[mojo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey, you guys have Arcam, Harbeth, NAD, Naim, and Rega... We have to import that stuff.

True, but to be honest I've never been that impressed by most of their stuff. Well, Ruark do some quite reasonable floor standers and Arcam CD players are not too bad I suppose.

None of it's reasonably priced though. Where are the half descent sounding £50-100 near field monitors, for example?

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif My theory is that since the UK is geographically the furthest area from Japan/Asia, and because most of the gear comes from there, it takes more time and money to ship. Still, it's strange that the UK branches of worldwide companies continue to suffer from limited or lagging product distribution.

Actually I think it's probably just down to us accepting being ripped off. You have to understand that we are a miserable bunch, and not good at complaining. For years car prices were litterally thousands of pounds higher in the UK than in Europe, until the Consumers Association forced them to come down. I think it also doesn't help that most consumers here are ill informed and seem to make purchasing decisions based on hype and conversations with sales men. Quality has almost no value here - people either just buy the cheapest crap they can lay their hands on or the most expensive crap they can afford. For these reasons we will always be ripped off.

For those reasons also, I don't buy stuff in this country any more. Some of my friends get very upset when I go to Japan and spend money on audio gear. They think I should holiday in the UK and not take money out of the country. I tell them that if this country wasn't so bloody miserable and everything wasn't so ineffably crap I wouldn't have to. Most people are so xenophobic they can't accept that another country might actually be better though. They would prefer to stay on this sinking ship.

Er... sorry, rant over.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Some higher-end American companies are outsourcing their production and assembly to China, Japan, Malaysia, etc. The American business model is "cheap is good, cheaper is better."

Your friends have a point, though... If you don't support your own country's products, soon enough all of the capital/income/profits will end up funding another country. Solution: move to Asia.

Wow... I just calculated the shipping cost via USPS to send a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1s to the UK (26 lbs., 25"x14"x15"), and the lowest price was $105 USD. Ouch.

You could convince someone on eBay to ship it to you, and since they're only selling for $50-$65 there, the set might end up at around $155 USD total.

 

[mojo]

That's quite tempting... some are offering to ship for less than that and it could well be worth it. A lot of people like the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1s for music it seems.

Can you (or anyone) recommend good speakers for a t-amp and relatively close listening? Mostly for BGM and a bit of gaming. I would prefer not to bother with a sub if possible and have limited space.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you (or anyone) recommend good speakers for a t-amp and relatively close listening? Mostly for BGM and a bit of gaming. I would prefer not to bother with a sub if possible and have limited space.

For close listening and lower levels, almost any speakers will work... Most complaints about the T-Amp stem from its low power rating and inability to drive speakers with lower sensitivity to loud levels.

What are your options for some cheap local speakers?

 

[kugino]

i just decided to sell my z-2300. i thought it did a pretty good job for movies, tv, etc...until i just hooked up some wharfedale 8.1s (pretty cheap) to the signature 30, which i run out of my imac->stello DA100. yes, i lose the "subwoofer"...and even though the signature 30 puts out "only" 30 watts and the wharfedales are inefficient at 86dB, the sound is SO MUCH better than the logitechs. rich, full sound...and relatively good bass. and they're plenty loud at the knob at 9 or 10 o'clock...

the moral of the story (for me, at least) is that cheap monitors are usually preferable over most 2.1/2.0 computer-directed systems, given that you have a proper amp...even something cheap like the t-amp.

 

[pickwick]

I would go for the z10s. They are very powerful and they have lots of cool features due to the usb.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickwick /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would go for the z10s. They are very powerful and they have lots of cool features due to the usb.

Someone else described the Logitech Z10s earlier in the thread (page 1):
Quote:

Originally Posted by ceres /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am also contemplating the MS40s to replace my Z10 that are UTTER junk...