My step dad has a budget of around £1000 and wants to put sound systems into two rooms. Both are about 12 metres by 4 metres - living room and kitchen. He’s not a major audiophile but can tell good sound from bad. He’ll want new gear not used. It would be good if the systems were fairly easy to use and troubleshoot because I don’t live at home most of the time. He has lots of CDs and is considering getting a streaming subscription. The ceiling is being replaced in one of the rooms too so if anyone knows of any speakers that can go in the ceiling that might be a good option. He’s interested in Sonos but I’m convinced there must be better value systems that would make sense in the settings

Hi, I've had my Ortofon Blue for 1,000 hours and looking to replace it. I could get another, but wondering if anyone has advice on an alternative, even an Ortofon upgrade.

Budget and location - Less than $400. Central Texas.

How the gear will be used - Dedicated stereo setup

New or used - New

Past gear experience - Ortofon Red and Blue

Anything else? - Denon DP-400 turntable. Marantz 40n receiver. Focal Chora speakers. Klipsch R-120SW sub.

Thanks for any advice!

I’m new here and new to stereos/hi-fi, but have been diving deep and appreciating all of the advice here. After researching and listening to speakers, I picked up a pair of Wharfedale Super Lintons yesterday, which I’m very excited about. But sadly they’re sitting in my basement connected to nothing at this point.

For context, I’m setting this up in a fairly large basement room — It’s about 15x20 feet with 8 ft ceilings. And I listen to a wide variety of music but a lot of Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell lately, if that helps.

For a turntable, I’m thinking a Pro-Ject Debut Evo2, which seems to be well regarded. But if anyone thinks I should be looking somewhere else, I’m open to other options.

The amp is the tougher part for me. I know I want an integrated amplifier to cut down on equipment/complexity. On my mind after reading a lot of reviews are the following:

-Leak 230 — this one seems to be talked about less but most of the reviews/discussion seems positive. It’s obviously visually appealing with the Lintons, which I like but isn’t critical (though I do want my equipment to generally look good). I read one review on Crutchfield that said they returned the amp because it seemed to lack enough power for a larger room.

-Yamaha A-S810 or A-S1200 — Yamahas seem to be widely loved, and I continue to read positive things about the A-S1200 in particular. But I’m concerned that’s a little overkill for my needs, and it’s certainly not cheap. The 810 also seems fairly well regarded, but it’s not entirely clear to me what I’m losing by going with that instead of the 1200.

- NAD C 2030 — I read a lot of good things about this amp, and the look is certainly cool. But I’ve also read that it converts even analog signals to digital, and I’m way out of my depth in understanding what that means, but it stuck me as kind of inconsistent with me jumping down this analog rabbit hole.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I don’t mind making the investment in good equipment, but I don’t want to overspend for my needs or jump into equipment I won’t appreciate out of the gate.

We moved from our 4000 square-foot house in Florida back to New York City in an 1100 square-foot apartment. We had an audio room and these KLH speakers on floor stands. Looking for high end bookshelf speakers that are smaller and more fitting for our small open concept living area. Considering Fyne F1-5, Sonus Faber sonetto 2 g-2. Any suggestions? Don’t mind up to 10k for a pair but also don’t need to overpower our space or make our neighbors hate us. We have a Rega Planar 3 50th anniversary and a Cambridge cx81 amp. Thanks in advance!

Went to demo both with the thought of buying the super linton but after a long demo I'm now thinking of the linton

Super linton seems a bit more dynamic but not as warm and enjoyable

Am I crazy? lol

Money is not an issue

Current setup: Yamaha A-S801 (receiver), Fluance RT85 tt, MartinLogan Motion F10

Location: USA (Chicago)

Budget: $500

I purchased the iFi ZEN Phono 3 and personally I'm not wowed, I don't notice a significant improvement over my Yamaha internal preamp.

I came across Waxing Phono DSO Preamp from parks audio. Has anyone had any experience with this preamp? Would like to hear your opinions

My 1987 JVC receiver I picked up yesterday won't output anything at all (even signal noise) to the speakers, until it's been on for 3-5 minutes, then it produces full audio all at once. Obviously there's something wrong with it, this isn't my first rodeo and I know this isn't normal, but I'm wondering what could even be causing this?

I know people warm up their amps to get a full range of sound, and since receivers of this era are essentially integrated tuners/amplifiers it would make sense it needs some warm up time to sound perfect, but no power at all, then it flicks on all at once? I've collected 80's and early 90's gear for a decade now and I've seen some really weird problems with even weirder solutions, but nothing like this.

I had been using Altec Lansing MX5021 for more than a decade. A wonderful setup and meeting all the requirements.

But yesterday, it went silent. I guess it's time for a replacement. However, the company has stopped this model.

Looking for suggestions for a best alternative in the similar

I got a really old audio pulse system. Any advice on what speaker wires I need to get my system set up? It has old European jacks(?) No budget! Dedicated stereo setup. Don’t have any previous gear experience

Let me start by saying I am new to this hobby.

I recently picked up a Pioneer SX-580 to start my first setup. And i have been planning to go with a Fluance RT82 for the turntable, which I hope will be a good pairing.

When it comes to speakers, I really have no clue. The room is about 13x11 and I’m not looking to spend more than $250-$300.

If you have any suggestions or advice i’d appreciate it.

I know next to nothing about stereos and haven't had a decent one for a very, very long time. However, I've moved into a house with an 8m by 6m living room/kitchen, with the far wall free to set up a stereo and my music and I can finally afford to get a decent set up.

I'm looking for a system which can play vinyl, digital streaming/Spotify and CDs/DVDS/Blu Ray. Having said that, I'm looking for a stereo system and not a home theatre.

I enjoy a broad range of music (folk, lounge, soul, rock, classical, dance and metal). With that in mind I'd like a system that provides good sound quality on the more soothing music, but that can also blow out the windows when I feel like like venting with some heavier music.

I'm very looking for brands more easily sourced in Australia and have a budget of $10 - $12,000.

Any suggestions for a full system within this price range with an amp, speakers, digital media player, record player, and CD/DVD player would be greatly appreciated.

is that a thing? I just want to listen to my music & tv louder without headphones for under $500.

I have 2 Boston Acoustic HD5 speakers, 1 Boston Acoustic CR1 speaker, and a Boston Acoustics TVee Model 25 wireless subwoofer with Boston Acoustics TVee Model 25 soundbar.

Brand new to the home theater/audiophile building. Looking for suggestions on starter builds and how to build out this room to be great for movies and music. I want a whole new speaker set up and plan on also adding a vinyl player and rug into this room for better audio. Please let me know if you have solid recommendations for beginner builds. Budget for now can be up to $2-3K. Looking for recommendations for the following

• Speakers/Receiver/Amp

• better TV stand

• Vinyl Player

Budget and location: Seattle, 3K for now

How the gear will be used: CDs, Vinyl, Movies, Streaming Music

New or used: no preference

Past gear experience: cheap speaker and receivers, best pair of speaks I’ve owned were Bose 901s

No Current Tech owned

Hi All - I'm looking for advice on finding a good amplifier to power my AR9 speakers. These are speakers that are considered 'demanding' and require a decent amount of power to perform at their best—at least 100W per channel. I want to make the most of their potential and ensure I get top-notch sound quality.

Does anyone have experience with these speakers or suggestions for amplifiers that would be a great match? I'd appreciate specific models, brands, or even tips on what to prioritize in my search.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Budget and location - $300-400. I live the USA.

How the gear will be used - currently I don’t have room for a home theater setup, I am running a 2.1 configuration but need hdmi switching capability. I’m struggling to find a 2.1 receiver within this budget- do I need to buy a 7.1+ and just not use the other channels?

New or used - either is fine

Past gear experience - I currently have a Onkyo HT-R560. I like the high power rating.

Anything else? - I don’t need the latest and greatest but don’t want it to be obsolete in the near future.

Hey guys,

an older friend of mine offered to hand down these Speakers to me. I know these were proper home theater speakers when they came out in 2008. How do they hold up today, considering i would use them mainly for music.

Do you guys have some expierience with these and can telle me anything about them? How much room do they need to "breathe"?

They would replace my Onkyo SC60 Mk2 that i inherited from my dad, i guess that would be quite a big upgrade Soundwise, am i right?

Cheers

Price: 0€

Hi All - I'm looking for advice on finding a good amplifier to power my AR9 speakers. These are speakers that are considered 'demanding' and require a decent amount of power to perform at their best—at least 100W per channel. I want to make the most of their potential and ensure I get top-notch sound quality.

Does anyone have experience with these speakers or suggestions for amplifiers that would be a great match? I'd appreciate specific models, brands, or even tips on what to prioritize in my search.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone! The amateur that I am is putting together a setup with what I have at home :) I have a Technics SLBD20D (entry level, right?) which I would like to use with my Sonos Five. I need a preamp, but was wondering: what is the preamp budget that goes with such a setup? Assuming a 100-200 EUR investment, would I be better off buying a more performing turntable with integrated preamp ? Thanks!!

Hi all,

I want to redo the audio in my bedroom and I'm looking for some hints in the right direction about what to purchase. I'm thinking this will be a complete overhaul but if I can salvage some parts (most notably my amplifier) that'd be ideal to save some money.

At the moment, I have a pair of old passive speakers (they're Klipsch RB35 Cherrys, sound pretty fucken good considering I got them for free) on stands and a subwoofer with zero branding on it (powered, but with both speaker and line level inputs (speaker level appears to be broken at the moment), not the best sub but again, scored it for free).

This is all being powered by a Yamaha RX-V393. Once again, picked this one up for free. I have no issues with this except it's old. I don't care for the features of new recievers/amps such as bluetooth or anything like that. My only complaint with this is the IO is a bit dated.

Audio is being fed to the amp by a Komplete Audio 1 plugged into my computer, and a DJM-800. The audio interface is a little iffy, but gets the job done. It's served me for a good half decade by now.

The speaker level inputs on my sub recently broke, and that has prompted me to look into upgrading the audio in my room. The amp is fine, I haven't got any major issues with that. I need a new subwoofer, and it either needs to be compatible with my existing amp (speaker level ins), or I'll need to get a new amp that has line out.

If budget permits, I'd like to upgrade the Klipsch's but they do the job for the moment.

I wouldn't like to spend more than $300 aud on the sub. That doesn't include the price for a new amp either. I'm not against used/fb marketplace gear.

Cheers.

I'm currently running Pioneer Andrew Jones bookshelf speakers (SP-BS41-LR) powered by a Cambridge Audio Azur 350A integrated amp. Both hand-me-downs. Recently I've been wanting a bit more out of my stereo setup, I just find the sound to be a bit muddy on a lot of older music. I'm guessing that the speakers are the bottleneck here, as their price was only $150 when new while the amp was $500.

I've been looking for used speakers on FB marketplace and found a pair of Kef R100's for $400. To me this is the way forward, but I'm interested in some outside advice. I've listened to Kef Q150's in the past and was impressed by their sound. I also found a pair of B&W 707 S2's that are $550. This would be pushing my budget but may be worth it. The only B&W's I've listened to are 802 S3's powered by a McIntosh MA252. Obviously those sound amazing (I really enjoy the insane high frequency clarity) but I'm not sure how the lower tier bookshelf models will compare, even though they are newer. Also not sure if the 707 S2's would be bottlenecked by my amp? Or the R100's?

It's also worth noting that I use Spotify set on the highest quality with a wired connection from my iPad. Perhaps a proper music streamer and Tidal subscription is a more worthwhile upgrade than speakers?

Not sure if it matters but the genres I listen to are mostly rock and hip-hop. Some of my favorite artists right now are Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Kanye West, Nas, Mac Miller, and the Eagles.

To sum it up, specifically I would like to know: [1] Is upgrading speakers the right path to better sound? [2] Can anyone talk about their experience with Kef R100 or B&W 707 S2, especially if you have listened to bigger B&W's? [3] Would either of those options be bottlenecked by my amplifier?

I am very new to hi-fi, any advice on this topic is appreciated. Thanks!

If I have a receiver that 65 watts per channel and the power handling rating of my speakers is 100 watts, is that 100 watts total or 100 watts per speaker? Thanks Used Kenwood kr-7400 Klipsch kg 4.2 Why do I need to make this post longer? I asked the only question that I had. This is me making my post longer. Budget is 123456

Hi everyone, I'm new to this.

I recently bought a pair of passive speakers (McGrey BSS-265) in great condition in a garage sale and want to use them for my Desktop PC. It was an impulsive buy.

They're 40 Watt (RMS) / 75 Watt (Peak) and have a Impedance of 6 ohms. Originally I wanted to buy a Fosi Audio TB10D amplifier, but it's regular power outage would be almost twice (70 Watt). I have read that this will damage the speakers but on the other hand I have also read that some people say your amp should have x1,5 - 2 the power of your speakers rms. Like I said, I'm new to all of this and very confusing. Would be nice if you could help me out.

I currently have a Debut Carbon Evo with Sumiko Rainier. I also recently acquired a Sutherland Insight LPS phono stage and want a better MC cartridge to compliment it. The current cartridge seems like such a bottleneck in my system now. I eventually want a high end TT but would rather wait until I can afford something super nice like a Planar 10. In the meantime, would just swapping out the cartridge for something high end make sense or should I get something more reasonable like a Rega ND3 or Ortofon 2M Bronze?

To give you an idea I’m looking at either E.A.T. Jo No.5 or Hana ML for the higher end cartridges. My budget is around $300-$500 for MM or $900-$1.3k for MC

Just curious how that would sound.

I was browsing the Mcintosh website when that I thought about it.

I'm making a substantial upgrade to my system now that I don't have any neighbors and am moving from B&W 606 S2's with a Yamaha receiver to a pair of Revival Atalante 5's.

The only carryover from my old system is my TT, a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo w/ acrylic platter.

I largely care about the experience of listening to music, streaming + vinyl, but am also looking to use my speakers to watch TV/Movies.

I've bought a Yamaha N-2000 so far and love its VU meters, build quality, ARC compatibility (optical is ok), solid phono pre-amp, and power. However, I'm concerned about wanting to upgrade its ~2 year old DAC and finding a way to add Roon (likely through a streamer).

For context, I have a large room with 15 foot ceilings.

Are there other powerful amps or power amps, pre-amp, streamer combos that are around 4k, in total, and ideally include VU meters?

I plan to test the Hifi Rose 280 as soon as I get the speakers but I'm unsure about a class-D amp. I'd probably pair the Hifi Rose with an Eversolo DMP A-6 which has the dual benefit of streaming Apple Music above CD quality rates.