Can anyone help me choose a mini hifi?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I learned by bitter experience, RM. I went on a hi fi buying spree in the 70s, and asked the same question. The salesman produced this record which has haunted my nightmares ever since. I think you got off lightly in comparison.

DISCLAIMER: Do not follow the link if you are of a nervous disposition.

I bought this to prove that I had won the £1,000,000 bet I made in 1961 - that Mozart's 40th would reach the Top 10. Sadly, my adversary defaulted on his obligation.

[cloughie]

I bought this to prove that I had won the £1,000,000 bet I made in 1961 - that Mozart's 40th would reach the Top 10. Sadly, my adversary defaulted on his obligation.

A propos of nothing really - Camborne Hill can be sung to the First Movement Of Mozart 40!

[Dave2002]

Having, over the past 24 hours, received to emails from Wow DVD proclaiming their "15% off everything" offer, I followed the link to their site, clicked on "Music", then "Classical" and got this. .

The New Release Classical Music section is not so bad - some interesting stuff there. Then there's the Classical Music Coming Soon section - Downton Abbey and Only Boys Aloud . I could if I didn't want to :cry:

[Thropplenoggin]

Thanks for the tip, Flosshilde....yes, I do occasionally come over and will give the Richer Sounds website a look, it might well give me the help I am looking for.

I, too, am in France. All electronic goods seem to be more expensive this side of La Manche. I did like-for-like comparisons with speakers and separates earlier this year, and sometimes there's as much as £50-70 difference between the cheaper Blighty and here.

[Flosshilde]

I assume that the delivery charges given by Richer Sounds apply to the UK only - it might be worth finding out how much they would charge for delivery to France. If it's less than the price difference between the UK & France it might be worth trying.

[MickyD]

I, too, am in France. All electronic goods seem to be more expensive this side of La Manche. I did like-for-like comparisons with speakers and separates earlier this year, and sometimes there's as much as £50-70 difference between the cheaper Blighty and here.

May I ask what dealers you consulted, Thropps? I would be keen to know which ones you found.

[MrGongGong]

I assume that the delivery charges given by Richer Sounds apply to the UK only - it might be worth finding out how much they would charge for delivery to France. If it's less than the price difference between the UK & France it might be worth trying.

If you twist my arm I'll go to the shops for you
in exchange for a few cases of Languedoc and a box of those little squid pies from Sete

[Paul Sherratt]

Have you any other favourite things from Sète, Mr GG ?


"Celles des titis, des grisettes.
Que vers le sol natal mon corps soit ramené,
Dans un sleeping du Paris-Méditerranée,
Terminus en gare de Sète. "

[Thropplenoggin]

May I ask what dealers you consulted, Thropps? I would be keen to know which ones you found.

In the Parisian environs, it was Hifissimo and Magma.

[hafod]

You might like to look at the Hyperfi website as it delivers beyond the UK which Richer Sounds and Superfi appear not to.

http://www.hyperfi.co.uk/bhifi-separatesb-c-1.html

It is some while since I bought from them and, altho' one swallow does not make a summer, I had no problems over an admittedly UK delivery.

[keithbraidwood2]

I have a Denon DM38 (it has been recently updated to the DM39). There's a rough rule of thirds when buying hi-fi separates. If, for example, your budget was £1000 you take off 10-15% for interconnects and speaker cable and split the remainder into thirds if you are looking for an amplifier, CD player and speakers.

For mini systems, I'd take off 10% for decent speaker cables and split the remainder for the unit and speakers. The DM38 I have was only £250 for the unit and matching Denon speakers but the main unit is so good it's been said you can use it with speakers up to £500/pair. I assume something similar with the updated version.

There are also units by Cambridge Audio (via Richer Sounds), Marantz, Teac, Onkyo. Richer Sounds are good but you can get items cheaper elsewhere (which Richer will, of course, match) but depends on delivery distance and timescale you require.

The Denon I have replaced a separates based system costing £1000-1500 and to me sounds just as good, if not a little better.

[Flosshilde]

Richer have the Denon DM39 for £250 excluding speakers, so you must have got quite a bargain! They don't seem to have any recommended speakers to go with it.

Ah yes, I've just found them. There are several options, starting with a package/bundle that only costs £30 more than the unit alone, up to £80 more.

[keithbraidwood2]

Richer have the Denon DM39 for £250 excluding speakers, so you must have got quite a bargain! They don't seem to have any recommended speakers to go with it.

Ah yes, I've just found them. There are several options, starting with a package/bundle that only costs £30 more than the unit alone, up to £80 more.

It WAS a bargain, yes, more so since I got it at John Lewis. Richer was more expensive. The Denon speakers are black, which is ok for me personally, but it depends on the decor/furnishings of the room you choose to put the system in.

From RS, the Cambridge Audio S30 speakers are very good. But, when you choose speaker cable you can get much better elsewhere (HiFi Cables for example).

Put simply, choosing a better quality mini system means you may have to look at several outlets for the unit, speakers and speaker cables. Not always the case admittedly but it depends on where you have it. The Denon is my main system as, living in a relatively small flat, I could no longer justify the rack and separate components of a 'true' hifi system. Besides, my book and CD collections are getting bigger! I do miss the separates but it was the logical thing to do. That said, when I move house...

[Resurrection Man]

Sorry but I don't buy into these oxygen-free/self-polarising/non-distorting/look pretty cables. You can't beat a decent bit of mains cable!

To prove the point, I stripped a length of twin and earth mains power cable down to the red and black and wandered off to one of those places in Tottenham Court Road where they had a set-up with knife switches and top of the range kit so they could compare different speaker cables. I asked the salesman if we could try mine against his state-of-the-art ones (mega expensive) as 'I thought I might be able to improve on mine'. So we spent an hour comparing them and in the end he reckoned that they were just as good as his very expensive jobbies...but perhaps the expensive jobbies had 'just a little bit more clarity in the top end?'. Then he asked me where I'd bought mine from. I won't repeat his words here.

[keithbraidwood2]

Sorry but I don't buy into these oxygen-free/self-polarising/non-distorting/look pretty cables. You can't beat a decent bit of mains cable!

To prove the point, I stripped a length of twin and earth mains power cable down to the red and black and wandered off to one of those places in Tottenham Court Road where they had a set-up with knife switches and top of the range kit so they could compare different speaker cables. I asked the salesman if we could try mine against his state-of-the-art ones (mega expensive) as 'I thought I might be able to improve on mine'. So we spent an hour comparing them and in the end he reckoned that they were just as good as his very expensive jobbies...but perhaps the expensive jobbies had 'just a little bit more clarity in the top end?'. Then he asked me where I'd bought mine from. I won't repeat his words here.

True...to an extent. Several (I won't say most) HiFi shops have staff who could not tell the different between a mains, HDMI, HiFi interconnect and USB cable. Even worse, their capacity for hearing the difference is so low as to be non-existent in many cases.

Cables DO make a difference but only if the listener and equipment merits it. Happily many companies offer a service for customers to test cables for a period at a minimal cost. Less important for mini systems, perhaps, but good to know.

By the way, what did your 'place' define as top of the range kit?