Richer Sounds Hi-Fi System 1

[fish99]

Hi,

Just wondering what sort of sound I could expect out of this sort of system-

http://ws2.richersounds.com/information.php?cda=static&cst=hifisystems

Acoustic Solutions SP121 CD Player +
Acoustic Solutions SP101 Amp +
TDL KV1 Speakers

I know it's the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to seperates, but on the other hand it's surely going to sound leagues better than listenning to music on my PC with an Audigy 2 ZS and Logitech X-530 speakers, which is currently my best option.

I'm a bit wary of Acoustic Solution since my budget AV system is by them (DS1033) and the sound quality is pretty poor. Then again my AV system is 6 speakers, amp and decoder for £150 so the amp and CD Player listed above should be much better.

I know with my budget I should probably be looking at second hand.

Cheers,
Simon.

 

[gerbilly]

Hi,

Just wondering what sort of sound I could expect out of this sort of system-

http://ws2.richersounds.com/information.php?cda=static&cst=hifisystems

Acoustic Solutions SP121 CD Player +
Acoustic Solutions SP101 Amp +
TDL KV1 Speakers

I know it's the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to seperates, but on the other hand it's surely going to sound leagues better than listenning to music on my PC with an Audigy 2 ZS and Logitech X-530 speakers, which is currently my best option.

I'm a bit wary of Acoustic Solution since my budget AV system is by them (DS1033) and the sound quality is pretty poor. Then again my AV system is 6 speakers, amp and decoder for £150 so the amp and CD Player listed above should be much better.

I know with my budget I should probably be looking at second hand.

Cheers,
Simon.

Dont touch the acoustic stuff mate, go for the budget Cambridge Audio or Marantz stuff. The speakers are ok I have a pair.

 

[fish99]

I suppose another option would be to get something like the Cambridge Audio A1MK3SE amp (or even a Denon 225 or Marantz PM4400) with those TDL KV1 Speakers, which would total £200 or just over, and then pick up a CD Player in a month or so when more money is available.

I mean the speakers in that Hi-Fi System 1 package look decent, it's just the Acoustic Solutions amp and CD I'm not convinced about.

I've had a good look on e-bay for used hi-fi equipment and there's plenty available, but since I don't know how good anything is, I really don't know what to look for. I could end up with any old rubbish.

Any help/advice welcome

edit: Ah, posted at the same time. Cheers

 

[jon_mendel]

Assuming your PC has a CD drive, you could always use that as a CD player for the time-being. You might look to add a secondhand DAC to the PC at a later stage - these go for around the GBP50 mark (and maplins will do a widget to get a digital optical output from your PC for about a tenner), and tbh you'd struggle to find a fully working separate DAC that didn't sound better than an Acoustic Solutions CDP

Jon

 

[fish99]

Cheers

To be honest I'm still torn between hi-fi seperates and some quality headphones, which is the other option I've been considering.

I mean for £200 instead of getting TDL KV1 speakers and Cambridge Audio A1MK3SE amp, I could get something like Grado SR80/SR125 and a headphone amp. Really depends on which would give the better sound quality.

 

[Gullanian]

I have Sennheisser HD 590's, truly awesome sound from them, bought the from Richersounds for £100. To simulate that sort of quality in a seperates system you are looking to spend a lot of money. Go for the headphones (HD 590), and an amp. Then save up for the CD deck and speakers in the future when you have a bit more to spend.

 

[jon_mendel]

Yeah, you're likely to get a much better sound from phones/headphone amp than speakers and amp for the same price. There's some disadvantages, of course - only 1 person can listen at once, you don't get quite the same sense of the music coming from a place in front of you, bass doesn't work quite the same way etc...but then again this wouldn't be so great from cheap separate speakers anyway... So if it's just you listening, go for the phones One other thing to bare in mind, btw - iirc, it's easier to damage your ears by listening loud on phones than to listening loud on speakers...so if you're listening over long periods, try to keep a sensible volume (god, I sound like my mum...)

Jon

 

[Gullanian]

Go to richer sounds, im sure they will let you demo a pair of HD 590s

 

[lee_car]

superfi are doing a denon/sony with mission speakers for £250
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo-2.cfm/Product_ID/2441
lee

 

[fish99]

Cheers everyone.

Yeah I was looking at that super-fi offer a few days ago, it was very tempting but just beyond my current budget. Anyway I decided to go with headphones instead for now. Got some Grado SR80s on the way and I'm looking into headphone amps, and then a CD Player.

My brother has some £150 Sennheiser cans (can't remember the exact model, but they're not 600s, 590s or 580s, think they're a little older) and while they're excellent, they always sounded a touch warm and laid back to me, so it would seem that I prefer a brighter sound, so the Grados made perfect sense, plus I love the retro styling.

 

[Ed Selley]

Most Grado buyers are seldom dissapointed by their purchases. Unless of course you're me & your brother pinched them over a year ago and won't give them back .