How do I begin?

[tipdrinker]

Hi Guys,

I was just wondering if you had any advice for a total beginner. I built my own htpc a couple of years ago and I was just thinking today about how terrible it is to listen to music through my tv speakers. I'd love to build a hifi system over time so I could have a really nice audio set up in my sitting room. I've always wanted my own hifi, but the options and how you go about it seems so daunting I don't know where to begin. What should be my first purchace? amp? speakers? a book? what's a good amount to spend for something that would hopefully give me at least a good 20 years audio enjoyment?

I'd really appreciate some help in the right direction. In return I could maybe give some video/camera advice (im a videographer and enthusiast photographer by trade)

Cheers in advance :-)

[tony]

That is an open question! Where does one start to help you on this journey. I would suggest go out to Cloneys have a listen to some stuff out there. The Listening Suite in Wicklow street should be visited also.

Do you want to listen using a dac with your HTPC or does vinyl or CD float your boat.

People are fairly open here if you get some idea of where you want to go and want to hear some systems.

What kind of budget are you thinking? You can spend a few hundred or thousands

[nige2000]

Run for your life?
Or if that won't work
PC to DAC to amp to speakers is good bang for buck if you don't go too crazy
Lots of expertise here for that and everything else

[Audioq]

What format will you use to listen to you music? Do you already have a large collection of vinyl or cd or do you prefer downloads or streaming?

First thing I would do is go and listen to some systems in Cloney, Listening Suite, HiFi Hut etc using your preferred format and see if the sound v price is worth it to you. Keep an eye out for second hand gear. You can save a bundle. In general new hifi loses value at a similar rate to new cars, even though wear and tear is generally negligable if taken care of and stuff can generally be repaired (excluding digital obsolescence).

If you can find gear that you will be happy with for 20 years - please come back and tell us how the #&@* you did it! ;)

[tipdrinker]

Ha Great replies! I'm liking this forum already lol. In my mind I'm thinking around €1,000. I don't know if that would get me something respectable or not. I don't know where the diminishing returns set in in terms of price. I'm thinking along the lines of an integrated amp with a built in dac and some floor standing speakers. I'd definitely be interested in used equipment! Yeah I'd probably we looking at hooking up my htpc. In reality I stream most of what I listen to these days along with HQ MP3/FLAC. The romantic in me would like to say I'd get a turntable somewhere down the line but I'd be lying to myself. My GF would not tolerate that lol.

In terms of the music I listen to I guess I like folk, dad rock, a bit of IDM and classical music :-) My fave bands would be My bloody valentine, Jimi Hendrix, REM, Black Sabbath, Planxty. Radiohead and Beethoven. I don't really listen to music at deafening levels most of the time so deafening sound levels would definitely not be a requirement.

Does that help much. I was looking at some stuff last night. Does this set up look respectable or could I do better with looking at used equipment?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007 ... o_pC_S_ttl

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D ... o_pC_S_ttl

I've no idea what set up would suit my listening tastes or whether the set up above would be any good. I'm kind of afraid to go into a hifi shop in case they try and sell me something I that's inadequate. I like to make informed decisions, and go into a place knowing pretty much what I want.

[nige2000]

best value is likely going the used route
hifi depreciates like a new car

a good separate s/h dac/amp will preform much better than a similar priced all in one jobby

tonys an expert classifieds searcher im sure he might see something that might suit

[cybot]

Ha Great replies! I'm liking this forum already lol. In my mind I'm thinking around €1,000. I don't know if that would get me something respectable or not. I don't know where the diminishing returns set in in terms of price. I'm thinking along the lines of an integrated amp with a built in dac and some floor standing speakers. I'd definitely be interested in used equipment! Yeah I'd probably we looking at hooking up my htpc. In reality I stream most of what I listen to these days along with HQ MP3/FLAC. The romantic in me would like to say I'd get a turntable somewhere down the line but I'd be lying to myself. My GF would not tolerate that lol.

In terms of the music I listen to I guess I like folk, dad rock, a bit of IDM and classical music :-) My fave bands would be My bloody valentine, Jimi Hendrix, REM, Black Sabbath, Planxty. Radiohead and Beethoven. I don't really listen to music at deafening levels most of the time so deafening sound levels would definitely not be a requirement.

Does that help much. I was looking at some stuff last night. Does this set up look respectable or could I do better with looking at used equipment?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007 ... o_pC_S_ttl

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D ... o_pC_S_ttl

I've no idea what set up would suit my listening tastes or whether the set up above would be any good. I'm kind of afraid to go into a hifi shop in case they try and sell me something I that's inadequate. I like to make informed decisions, and go into a place knowing pretty much what I want.

Have you heard of the Hi Fi Hut? They stock the above and have demo rooms too and would probably be a friendlier store than the others. Just saying :) The Q Acoustics range is supposed to be stunning and easy on the wallet. Relax and enjoy the journey then go right back to the beginning and start again ;)

BTW hope you have the new Jimi Hendrix live one.....or you're dead lol!


http://www.hifihut.ie

[tipdrinker]

Man the prices for some of this stuff. And I thought photography was an expensive hobby! How much of this makes a discernible difference and how much of this is just really rich men's toys?

So Am I right in saying I should just get a DAC first, then an amp, then speakers? I think I definitely want to go used. I'd rather get something that's a few years old, tried and tested with a great reputation than a shiny new thing. What's a good ball park figure for a good solid used dac? Any reccomendations?

[Diapason]

Hi tipdrinker, welcome to the forum!

You'll get lots of good advice here, but if I can just give you one piece: always trust your ears, never what you read.

I used to think that asking for hifi advice was like asking for car advice: some cars are better than others, the reviews reflect that and it's possible to establish some sense of quality via some kind of consensus. Now I think asking for hifi advice is more like asking "which pair of trousers should I buy?" You might be able to read some reviews about gross problems in quality or whatever, but for the most part you're going to have to try them on. And that's true whether you're buying in Dunnes or Armani.

Does some stuff sound better than others? Yes.
Does it justify its cost? Depends.
How much should you spend? Depends on how much you can afford!
Is some of this just rich men's toys? Sometimes it is, but perhaps not as often as you'd think.
Should you consider buying used? Definitely!!

Now, moving aside from the general and onto your last question, it's my view that buying a DAC followed by amp followed by speakers is the wrong way to go about this. Others will disagree, but here's my thinking: speakers make the single biggest difference to the sound you'll ultimately get in your room. Finding speakers that you like is the hardest part of the process, and the part that MOST depends on your own ears and listening habits. Once you've decided on the speakers, you can then consider the best amp to drive them. Some speakers require lots of power, some do better with much smaller power, etc. etc. You won't know what the best amp to buy is until you know what speakers the amp needs to drive. Finally (and this is where things get really controversial) I think the source (laptop, DAC, everything before the amps) makes the least difference of all. I regularly stream Spotify at 320kps from an iPad to a reasonably good system and I think it sounds wonderful. Is it state-of-the-art? Of course not, but for me an improvement in source is a much smaller improvement than anywhere else.

Go and listen to systems to get a flavour of what's what. Nobody's trying to shaft you except the magazines! You'll immediately get a sense of what sound works for YOU, and that should be your jumping off point. Don't be surprised if the 5 star award-winning best buy from What Hifi doesn't float your boat at all...

[nige2000]

Hi tipdrinker, welcome to the forum!

You'll get lots of good advice here, but if I can just give you one piece: always trust your ears, never what you read.

I used to think that asking for hifi advice was like asking for car advice: some cars are better than others, the reviews reflect that and it's possible to establish some sense of quality via some kind of consensus. Now I think asking for hifi advice is more like asking "which pair of trousers should I buy?" You might be able to read some reviews about gross problems in quality or whatever, but for the most part you're going to have to try them on. And that's true whether you're buying in Dunnes or Armani.

Does some stuff sound better than others? Yes.
Does it justify its cost? Depends.
How much should you spend? Depends on how much you can afford!
Is some of this just rich men's toys? Sometimes it is, but perhaps not as often as you'd think.
Should you consider buying used? Definitely!!

Now, moving aside from the general and onto your last question, it's my view that buying a DAC followed by amp followed by speakers is the wrong way to go about this. Others will disagree, but here's my thinking: speakers make the single biggest difference to the sound you'll ultimately get in your room. Finding speakers that you like is the hardest part of the process, and the part that MOST depends on your own ears and listening habits. Once you've decided on the speakers, you can then consider the best amp to drive them. Some speakers require lots of power, some do better with much smaller power, etc. etc. You won't know what the best amp to buy is until you know what speakers the amp needs to drive. Finally (and this is where things get really controversial) I think the source (laptop, DAC, everything before the amps) makes the least difference of all. I regularly stream Spotify at 320kps from an iPad to a reasonably good system and I think it sounds wonderful. Is it state-of-the-art? Of course not, but for me an improvement in source is a much smaller improvement than anywhere else.

Go and listen to systems to get a flavour of what's what. Nobody's trying to shaft you except the magazines! You'll immediately get a sense of what sound works for YOU, and that should be your jumping off point. Don't be surprised if the 5 star award-winning best buy from What Hifi doesn't float your boat at all...

i think the brief was dac to floorstander system for less than €1000 to connect in with the htpc
so what you need is a goal
think of it like a package every component must compliment each other
what sort of sound are you looking for soft and warm or neutral and resolving (which can be severe on poorer recordings )
gonna have to pair the amp to the speakers so they'll have to be bought more or less together

there might be some ciunas dacs s/h in the classified section which would be excellent bang for buck

finding amp and speakers with similar bang for buck will be difficult

ive a set of these on a desktop it dosent exactly make my ears bleed
http://www.richersounds.ie/p-11900-m33i.aspx
and the old version of this
http://www.richersounds.com/product/amp ... -as501-blk

but you should set your goal higher than these

hi end stuff is usually four figure stuff :(
not good for the bank balance