First can we assume you are looking for Floorstanding speakers?
Next, what are the dimensions of your room? This will help us gauge the size of speakers that will reasonably fit in the room.
Music and movies, or music only?
The most common speakers in roughly the £500 to £600 range are -
£450/pr = Wharfedale Diamond 155 (2x 6.5", 37hz @ -6dB)
£450/pr = Monitor Audio BX5 (2x 140mm, 36hz)
£550/pr = Dali Zensor 5 (2x 5", ~36hz @ -6dB)
Here is an exceptional deal in an £850/pr set of speakers for £599 -
Superfi - TANNOY REVOLUTION DC6T FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS (PAIR)
2x 6" bass with 34hz low response.
The
Wharfedale Diamnond 157 is similar to the Diamond 155 but it has the addition of a midrange driver and a larger cabinet, but just a trace over your budget -
£629/pr = Diamond 157 (2x 6.5, 1x 5", 35hz at -6dB)
If you can push over £600, then consider the larger
Monitor Audio BX6 with 2x 6.5" bass drivers and response down to 28hz -
£649/pr = Monitor Audio BX6
Others you might consider -
£499/pr = Mission MX5
£550/pr = Acoustic Energy 103
£499/pr = Boston Acoustic A360
The first three listed are probably the top of the list in this price range. Additionally the
Tannoy DC6T is an exceptional bargain. But more than favorite speakers, you need to find a speakers that is suited to your personal taste in music.
The Cambridge 351A is a good little amp with 45/ch and the addition of a USB Port. But you would need to check whether that is a
Media-only, meaning a USB Thumb Driver, or whether the port is a USB-PC, capable of connecting directly to your computer. The USB-PC is the most useful. Priced at £249.
How important is the USB aspect, bearing in mind that an external DAC could be added at a later date, though it is going to cost about £150 or a bit less for a small USB-only DAC.
In this price range, the following are the most common amps recommended.
£189/ea = Yamaha AS300, 60w/ch
£175/ea = Denon PMA720, 50w/ch (originally £350)
£240/ea = Yamaha AS500, 85w/ch
£299/ea = Marantz PM6005, 45w/ch, Optical/Coaxial DAC
As an example, assuming you actually needed a USB-PC DAC -
£189/ea = Yamaha AS300, 60w/ch
£_99/ea = Cambridge DACMagic XS (highly rated in the recent issue of
Stereophile magazine)
---------------------------
£288 = Total
If you are going to get a Cambridge, in the long run, you are far better off getting the
Cambridge 651A at £349. Yes that is more expensive, but a much better amp with 75w/ch and I'm pretty sure a USB-PC port. It definitely has USB, but I pretty sure it is USB-PC, but you would need to verify that it is not USB-media only.
Your original budget was £250 for the amp with £600/pr for the speakers for a
total of £850.
Shifting things around a bit -
£450/pr = Diamond 155 (or Monitor Audio BX5)
£350/ea = Cambridge 651A (75w/ch, USB)
----------------------
£800 = Total
£550/pr = Dali Zensor 5
£350/ea = Cambridge 651A
----------------
£900 = Total
£190/ea = Yamaha AS300, 60w/ch
£150/ea = Cambridge DACMagic 100 (optical, coaxial, USB-PC)
£450/ea = Diamond 155 or MA BX5
----------------------
£790 = Total
£230/ea = Yamaha AS500, 85w/ch (£230 from Richers)
£150/ea = Cambridge DACMagic 100 (optical, coaxial, USB-PC)
£450/pr = Diamond 155 or MA BX5
--------------------
£830 = total
£230/ea = Yamaha AS500, 85w/ch (£230 from Richers)
£150/ea = Cambridge DACMagic 100 (optical, coaxial, USB-PC)
£550/pr = Dali Zensor 5
--------------------
£930 = total
As you can see there are many combinations that come close to your budget.
But you need to decide what features you really want and need. If the USB or DAC are not important, you can trim the price back considerably. However, a USB-PC DAC will allow you to plug your PC directly into the amp to play music. A DAC like the Cambridge DACMagic 100 will allow your PC to connect to the USB and your TV Digital Audio Out to connect to the Optical for movie watching. Still, that is of value only if you need those features. Don't reject an amp because it has feature you don't need at the moment, but do consider the other options, and set your priorities accordingly.
The 45w/ch Cambridge 351A and the Marantz PM6005 are good amps and will sound great, but the Cambridge 651A or the Yamaha AS500 have substantially more power and will take you much farther into the future with speaker upgrades.
Eating a big chunk of change, but there are a couple of stereo amps that have reasonable power (80w/ch) and they have a built-in DAC, USB-media, and
COMPUTER NETWORK STREAMING.
They aren't cheap but when you figure the individual price of everything you are getting, they are actually relatively cheap. They don't have USB-PC, but with Network Streaming, you really don't need that. Both have Optical DAC inputs for connecting your TV Audio to the Amp -
Superfi - YAMAHA RN500 NETWORKED RECEIVER
Superfi - ONKYO TX8050 NETWORKED RECEIVER
Both are AM/FM Receivers, which is pretty worthless, but both will give you access to Internet Radio and a variety of streaming services like Spotify and similar.
£450/ea = Yamaha RN500 Streaming Receiver (80w/ch)
£450/pr = Diamond 155 or MA BX5
---------------------
£900 = Total
£400/pr = Onkyo TX-8050, ~80w/ch real power by a fair standard
£450/pr = Diamond 155 or MA BX5
--------------------
£850 = Total
Add £100 more for the Dali Zensor 5.
So, you have several options in or near your price range.
For what it is worth.
Steve/bluewizard