Our very old Mini-disc/CD home hi-fi has died (well all the CD's now sound like they were recorded underwater due to some terminal sampling fault...) so i'd like to build myself a proper hi-fi.
Local secondhand/cash converters type shop has a couple of Cambridge Audio amps for sale, and they seem to be a popular budget/beginners option.
I have a choice between an A1 and an A300 both for £50, what would the STW audiophiles suggest is the better choice?
Many thanks
I had a Cambridge Audio amp a CD player. They both died after not a great deal of time. Admittedly the CD player was my fault as I drunkenly fell on it!
I bought a cheap Sony player, an old cdp-xe310, it sounds fine. You can have a newer model for around 75 quid. I reckon it'll be better than Cambridge.
You can get a new A1 from Richer Sounds for £70.00.
You'll need a separate phono preamp if you want to run a turntable though.
I had a Cambridge Audio amp a CD player. They both died after not a great deal of time. Admittedly the CD player was my fault as I drunkenly fell on it!
Quite a few of my friends and myself have Cambridge Audio amps, because they're cheap and they work.
I've had mine for about 10 years now (including 4 student years) I think, it's still working perfectly. Not even any crackle on the volume knob yet.
does this include speakers? If so not really sure it will be that good a system for the at price, even if it is second hand. If you can get a AV Amp this will be even better as you can use through your TV/Sky,cable/games console and any other accessories and with the right speakers you can get the full 5.1/7.1 experience.
I have been looking at some stuff myself and have settled for an Onkyo TX-SR706. OK it's £600 new but if you look for a similar system second hand (mayybe £100) and a good set of speakers (probably an additional £300 new, £50 used) it will be more than you will ever need. Just my opinion, I know someone is going to come on and tell me to shut up, but used to that on this forum lol.
The only problem with 5.1 is that stereo tends to sound poorly. For audio I say go for a regular amp, if home cinema is what you are after, Xan's suggestion isn't bad at all. I would go Marantz all the way, but I DO get called names for that 😉
Naim
I just turn off the 2 rear and centre speaker on my existing system and use teh 2 main and Sub for listening to the radio. For CDs/MP3 most are 5.1 compatible and sound increadable. Just my opinion though. I use my DVD player as CD player and iPod with Aux leads for MP3 and Optical input for Sky+ and PS3(using a switcher I got from the net) and sound is better/louder/clearer than I would ever need and that is on a system that only cost me £200 new and that was 5 years ago.
i've had a cambridge audio a3i for 12 years now with no complaints.
i'm sure something like a naim would perform much better, but i'm not that much of a purist, my music tends to be relatively rough/cheap recordings on vinyl and i also didn't want to pay 10 times what i paid for the CA...
you don't need a hifi you just need a stereo.
buy the one that looks like it has had an easier life.
The Cambridge Audio's are definately budget amps. I think the A300 is more powerful than the A1, but that makes no difference, to be twice as powerful as a 30watt amp it would have to be 300watts.
I've had an A1, A3 and A500. A1 had bad speaker terminal, the A3 blew up straight away, and the A500 I got rid of after I heard a semi-decent amp. Some of my friends have had them for 10 years, some haven't lasted a couple of months...
I don't think those amps have phono pre amps, so you wouldn't be able to hook up your old record player/turntable.
Don't bother with an AV amp unless you're prepared to spend proper money, and will put up with all the extra speakers & cabling. I once demoed a £1800 AV amp that was noticeably worse for music than my £800 Cyrus stereo amp.
Richer Sounds often have good offers on package deals - e.g. amp, CD & speakers.
Just to echo previous comments, I've been running a Cambridge Audio Azur 640c for years with no issues whatsoever. Would highly recommend.
i know a few people who swear by a Cambridge A1 Mk3. I got one at xmas last year, and it's great. Richer Sounds - £69.99.
Got a mint ion obelisk if it's any use?????
Mudshark - what's your Naim system?
I meant 640A, 640c is obviously the CD player... 🙁