Gi Jie....ada lagi

mine baru entry level of AR....the reference units are now beyond my reach for the moment....but the entry level AR is already high end in my point of view

got other top brands like MBL, Esoteric, Accuphase, Goldmund, Mcintosh

GI jie.......can't escape from work ler.....hehehehehe
my office is in cyberjaya..... wished i can tag along to get some poison

yes.....and he brough along a AR CD6 to try

oh man....this cdp sounded way better than my CD5

i'll consider the 1.5 meter or 2 meter.....min 1.5meter....
some how the bass extension is better with 1.5m to 2meter

and because usually you want to have some space between the cd and amp.....so a slightly longer cable will be good

i think the price is reasonable giving transparent reference is around the same range, and that is not the top of the range...just the entry of the reference

and V2 in my opinion sounds better

since you already have the V2 speaker cables....its better to use V2 interconnects

junsuke.....there's no right or wrong to any setup.....shopping around for good deals is a good idea
if you do not mind second hand stuffs, you can browse both lowyat garage sale and hifi4sale

with a budget of 6k there are decent setups out there with a wow factor

let me give you an example; i used to have an older set which i gave it to my father-in-law.....yeah....FOC....but its not a very expensive set

amp: Audiolabs 8000A MKII (60watts x 2 into 8ohms)....bought from used market: RM1000 about 5 years back. this amp is still musical and affordable for it's class. am in love with audiolabs 8000 series and in fact i'm bidding for a complete used set, cd transport, dac, pre and power....just for the nostalgia and perhaps into my new study room later

cd player: Marantz CD6000OSE....bought from used market for RM600 about 2 years ago. replaced the transport....can't remember how much. very good cd player. musical, powerful output, smooth sounding and detailed.

speaker: Usher S520 bookshelves....entry level bargain price at 1k brand new....smallish chili padi speakers in my opinion....since my F-I-L is naturally in his 60s', naturally he is a fan of Elvis and the golden era songs....sounds great....i used to use this in my study room and i play from pop to jazz, classical to chinese instruments and all sorts of other music.....albeit it is nothing compared to my current system....but for starters they are just a great pair. Fast sounding, produces decent low bass even with a 5" mids, smooth highs

interconnects: Transparent The Link....entry level from Transparent Cables....bought at rm200 for a used pair. natural good interconnects. brand new should be rm450 or so.

speaker cables: Chord Carnival Silverscreen......i chose this cable because the system was abit of laidback....therefore a slight silver mixture into the cable gives abit more excitement.....bought used at RM300 for a 8 feet pair of bi-wired

speaker stands: 24" high solid wood stands for rm400 a pair

all in rm3.5k......

now...i can't really say what combos are good out there.....but with your budget there are alot of items which you can find

amps: marantz, NAD, china made tube amps, cambridge audio, used amps like audiolabs just to name a few

same goes for cd player

cables (both interconnects and rca, in random order): wireworld, chord, supra, transparent, nordost, QED....typically almost all cable companies have entry level cables. If you are looking for my opinion..... Gotham, Vandamme and Hisago would be my favourite for affordable cables. For Gothams and Vandamme, you can look for bro Black Octagon in the garage sales.....bought a couple of cables from him......and i'm using it currently

happy hunting

Class A is musical....but I agree with Alvin that its slower compared to class AB

Goldmund??? yeah.....he has lend me his demo unit once.....almost didn't return it to him.....

that sucker....what else has he not told you?

regarding your monoblocks and preamp....you only need 2 pairs of interconnects
1 pair from your cd to preamp

the other pair from your preamp to monoblock....monoblock mar....where got L & R input per monoblock?
should be single in only

about my room......yeah the material is something that's going to cost me the arm and leg
i'll probably stick with my current design now...if i redo it....its going to cost me double the price....which is crazy
i think the room wont be that crappy

This post has been edited by hushymushy: Jul 25 2014, 09:51 AM

you can consider speakers like KEF X300A wireless or Dynaudio Xeo 4

both allow wireless, USB and bluetooth connection
smallish monsters
no need additional amplifiers, sounds great and accepts all sorts of connectivity

reduced need for DAC, cables and amps.

eerrrr don't hv any suggestion for that

my only exposure at this price range last time was altec lansing ACS45.1 and 48.1.....and that was 15years ago.
my rm200 to rm300 system was in the early 90s......

i have gone beyond that level of sound system and just never look back at this range....

and since i'm not hunting anything at this range.....i don't do any research on it.

so if you found well regarded stuffs at that price range and something u like hearing....then buy it....

none taken.....

the fact is i don't have any info about that range.....so i'm not able to comment....maybe i was too direct.....as you can see my other replies to other forumers....direct and straight to the point

its not about being high-end or low-end......you see us high end.....but i see others having higher end stuffs than Gi Jie and myself (although Gi Jie is way up up than me....cepat hide first).....

if you asked me about altec lansing those days....they really pack some mean sound system at that range
but obviously it was a premium for me back in the 90s

audiophile is a long journey. its not just about sound.....its about reproducing music

i started with a pair of computer speakers priced at rm30 from imbi.....there wasn't any reviews or forums to begin with
technology those days were limited and things were more expensive (coz student boh $$$$)

maybe i should take some time to go look at budget speakers and study them


anyway......like i said....audiophile and hifi is a long journey
i'm still learning to listen after 15years and still learning how to tune systems

like my signature.....Life's Too Short For Boring HiFi......one day.....you will actually itchy backside and upgrade.....

what's a right stand for what speakers?

some experts say......the speaker stands are an extension for bookshelves speakers.....and i find this fact very true indeed
the stand acts like a resonant grounding for the speaker and in many cases....it helps expand the lower frequency spectrum as well

let's a take a look at original stands supplied by the same brand....

1. B&W 805s stands are metal structure with filled materials inside. base and speaker sitting plates are metal

2. Dynaudio stands....again...same thing...metal structure solid inside

3. sonus faber entry levels....same...again metal structure like the rest

4. sonus faber high end.....top end model.....mixture of concrete, granite, marble and steel....but still solid

bottom line...i think something that came solid...or add-in to make it solid should be better

why don't you go for the ori b&w stands?

but it will sound complete with it.......

stand setup is important....either it kills your sound or it brings the best out of it

why don't you consider full solid timber stand?.....i think wood stands make better sound than metal stands
don't recall any floor stander with metal box.....

Miri shouldn't be an issue for solid timber

merbau would be good

good idea....but i'll skip the rubber padding.....it might deaden the sound though

if the plate that supports your speakers should be close to your speaker size, preferably same or slightly bigger is ok

for the base plate, usually it is 25% larger

if the plate that supports your speakers should be close to your speaker size, preferably same or slightly bigger is ok

for the base plate, usually it is 25% larger

first step.....is to love music!

salute chino for being a bass junkie...

if you want nice looking brands....banyak mar

Mcintosh....
Goldmund
Luxman
Accuphase
Audio Research

i think there's used pair of mcintosh monoblocks in the market....
heard the owner traded in for goldmund.....

first off......1 meter away for the speakers is considered close
having your speakers in front of windows and curtains might be a bad thing
suggest you move the speakers out away from the rear wall at least 3 feet
your right listening distance from the speaker is almost 2 x the distance between your left and right speaker....
you can refer to Cardas golden rule too

speaker stands.....depending on your seat height and speaker size.....buy accordingly.....the speakers should be at your ear level when you are seated

stands are recommended to be solid. wood, metal would be preferred choice

i'll come to cables at the end

regarding amplifiers....first off...let me clear your confusion

what is pre and power amp?

typically you need both. in general pre-amplifier is to amplify the input signal before it gets to power amplification stage.

power amp is amplifying the pre-amplified signals to your speakers.

an intergrated stereo amp means you have both pre and powered amplifiers built inside the same unit...hence the term integrated

higher end and more flexibility, some people go for separate pre and power in which you incur an additional interconnect between them.

then comes the type of amps.....there are many ways to amplify a signal
tubes, torrodial transformer, IC and so on are the types of amps out there......the difference is the sound signature reproduction
in principal...they all amplify the signal to your speakers

AV receiver is another type of amp that has capability of multi channel amplifier....capable of amplifying 5 to 7 speakers at the same time for the usage of home theatre
and of coz it comes with built in DAC, sound processor and other stuffs for home cinema usage

in terms of sources.....a cd player is always a wiser choice from an audiophile perspective....however even the high end industry is starting to accept other digital forms.

in general....a cd player has 3 main items in it....
1. the transport that consists of your laser pickup and cd playing mechanism.....whats the difference between the cheap and the good? the good ones come with very good pick up laser lens, and very well built mechanism for vibration reduction

2. DAC. as cd is a digital format, therefore it needs to be converted to analog. to reduce the hassle of having an external DAC.....an internal is built

3. pre-stage out circuit where the analog output is being generated to pass through your interconnects into the preamp stage.

so what's the fuss over a high end cdplayer vs a normal cd player.....
typically its the quality and components used....
the latest cdplayers do pack some good dacs....and that's why they open up for the consumer to plug in other digital inputs to utilize its dac....and some how retain its market share in a way

cables.....

4 types of cables you need to understand

1. digital cables like your fiber optics, coaxial, USB

2. analog interconnects......typically your single ended rca or balanced interconnects.....typically pure copper cables inside for basic cables

3. speaker cables......from the amp to your speakers

4. power cables

now......there's a saying...your sound is as good as your weakest link.....if you are on highend systems.....it does make a difference

usually the budget for cables is 10% to 20% of your entire system

there are plenty of amp choices out there.....what's your budget for the entire system?

well if you don't mind used market.....sometimes you find good deals out there

i bought an audiolab 8000amk2 fr d used market....still loving that amp........and the price is around 1k