Hi, My power amp from USA arrived, but held in Ipoh custom, my mom receive a letter but I have not yet have chance to read it, is it I have to pay for amplifier tax:
15% import rate + 10% sales tax?

Hello guys, I'm new to HiFi and stereo. I dug up my dad's old HiFi system the other day. I currently have an old Yamaha DSP A5 AV Receiver. It seems to be working well with an old bookshelf speaker (I don't know what model is that) that my dad owned. I have it connected to my laptop. Anyway, I'm looking to upgrade the system. Should I stick with the old Yamaha as my speaker amp since I have a tight budget or I should get a new integrated amp since I'm using with a laptop and also for better sound quality . For speakers, I'm currently looking at Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 or 10.2. I'm not sure which amp to buy. My maximum budget is RM1,500 for both amp and speakers. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by zorbyss.: Apr 9 2015, 10:16 AM

You better hunt used unit, try hifi4sale.net you should find something there..

So, the first week of April has gone by. GST is in force now...just how much import tax and GST did you pay for your power amp anyway?

argh...a pain ass load of money on the tax, around 600+, nevertheless it's impossible to get affordable and state of the art power amp in BOLEH land, never! I'll buy again but I know what to do next hehe

hmm, first of all what's the reason to upgrade? Must be clear what yourself need, building what kind of setup? I got a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 122, they are very good, if listen at small to medium volume at close field, and bass resonance handle is pretty good, in terms of fatigues, definitely not better than a pairs of gorgeous Wharfedale Denton, which is more laid back and suitable for long time listening, depends what you looking for, set the budget first, and decide whether you go for DAC, solid state/tube, home cinema setup etc.

This post has been edited by wim1983: Apr 10 2015, 01:13 AM

Ya...set the budget first. Most important thing to do. High end hi fi is not cheap. Hell, even the peripherals (let alone the components itself) are bleary expensive. A pair of 1.5m Valhalla 2 interconnects cost as much as a new locally manufactured car! But then again....once the poison sets in...

Hello audio kaki,

New guy here. I plan to upgrade to a 2.1 system with a budget of 3k. Initial idea is as below:


AV Receiver: Yamaha RX-V377 5.1 Receiver(RM1350)
speaker : XLS Encore (RM1300)
Subwoofer : Used Yamaha YST-Sw90
speaker cable : no idea yet

I'm a 80%Music, 20% Movie guy. Is the component mentioned above matching? Previously using PC speaker only, need some help here.
------------------
Oh ya, my main source is laptop, so the setting will be Laptop (USB)>Audinst Mx-1 (optical out) > AVR > speaker & sub.

This post has been edited by naughty11: Apr 12 2015, 03:46 PM

Sounds okay to me if you are using your laptop as the source cos if you are playing MP3s, there is never sufficient encoding in MP3s to do justice to the music anyway. However, it is a first step towards REAL hifi (and getting poisoned) as PC speakers are shit. Subwoofer is great if you are a bass-head like a few of us here as it gives practically everything a good thump. Never heard the Yamaha YST-Sw90 before as I myself have an old Japan made BMB subwoofer (nowadays BMB are made in China) but I did audition the SONOS subwoofer over the weekend at Harvey Norman and the bass actually sounded strong and tight. Didn't check out the price cos my missus was eyeing me from afar and I could feel the piercing stares and I wasn't hunting for another sub anyway. Yamaha receivers are good (especially when it has a dedicated sub out) but you will need to look for a subwoofer cable to connect these two together (another hit on your budget). As for speakers, I personally prefer Dynaudio and if you are playing MP3s, use a 14 gauge wire for your speakers as I don't think it really matters. Save on the speaker wires until you get a dedicated CD player as your source. For the 14 gauge speaker wires, you can get them at Radioshack.

3k budget.....

here's my thoughts:

amp: go for a used amp....something like Audiolabs 8000A MK2....should set you back around 1k

speaker: agree with XLS Encore

i'd ditch the subs and go for a proper speaker stands

speaker cable....if no budget, strip the network cable and use it first....
little budget....you can try Canare, Belden and plenty more.....you can search for Black Octagon...he does a number of DIY cables at affordable price

hardware is just the start....having the right setup and tuning is second part.....and more to come

i'd suggest you start with this kind of setup and slowly work your way into it

Uncle, people said their main source is the laptop lah.

How about FLAC, is it comparable to CD? LOL at the piercing stare and poison bid. Dynaudio is out of my budget bro. -.-" I read somewhere that recommend to get a receiver with pre-out so that I can add a proper amp at later stage. Is that necessary? If so, how to check it the receiver has pre-out? Thanks man.

I need a sub for movie session, that's why i get a receiver. I need the HDMI connection also. Wuah, never thought of stripping network cable and use it, will try that first. Btw, how much should i spend on the cables? Any rule of thumb?

flac will dependent who was the one doing encode from pcm to this format. also look at the sampling rate and bit rate to match with dac (sound characteristic).

audio cd, the sampling rate already fix std 44100khz 16bit. will look at the dynamic range compression (loudness)

subwoofer rca is count as 1 type of pre out.
so u see back panel, got 6x rca port writing pre-out with marking front L--R, side L--R, center, subwoofer

not to confused with pre-in (another function)

car audio accessory sell rm5 per meter is a good starting point

This post has been edited by ktek: Apr 15 2015, 11:14 PM

Like what ktek explained, flac is entirely dependent on whom doing the encoding. Yes, flac is lossless but do remember the saying "Garbage In Garage Out". If the audio is encoded 120khz as compared to a CD quality of 44100khz, you will get 120khz. Playing the CD on your laptop is one option but if you are doing so, might as well get a CD player as your source (which is what hushymushy is trying to get you to do instead of relying on the laptop as the source).

I am also a bass-head so I agreed with you on getting the subwoofer but a lot of purist here are against the subwoofer because what a sub does is actually accentuating the bass and the overall sound is not what the musician is trying to impress to the listeners but what we want to hear. Yes, getting a good stand for the speakers will tighten the bass up a lot but a subwoofer will pump it up to levels which any speaker stand can never achieve. In fact, certain amps can reproduce music/sound with a heavier and lower bass than others...Krell for instance. Nice, tight and way way low bass which vibrates other furniture in the same room (my kind of music).

In the end I bought Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 and Marantz PM6005 Stereo Amp after audition. This speaker plus the yamaha woofer really rocks for movie, I literally dropped my jaw when re-watching some of the movie I have. Music wise somehow it is not as detail as what I listen at shop, most probably due to the source (laptop). =(

congratulation on new gears and welcome to marantz family
it will take some time to run in the amp & spkr

This post has been edited by ktek: Apr 20 2015, 05:13 AM

Yes...welcome to the Marantz family circle. When I first bought my Marantz PM & CD6005 and coupled it with the BMB sub, the sound really rocks. Very surprising as I expected less from a budget system. Anyway, congrats!!!

i pair my pm6005 with floorstand, should i paired with bookshelf speaker?

Floorstanders are perfectly okay. Which speakers?