New System for Music and TV Sound

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Firstly, I am moving this from the TV forum where I originally posted it as this seems more appropriate.

My current system is a Naim 5i amp with a Naim CD 5i CD player and Kef Q300 speakers on Super Dreadnought stands. I also have a very old Hitachi tuner which is used occasionally. I play CDs, music files, mostly flac, stored on my computer and streamed through my system with Sonos, and Amazon music. I expect the CDs to reduce and most of my listening will be from my music files and Amazon but I still wish to retain the CD option in some way.

I am planning on re-organising my living room and replacing my ancient 32" Sony non smart TV with a new smart model.

If possible I would like to take the opportunity to ditch some or all of my existing system and replace it with something which as well as playing my music will also connect to my TV sound. I would like to house it in the same cabinet the new TV will sit on and which will also contain my Virgin box and Humax box. I would like to speakers to also sit on the cabinet if possible, either side of the TV which will probably mean different speakers as the Kef will probably be too large.

The room is 26ft xso hard wiring anything left i 11 ft and the new TV cabinet will be at the other end of the room so anything left in the HiFi cabinet will not be hard wired to the new system as there is a door between.

My budget for the new system is about £1200 although I could extend that a little.

All suggestions gratefully received
 
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What you really want is a Naim Uniti Star (refurbished about £2900), but what you can afford is something like a Marantz NR1200 plus a CD6007. If you can up your budget a Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 run super cool, so ideal when placed in a cabinet. The room correction can also help make the most of any speakers in difficult rooms.
 
Thanks XMB. The new TV cabinet will be 9-10 feet in front of me and I am hoping the speakers will also sit on it. I have looked at the possibility of moving the Kef speakers and stands to either side of the cabinet but it all looks to large and cumbersome. The CEO will not be happy with that. I am looking for some quality speakers that will happily sit on the cabinet.

I am starting to think that maybe it is time to ditch CDs as it would make the solution much simpler. I have the option of still ripping CDs to flac when necessary.
What you really want is a Naim Uniti Star (refurbished about £2900), but what you can afford is something like a Marantz NR1200 plus a CD6007. If you can up your budget a Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 run super cool, so ideal when placed in a cabinet. The room correction can also help make the most of any speakers in difficult rooms.
Thanks

Clearly my budget is insufficient so I will increase that. Before I can decide my total budget I need to understand what of my existing system I need to keep. I didn't realise that some music streamers, such as would also need an amp and some would not.

Part of the objective is to improve the sound quality, changing the speakers will help here, as well as reduce the number of units I need to connect. I have decided to forget CDs and concentrate on streaming the music I hold on my PC and a streaming service such as Amazon. The question is do I keep my old Naim amp and simply add a streamer, or lose the amp and buy an integrated amp and streamer. Which will give me the best sound quality and flexibility when it comes to sources. My revised budget is £3000 if I keep my Naim amp or £3300 if I don't. This needs to cover streamer and new small speakers
 
The Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 with some small bookshelf speakers backed up with a subwoofer, which will be integrated seamlessly by RoomPerfect, would be my choice. less boxes, cool running, and simple operation. You can get a home demo go the Lyngdorf TDAI-1120, so give it a go!
 
Thanks xmb

I don’t really have the space for a subwoofer so I was looking for speakers which don’t require one. Would speakers be able to sit on the TV unit, either side of the TV.

What speakers would you recommend

I assume I wouldn’t need to retain my Naim amp

Would this give a better sound than, for example, Naim Atom
 
The Lyngdorf is superb. You’ll be as delighted as everyone else who has one. Including me.

I’d seriously consider not putting speakers on the tv stand. It’s difficult to get them at the right height and there’s the risk of resonance through the box that is a tv stand.

I’d personally buy a less wide tv stand, or put the tv on the wall where, imo, they belong.

That would allow you to buy some mighty fine, slim line floorstanders.

Something like these with the Lyngdorf will be special indeed.


Small, but potent and a bargain price.

Selling the Naims and Kefs will boost your budget considerably.
 
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Ps, Room Perfect changes the the whole notion of hifi. The Naim Atom has no room correction and as such I’d not consider it.

Ps, Tom at Cinehome will arrange a home demo for you too, it is far and away the only real means of hearing what the Lyngdorf can do in your home.

 
The Lyngdorf is superb. You’ll be as delighted as everyone else who has one. Including me.

I’d seriously consider not putting speakers on the tv stand. It’s difficult to get them at the right height and there’s the risk of resonance through the box that is a tv stand.

I’d personally buy a less wide tv stand, or put the tv on the wall where, imo, they belong.

That would allow you to buy some mighty fine, slim line floorstanders.

Something like these with the Lyngdorf will be special indeed.


Small, but potent and a bargain price.

Selling the Naims and Kefs will boost your budget considerably.

Paul, Thanks for this.

The issue of the speakers is really about the narrowness of the room, just under 11 ft wide and 26 ft long, think portacabin! Currently, the speakers are on stands at the other end of the room facing lengthways. I have tried placing the existing Kef Q300's on their Super Dreadnought stands either side of where the TV cabinet will go and they are too big too close, I feel rather claustrophobic. I have this idea of all sound whether from TV, music files on my PC, bluetooth devices and streaming services, coming out of the same speakers. At the same time I wanted to rationalise how many boxes I have to connect up with each other. It seems as though I will not be able to do this and may have to settle for a soundbar for the TV. It is the narrowness of the room which is the issue, it's almost enough to make me want to move house.
 
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The narrowness certainly is an issue, how much of one is determined by how close you would sit from the speakers.

One of my pet hates is how so many houses are built with, say, absurd sized kitchen/diners at the expense of a properly proportioned and big enough living room.

In any case, you’ll find that room correction goes a very long way to dealing with the issues manifest in any room configuration. And I’ve found RoomPerfect to be the best at that.

I wouldn’t go the sound bar route just yet.
 
Alternatively, another great way of getting full range sound is small, wall mounted speakers and a sub. Preferably two.

The subs certainly need not be huge to perform very well.

And the integration of a pair of subs (discreet in the corners) with the 1120 is perfect; seamless as the cliché goes.

Most certainly worth a serious consideration.
 
As an example, this pair of nearly invisible speakers;


Or these;


Combined with two of these;


(12 by 12 inches just about, and simply first class subs).

Will give you a superb, full range hifi, with more than enough clout for films.

All without being physically overwhelming.

Used versions and the selling of your current gear should bring them into your budget along with the Lyngdorf 1120.
 
As an example, this pair of nearly invisible speakers;


Or these;


Combined with two of these;


(12 by 12 inches just about, and simply first class subs).

Will give you a superb, full range hifi, with more than enough clout for films.

All without being physically overwhelming.

Used versions and the selling of your current gear should bring them into your budget along with the Lyngdorf 1120.
Thanks

Which Kronos speakers are you suggesting, the link takes me to a general page about their products
 
If you don't have anywhere in the room to place a subwoofer then consider the Monitor Audio Radius 270, as they are super slim but have a reasonable response. Clearly they, like any compact speaker, would be better when complemented with a subwoofer.
 
Thanks for all the responses, I have found them very helpful. I have decided to temporarily suspend my plan to try to integrate the HiFi system with TV sound and instead buy a soundbar for the TV and also try to improve my existing HiFi system, that will be the subject of a separate post
 

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