Richer Sounds Cambridge Audio deal

** Verve **

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Got the richer sounds newsletter yesterday and they had what looked like a cracking deal for a Cambridge Audio setup

AZUR 650A amp
AZUR 650C cd player
AZUR 650T dab+ tuner

All for £679.95, essentially you buy the amp and cd player and get the dab tuner free.

My old Technics hi-fi is on its last legs, the cd player is starting to freeze a lot when playing so was looking at getting a new system and this seemed like a good deal to me.

Now i've head lots of good things about the 650A amp, but just wanted to know what others think of the cd player and dab tuner?

Also what kind of speakers would people recommend to go with this setup. Any advice would be great, i'm a noob when it comes to hi-fi systems/speakers!! I realise it's all down to personal taste but just wanted to get some ideas of what to look at.

I mainly listen to guitar based indie rock and acoustic music so nothing too bass heavy.

Thanks :)
 
That's about £900 at the regular price, so that is indeed a good bargain. I can't think of anything that equals is for a mere £680.

As to speakers, just about anything. To make recommendations, we would need a speaker budget. Wharfedale, Mordaunt Short, Bower Wilkins (B&W), Monitor Audio, and Dali are all worth a look. Richer sounds has some nice prices right now on the Dali Lektor series, these seem to be popular with Jazz and Classical listener as the are allegedly very clear speakers. The rated bass response is there, but these are not bass heavy speakers.

But again, without a stated budget, it is hard to know where to point you.

The deal must be limited to the store near you, as it is not advertised as one of their standard HiFi pre-packaged systems. I also am not sure how long this deal will last, so if it appeals to your and you can afford it, then it might be wise to jump on it. Again, off the top of my head, I really can't think of anything for £680 that equals it. Others might have some suggestions though.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Thanks for the help bluewizard. It looks like a great deal to me, I only saw the deal from their VIP newsletter email, it wasn't on their website. I'm going to give my local store a ring and see what they say. Hopefully they have stock becuase i'm going to go for it I think, at that price can't go wrong!

Speaker budget i'm looking at around £400. What I want from a speakers is clarity mainly, i rarely have music on really loud. I'll have to go down to Richer sounds and try some out to see what i like best, just wanted some ideas really. Probably wait until after Xmas before i buy them so will just use the speakers i have now for the moment. I see the amp supports 2 pairs of speakers which i plan to use, so can have speakers in my front room and dining room.

Thanks again.
 
hey verve
without spoiling the the good deal,
i bought the 840av2 amp from there a couple of days ago and although theres nothing about it on the website it was actually a return/b-stock unit, 1 of the phono inputs doesnt work the display has a fault with the led the remote was found in a draw covered in glue of some type and scratched up, the box and internal packaging was completely destroyed held together with tape. When i questioned about it not being 'new' as the website i was told yeh but it doesnt say its NEW tho does it! :(
The customer service was awful, very pushy like id put them out.
foolishly i made the purchase but am now regretting it, ive been in contact with RS and CA and hopefully will be getting a new or better conditioned unit or a refund.
Anyway if you do go for it make sure its in good nik or better 'New'
 
Cheers sparky, i just phoned my local store up and they have them in stock so i'm going to go in monday and have a look, make sure its not returned/b-stock and the items are brand new before i buy. Thanks for the heads up though.

Whenevery i've bought stuff from my local richer sounds they have always been really good and helpful, maybe its just your local store?
 
yeh sorry it was only my branch,
i Phoned another branch (B'mouth) the next day and they where absolutley brilliant a totally different experience couldnt be more helpful
offered a new item if he can find one or complete refund if thats what i decide to do.
Love the amp tho its sounds fab :)

Mark
 
A lot of the deals that look too good to be true in Richers usually are, ie although there is a serious discount, you're not getting a new item. That applies to anything listed as 'last few'. They do however do some cracking deals on new gear as well, such as the deal you're talking about, which i don't think you can go far wrong with.
 
Have a look at these.

ACOUSTIC ENERGY AEGIS NEO 3 V2 SPEAKERS

or its predecessor for £100 less

https://www.forumhifivisual.co.uk/S...E_NEO_3_NEO3_FLOOR_STANDING_SPEAKER_1555.html

These should compliment the CA setup very well indeed. Pure genius.

Good call Don. How about the Mordaunt Short Aviano Series or MS Mezzo 2's which are excellent as I can personally testify. Should be able to pick up a pair for circa £249 (RRP £450). Work well with my 640aV2 or HK 980 amps. All available at RS within your budget.

I find you you have to barter for a good deal at RS.

Cheers

Scorpion

Edit: Just a further thought. The Tannoy Mercury V1's @ £150 or the Monitor Audio BX2's @ £250 would also get the job done. Just a matter of personal taste really. Best to audition before buying if possible although sometimes easier said than done. Hope that helps.
 
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Thanks for all the speaker advice guys. Really like the look of those ACOUSTIC ENERGY AEGIS NEO 3 V2 speakers. But i'm not sure if i'm going to go for floorstanding or bookshelf yet. Probably leaning towards bookshelfs though due to room layout. Those MS Mezzo 2's look like they could be a good choice, i'll have to try and get a demo instore if possible.

Sorry another noobish question! Are there any characteristic differences acoustically between bookshelf or floor standing speakers or are they purely aesthetic?
 
hey verve
without spoiling the the good deal,
i bought the 840av2 amp from there a couple of days ago and although theres nothing about it on the website it was actually a return/b-stock unit, 1 of the phono inputs doesnt work the display has a fault with the led the remote was found in a draw covered in glue of some type and scratched up, the box and internal packaging was completely destroyed held together with tape. When i questioned about it not being 'new' as the website i was told yeh but it doesnt say its NEW tho does it! :(
The customer service was awful, very pushy like id put them out.
foolishly i made the purchase but am now regretting it, ive been in contact with RS and CA and hopefully will be getting a new or better conditioned unit or a refund.
Anyway if you do go for it make sure its in good nik or better 'New'

Hi sparky1,

I was sorry to read of the problems you’ve experienced with your recent purchase.

Indeed, I was most disappointed to hear that your local branch hasn’t provided you with the level of service you should be able to expect whilst purchasing your amplifier.

So that I may investigate this situation further and ensure it is resolved asap to your satisfaction, please would you private message me with your contact and sale details?

In the meantime, my sincere apologies for the obvious inconvenience caused and I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Many thanks,

John Clayton
Operations Director
Richer Sounds
 
Can i just say and this was before John came on the thread, the after care from RS is fantastic something ive not experienced from any other outlet ever, yes i had a rough deal from 1 of the stores but hey it happens,
I will, after the aftercare from RS and the B'mouth branch id recommend them to anyone wanting good equipment at bargain prices.
I will definatley use them again, wife permitting, new speakers next :D

Mark
 
Are there any characteristic differences acoustically between bookshelf or floor standing speakers or are they purely aesthetic?

Each brand of speakers have their own characteristic, but you have better bass response with Floorstanders due to the bigger cabinet even though some bookshelfs can hold ther own against some of their bigger brothers.

If they are going to go onto stands then you will have room for floorstanders as bookshelf speakers can take up the same size foot print if on stands as many floorstanders, unless it is going on a shelf.
 
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Thanks Don, i'll probably go for bookshelf speakers tbh due to lack of room and they will actually sit on shelves and not on stands. To make room for floor standing speakers i'd have to rearrange the room and probably mount the plasma on the wall, quite a big job all in all.

Just a quick update, I bit the bullet and bought the CA bundle yesterday. Set it all up last night and it sounds sweet, really happy with it so far and i'm still using my old technics speakers at the moment. After xmas when I have more cash i'll get some decent speakers for it and it should sound even better!

I'm going to give those Mordaunt Short Aviano Series or MS Mezzo 2 a demo as the guy serving me in the store also recommended them too.

Thanks again for everyones help :thumbsup:
 
I would definitely go Mezzo over Aviano but would actually look at other makes than Mordaunt Short personally. Like Monitor Audio or B&W. All depends what your ears like though. (as you can see i have mordaunt short - i rushed into the decision without listening to enough alternatives.)
 
Glad to help.

Enjoy your new toys.

Since your current speakers are doing the job, don't feel pressed to replaced as soon as. Take as much time as you want as there is no immediate rush for them. Your speaker choices are well regarded by many but just to add a little more choice you could also check out AE neo1 v1 or v2. they both come with the other 2's price range

https://www.forumhifivisual.co.uk/S...EO_ONE_NEO_1_NEO1_BOOKSHELF_SPEAKER_1553.html - £130 and the ACOUSTIC ENERGY AEGIS NEO 1 V2 - £199

Now these do not have the same rapport as the previously mention speakers but are IMO, underated and i'm not alone in that thought. I have the Neo 1 V1 on a second setup which were initially were going to be used as rears, but just to test to see if they still work after being their boxes for over a year i hooked them up and was very extremely surprise how they sounded as fronts that I kept them there. Like yourself , they are in a shelving unit (ikea) which for many is sacrilege, but held secure by blu tac, they sound serious good to me

As has been said The B&W (685)are also ones to look. They may be double the price of others but it shows in their quality.
 
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I was surprised at just how well my current speakers sounded, they were better than i thought. Can crank them up much more now without distortion as well. Looking forward to hooking up my Pro-Ject turntable tonight and seeing how that sounds :)

But you're right, i'm in no rush to get new speakers, will do a bit of research and try a few out and wait for some bargains hopefully in the new year! I'm open to all suggestions, don't have a particular brand in my mind.

I just know very little about speakers so the more suggestions the better!!
 
Enjoy yours for now. Go listen to some at some point in the future and compare :) You may find yours are just fine.
 
Glad to help.

Like yourself , they are in a shelving unit (ikea) which for many is sacrilege, but held secure by blu tac, they sound serious good to me

As has been said The B&W (685)are also ones to look. They may be double the price of others but it shows in their quality.

I haven’t even got my shelves up yet, so there’s work to be done!! Have to remember the blu tac trick, thanks.

Those B&W (685) speakers look the business, and will be in budget too, just!
 
, don't have a particular brand in my mind.

Good!!:smashin: Keep an open mind

And i agree with Ben, you may find current speakers just fine. At the very least they give you a baseline to work with and if nothing matches them to your ears, stick with them for as long as possible.

now go play and enjoy
 

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