A thoroughly enjoyable budget system

[Gordon Steadman]

A friend out here has absolutely no idea what they are doing with audio and asked us to put a little system together so they could use their record player and iPod!!

I am sitting listening right now and this punches well above its weight. I don't think I will abandon the 57s/OTL just yet but this is just so much fun.

Bits bought on eBay and delivered to friend over there and bought out when they visited.

Arcam Alpha - £5 (The works seem to fill about 10% of the interior space)
Marantz CD62 - £7.50
Wharfdale Diamond 7pros - £5

Enjoyment is easily achievable on a tight budget!! Only one channel on the amp worked when it arrived but a quick squirt of WD40 on all the pots fixed that. Must get some proper switch cleaner.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I put a similar system together for a mate for under a hundred quid which consisted of the celestion ditton 15 speakers, marantz cd67, and a NAd 3020 integrated and some 5p a meter bell wire for speaker cable. It sounded bloody ace. The marantz Cd players are well known to be very tweakable. :eyebrows:

[Gordon Steadman]

The marantz Cd players are well known to be very tweakable. :eyebrows:

If you know what you are doing!! I would have to call on my local helpline (Alan - aka Firebottle) if any such shenanigans were to occur:eyebrows:

[Gordon Steadman]

Just for fun, I substituted the Alpha with a Musical Fidelity A100:eek:

Slight difference. Tonally much improved and the bass goes down much further. Great little speakers though. I reckon that, combined with the REL Quake, there is the making of a really good little system here.

Might have to keep it and think again:lol:

[Matt78]

It is quite amazing what can be achieved on a tight budget and I think it is very enjoyable playing around at this end of the market where the stakes are so low but the potential rewards so high.

[Naughty Nigel]

I put a 'budget' system together for my new study, so I can listen to music whilst I work.

I first looked at iPod docks, and seriously considered the Samsung DA-E750 (£460 and with valves in) until I actually listened to one. :( It then occurred to me that for the same price I could put a very reasonable separates system together.

I started with a pair of Celestion Ditton 100's from the loft, a Pioneer A-300 amplifier for £55, a Pioneer PD104 CD player for £50, and a Pioneer F208RDS radio tuner for £9.99! (£114.99 total, not including postage of some items.)

This setup sounded 'OK', but the speakers were showing their age. I somehow became attracted by Quad diminutive and very pretty looking 11L's, and was lucky enough to win a pristine pair in Bird's Eye Maple for just £125. I also won a pair of Mission stands for £24.00.

The new speakers and stands transformed the system, bringing clarity, openness and imaging on a completely different level. At this point I had spent £263.99 and felt very happy with my new system.

However, as we all know, it is difficult to let these things rest, and a slip of the mouse won me a second Pioneer amplifier, this time an A-400 for £78.50, and then a pair of Quad 12L's in Red Cherry Gloss for £180.

My son has very generously made space for the 11L's in his room, so I now have the following:

Pair Quad 12L's - £180.00
Mission Stands - £24.00
Pioneer A-400 - £78.50
Pioneer PD104 - £50.00
Pioneer F208RDS - £9.99

Grand Total: - £342.49


I wonder how much that little lot would have cost new, and how much it would cost to buy a 'better sounding' system?

Now I have a spare Pioneer amplifier I plan to 'upgrade' the A-400 (followed by the A-300) shortly, and will be heading to The Drawing Board for ideas.

I also bought a spare Quad FM4 tuner for my 'main' system downstairs for £50 in non-working condition. This cost me £2.20 to repair, plus a new fuse! :)

Nigel.

[The Barbarian]

For many years i used to buy High End audio equipment, i was never happy with any of it no matter what it was in in any combination compared to my old buget/mid range equipment. since then ive always always used cheap gear. This is why i generally get seen as making a mockery out of people that show off & babble on about their mega buck equipment, flashy this & flashy that.. Ofc i'm obviously def arn eye?

[Firebottle]

:goodthread:
There's enjoyment to be had from using some of the older gear, particularly if it is in a 'background sound' mode.

:cool: Alan

[Macca]

The problem with the megabucks systems is that the money is not spent in the right places. having said that I have heard (and owned) budget set ups that sounded pretty average to poor so it is possible to get it wrong at both ends of the spectrum.

[anthonyTD]

If it plays music well enough to put a smile on your face, and a tap of the sole, then at that particular moment, its all that matters.
I get a lot of enjoyment these days listening to 45's on my old AMI jukebox.:)
A...

[agk]

I've never had the cash for "High End" but the one time I bought brand new gear it was a load of old pony and broke down within hours.
If done carefully, using older/used gear avoids those pitfalls and the "burn in" phase too.

Also, much like modern motors, newer gear quite often looks pants and is a reinvention of the wheel with a bunch of gizmos that I really don't need.

[Gordon Steadman]

If it plays music well enough to put a smile on your face, and a tap of the sole, then at that particular moment, its all that matters.
I get a lot of enjoyment these days listening to 45's on my old AMI jukebox.:)
A...

Indeed it does. If it does that, its letting the music through which is all that really matters.

Does anyone know anything about the Marantz CD62?? I popped it into the main system and its a seriously nice sounding player. A quick look on the net suggests its the Marantz version of the Philips CD850 which seemed to get a very good press. Its a bit warmer than my Pioneer stable platter machine with a slightly better defined bass. Considering what it cost me I reckon that ranks as a bit of a bargain.

er..... that is my friend has/had/might have a bit of a bargain:eyebrows:

[sumday]

yep..budget system for me too.
roksan candy 3 donated by my son as he's gone file based, got a good amount of cd's for free too..most of his collection went for peanuts to a buying site.
NAD 3120 bought from a cash converters...55 quid.
the only "big cost" item was q2050i speakers bought before the price hike not long back.
the brightish cd player is balanced well into the darkish NAD and with some 79strand speaker cable and 20 quid leads this system never fails to bring a smile to my face....many a late night starts with a "just a couple of track moment"!!!