Suggestion for a Audio system set-up?

[ricohflex]

But does not mean $1m system sounds like $1m. If anything, most super expensive systems don't sound good because they are set up by people with plenty money but dunno how to set up properly.

Law of diminishing returns. Past a point, the more money you spend does not buy you proportionate benefit in hifi value.

Hifi dealers are also applied psychologists. They know how to spot the buyers' weaknesses/ego/prejudices and key in on that to make a great sale. There is a lot of money on the line. They do not want to lose you to another hifi shop.

They will flatter you if necessary.
Or act like you are truly one of the few who really know how to appreciate hifi.

 

[Stress]

Thanks everyone for their pointers.....I guess I've to audition the set and see whether it's to my liking. Cheers

 

[Snappy99]

Sorry not trying to be rude ..you mean the audio house At liang court ?? bad choice i would say ..those ppl just want to sell their product the easiest way

Hifi is kinda like camera... go listen to as many system as possible that you budget permit ..and then sell what kinda sound you like ...warm ?? fast ?? detail?? bass?? treble?? tone??...dun go listen to super ex one lah ...listen until shiok shiok no many to buy

a stereo system is definately more accurate in music reproduction ( soundstage , etc ) than a 5.1 system ( more for movie and concert recorded in 5.1) .

A delicate CDP will produce more accurate sound than a dvd player too .

In Hifi it is all about accurate reproducing what is being play in the recording studio or concert hall . That what i think

Hifi is not as easy and just buying the component and just putting the cd into the player . There is more to it . This is also the fun part...not forgetting the expensive part...hahaha..but the end product is hours of beautiful music that you never imagine


Btw ...Echo loft is the best local forum you can learn about Hifi...me no expert just sharing my experience in hifi ...enjoy your hunt to music nirvana


Lastly any Hifi enthu here ???

 

[photobum]

Hifi is not as easy and just buying the component and just putting the cd into the player . There is more to it . This is also the fun part...not forgetting the expensive part...hahaha..but the end product is hours of beautiful music that you never imagine

I have been an audiophile since 1989.

For your information, Hi-fi 'siao' can be more '$hiong' than photography. An easier way to start hi-fi without having to rob a bank is to go head-fi - meaning a good set of headphones, headphones amp, and CD player (not Discman) or iPod. An excellent choice is the Grado SR60 (an internationally acclaimed headphone for just S$120) and a good budget dedicated CD player, such as NAD or Marantz.

 

[Snappy99]

photobum ...great to meet a audiophile here ..

what system you are playing now ..maybe we can have a shooting cum hifi appreciate session . hahahha

all hifi siao pls come in ...i believe there should be more here

 

[lsisaxon]

Hi
I'm thinking of setting up a audio system and don't know where to start.
Budget is about $5K to $8K but prefer to stick to around $5K
Looking for a good intergrated amp or pre & power amp and a pair of bookshelf speakers and a relatively good CD player.
Anyone has any recommendation?

Is B&W speakers any good?
I've read about mis-match of spk and amp so i'm abit worried spending the money without consulting the "old birds"

Thanks in advance....

$5k to $8k can already get a good pair of studio monitors like Yamaha MSP10 studio, K&H or Genelecs.

 

[lsisaxon]

Thanks everyone.....
I've zoom in on this set-up and will audition the set-up this weekend, any comments?

Rotel 1062 Integrated amp
Rotel 1072 CD Player
B&W 685 speakers but the shop selling Rotel ask me to test it out with Paradiam Studio 20 speakers...

Decided to lower my budget to $3K to $4K inclusive of cables for a start.
Boy....:sweat: it's an expensive hobby. The more I read about reviews, the more interesting it gets. This is gonna be worst than photography as a hobby:sweat:

Forget about consumer hifi, just go straight towards pro-audio. You get much more value for money. ;p

Sonodyne sounds good for very little money. If I'm not wrong, Resolution (at Sunshine Plaza) carries that brand plus probably other brands. Give active studio monitors an audition and you may not want to look at consumer hi-fi ever again.

 

[lsisaxon]

In Hifi it is all about accurate reproducing what is being play in the recording studio or concert hall . That what i think

That's provided recordings are done the correct way using uncoloured microphones etc and direct into 2 tracks. Many commercial music are not done that way but using multitracking and mixed down, all of them done with pro audio equipment.

But the problem is, no matter how uncoloured the sources are, somewhere down the audio chain, there's still bound to be some colouration. That's where mastering comes in, where the mastering engineer tweaks the material to sound like how he thinks it's intended to be. He will use at least a pair of speaker to do that and the speaker he uses will probably be uncoloured or something he knows the signature very well.. So if you want to hear the kind of sound it's intended to be, then you should get a pair of speakers that is sonically very flat.

 

[dEthANGeL]

photobum ...great to meet a audiophile here ..

what system you are playing now ..maybe we can have a shooting cum hifi appreciate session . hahahha

all hifi siao pls come in ...i believe there should be more here

Aiyo... you had to rekindle this thread :sweat: :bsmilie:

Ok you got 1 hifi siao here...

 

[Kongo]

Used to be hifi siaoz..

now poison cured & 返朴归真 .. listened to my Altec Lansing computer speakers most of the time..

Leaving bags of cables in the cabinets & all my tube gears collecting dust now.. partly becos no choice, no space for placement got equipments also mean nothing..
:cry:

 

[Snappy99]

kongo ...make a comeback lah ... now i am quite into photography ..the hifi also listen lesser liao:embrass:

lsisaxon ...i agree many commercial music are into loudness war ...not dynamic sound

 

[jdredd]

forums and review websites/ magazines are a good place to start.

but ultimately, you have to trust your own ear. some people prefer say the warmer sound of tube amps etc.. so go round the shops, get them to hook stuff up, bring your own test CD so you can have a reference point and just have a good listen.

also, dont skimp on the stuff like cables, speaker stands and shelving for the CD amp etc.

a good rule of thumb is at least 20-30% of your budget.

also, you lets say you spending 3.5k on cd/amp and speakers. insteald of alocating equally, i would probably spend more on the CD player. because you can then keep that and upgrade the others later, instead of haing to keep changing out all.

after all, no point having kilat amp and speakers, if theres garbage going into them.

theres a huge range of brands to consider. im partial to marantz personally, but naim, creek, arcam, rotel, cambridge audio, etc all have very good offerings.

 

[Snappy99]

for a moment i though i am reading echoloft ...ahahha

 

[photobum]

So if you want to hear the kind of sound it's intended to be, then you should get a pair of speakers that is sonically very flat.

I have the Genelec 1032A. Although not "sonically very flat" but good monitor system. Another very good speakers to consider are the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Bowers & Wilkins[/FONT] Nautilus 802.

 

[photobum]

photobum ...great to meet a audiophile here ..

what system you are playing now ..maybe we can have a shooting cum hifi appreciate session . hahahha

all hifi siao pls come in ...i believe there should be more here

Main System:
Marantz CD17 KI
Harman Kardon Citation 23 tuner
Audiolab 8000A
Audiolab 8000P
ProAc Tablette 2 speakers

Room System:
Marantz CD63SE MKII KI
Sony PCM-2300 DAT Recorder
Alesis XT-8 ADAT
Nakamichi ZX-7 Cassette Deck
Mackie 1604 mixer (use as a preamp)
Genelec 1032A speakers
AKG K240 Studio