Second hand quality Hi Fi bargains...

L

le hutch

Guest
I'm after a second hand cd player and amp (and possibly a power amp to go with it) to go with my Monitor Audio Silver 9i's.

The MAs are quite bright so I reckon I should go for components that are on the warmer side. The speakers used to retail at around £1000, so that will give you an idea of the quality I'm after.

I've had my eye on the Arcam Alpha 10 combination, but would also consider a valve amp.

Any recommendations?
 
If you're looking for something to offset the brightness of your speakers,you could take a look at CD players and amps from Musical Fidelity,as both have a slight warmth to the sound,but certainly no loss of detail or quality,and may make a very good used choice.
Meridian also would be worth a look,with plenty of good used items available.
Valve amps are a more difficult choice.....there's certainly nothing to worry about in reliability terms from any of the major manufacturers,and the only parts that require replacement(and it's measured in thousands of hours use here)would be valves.
You could take a look at Audio Research and Graaf,as well as Unison.
At your chosen price level,I'd certainly recommend MF though .....just be sure to listen to as many as possible before buying.
 
There was an MF amp and cd player on hififorsale.com recently, might still be available. In my opinion would certainly be better than the Arcam combo

Brian

+Edit+ Just noticed an Arcam A75/P75 combo as well
 
Thanks for that guys.

I'll certainly have a look at the MF kit. Will my speakers be of sufficuent quality for MF gear?

Any other brands I should try..what about roksan or linn etc etc

Thanks

Lee
 
Originally posted by le hutch
Thanks for that guys.

I'll certainly have a look at the MF kit. Will my speakers be of sufficuent quality for MF gear?

Any other brands I should try..what about roksan or linn etc etc

Thanks

Lee

I'd have to admit to not being very familiar with your speakers,but would say that the MF gear should produce very good results,and certainly would get the best out of them,whilst also being good enough for upgrades.
 
Hi Lee

Can vouch for the 3.2 stuff with both MA silver and gold series.

I have both the 3.2 stuff and an A85, with my GR20's the 3.2's sound much better, whereas with my previous B & W 603 S2's it was a much closer thing.

Not mentioned here but I am very impressed with some of the Rega amps especially the Exon Powers and Cursa Pre.

The Roksan Caspian is very good as well.

Best advice is try as many as you can or buy second hand / ex-dem in the knowledge you can sell on for little loss.

You have PM ;)

Gus
 
hi all gus i would be interested on how you think the a85 and mf3.2 compare.

i have on loan a 3.2 integrated amp .was told by mf that mine is a slightly older model "red led above power switch" the newer models have some miner upgrades, all blue leds and the ability to use auxilery 2 as aux/home theater input.

i am trying with dynaudio 62 ,arcam cd73t, find the sound with mf slightly better with vocals , has clarity but still possibly a bit on the (bright side)


i have owned the unico hybrid integrated but with cdm1nts.

the unico being valve pre amp stage was more tollerant of poorer recordings than the mf seems to be.

prefer the unicos phono ,to the mf.

am comparing mf vs 3802 its better but have yet to decide if it warrents the extra cost.
 
I'm selling all my Arcam gear if your interested - Alpha 6 cd, Alpha 8 amp, Alpha 8 power amp, Audioquest ruby interconnect, Cabletalk speaker wire (for bi-amping). I'm going the way of the combined home cinema/stereo and using my pc to play my cd's (hopefully using a Roku SoundBridge). u2u me if your interested.

Cheers

Paul
 
Originally posted by gilb-1
I'm selling all my Arcam gear if your interested - Alpha 6 cd, Alpha 8 amp, Alpha 8 power amp, Audioquest ruby interconnect, Cabletalk speaker wire (for bi-amping). I'm going the way of the combined home cinema/stereo and using my pc to play my cd's (hopefully using a Roku SoundBridge). u2u me if your interested.

Cheers

Paul

Paul...if you're selling,have a look at the forum rules,and place an ad in the classifieds.
PM's regarding sales/purchases aren't permitted until the transaction is completed in the appropriate forum.
 
Sorry I didnt realise

- I just saw the thread and thought I'd reply to it. I'll write up a proper ad when I get chance and pop it in the classifieds then.

paul :)
 
Originally posted by gilb-1
Sorry I didnt realise

- I just saw the thread and thought I'd reply to it. I'll write up a proper ad when I get chance and pop it in the classifieds then.

paul :)

No worries...avoids problems and safeguards both parties in the event of any mishaps.
Welcome to the forums!
 
My Epos are a little bright, but they sound great with my Rega Planet cd player. A better sound than with my previous cd player (arcam alpha 7).
I has given my music an analogue warmth without losing any detail.

So I would say give some of the rega stuff a listen.
 
Get yourself a Meridian 200 transport & 263 (NOT 203) DAC....very cheap on ebay.....but add some Russ Andrews (or alternative) mains cables to both boxes (with the addition of the mains cables the Meridian pairing definately "sees off" my albeit very excellent Arcam 8 player)

Absolutely superb....(I had mine running this evening...)
 
Originally posted by suzywong
Get yourself a Meridian 200 transport & 263 (NOT 203) DAC....very cheap on ebay.....but add some Russ Andrews (or alternative) mains cables to both boxes (with the addition of the mains cables the Meridian pairing definately "sees off" my albeit very excellent Arcam 8 player)

Absolutely superb....(I had mine running this evening...)

So do you think an Alpha 9 or 10 combo would be better than the Meridian 200/263 combo?

Just out of interest what did the meridian 200/263 and MF 3.2 retail for and when did they stop being made?

How do the Meridian and MF compare?
 

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