HiFi questions
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I've been wanting to setup a nice stereo system for a while but don't know much about it. Last time I bought a Hifi was in '92 and things have changed a bit. I only want stereo, not 5.1 or 7.1 channels, as I want to listen to music, I'm poor and I'm not really interested in movies. I've managed to obtain a pair of speakers that I'm told are very good - Celestion Ditton 44s, made in the UK in the 70's - but I don't have anything else yet. I've been looking for an amp, a cd player, digital tuner and some way to play music from my ipod and pc. The home theater receivers seem to have great support for networked media and ipods and you can get some great deals but all are 5.1 or 7.1 channels. Is anyone familiar with this kind of gear? Can you set them up for stereo? Do they have analogue audio inputs for cd-player etc? If I buy a more traditional integrated stereo amp how can I stream music to it?
_Josh_ wrote:
Celestion Ditton 44s, made in the UK in the 70's
The Celestions are an excellent brand, but if they're 20 years old (and have been used heavily), they may not be worth the trouble. Also check out Wharfedale and Tannoy. As far as amps go, it's hard to go wrong with a NAD integrated amp (not receiver). A word of caution: feeding MP3s into your system (assuming that's what you have on your iPod) isn't recommended - the loss of quality is instantly noticeable. BTW, I don't consider myself an audiophile - I'm just someone who enjoys listening to music and has been around decent hi-fi for several decades. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Get a 2nd hand Naim CD player
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_Josh_ wrote:
Celestion Ditton 44s, made in the UK in the 70's
The Celestions are an excellent brand, but if they're 20 years old (and have been used heavily), they may not be worth the trouble. Also check out Wharfedale and Tannoy. As far as amps go, it's hard to go wrong with a NAD integrated amp (not receiver). A word of caution: feeding MP3s into your system (assuming that's what you have on your iPod) isn't recommended - the loss of quality is instantly noticeable. BTW, I don't consider myself an audiophile - I'm just someone who enjoys listening to music and has been around decent hi-fi for several decades. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Thanks Ravi. When I was a kid a friend's father had a set of Celestion 66s which I remember as being amazing that's why when I saw the 44s I grabbed them. They still seem quite popular on the audiofile forums. I was wondering about the quality of compressed mp3 files, isn't it possible to rip cds in a loss-less format which would avoid this problem? Disk space is so cheap now I'm sure I can store my collection that way.
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Well, if you obtained a pair of used speakers you could do the same with the amplifier and the other stuff. To connect the iPod and/or a computer to an old analog amp you just need to get the right cables, and make sure the amplifier has enough inputs. A small advice is to check out the capacitors on the crossovers of the speakers. Original crossovers filters have cheapo electrolytic capacitors, if I remember correctly, that probably are completely dry by now. So you would probably do especially the midrange a favour if you exchange them for polypropylene capacitors, or at least new ones. If the speaker drivers are in a good shape you should have a pair of decent rock speakers with more than a decent punch in the bass.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
Second hand amps seem ridiculously expensive, it seems there is a 'retro' resurgence in 70s and 80s Hifi gear by the DJ set. This place have some nice looking kit but the prices are amazing[^] I've found some superseded Yamaha home theater receivers (like this one)[^] selling for about half price. Lots more bells and whistles :)
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Thanks Ravi. When I was a kid a friend's father had a set of Celestion 66s which I remember as being amazing that's why when I saw the 44s I grabbed them. They still seem quite popular on the audiofile forums. I was wondering about the quality of compressed mp3 files, isn't it possible to rip cds in a loss-less format which would avoid this problem? Disk space is so cheap now I'm sure I can store my collection that way.
_Josh_ wrote:
isn't it possible to rip cds in a loss-less format
Absolutely! I recommend FLAC. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Are they? I have one from about 1997 - it cost me £1200 new at the time but I wouldn't tave thought it would keep much value despite still being a wonderfully musical CD player (and far better than pretty much all standard CD players these days)
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Are they? I have one from about 1997 - it cost me £1200 new at the time but I wouldn't tave thought it would keep much value despite still being a wonderfully musical CD player (and far better than pretty much all standard CD players these days)
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EBay is your friend.
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EBay is your friend.
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I like them :) The best bet when buying any decent hifi is to listen to it using your own sources. I am not sure how viable that is with second hand gear but some specialist HiFi shops do sell pre-owned and will let you listen to it and offer advice.