looking hi fi amp and speakers for £200

R

rvd48

Guest
im at uni, looking for a cheap or 2nd hand hi fi amp and 2 speakers plus subwoofer ,

since im a student im on a budget, i not bothered if its 2nd hand and scratched. i mainly want alot of bass from the system.

can ne1 give me a helping hand?

+ are hi fi amps capable of 5.1 input?
(im going to connect it to my laptop via phono)
 
'Normal' hi-fi amps don't do 5.1. You can buy some amps which do do surround sound as well as decent stereo (e.g. I think Marantz do some), but they'll cost you a good bit more than a comparable stereo amp - probably not good if you're on a budget. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're just pluggling it into a headphone socket or 2 phono sockets on your laptop, you can't get 5.1 from there anyway...

In terms of where to buy, if you don't want to buy from a shop you can see if any 'bargains' come up in your local classifieds (though be sure to listen first, to be sure they work and you like them!). You could also try on ebay, though there's a chance of stuff getting trashed in the post etc.

In terms of shops, tatty local secondhand shops are often worth a look (but again make sure to listen b4 you buy)... Richer Sounds are probably a good bet in your price range (they do a 'trade counter' with secondhand stuff). In terms of amps, you might want to look at the Marantz PM4000 and PM4400 ones - good bass, and generally pretty nice sound - or some of the cheaper Cambridge Audio ones (I've got an A500 with good clear bass and nice sound, that cost me under £100). In terms of speakers, you might also want to listen to a more expensive pair of floorstanders - with decent bass - rather than a cheaper subwoofer and speakers.

Jon
 
jon_mendel said:
'Normal' hi-fi amps don't do 5.1. You can buy some amps which do do surround sound as well as decent stereo (e.g. I think Marantz do some), but they'll cost you a good bit more than a comparable stereo amp - probably not good if you're on a budget. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're just pluggling it into a headphone socket or 2 phono sockets on your laptop, you can't get 5.1 from there anyway...

lol, i over looked that fact :blush:

In terms of where to buy, if you don't want to buy from a shop you can see if any 'bargains' come up in your local classifieds (though be sure to listen first, to be sure they work and you like them!). You could also try on ebay, though there's a chance of stuff getting trashed in the post etc.

i would like to buy from richer sounds, but it would be a mission to drag it down to stafford on the trains. then again, can look on ebay

In terms of shops, tatty local secondhand shops are often worth a look (but again make sure to listen b4 you buy)... Richer Sounds are probably a good bet in your price range (they do a 'trade counter' with secondhand stuff). In terms of amps, you might want to look at the Marantz PM4000 and PM4400 ones - good bass, and generally pretty nice sound - or some of the cheaper Cambridge Audio ones (I've got an A500 with good clear bass and nice sound, that cost me under £100). In terms of speakers, you might also want to listen to a more expensive pair of floorstanders - with decent bass - rather than a cheaper subwoofer and speakers.

Jon

ah ok, but will the floorstanders have good bass like a subwoofer ?
 
The A500 looks good, rs are selling them for £120, where did you get it for under £100 ?

EDIT: are these speakers any good ? +will they kick out alot of bass?
 
I think the best thing you can do is go down and have a listen - You cant tell what stuff you like from looking at it - it's not like buying a PC - hifi is all about personal taste!
How big is the room that all of this is going in?
 
I got my A500 (new) for £90 from Richer Sounds in Newcastle, a couple of months ago :) Maybe they've upped the price now (you don't mean the A5 amp is £120? - that's a different model). If it is the a500 they're selling you could always mention that it was cheaper up here, though, and see if they'll drop the price... It's a very nice amp, especially if you're planning to use it with other budget gear - seems quite forgiving in terms of sources used.

I didn't like the aural envelope speakers much - listened to them when I was buying speakers, and the midrange sounds a bit rough to me. Others do seem to like them, though, and they're cheap-ish - see if you can have a listen. If you're spending that kind of money on speakers you'll have quite a bit more choice secondhand as well.

Have a listen to some speakers with/without subs and see what you think. Certainly if you spend lots on floorstanders you can get good bass, and some of the cheaper ones have pretty strong bass too. If you're buying a sub and speakers I guess you'll have maybe £50 to spend on each - cheap subs may not have hugely deep or powerful bass anyway.

You can order most new stuff off Richer Sound's website to get delivered, but the secondhand and clearance stuff they sell you can't. I'd imagine you could lug an amp back on the train OK (I walked back up a good-sized hill with mine without a problem... but yeah, you wouldn't want to do that with floorstanders or a sub ;) If you listen to a few different speakers at a hi-fi shop you can at least get an idea of what you like - useful if you then go and buy it off e-bay...

Jon
 
Commited said:
I think the best thing you can do is go down and have a listen - You cant tell what stuff you like from looking at it - it's not like buying a PC - hifi is all about personal taste!
How big is the room that all of this is going in?


im in uni halls, my room is a shoe box, really !
 
rvd48 said:
im in uni halls, my room is a shoe box, really !
dont go for floorstanders then - they are made for rooms bigger than 4mx4m and even then its a stretch of it's full of stuff.

If I was you - i'd go down and demo a few amp/speaker combo's around your money, then buy a sub later if you really think you need it - but most standmount speakers should give you plenty of bass, especially if you're in a shoebox ;)

have a look at the A500 & the mission M71 combo - and dont forget decent stands & speaker cable. Dont forget tohave a look at the RS trade counter too :)
 
Sorry, should have asked about your room... If you're in a shoebox floorstanders probably won't be good (and, as an added bonus, you could probably carry a pair of standmount speakers back on the train OK :) ) Some of the small mission speakers can be surprisingly good for bass (I've got a little pair of 731 speakers where you can nicely feel the bass in my small office).

Jon
 
Try to find on Ebay a old Creek 4040,it's so good,not much power,but who needs it in such a small room,then add some Rega Kytes,will sound great for around £100,forget a cheap sub.
 

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