've got 8 wires, you mean you've got 4x 2-core cables right?
And you know which cable is going to which speaker? (for pairing / channel ident purposes).

Then you need to think about source priorities
Decide what's important so you know how to divide your budget.
A turntable, streamer, CD player and amp would mean spreading the full £600 too thinly.
Don't forget that streaming, as well as from the internet, can be from hard drives / USB sticks containing your own music.
Depending how much vinyl you own, would you consider digitising it? And ripping your CD collection? Then a streamer could cover all your music.
Do you know much about streamers and DACs? (Don't want to explain what you might already know).
 
So not just any old ceiling speaker then Alex (some can be a bit basic), but B&W!
Nice 👍
Are all 4 in the same room?
Obviously 2 are all you need for stereo, 4 in the same room is not ideal for stereo.
But would you prefer to have all 4 on together....i.e. 2x stereo pairs?
When you say you've got 8 wires, you mean you've got 4x 2-core cables right?
And you know which cable is going to which speaker? (for pairing / channel ident purposes).

Then you need to think about source priorities
Decide what's important so you know how to divide your budget.
A turntable, streamer, CD player and amp would mean spreading the full £600 too thinly.
Don't forget that streaming, as well as from the internet, can be from hard drives / USB sticks containing your own music.
Depending how much vinyl you own, would you consider digitising it? And ripping your CD collection? Then a streamer could cover all your music.
Do you know much about streamers and DACs? (Don't want to explain what you might already know).
Thank You Gray! Called a local dealer who recommended Marantz Melody X or DRA800 Denon, I have looked into it but apparently the EHEOS System is not great with Deezer Hi-FI.
I will hopefully find the Holy Grail at the right price soon! I am not to worried about CD, but do like the fact of havig a turntable so that will be a add on to the system I buy first.
Thanks again for all your help!
Alex
 
Thank You Gray! Called a local dealer who recommended Marantz Melody X or DRA800 Denon, I have looked into it but apparently the EHEOS System is not great with Deezer Hi-FI.
I will hopefully find the Holy Grail at the right price soon! I am not to worried about CD, but do like the fact of havig a turntable so that will be a add on to the system I buy first.
Thanks again for all your help!
Alex
Here's a couple more things for consideration:
Have a look at what the Arylic A50+ streamer / amp does, for a bargain price......not least the fact that it would drive your speakers....it also has a line input - which means it would take the output of a phono preamp (which is what you need either as a standalone unit or built-in to some models of turntable).
Also worth considering is the Marantz PM-6007 amp (fed by a streamer). It has a built-in phono preamp for a future turntable (Marantz built-in phono preamps are famously good too).
Note that both Units have digital inputs, Ayrlic has optical only, Marantz has optical and coaxial inputs. So you could buy a cheap CD player or use any old DVD player as a CD player - by connecting from their digital outputs....the DAC (digital to analogue conversion) for CD replay would then be done by the DAC within the Ayrlic or Marantz).
Any questions, just ask.
Good luck.
 
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