Eat My Dust

I've got to go and buy a hi-fi for my office tomorrow. Budget £500 for cd,amplifier,speakers,speaker stands,cables.

I've been told to go and buy a Denon.

Anyone know much about this brand.

Cheers,

EMD.

dba

well Mr Eat you can spend your £500 on a Denon knowing you have bought probably the best mini system that your budget allows.I could spend ages advising you what to buy from Richer Sounds,but with your timescale+budget I'd stick with Denon.Top stuff,used the brand for years.

GavinP

Take a look at Richer Sounds for separates:

Luke

I know everything about Hi-Fi !!!

I am using a DENON DM3 system at the moment

IT IS THE BEST LITTLE TRUE "Hi-Fi "SYSTEM YOU CAN BUY. You might have to find them second hand (WITH SPEAKERS MADE BY "MISSION")A month ago some company had them for £150.00

I had to change from an "AUDIONOTE" valve CD system with QUAD 57's. (THE best speaker ever made) due to having a smaller flat. The Denon was the only one that i looked at that sounds good. Would not recommend DM5 unit as I have heard of a few not "Changing over CD's" . "Richersounds" Are "TOP GUYS"

Be lucky

Tom Evans

I too have got a Denon DM3.

Great sound and punch from the little speakers. It copes with all genres of music brilliantly and it looks great too.

It was the product of the year winner in 2000.

I've got the mini-disc with the CD/tuner, which means that the total is just over budget at £550. However my mum haggled and got them down to £475.

Certainly worth a look for the money.

If you had more money, then I'd look at seperates, as I think that they do sound better, if you get the right setup.

Cheers,
Tom

NeilT

Hi

I used to work for QED Audio Systems so know a bit about this Hi-fi lark

If it were me I'd go to Richer Sounds and go for an Arcam setup - much better than a Denon system IMHO.

Also, get some decent speaker cables (but dont bother upgrading your interconnects). QED used to do some speaker cable called Qudos for around £2.25 p/m - makes a small difference if you have a half decent system

Neil

DavidBrown

£500 won't get you very far if you want CD/Amp/Speakers + stands for that money.

A good Denon AVC-A1SE or AVC-A10SE will cost you the thin end of £900 alone.

You could compromise and go for a AVR-1801 for £250 which still benefits from DTS and 5x70W, leaving you £250 for the other bits + bobs.. but then decent speakers aren't that cheap either..

stevem2k

I thought EMD just wanted a Hi-Fi ?


If you want a receiver, then there are still a few Denon AVR3800's about for 5-600 ish.

5.1/DTS and 105wpc - but as you say, expect another couple of hundred for cables/interconnects, and the best part of a grand for the speaker set.

but this is wandering off the original topic.

Steve

DIGGY

edited because what i said was utter toss!!!

Have a look in what hi-fi and see what they recommend........they usaully have at least one budget setup recomendation each month,

each person has their own "SOUND" which they fdeel sounds best........ go and have listen, take some cd's enjoy a cuppa and check out various set ups

if this thread were left open long enough each manufacturer would get a recomendation i am sure which will not help anyone (due to personnel taste)

For what it is worth, i have a pair of Home made Ariel speakers a 1950's valve amp plus a Arcam CD player and a Rega turntable with homemade interconnects and speaker cables....




[This message has been edited by DIGGY (edited 17 July 2001).]

BobaFett

also consider Technics and Pioneer, although your budget will restrict you interms of quality.

dowser

Aahhh - Hi-Fi. What is, what isn't It really is down to personal choice - too many variables between peoples tastes (listening & functional) to be able to say one stands out from the other really.

Given that, & IMVHO;

If you really want audiophile quality for that money, buy 2nd hand or build/modify your own lower end kit.

No single manufacturer is good at everything, so mix and match. And audition first!

But it's for the office - so you want a good sound system rather than high fidelity equipment. Either that, or I want a job at your place

Luke - are you saying the Denon sounded better than the Audionote system (what models?)? If so, you've very strange acoustics in your new flat!

Richard

Luke

Richard

NO !!
My original system consisted of
Micro Mega T. drive
Audio Note DAC .1
Audio Note Valve pre amp
Leak stereo 20. Re-built to give fantastic sound
Quad 57
Kimber power cables interconnects
Cord rumour speaker cable

This system was fed of a seperate mains unit.
It was set up in a large room with a good balance of soft furniture etc.
IT SOUNDED GREAT !!! (57's do have great bass if all panels are working...)

Had to sell all...... due to moving into a very small flat. I looked at "BOSE" which was not very good. "NAKAMICHI" not much better.... But the DM3 was great for what it is. I think the design is fantastic. As a complete system for the price I do not think it can be bettered. I have a good ear and find most systems a bit over the top !!!!!
Car Hi-Fi is mainly bad..... Too much bass and no stage..


Try one you will love it.

AND NEVER USE THE STANDARD INTERCONNECTS GIVEN THEY ARE RUBBISH. Even a £10.00 set between a CD and AMP will make a great difference.

Listened to a £48000.00 system once.. All over the place. Guy who payed for it just liked writing big cheques !!!!

BEST UPGRADE FOR Hi-Fi IS A COUPLE OF DRINKS.
YOU FORGET ABOUT TRYING TO JUSTIFY THE COSTS!!!! AND JUST ENJOY THE MUSIC> PITY WE CANT DO THAT WHEN WE DRIVE OUR SCOOBY'S !!

ENJOY

Eat My Dust

Just to let you know, I ended up going to Sevenoaks Hi-Fi in London. Asked for advice given my budget. Remember - I know nothing about hi-fi. He said better off going for a cheaper cd player, but with good speakers.

So I listened to three different sets of speakers - B&W,Mission,Jamo.

What I ended up with was a Denon UDM-30 cd/tuner;Jamo E800 speakers;speaker stands & cable.

And I'm pleased with the end result - not a powerful system, but the quality of the sound is very nice (IMO) and we don't need a lot of power anyway seeing as it's mainly for background music.

Thanks for all the advice - you pointed me in the right direction

EMD

Eat My Dust

Thought I'd replied to this topic, but it's gone awol!

Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I ended up going to Sevenoaks Hi-Fi after having been to Richer Sounds. The style police in my office were insistent on the hi-fi being a metallic colour rather than black, which ruled out most of what Richers Sounds had.

Knowing very little about hi-fi, I took the advice of the salesman. He suggested, for my budget, that I should get a good pair of speakers with a cheaper cd unit. Made sense to me.

So I listened to three pairs of speakers - B&W,Mission,Jamo. To my ears, the Jamo's won.

So I ended up with Denon UD-M30 cd/tuner;Jamo E800 speakers;speaker stands and cable.

I'm pleased with the result. Significantly less powerful than I would want if I was buying for my own home, but the quality of sound is very nice, and we're not going to be turning the music up too loud seeing as we're in an office.

Cheers again.

EMD

jsh

EMD

You made the right decision by purchasing the Denon, I have been in the HiFi industry and I currently work for one of the countries leading HiFi manufacturers and I have to say that the Denon is very good.

Just as a matter of interest, which branch of Sevenoaks did you visit?

Jason

Eat My Dust

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by jsh:
<B>EMD


Just as a matter of interest, which branch of Sevenoaks did you visit?

Jason[/quote]


I went to the one in Grays Inn Road in London - nearest to where I work, and recommended to me by a couple of people.

EMD