Newly retired, new house, rekindling an old flame (music)

[Maelstrom]

Hello everyone. After years of lurking and admiring from afar, I thought it was finally time to introduce myself.

Life has undergone a bit of a reset recently. I’ve just retired, and sadly, I lost my wife last year. It’s been a quiet, strange time. But in the midst of that, I’ve taken on a project: a new house that I am finally able to model to my own liking.

The first thing I realised is that I have a room that is begging to be a listening space. Which leads me to my problem (and my joy): I’m trying to rekindle a love of music that went dormant for decades. Between raising a family, career pressure, and caring for my wife, the hi-fi sat silent. The CDs became coasters. The turntable became furniture.

Now, I have the time and the space. But I feel like a beginner again. My old system is... vintage (and not in a good way). I want to rebuild not just a stereo, but a relationship with music.

I’m not looking for clinical, analytical sound. I’m looking for emotional sound. The kind that makes you stop what you're doing and just listen.

So, I’m here to learn. I’d love your advice on where to start in 2026. If you were retired, building your dream listening room, and falling back in love with music for the first time in 20 years, what would you buy first? The speakers? The amp? Or just a really good streaming subscription?

Thank you for having me.

[Macca]

Hi Alistair

Your starting point should always be loudspeakers and room. Everything else follows from that.

If you can give us some more details about the space you're going to set up in and the amount of money you're prepared to spend (it doesn't need to be a large amount to get outstanding sound quality) then we can offer some advice.

[Maelstrom]

Hi Martin

Thanks, that's really helpful – and exactly the kind of grounding advice I need. I'm guilty of thinking about shiny boxes first, so I'll take your point: speakers and room first.

Here's what I'm working with:

The room is about 5m x 4m (roughly 16ft x 13ft), with a standard 2.4m ceiling. It's a new build, so currently bare floorboards (I can put down a rug), plastered walls, no soft furnishings yet. One wall has a large window. I'm not able to knock walls about, but I can position furniture and speakers freely.

Budget-wise, I'm thinking £3,000–5,000 to start. That's for speakers + amplification + a source (probably streaming, as I have no CDs or vinyl left). I can stretch a bit if something is a true "keep it for 20 years" investment.

I listen to: classic rock (Floyd, Zeppelin), female vocalists (Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell), jazz (Coltrane, Davis), and some classical – smaller scale, not huge orchestras.

I don't want analytical or fatiguing sound. I want music that makes me feel something. Warm, engaging, maybe slightly forgiving of imperfect recordings.

So with that in mind – what speakers would you put on my shortlist? And would you go standmount or floorstander for a room this size?

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Alistair

[Macca]

16' x 13' is a decent size space which gives you a lot of options.

Standmount or floorstander doesn't really matter, that configuration isn't really any indicator of what will work or not in any given space.

Most important thing with the room, especially since you want relaxed and non-fatiguing sound is plenty of soft furnishings. If you don't want wall to wall carpet you should aim to cover at least 80 percent of the floor with thick rugs. Likewise, curtains on the windows and some fairly chunky well padded fabric covered seating. This will all damp down reflections that cause glare and fatigue.

For loudspeakers, and I'm guessing you want to buy new, check out Wharfedale Super Linton https://www.wharfedale.co.uk/products/super-linton

Well balanced speaker that tends towards sounding 'warm and relaxed', so easy to listen to, but will still give high fidelity reproduction.

Not saying buy that specific speaker but it's one to use as a benchmark when comparing to others.

Most modern amplifiers will have no problem driving it. There's multiple options there, I'd suggest power output of at least 50 watts which you probably won't need as much but better to have it and not need it.

Look at amplifiers with the inputs you're going to need for your sources, and that have the aesthetics that you like. If you like old school looks the modern Yamaha amplifiers are competent and not over-priced. Again, just a benchmark.

I don't personally use streaming so I'm reluctant to make any recommendations there. Most members here do though, so I'm sure someone will chip in on that with some advice.

[Barry]

Welcome to AoS Alistair.

That is an exciting new project you have going, and Martin has already given you some good advice to start with. I admire the wide range of music you enjoy (very much to my tastes!), so the system should be essentially neutral sounding , but not boring.

Like Martin, I haven't investigated streaming, but there are several people here who have. Again, I am sure they will be willing to advise you.

Welcome again
Barry

[Macca]

Video here about the Linton speakers, not the exact same model but close. Erin knows what he's talking about unlike most reviewers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaxknyOrf3I

[Maelstrom]

Thanks for the replies so far, it's most encouraging!

If nostalgia were to bite, would there be any mileage in trying to regain what I had?

The core of it was a Rega Planar 3 with the RB300 arm – I think I had an Audio-Technica AT95E on it for most of its life. Nothing exotic, but it just worked. Amplification was a NAD 3020. I know, everyone and their dog had one, but that little thing drove my speakers surprisingly well.

Speakers were Wharfedale Diamonds – the original Mk I or II, I can't remember now. Sat on rickety Target stands. I had a Yamaha cassette deck (KX- something) for taping records and making mixes for the car. Never bought a CD player until the early 90s – I was a stubborn vinyl holdout.

It wasn't a high-end system by any stretch. But on a Sunday evening with the lights low and Kind of Blue or Rumours spinning? It made me happy. That's all I wanted.

Most of it got sold or given away during a house move in the late 90s. Kind of wish I'd kept the Rega now.

Have things really, noticeably and measurably improved since then (digital sources aside)?

[Macca]

Thanks for the replies so far, it's most encouraging!

If nostalgia were to bite, would there be any mileage in trying to regain what I had?

The core of it was a Rega Planar 3 with the RB300 arm – I think I had an Audio-Technica AT95E on it for most of its life. Nothing exotic, but it just worked. Amplification was a NAD 3020. I know, everyone and their dog had one, but that little thing drove my speakers surprisingly well.

Speakers were Wharfedale Diamonds – the original Mk I or II, I can't remember now. Sat on rickety Target stands. I had a Yamaha cassette deck (KX- something) for taping records and making mixes for the car. Never bought a CD player until the early 90s – I was a stubborn vinyl holdout.

It wasn't a high-end system by any stretch. But on a Sunday evening with the lights low and Kind of Blue or Rumours spinning? It made me happy. That's all I wanted.

Most of it got sold or given away during a house move in the late 90s. Kind of wish I'd kept the Rega now.

Have things really, noticeably and measurably improved since then (digital sources aside)?

Rega Planer 3 with RB300 and AT95E is the exact set up I sorted for a neighbour a few years ago. Deck was vintage from the 1980s. Yes it still sounds good although personally I like Nagaoka cartridges more than AT but he didn't want to spend more.

NAD 3020 was always a good buy as were the old Wharfedale diamonds. You could buy all that back for maybe £600/£800 from eBay. The only caveat is that amp and speakers will be 40 years old so potentially faulty or prone to fail.

Speakers have generally improved and you get more for your money now due to cheaper Far East manufacturing (not just wages but also automated processes and economy of scale). Plus you have a higher budget now, so yes you can get a lot better than that old system if you want to.

[shane]

I’ve been using Wharfedale Diamond 11.1s for the last four years driven by a Quad Vena 2 and they’re ridiculously good for the money. As with most of Peter Comeau’s designs they have the knack of disappearing into the background and letting the music flow without drawing attention to themselves. You find yourself enveloped in the music without really thinking about what’s producing it. I’ve been using it mostly fed by a Bluesound Node 2i using Qobuz and IDAGIO. Whilst it doesn’t quite give me the same emotional involvement as my TT2, it’s close enough to give me a brilliant listening experience.

I’ve not heard any of the new Wharfedale Heritage range but from what I hear they’re pretty special, with the best of them being the Aston, although you’re talking about £1700 or thereabouts.

[Pigmy Pony]

Hi Alistair, welcome to AoS.

My first thought speaker-wise after reading your opening post was Wharfedale Super-Linton, and that was before I'd seen Macca's reply! Might well give you just the sound you're after.

As for amplifier, well, this is one I've been considering as it looks like such a bargain, even though I don't actually need another amp...

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=...BAgIEBQ&adurl=

They even do a matching CD player (though there will be other possibly better models at around that price). I know you said you no longer have any CDs, but it wouldn't cost much to get going on a collection.