[TubeHiFiNut]

  Seriously I don have much knowledge on home audiophile setup let alone, brands, models, etc but I will go read up on the McIntosh Amps as you mentioned. Will do more research before committing on any purchase

Appreciate being new at audio. I was there once myself. Caught the audio bug in ~1970.....
 
The speakers I mentioned will not be as finicky about where you place them and will still sound good. Plus listening distance and 'sweet spot' are not as critical.
 
A good vintage amp (McIntosh, Marantz, Pioneer, Luxman are all very good) will give you the best flexibility to not only have fun listening now but will protect your investment. Same with buying vintage studio monitors that are and will remain in demand.
 
My advice to you is to buy this kind of equipment the first few times (once you catch the audio bug you will understand) and learn in your own room with your own music and your own ears what works and what doesn't. All this fun and it does not have to put you in the poor house.....
 
Please let me know if this is helpful. I am always available to provide an opinion on whichever vintage gear you are looking at - if you decide to go down this path.
 
Whatever you choose to do, have fun and enjoy listening!

 

[delrosa81]

  Appreciate being new at audio. I was there once myself. Caught the audio bug in ~1970.....
 
The speakers I mentioned will not be as finicky about where you place them and will still sound good. Plus listening distance and 'sweet spot' are not as critical.
 
A good vintage amp (McIntosh, Marantz, Pioneer, Luxman are all very good) will give you the best flexibility to not only have fun listening now but will protect your investment. Same with buying vintage studio monitors that are and will remain in demand.
 
My advice to you is to buy this kind of equipment the first few times (once you catch the audio bug you will understand) and learn in your own room with your own music and your own ears what works and what doesn't. All this fun and it does not have to put you in the poor house.....
 
Please let me know if this is helpful. I am always available to provide an opinion on whichever vintage gear you are looking at - if you decide to go down this path.
 
Whatever you choose to do, have fun and enjoy listening!

Thanks for being so helpful and sharing so much of your experience and knowledge. Maybe I can share why i started considering a Home Audio Setup, I am actually solely into portable audiophile rigs then I since i invested quite a fair bit into my audio equipment, i could setup a desktop amp + speakers and use my DAPs with my Chord Hugo.
 
So far I have read that Burton Conductor have very good synergy with the chord hugo. The Burton conductor isnt too exp and I can spend more on a good set of speakers. But I am still reading and learning, will take some time before i actually go out and buy something as I have learnt from my portable rigs that I spent too much buying and trying.

 

[TubeHiFiNut]

  Thanks for being so helpful and sharing so much of your experience and knowledge. Maybe I can share why i started considering a Home Audio Setup, I am actually solely into portable audiophile rigs then I since i invested quite a fair bit into my audio equipment, i could setup a desktop amp + speakers and use my DAPs with my Chord Hugo.
 
So far I have read that Burton Conductor have very good synergy with the chord hugo. The Burton conductor isnt too exp and I can spend more on a good set of speakers. But I am still reading and learning, will take some time before i actually go out and buy something as I have learnt from my portable rigs that I spent too much buying and trying.

 
Understood. Like you, I spent a lot of money on the 'flavor of the month' amp, speaker, turntable, cable (don't even get me started on cables..... ). 
 
I am not very current on the newer, more headphone specific, amps and will have to defer to others on that front.
 
I see no reason, however, that your source player would not work fine with any of the vintage amps around.

 

[cel4145]

Seriously I don have much knowledge on home audiophile setup let alone, brands, models, etc but I will go read up on the McIntosh Amps as you mentioned. Will do more research before committing on any purchase

Be sure to check out this 2 channel audio forum. Lots of stereo speaker enthusiasts. And they can provide you with more options than pro audio monitors and McIntosh amps.

 

[TubeHiFiNut]

Be sure to check out this 2 channel audio forum. Lots of stereo speaker enthusiasts. And they can provide you with more options than pro audio monitors and McIntosh amps.

Doesn't have to be a Mac....Marantz, Pioneer and Luxman also make great vintage equipment.
 
2 Channel Audio Forum looks pretty interesting. I'll have to check it out.
 
Curious regarding your take on speakers?
 
Thank you.

 

[cel4145]

As I already said, I don't think buying vintage equipment is easy for one new to the stereo hobby, and it may require service to bring it back up to original performance. And it used to be a much better deal before it became the hip thing to do in the last ten years. And then, depending on the market where he lives, the selection may be very poor. Just not really practical for newbies.

For speakers, he hasn't even stated yet whether or not he can use towers or monitors. Nor the genres of music he listens to. A good home audio setup needs to be designed to fit the user's listening tastes and room. Don't know what country he lives in (which affects price/performance values and the equipment that is available.). Don't know if he's going to use room treatments. And don't know if a sub is the right choice. For this kind of setup, it's not a case of "hey go buy these speakers and this amp" without knowing a lot more. At least, these are the kinds of things that he'll probably be asked if he goes to that 2 channel audio forum. And this is the way to avoid the "flavor of the month" equipment purchases you described. Otherwise, he might as well just go read Stereophile, Sound and Vision, and Audioholics and just pick whatever catches his fancy.

 

[TubeHiFiNut]

As I already said, I don't think buying vintage equipment is easy for one new to the stereo hobby, and it may require service to bring it back up to original performance. And it used to be a much better deal before it became the hip thing to do in the last ten years. And then, depending on the market where he lives, the selection may be very poor. Just not really practical for newbies.

For speakers, he hasn't even stated yet whether or not he can use towers or monitors. Nor the genres of music he listens to. A good home audio setup needs to be designed to fit the user's listening tastes and room. Don't know what country he lives in (which affects price/performance values and the equipment that is available.). Don't know if he's going to use room treatments. And don't know if a sub is the right choice. For this kind of setup, it's not a case of "hey go buy these speakers and this amp" without knowing a lot more. At least, these are the kinds of things that he'll probably be asked if he goes to that 2 channel audio forum. And this is the way to avoid the "flavor of the month" equipment purchases you described. Otherwise, he might as well just go read Stereophile, Sound and Vision, and Audioholics and just pick whatever catches his fancy.

All good points.
 
delrosa describes a shared living area that will still have his computer, TV etc. in the same room. My presumption (always dangerous) is that putting up room treatments and completely taking the area over for audio equipment may not be feasible. Hence the thought process of using speakers that are not as critical regarding room, listening distance, stand or shelf mounting, etc.
 
From his previous posts, he listens to "Mixed Genre, usually, Pop, Jazz, Classical and Rock". 
 
I respect your opinion regarding buying used hi-fi and would caution delrosa to use more mainstream avenues like eBay if there is not an active local used equipment community.
 
Thank you.

 

[cel4145]

True about room treatments. But sometimes you find out that someone has a lot of windows with tile or wood floors, and just a piece of carpet in the listening area can help a good bit. And if the speaker placement and room acoustics are awful, a mid-level AVR with room correction might be the way to go, since a smoother frequency response beats out more expensive refined amp, IMO.

 

[delrosa81]

Be sure to check out this 2 channel audio forum. Lots of stereo speaker enthusiasts. And they can provide you with more options than pro audio monitors and McIntosh amps.

Thanks for pointing me to more info
 
 

As I already said, I don't think buying vintage equipment is easy for one new to the stereo hobby, and it may require service to bring it back up to original performance. And it used to be a much better deal before it became the hip thing to do in the last ten years. And then, depending on the market where he lives, the selection may be very poor. Just not really practical for newbies.

For speakers, he hasn't even stated yet whether or not he can use towers or monitors. Nor the genres of music he listens to. A good home audio setup needs to be designed to fit the user's listening tastes and room. Don't know what country he lives in (which affects price/performance values and the equipment that is available.). Don't know if he's going to use room treatments. And don't know if a sub is the right choice. For this kind of setup, it's not a case of "hey go buy these speakers and this amp" without knowing a lot more. At least, these are the kinds of things that he'll probably be asked if he goes to that 2 channel audio forum. And this is the way to avoid the "flavor of the month" equipment purchases you described. Otherwise, he might as well just go read Stereophile, Sound and Vision, and Audioholics and just pick whatever catches his fancy.

Seriously Im not really sure whether Im going for towers or monitors and for genres, maybe pop, jazz, classical and rock. I wont be using any room treatments and I most prob wont be going with a sub. I'm living in Singapore and I might be going around the local stores to try out the different equipment available.

 

[delrosa81]

BTW I just reached home after touching down earlier in the evening therefore wasnt active in my responses
 
Thanks and really appreciate all the info provided!

 

[cel4145]

Seriously Im not really sure whether Im going for towers or monitors and for genres, maybe pop, jazz, classical and rock. I wont be using any room treatments and I most prob wont be going with a sub. I'm living in Singapore and I might be going around the local stores to try out the different equipment available.

That's the absolutely best thing to do. Just go listen and pick out what you like

 

[delrosa81]

That's the absolutely best thing to do. Just go listen and pick out what you like

Thanks cel4145! Will drop by to update once I finally decided
 
Cheers!

 

[sonorsnoopy]

For a nearfield setup you will need a speaker that excels at low volume. I would strongly suggest to listen to ADAM A3X Studio Monitors (Active, fast, great bass quality, low price, great performance like a 2k audiophile hifi speaker) or Mini Maggies from Magnepan (Ultra refined fast sat sub system, amp required). A KEF LS50 is not as refined as those two and only comes to life at higher levels.

 

[joeexp]

Also have a look at those babies: ADM9RS http://www.avihifi.co.uk/products.html
You won't need a DAC or an Amplifier > They are active!
And you can add a sub in case you don't have enough bass

 

 

[delrosa81]

  For a nearfield setup you will need a speaker that excels at low volume. I would strongly suggest to listen to ADAM A3X Studio Monitors (Active, fast, great bass quality, low price, great performance like a 2k audiophile hifi speaker) or Mini Maggies from Magnepan (Ultra refined fast sat sub system, amp required). A KEF LS50 is not as refined as those two and only comes to life at higher levels.

Thanks sonorsnoopy, I will go check it out but Im not sure whether the local audiophile stores carry these brands.
 

  Also have a look at those babies: ADM9RS http://www.avihifi.co.uk/products.html
You won't need a DAC or an Amplifier > They are active!
And you can add a sub in case you don't have enough bass

 

 
Thanks joeexp! Will take a look at these babies as well!