Hi-Fi advice

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004UFQG/002-6431960-7210430?v=glance

plus this:

https://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=PARPHP850

N. - RS dodgy brands. I was thinking of the Eltax, CyberSwarf, Acoustik Environs, Sonic Balloon nonsense, but, yeah, Cambridge Audio is the one that everyone knows they now own. Their stuff might be good, but I can't help but be dubious.

If you want new, then NAD is a good mid price brand but be warned they are very clinical and need a warm speaker to go with it. Stick with second hand though, you will be rewarded.

the cyrus is just a stop gap, it will eventually be replaced with a naim or quad.

used to use this cheapo turntable that had a built in volume knob. the machine petered out, and a friend showed pity and gave me a Technics she had no use for.

now, I used to plug into the phono jack of of a crap Sony cassette/cd/radio single stereo unit. the problem i have now is that even at highest volume, i only hear the faintest of music. on the prior table, i could crank the volume along with the Sony's volume and get a lot of sound.

i dont think anything is wrong here, i am guessing the Technics isn't supposed to produce a loud signal, esp since it has no means to govern it's own output. what do i need here? i'm not into getting a new (real) stereo setup, so do i need a preamp or a mixer? are there any cheap solutions? i don't want to buy overpriced DJ crap, as i'm not mixing two signals. just want to play some thrift shop records i happen to have. anyone have something inexpensive they can recommend?

anybody got any opinions on Rega RS1 speakers vs. these? I have the RS1s, which, with a subwoofer, are the nicest sounding speakers I've ever had, but I'm kinda smitten with the Martin Logans

Anyone got one of these? (Roberts Bluetune 100)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roberts-Blutune100-Bluetooth-Sound-System/dp/B008R870GO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479668782&sr=8-1&keywords=roberts+100

Any thoughts or recommendations for alternatives?

(Basically ... looking for a bedroom/kitchen stereo).

Bought the above but have returned it. Too bass-y, even with bass turned down to minimum. Probably not much use for the bedroom (too complicated to lean over and turn it down in the dark).

Hello

My old 1990s amp is crapping out. I am going to replace it with a 70s amp off ebay. My budget isn't huge - about £150 - but there are lots of nice amps on there. Is there anything I should look out for or avoid? Any particularly good/bad brands?

My head is v easily turned by illuminated volume meters.

timely! my cheap 90s technics amp has also just decided that sometimes it only wants to play the right-hand channel. don't know if this is an easy fix or if I should just replace with something better?

We just finished part of our basement and were hoping to set up a little home theater system down there. Anyone have any advice on buying a $500 or less system? We're looking at the Onkyo HT3900 5.1 system, but if anyone knows anything better around that price range, I'd love to know.

anyone know anything about swapping the woofers out in old speaker cabinets? i shredded the cones in my ancient wharfedales that i got supercheap at a carboot sale and i quite like the big scruffy old cabs cos they're good for sitting on or for somewhere to put your mug of coffee on without feeling bad about it. i have to say they never sounded all that great since i had them anyway, i think they were already on the way out perhaps but they were really muddy in the bass. so i have the urge to replace the 8 inch drivers to see if i can get them sounding passable but i'm not too bothered about achieving amazing fidelity or anything as i already have some good sounding dali bookshelves that i'm fairly content with. what i don't know about at all is matching the power rating with the amp or that whole side of it. if i have an amp that's 30 watts per channel, what sort of spec do i need to look for? any recommended budget-but-decent brands?

I can't recommend any specific drivers but afaik you don't need to worry about the amplifier being too powerful for the speakers as nearly any decent new or vintage speakers will be able to handle any reasonably powerful amplifier. That being said I'm not recommending you connect a 200 wpc amp into bookshelves and then crank them but generally speaking it is a non-issue.

Much more important to good sound is making sure the amp is powerful enough to drive the speakers as, if you have inefficient speakers, 30 wpc may not be enough to drive the speakers well. You also need to be mildly cognizant that the speakers' impedance rating is matched to the amps'. Some amps will have different terminals for connecting to speakers of different ratings, though not all will. 8 ohms is the most common impedance so most likely not an issue, but if the speakers are 2 or 4 ohm it may be a concern.

I would start by trying to find out what brand of driver the wharfedales originally used. If it was a big brand (JBL or something) you may be able to find a current replacement version or even vintage drivers for not much money.

that's really helpful, thank you!

did some googling and this is the spec:

Power Handling - 35-watts DIN
Suitable amplifier matching - 10-watts to 40-watts R.M.S.
Frequency Response - 60-Hz to 20-kHz at ±3-dB
Crossover Frequencies - 1-kHz, 4.5-kHz (9-element)
Sensitivity - 87-dB S.P.L.
Impedance Matching - 4-Ω to 8-Ω

might try one of these as it's the right sort of ballpark pricewise:
https://www.cybermarket.co.uk/monacor-spp-200-8-midrange-speaker-842158.html

or maybe i'm just being a fool and it would be cheaper to dump them and buy some different speakers altogether?

Sorry, one other concern would be making sure the frequency response of the driver you add covers the frequency response of the one you are removing. Are the 8 inch drivers in the wharfedale the bass driver, the mid-range or covering both? The driver you linked to says it is a mid-range driver.

In frequency response, the first number is usually in Hz and represents the the low frequency (bass) and the higher number usually in kHz is the high frequency. Assuming the 8 inch driver is just the base driver, you would want the replacement to go down to 60-Hz as well. The frequency response for the driver at the link you provided (f3-3500Hz) is a little confusing but I think that means 3-3.5khz which would be a midrange, not a bass driver, afaict.

If the 8 inch driver is also the midrange, it's probably beyond my knowledge to know how to go about looking for a replacement unless you can identify the specific specs of that specific driver (as opposed to the specs of the speaker as a whole).

I am not that DIY so I would probably be looking for a cheap replacement on Craigslist depending on budget. Obviously sentimental value, desire for a DIY project, budget, or not putting them in a landfill might influence that decision.

Thanks, that's a great help! I think the 8-inch currently in the speaker is the bass (it's one of three speakers in the cabinet). The first crossover frequency listed is 1kHz so I'm assuming that's the point where the frequencies get passed to the mid? (i really don't know anything about this subject so maybe that's a stupid inference on my part)

The frequency response for the driver at the link you provided (f3-3500Hz) is a little confusing

yes it is! i read it as a hypothetical 3Hz to 3.5kHz, so that's probably somewhat idiotic of me

ah wait, i should've googled f3: 'f3 denotes the frequency at which the driver's output is 3 dB below its "flat" response'

so if "max frequency range f3-3,500Hz", that just means the output of the speaker drops off after 3.5 kHz

but yes, that monacor one is listed as a midrange unit, so you're quite right, i think i do need to be looking at a bass driver instead

If you like the speakers as a piece of furniture, you could always remove all the inards of the dead pair and put a smaller set of speakers inside the current cabinet.

true, but i'm not sure i'm quite attached to them enough to put in that sort of effort. i like their solid robust look but they are pretty fugly tbh (b is certainly no fan!). i guess i'm just idly dreaming that maybe i could transform them into big booming beauties with minimum outlay and that would justify having them cluttering up the place, but maybe i'm kidding myself that i could do that reasonable cheaply. but you have made me think that i could also just gut them and use the boxes as storage for 7" singles or even window boxes or something, could probably fit about 300 records or eight geraniums inside the pair of them

just put out my stereo for council collection, was the first thing i bought when starting work and it still had the receipt taped to the back of one of the speakers

£470 on 30/12/1989

which according to bank of england's calculator:

"£470 in 1989 would be worth £1,178.51 in Jul 23"

which is a bunch of money for something that was middling at best. aiwa midi system, twin tapes, separate 6-cd using a cartridge and attached via a ribbon cable, plasticky turntable, speakers. it's an aiwa cx-77

(i'd post am image here but it has characters in the url that ilx doean't like)

main system has been replaced by separates over the years but the above was still in use about 5 years ago as a bedroom system, because of the alarm. one christmas i unplugged it and just never plugged it back in again. nowadays i just use my phone.

;_; rip.

pour one out for the "stack" system, kids don't even know

inflation is one thing but id imagine that a like for like equivalent spend on something on the same scale of todays high end would be multiples of that?

You'd be out of luck with the tape deck (or a CD changer for that matter), but I think you could spend around £400 in Richer Sounds (maybe even Currys?) and walk out with CD+DAB+Bluetooth+amp+vinyl+speakers (Denon/JBL level of stuff). Not high-end by any means but probably comparable with a semi-integrated 1989 Aiwa stack. (I remember it well, koogs... I think I heard Comforts of Madness on CD in yr old place on that ;) )

The high-end has galloped away in pricing, but there's (surprisingly) still something like an entry level of new audio gear at roughly '90s prices. Amps, bookshelf speakers, turntables (not so much CD or radio, unless they're part of an all-in-one). Can't vouch for the build quality of this stuff but it can't be any worse than my shoddy Sherwood receiver, back in the day.

i look at replcements like the LG CM2460DAB or a Denon DM41 and they look shiny enough but the two things that catch my eye in the description are 'clock' and 'sleep timer'. i'd probably be better off with an alarm clock. #middleage

the aiwa was actually from OG currys back when tewkesbury had a currys in the high street (opposite woolworths)

based on the conversation on Teen First Dates last night i should've sold my midi deck as a collectable antique. it's all about 80s tech.

not quite hi fi but the 80s vintage walkman market is wild

Would I regret buying either of these?

https://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p-38740-nad-c-316bee-v2-integrated-amplifier.aspx

https://www.richersounds.com/cambridge-audio-axa35-lunar-grey.html

Currently have a Cambridge Audio Azur 351C CD player and a Yamaha KX-390 cassette deck (with a long-standing plan to buy a record player but there always seem to be other expenses ...)

My last amp just ... stopped. I did take it to a nearby hi-fi repair place and he advised putting it in the bin. "I could charge you to try and find the problem but then I wouldn't be able to get the parts to repair it," was the gist.

I think the key question you need to answer is, do you want a silver amp or a black amp

A friend of mine in the 90s who produced jungle tracks told me that when he sold all his silver equipment and bought black equipment all his stuff started sounding way better. Or maybe it was vice versa. In any case

I have had a couple of Cambridge amps and have been very happy (I would likely still be on the first but it got zapped when my house got struck by lightning)

also just aesthetically it would look nice with your CD player and you could probably use the amp remote for both. Cambridge and NAD are both great, there really isn't a wrong answer here.

I don't think you'd regret either. I might lean cambridge audio just because some caps went on my ancient nad c316bee & it started cutting out a lot, but I don't think I'd looked after it super well. CA have an ebay store with refurbs and open box deals if you're looking for a bargain. 10% off at the mo.

I have a very old NAD 3020 that I picked up for pennies ages ago which I just absolutely love. I'm guessing the NAD of the 70s and the NAD of half a century later have very little in common, but I would definitely at least be open to them if I were looking for a new amp.

you can get amazing used amps for like £60 on eBay. of like all these models. i realise it's a leap of faith but presumably if it's listed in working order it should be fine?

that's definitely what i would be doing if my 30-year-old yamaha av receiver ever bit the dust.

Went that way for a CD player and I know I'd end up in a 3-6 month vintage amp bargain research project. Lot to be said for a solid shiny commodity with a two-year warranty.

I absolutely get this, tbh. I have a couple of old Trio and Sansui amps in the kitchen and my office that I picked up for buttons, but they need work - crackly pots, intermittent sound failure, a sort of numbness on the left channel on one of them - but I don't know who to get fix them, don't want to fork out much cash and don't want to be without them while they're being fixed.

Thanks, all.

I love it when people ask for recommendations here and people are like “just buy something on eBay”

why is that weird?

The volume knob on my NAD C 368 might be the worst thing I've ever used? You have to turn it up verrrry slowwwwly or it will actually turn the volume down. Nothing to be done about this I assume?

Looking it up, being a hybrid digital amp the volume control is probably a rotary encoder rather than a potentiometer. It may be dirty inside and sending the wrong signal, or the soldered connection may have cracked. Either is fixable, I’d take it to a repair shop if you’re able.

lol Tracer Hand I was just being a whiney brat, I asked for specific cd player recommendations years ago and (probably incorrectly) felt the general tenor of the responses to be “why would you buy a new anything, let alone a cd player, and why would you want to buy something that only plays CDs? Just pick up a dvd player at the thrift store”

haha no i just meant ebay has a lot of good stuff, you can type in specific model numbers etc - a lot of choice

lukas try spritzing it with deoxit and then rotating it rapidly back and forth a number of times

and yeah brimstead ilx can be weirdly anti-fidelity, probably everybody reading the audiophile snake oil thread and thinking the only way to not be a sucker is to not play.

i remember some dude posting a while ago that he’s fine just listening off his laptop speakers, which seems wild to me

and in the end makes no sense to me - it’s a board for people who love music, why wouldn’t you want it to sound nice?

doesn't it seem like buying a stereo is a hugely expensive endeavor though, in the present day, relative to what we expect to pay for laptops and TVs and stuff like that? Like a really nice 4K TV can be had for like $400 but a really nice amp/speakers is like $1200 or something. A turntable that isn't aggressively shitty is like $250-300.

I think part of it is fewer people buy nice audio gear, so it's more expensive to manufacture. 4k TVs are produced in the millions probably, whereas even popular amps are produced in the thousands, and likely have higher quality components.

Also I'd feel a bit sus about a 4k TV at $400 that's larger than 28 inches, my computer monitor cost more than that

yeah a vinyl setup def costs more new which is where the ‘go to a thrift store or ebay’ advice comes up a lot

but if you’re just streaming or even downloading from soulseek, a pair of powered monitors and maybe an offboard DAC is about $4-500. or heck a little headphone dac/amp and a pair of nice cans runs similar.

I got one of these a while back https://wiimhome.com/wiimmini/overview and it’s one of the best bits of kit I’ve bought and one of the cheapest ways to upgrade your hifi.

Previously I’d been happy streaming over Bluetooth but difference is very noticeable. Like giving a dirty window a polish, so much cleaner and clearer. I use it with Tidal so makes the most of the FLAC files they use:

The big thing which people have mentioned before: Speaker placement

v many xposts. i have bee extremely happy with my cambridge audio amps and cd player. one of the best purchases i’ve made in the last few years. (also got an inbuilt bluetooth optimised codec iirc)