My Dads System

[Zoidburg]

My Dad is thinking about upgrading his system following a recent house move. Hes no hi-fi buff and dosnt wany to spend much much cash either.

Hes got a very old NAD receiver which is on the way out and a philips CD player and a pair of ancient JPW speakers. He likes his NAD stuff an will probably stay with the brand but get something a bit newer (matching amp and cd player) but buy 2nd hand. I doubt I could pursuade him to change from NAD so lets not worry about that too much.

However can anyone recommend any speakers either small floor standers or stand mounters that would work well with the NAD kit. They have to be fairly cheap (maybe up to £150) and not too big either. Something that could be easily picked up on ebay of via a forum maybe.

Hes seen on ebay someone selling a NAD cd (522) and amp (C320) along with a pair of B&W DM 601 s2 speakers that hes very interested in. Anyone go any thoughts on this set up and what it might be worth?

Cheers,

[jazzpiano]

Hi Ben,

Love your query because it makes me think of a question I always have: How to gradually get someone who's showing interest, into hi-fi and especially, music? But first, out of courtesy I want to respond to your question. I'm not familiar with that particular B&W model but in general I think most of their smaller models would work, as I used to work at a shop many years ago that sold B&W with NAD amps, receivers. (Mostly we sold Polk w/ NAD because they were good MOR performers and Polk would supply us w/ a crapload of replacement parts if there were any problems. They are not as good as B&W though.) Alot of folks seem to like Epos speakers, and these may work. I've seen people use the older, small Magnepan SMGs also. In small, not too expensive, not particularly hard to drive speakers I'm fond of Spica TC-50s, JR - 149s, and I have a friend in NY who says that Sequerra Met 7's work really well with his Harmon-Kardon receiver and Rega set-up (these are VERY small though). Hope this helps. I realize some of these may not be available where you are.
But what about a thread addressing friends who would really like to get into music with something better than just having the washing machine salesman hand him a box filled with a rack system? I have a neighbor who wants to get into different kinds of music versus the mainstream and would like to get a little more serious music player than his kid's boombox but, doesn't want to get into big $$$, capacitor negotiations, etc. - at least not yet. It'd scare him away. I think a beginner sub-topic with recommendations of equipment that punches well-outside its weight class would be helpful. Unfortunately, here in the states there's no appreciation of integrateds so we rarely ever even get into it. What do you think?
Best,
Barry :punch:

[Alex_UK]

What do you think?

There's only one way to find out, Barry. ;)

Start that thread - I'm sure we'll have plenty to say!

Meanwhile, can't help with the OP I'm afraid as I've never heard NAD/B&W as far as I recall.

[Zoidburg]

Cheers for the replys guys, looks like my dad is now the proud owner of a new nad / b&w system for just a few quid over £200. He's pretty happy so far and I think once he has it all set up and plumbed in il burn him a load of new cd's to have a listen to. I think compared to what he's used to this will certainly notice an improvement in sound and I'm willing to bet he might even start buying a few new albums himself.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Why don't you buy him an extra set of interconnects for Christmas?
When he asks you what they are for, tell him he should use them to connect up the DAC that he should be buying for himself!
Then introduce him to our Stan.

[Zoidburg]

I think i might be able to sell him my DAC when I get my next round or upgradeitis lol