Home Hi Fi

[+Steve]

thought i would ask you guys as I dont know much about home HiFi stuff. Wife wants something for xmas so I thought i could benefit from it to with some quality and clarity.. not looking for something thats really loud.. but more quality sound.

Please name some good brands that are very high quality.

I have been looking at Denon... any good?

[Bibbs]

The best thing you can do is grab a copy of "What HiFi" mag ..

People can throw names at you, but unless there is a budget and an idea of what you need to cover, we'll never get close.

I've personally got a load of Sony kit (Amp, CD player, MD player, GEq, Tuner, DVD) and a set of Wharfdale Speakers .. nother too speccie, but does the job.

[+Steve]

basically i havent set a budget yet... I would like to sample a few good branded systems first. Obviusly a Bang and Olufson system is gonna set me back too much.

Spotted a small Denon Midi system for 375 in currys. went to dealtime.co.uk and they had the same system for 250... pays to shop online!

I was looking for DAB and if poss WiFi compatible.. but thats not a priority.. DAB is a must though.

[RossP]

Technics all the way

[T600]

I've personally got a load of Sony kit (Amp, CD player, MD player, GEq, Tuner, DVD) and a set of Wharfdale speakers .. nother too speccie, but does the job.

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Sony + Mission Speakers here; Good stuff for the money.

Technics / Kenwood / Dennon all good too.

Most of mine came from Richer sounds who do some great deals. You don't get the very latest kit, but not much changes on Hi-Fi from year to year. Also got some from the Sony Centre who do some good deals from time to time, so if you are buying Sony it's worth checking their prices.

For DAB I just have 'The Bug' which is fantastic kit for the money. Though you'll either love or hate its styling.

[Bibbs]

basically i havent set a budget yet... I would like to sample a few good branded systems first. Obviusly a Bang and Olufson system is gonna set me back too much.

Spotted a small Denon Midi system for 375 in currys. went to dealtime.co.uk and they had the same system for 250... pays to shop online!

I was looking for DAB and if poss WiFi compatible.. but thats not a priority.. DAB is a must though.

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What HiFi have budget sections (cd players £10-100, £101-500, £501+) with a mini review and ratings .. They do it for everything from 10p banana plugs to £70k Speakers ..

[Super7]

If you are looking for quality and clarity I would choose Bose or Pioneer

Also I would have a DVD player not CD as some DVD player will play MP3 DVD’s.

[RossP]

Well the Technics system I have plays DVDs as well as CDs, had the unit near on 3 years now, it's pure class

[Karma Supra]

Yup I Run Sony ES Amp, Sony 900 series (QS) CD deck.. Ceapie Sony tuner (I never listen to the radio only) and a fairly mid range MD deck (they will never sound as good as CD)

I run Accoustic Energy alloy coned floor stander Speakers (26 kg each!)

Also the Speakers are bi wored, with gold plated banana plugs, and cambridge audio CD -> amp interconnects....

AS Ben said, get a copy of what Hi-Fi... its slightly nerdy, but very resourcefull...

Get into proper seperates, not Mini, ot matching mini sized seperates.........

Don't be afraid of buying older stock /ex display.... lets face it, with AMP and CD technology, its has not really changed for years!!!

The previous shape SONY ES stuff is a usually a very good buy, its top notch stuff, and the changes are largely just exterior facelifts..

for good quality stuff I would personally ignore B&O.... its ok.... its by no means "bad" but it is over styled and over priced.... You might want to look at the marantz stuff for good quality gear that is not sillily priced!!!

[aj3001]

Bose, quality that can beat anything

[Karma Supra]

Bose, quality that can beat anything

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WE also have a Bose wave jobby all in one radio in the kitchen....

Its Very Very good, but you will never beat seperates, and proper "full sized" Speakers!!!

[Kerby]

well i had a play with the philips Wi-Fi one we have in work today. and i have to say the sound quality is excellent. £599.99 for the main music centre and an additional unit for another room. if u want any additional units they are £199.99 each. all the music is stored on the main music centre and can be accessed by all of the additional units.

the music can follow you as u move around the house and each unit can play different music at the same time

[jaxx]

for Speakers nothing will beat B&W, these were hand crafted by God!

i run a Denon amp and most source Gear is aswell

[+Steve]

I bought a sony home cinema system a while back... not a cheapy one either but I was put off by the quality... its good but not that good.

I think sony is like BMW and overhyped... thats IMO though so dont flame me

The technics system i saw today was like something from the 80's horrible enourmous thingy.

Anyone know of good online reviews with comparisons at all?

[Al J]

Hi Fi Choice

review centre

HTH

[Boro Sera]

Get yourself down to 543 Christchurch Road, Steve.

Richer Sounds. Just about the only Hi-Fi shop that tells the truth. You won't regret it - and it'll be a damn site cheaper too.

[+Steve]

funny that.. my mate always mentions them.. I better get myself over there and see what the deal is

[Karma Supra]

The Sony ES stuff is awesome... the other stuff has got a bit flimsey recently..

[Chyownster]

Linn or Bang & Olufsen if you want to pay the premium price for awesome looks and SQ

[LORD_ED]

go seperates liek charlie said i have technic digital surround sound reciever, all optical imputs, pinoeer 101 disc cd player, sony md, mission Speakers and mordant short, aslo mordant short 10" sub, sounds far better than my parents 400 teac thing and my sisters 500 teac thing even though she is using my mordants Speakers on that

[ae111sr]

Linn or Bang & Olufsen if you want to pay the premium price for awesome looks and SQ

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Got some Linn kit myself just black boxes - superb sound but expensive and made in Glasgow. If it's sound quality you want forget the B&O stuff though it looks good.

Cheaper though still British you could look at the Arcam stuff (they have DAB but Linn don't). It really depends on how much cash you've got to spash.

The stuff Richer Sounds sell is end of line or discontinued and you can get some great bargains if you know what's good and what's not.

[Uncle Bob]

I love the Denon stuff, this unit is a cracker...

http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=1653

[Flamby]

Ive got a yamaha pro logic 2 amp hooked up to some yamaha 5.1 Speakers, fantastic bit of kit :) got my dvd, pc, ps2, xbox and sky plugged into the amp and it is the best money I have spent :D I know this is more home cinema but cds playing on it or mp3's from the pc sound a treat :)

[Karma Supra]

Linn or Bang & Olufsen if you want to pay the premium price for awesome looks and SQ

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Got some Linn kit myself just black boxes - superb sound but expensive and made in Glasgow. If it's sound quality you want forget the B&O stuff though it looks good.

Cheaper though still British you could look at the Arcam stuff (they have DAB but Linn don't). It really depends on how much cash you've got to spash.

The stuff Richer Sounds sell is end of line or discontinued and you can get some great bargains if you know what's good and what's not.

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I agree... I would have had Lyn down with the "proper stuff" along side Naim Audio... B&O is pseudo proper stuff... bought by footballers with caddilac escalades.....

I also Agree that Richer sounds do some good deals... there is nothung wrong with end of the line stuff, lets face it, Amps and Speakers are not changing that much, and nore are CDS....

I try to avoid all the stuff with flashy lights, screens etc..... and don't forget to budget for decent speaker cables and interconnects!!!

[Caz SR]

I've only heard good things about Richer Sounds. They're very helpful and don't push you into buying things you don't need. Plus they've nearly always got some sort of deal on