My eldest daughter blew up my hi fi

I was in a similar position last year (although I didn't blame my daughter) and not having bought equipment for many years was blown away by all the permutations of listening methods and hardware. 

I am quite computer savvy and use my ipod/phone for on-the-go listening (and occasionally will plug 'em into my amp for background listening), but I ended up opting for traditional amp/CD/ combo. for the only reason that technologically things are moving so fast that I'm waiting (maybe foolishly) for formats and quality (of downloads) to become standardised - won't hold my breath!

Also my budget was severly restricted so kept my trusty KEF speakers and bought second-hand amp (Harman Kardon) and CD player (Sony) from local sellers on ebay! Spent a lot less than £200 and got a better sound than I had before. 

All I'm going to add is Apple Airport Express for wireless listening from iTunes and Spotify from my laptop. Bingo!

Admit it, Troyen, you're ecstatic about this. Gives you the perfect excuse to blow megabucks on new gear without the Better Half climbing on your case.

How can you blow an entire hi-fi set-up? I've blown (individually) speakers, amp, pre-amp and sub-woofer at various times but never the whole lot at once. Must have been some party.

Hi troyen1

I'm keen to audition the Marrantz M-CR603 which looks a comprehensive package as reviewed by Andrew here:

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/marantz-m-cr603-a-compact-solution-packed-with-performance

Importantly it has an FM tuner which an obvious rival, the Denon CEOL, doesn't, with my internet connection not being brilliant sometimes.

£ for £ it looks value to me, and is packed with features from a highly thought of brand. Could be worth your looking at. As I say though, I haven't heard it myself yet.

best regards

20thcm

Time to consider digital streaming perhaps?  And dare I suggest you investigate Linn or Naim stuff, if you are after quality and have a few spare coppers to hand?

Apart from other considerations, now seems a good time to support British hi-fi.

But then I admit to big-time bias here. 

Enjoy the searching.  Mine has been, apart from property, the best investment I ever made.  Oh, and the wife, I should add.

Vic.

Good to see that you have your priorities in the right
order, Vic!

I have to say that as a fairly recent convert to
ripping/streaming, I’d endorse what Vic says. I haven’t touched my CD player in
a few months now, and whilst I would never consider getting rid of it, the convenience,
simplicity and, most importantly, the audio quality of lossless FLAC files
really have significantly changed my listening experience in many ways. And the
bonus of Internet radio, with its astonishing variety and quality in the best
transmissions, is something one could only have dreamt of only a very few years
ago.

It’s curious, though, how Mission Control’s eyes tend to
glaze over when I wax lyrical about the quality of streamed lossless audio and
comparative bit rates...

JKH

They do tend to do that. I agree re. FLAC. A major breakthrough IMHO.

Troyen, I'll leave it to others more up-to-date than me to advise on the front end. Where speakers are concerned I'm a confirmed electrostatic fan but if you want to go the conventional route I still believe it's hard to touch KEF. Speakers, like singers I guess, are a very personal decision. You really have to audition a bunch and decide for yourself. And get a good subwoofer.

Andrew pointed out SACD discs will play on modern cd players but whether it's worth going the whole distance on an SACD set-up may be debateable. Long term, I'd put my money on bluray being the technology of the future.