Advice for Stereo setup for music

[sandeepsasi]

Thanks all for sharing your insights and suggestions. When it comes to hifi jargon I'm just a kid so I did not understand many of the terms even after googling.

After reading through this and other threads, I think it makes sense to spend more on speakers, preferably new ones, and go for a used amp. The Wharfedale 230 floorstanders are 45k on Hifimart - which does not leave much for an amp at my current budget. The bookshelves are lesser, and I think hifimart has a sale going on in bookshelves.

If you are planning for bookshelves, don't forget to budget some money for speaker stands. I haven't done an extensive comparison of speakers prices - my knowledge is limited to the prices of speakers on hifimart.com. What I have seen is, below 50k, if you factor in the cost a good pair of speaker stands, there is always a pair of floor standers available for the price of a pair of bookshelf speakers + speaker stands + a small delta, and the trade-offs b/w the models compared more or less evens out. Most of the time, the choice then is governed by your room size and placement constraints. Of course, this observation is not valid if you compare a latest model with another on discount.

Among the various products that have been mentioned in this thread, my recommendation is Wharfedale Diamond 225, a gem - recommended both by theabsolutesound.com and stereophile.com, less fussy about placements and easy to drive. Pair them with Norge 2060, and you will still have budget for a good pair of speaker stands like Sound Foundations, Opal or Nexus from hifimart.com

 

[skroderider]

If you are planning for bookshelves, don't forget to budget some money for speaker stands. I haven't done an extensive comparison of speakers prices - my knowledge is limited to the prices of speakers on hifimart.com. What I have seen is, below 50k, if you factor in the cost a good pair of speaker stands, there is always a pair of floor standers available for the price of a pair of bookshelf speakers + speaker stands + a small delta, and the trade-offs b/w the models compared more or less evens out. Most of the time, the choice then is governed by your room size and placement constraints. Of course, this observation is not valid if you compare a latest model with another on discount.

Among the various products that have been mentioned in this thread, my recommendation is Wharfedale Diamond 225, a gem - recommended both by theabsolutesound.com and stereophile.com, less fussy about placements and easy to drive. Pair them with Norge 2060, and you will still have budget for a good pair of speaker stands like Sound Foundations, Opal or Nexus from hifimart.com

Thanks. This is a very useful recommendation. What other amps (e.g. Marantz) would you recommend pairing with the Wharfedale 225s? I know Marantz is out of my budget now, but there a few on sale in this forum and I can always save and wait if required (although waiting is difficult .

 

[sandeepsasi]

Thanks. This is a very useful recommendation. What other amps (e.g. Marantz) would you recommend pairing with the Wharfedale 225s? I know Marantz is out of my budget now, but there a few on sale in this forum and I can always save and wait if required (although waiting is difficult .

PM6006 is a highly renowned amplifier; Diamond 225 + PM6006 is a great combo as well. But this combo, with the speaker stands, will set you back by 66k.

 

[mshifi]

Hello everyone,

First of all I would like to thank all the members here for the immense help and expertise they provide.

I am a beginner in hifi audio, and now want to build up my hardware slowly. A few years ago I bought a Rega RP1 after being bitten by the vinyl bug. At that time I went for active speakers with a separate phono amp. The speakers sound good but now I want to go to the next level. I'm thinking of separates. Maybe I should have gone for separates at that time itself, but no point in revisiting that now

There are some things which I think I am clear about (goals) and others which I'm totally ignorant of (the actual buying).

Ideally I also want to be able to play my digital sources on the same setup - these are mostly CDs in ripped form and hi-res files bought online, stored on hard disk(s). I have not figured out this part yet, but my tentative plan is to use something like a RPI-based DAC setup that I can control from my phone.

I intend to use this purely for music. Primary genres include classic and hard rock, metal, 70's/80's pop, pre-90's Bollywood, regional folk music, and western classical. My room size is 21 x 12 feet, but some of it opens up into the dining hall, as in, there is a partition along half of the longer wall. Not sure how much that will matter. I am looking at something I won't be changing for a while, so I am open to investing in a good stereo amp all of whose features I might not use right now.

I have a CD collection but prefer to rip them and play the ripped files, preferably from a USB/hard drive.

Please do point out if any of my goals seem misguided - will be happy to be corrected. At some point in the future I intend to add a cassette player to the mix, but my primary sources for the time being will be vinyl and digital files.

My budget is 50k for both speakers and amp, and I'm open to used equipment. I'm looking for suggestions for both speaker and stereo amp. I have read good things about Norge amps, and I am inclined towards floorstanding speakers.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance.

If you are open to vintage, have a sansui amp and bose speakers

 

[skroderider]

PM6006 is a highly renowned amplifier; Diamond 225 + PM6006 is a great combo as well. But this combo, with the speaker stands, will set you back by 66k.

I have finalized the 225s. I guess this can be a neverending quest so I just went ahead and made the decision. There is a used PM6005 for sale in the For Sale section, however, even that exceeds my budget (after the speakers + stands). I have two options now - wait for a lesser priced Marantz or go for a Norge.

 

[skroderider]

If you are open to vintage, have a sansui amp and bose speakers

For speakers I have finalized new ones, but thank you for the offer.

 

[Ashenden]

Good choice with WD 225!
If budget is a constraint, you can postpone buying the stands and use the extra for the pm6005 on sale.

 

[skroderider]

Any recommendations for speaker cables? My current speakers are active, and the cables are RCA-XLR, so I won't be able to re-use them in the new setup.

 

[Ashenden]

Any recommendations for speaker cables? My current speakers are active, and the cables are RCA-XLR, so I won't be able to re-use them in the new setup.

I use chord silverscreen. DAC cables available on hifimart are also good

 

[skroderider]

Thank you all, for the recommendations and the guidance. It's easy to become lost with so many options, but this forum has been fantastic.

I have finalized the Norge 2060, and DAC cables to stay within my budget (since I had already bought the speaker stands). Waiting with bated breath now for delivery

 

[Ashenden]

Thank you all, for the recommendations and the guidance. It's easy to become lost with so many options, but this forum has been fantastic.

I have finalized the Norge 2060, and DAC cables to stay within my budget (since I had already bought the speaker stands). Waiting with bated breath now for delivery

Hi, congrats on the new audio system WD225 might sound a bit muddy out of the box and takes around 50+ hours of usage to sound their best!

 

[skroderider]

Hi, congrats on the new audio system WD225 might sound a bit muddy out of the box and takes around 50+ hours of usage to sound their best!

Thank you!

 

[sandeepsasi]

Congrats! Once the breaking-in is over, it will be great if you can post a few pics and write a review.

 

[skroderider]

Congrats on your purchase. The Wharfy is great for the price.

Congrats! Once the breaking-in is over, it will be great if you can post a few pics and write a review.

Thank you! I will.

 

[skroderider]

It's been a couple of months since I got the setup and I wanted to share my impressions. I recently added an RPI + Kali + Piano 2.1 player to the mix for my digital files. That seemed to be the best thing to do for a streamer/DAC/network player within my budget (again, thanks for all the advice in the numerous threads about the RPI based players).

The Norge seems to be a good buy for the price. It does not pay much attention to looks and packaging, but I'm ok with that. The Wharfedales, on the other hand, have really good looks. The challenge seems to be to keep them scratch and dust free. I cover them with cloth when not in use.

Overall, what I am enjoying more than my vinyl - which sound much much better than before - are my ripped CDs playing through the RPI. I'm hearing sounds and a clarity that I had never heard earlier. I think I have been added to the group of people who cannot listen to music on an inferior sounding system once they have heard it on a better one I have added the Spotify plugin to the RPI's Volumio based player, but running into some issues with queueing.

One downside is that this setup highlights any physical defects that the vinyl has. I might be reading too much into it, but pops and crackles seem more pronounced than before. This is a problem with the source, of course, not the system.

Once again, thanks a lot to all those who helped with valuable suggestions. Attaching a few photos.