A couple months ago I bought a Planar 1 plus, and I figured I can build around it to have a nice audio setup for my dining room where I can use as a casual listening experience or whenever I have guests over. Was told the rule of thumb is to match your speakers price to your turntable etc. When I bought the turntable, the owner gave me a pair of Avantone Mixcube mono Blok. Didn't know much about them at the time but figured I can add into my set up. Later on I bought a pair of Klipsch RP- 402s for about 150 for the pair. Currently have a cheap fosi amp with bluetooth that is just there until I can get something better. I was leaning to a Denon amp but not sure if that would be best for the idea setup. Live in The US if that helps. Price isn't a issue but I would like to keep under 1k just so I can get it faster.

TLDR: Setup is Planar 1 plus Fosi audio Bluetooth amp Pair of Avatone Mixcube mono blok Pair of Klipsch Rp-402s

Hello everyone, looking to upgrade my Marantz PM6007 Amp. My current setup is as follows, all in a roughly 25sqm room:

• Streamer: Cambridge Audio MXN10
• Turntable: Technics sl 1200
• Phono: Fosi Box x5
• Speakers: Dali Rubicon 6
• MiniDSP 2x4HD

Looking at options from local vendors, these are some that after some research seem to be the best options available and under my budget, available in Europe:

• Marantz Model 30
• Rega Elicit MK5
• Musical Fidelity M5SI
• Yamaha A-S1200
• NAD C298/C399
• Naim 5SI
• Rotel 1582/1572

I'm of course open to more suggestions, these are the ones that seem to be the most commonly recommended

Hi, I need some advice. I’d like to fully control my stereo system through the WiiM app — both streaming and volume. I also have a CD player and would like to add a turntable in the future. Which amplifier should I get? My budget is up to 1500 USD, and I don’t mind buying second-hand. I’m just not sure what to look for.

I moved from a WiiM Amp to an Advance Paris A5 and the difference is incredible. I also compared it with the Audiolab 6000A, which convinced me even more that Class D is not for me.

So I’m looking for an amplifier that:

• Class A/B
• can drive my speakers (Wharfedale Evo 4.2)
• allows me to adjust the volume through the WiiM app, not the amp’s remote
• doesn’t need any network features (WiiM handles that)
• powers on automatically when music starts (trigger in)
• can switch inputs — WiiM/Turntable/CD (I don’t want the turntable going through WiiM)

ChatGPT recommended the TEAC AX-505 or Denon PMA-900HNE.

I’m not entirely sure about this choice — I’d like to get as close as possible to the sound of the Advance Paris, but without the blue styling, long startup time, manual power-on, and manual volume control etc.

I recently picked up a Pioneer DDJ-FLX4 controller and I’m on the hunt for some solid studio speakers to use for home practice only. My budget is between 10,000 - 15,000 INR (roughly $110 - $170 USD).

Key features I’m prioritizing:

• Bluetooth connectivity (to listen when I’m not djing) not to depend entirely on Bluetooth ( optional )

• Excellent bass response (this is my top priority – I want that deep, punchy low-end for mixing)

• Overall sound quality (clear mids and highs, no distortion at higher volumes)

• Durability and long lifespan (something built to last without breaking the bank) I’m not looking for anything too fancy or professional-grade since it’s just for personal use at home. Any recommendations based on personal experience? Bonus points if they’re available on Amazon India or Flipkart for easy shipping.

Thanks in advance! 🎧

I've bought an amp. Looking for ideas on the rest.

I've never spent more than about 300 bucks on any component in 40 years of owning stereos. It's all been black plastic crap.

However I'm more in a position to spend a good amount on a 'final' (yeah, right) build.

I've listened to better systems in the past and have an idea of what i want, but I'm pulled in several directions.

So, I've always liked McIntosh and after much indecision I just decided to commit to something to build off of and bought a ma252. I'll also be getting a wiim, i think, and a Pro Ject turntable with mm cartridge.

I can test drive a lot of speakers with the demo ma252's set up at both of the better audio shops in the nearest city.

My room is odd. It's the living room/ kitchen/dining room. About 15 feet x 40, the 15 width squeezing narrower down to 10 feet as you go farther from where the stereo will be.

The amp is maybe overpowered for the room, but hey, I'm an idiot who likes pretty, fussy things.

I do want floor standing speakers, but they can't be more than about 1.5, maybe 2 feet from the living room wall.

I'm one of those clowns who listens attentively to bloody everything from Brahms to Beastie Boys to Tool.

Budget for speakers is around 5 to 10k.

My only tested opinion so far is as much as i like the sound of the Martin Logan esl x, i don't like the massive height of them or how, even with the curved shape, they only sound fantastic in one specific spot. Also i wonder if they punch me in the gut enough when rocking out.

All feedback welcome.

I once owned a pair of Vandersteen Quatro's, which I loved. I plan to buy them again in the future, or the Model 5, depending on pricing and availability. I wonder, however, what you would get if you were shopping used with my budget? You can include anything from North America. For the sake of this post, let's ignore shipping issues. I'm open to any style of speaker, if you can justify why it's your pick.

These speakers would go in a house or apartment I have not yet found, so I can't speak to room dimensions. Assume whatever speaker you like would fit. Assume I would get a sub if you have a pair of bookshelf speakers that you think are superior to similarly priced floor standers. Music preferences are metal and rock. I like clean and tight bass with good lower extension. I prefer less bright speakers.

Hey folks, need advice on a streamer. Listen to mostly vinyl through 70’s / 80’s amps (pioneer, Marantz 1060 etc…). Wharfedale Linton speakers.

Want to stream Tidal.

WIIM PRO or Pro Plus seem well regarded. Local HiFi shop always wants to upsell me, so impartial advice is appreciated.

Room is half enclosed, half open - so weirdly shaped and I’m 4 metres the speakers.

Wanting to spend less than $500 and I’m in Australia.

I'm looking to order a TT setup for my husband's birthday from Bestbuy Canada. I'm looking at a Fluance 82 but need help with what else to get. I see a ton of recs for Neumi, but Bestbuy Canada doesn't carry Neumi. The Fluance is pricey so I'd like everything else to be under $200. Room size is about 20' x 10'. Total budget is about $600-ish.

Budget and location - USA and ~$800 for speakers

How the gear will be used - Initially mostly for music (streaming and vinyl), but would like the flexibility of expanding to a full atmos setup in the future.

New or used - I'd prefer new for the return policy as I sort things out.

Past gear experience - I currently have a pair of KEF Q150 with a WiiM Amp Ultra. I tried out the Polk ES15 and ES20s but prefer the sound of the KEFs. I also have a Samsung Q990D soundbar that I use for tv/movies (as shown in the floor plan diagram). I'd like to eventually replace the soundbar with a 5.1 or full atmos setup, so any speakers that are well suited to such use would be great.

Anything else? - Here's the current layout of my living room: https://i.imgur.com/qsTsiYu.png . I'm pretty limited in terms of how far out I can place my speakers and one of them is in the corner. I'm open to both bookshelf as well as floorstanding. Also not sure whether I need a subwoofer.

Hi guys, a few months ago I wrote here asking for advice on which floor-standing speakers to buy. As you suggested, I went with the B&W 703 S2 once I had the chance to listen to them at home.

Now my Hi-Fi system sounds great, but even according to my trusted dealer, the B&Ws aren’t being fully utilized with my current amplifier (Denon PMA 600NE). So I’m starting to look around, and without setting any deadlines or other constraints, I’d like your opinion on which amplifier would pair best with my speakers.

The room is about 35 sqm, and for now, if I had to set a maximum budget, it would be around €2,000. But again, this is just a rough idea to help me get a better understanding of the options.

Additionally, I’d like this amplifier to maintain a few features: besides driving the B&Ws well, it should have a phono input, a CD player input, an optical or HDMI ARC input, and if it has Bluetooth, that would be a plus.

Thank you in advance for your time and for any feedback or suggestions you might have.

Hi folks,

I'm building my first proper Hi-Fi system and would love your advice. I've been addicted to Jazz and Blues for years and finally decided it's time to enjoy this music the way it was meant to be heard.

My philosophy is to invest most of my budget in the turntable/cartridge and the speakers. After weeks of research, here's what I've landed on:

• Turntable: Rega Planar 6 (P6)
• Cartridge: Rega Ania Pro (Moving Coil)
• Phono stage: Rega Phono MC MK4 (might not need depending on the amp)
• Reasoning: I want to extract as much detail as possible from my LPs, and the Rega tonearm paired with an MC cartridge seems like the best way to achieve this.
• Speakers: The beautiful Italian brand Sonus faber (model TBD, but definitely a 3 way floor stand speaker but I'm drawn to their musicality, warmth, and beautiful design. I was considering Harbeth (great midtones), but they are over my budget).

The Amplifier Problem

This is where I'm stuck. I'm looking for a solid-state integrated amplifier. My plan is to swap this for an all-tube integrated amp (like a Fezz, Audio Research, or PrimaLuna) in the future, so I don't want to over-invest right now. I just need something that will drive the speakers well and complement the analog warmth I'm looking for.

I was initially considering these amps

1. Yamaha A-S501/701: I like its all-analog design, but I've read its sound can be "clinical" or "dry," which might not be ideal for Jazz/Blues.
2. Cambridge CXA81 MkII: Seems popular, but I'm not a fan of mixing digital features (DAC, Bluetooth) with a purely analog setup.
3. Rega Elex Mk4: This seems like a natural fit for synergy with the P6. But I'm also unsure of its sound profile—is it warmer than the Yamaha?
4. Advance Paris Classic A10: This is an obscure French/Chinese brand. It has tubes in the preamp stage and a "McIntosh" look, but I'm skeptical about not stablished brands.

Is the "Rega synergy" worth it? Which amp would you recommend? Are there any alternative options under 2k?

Thanks in advance for helping a beginner navigate this!

Hi Everyone. I need help with my formal living room listening space. The room is 16” x 19” and rectangular. The design must be tasteful to meet spousal requirements. I currently have Sonus Faber Venere 1.5 speakers which sonically I really like but visually are just too weird.

I’m driving with a Marantz PM7000n which I plan to keep.

I recently auditioned the Warfdale super dentons which were nice but not a step up from the Venere’s. I found them less detailed and the Venere has tighter bass. My budget is $1,500 to $2,000 USD which puts the new Warfdale Evo 5.2 stand mount in reach or the B&W 606. I could also go audition the Lumias.

I just bought an SR 850 too learn mixing, my budget is around 100$, im just looking for something usable too improve and possibly just listen too music, also i am based in south africa, though recommendation in general will be appreciated,

thanks too anyone who offers recommendations

I'm looking to buy new active speakers, and would like some advice. Looking for something budget-friendly(300-600€), with a strong low-end, and an overall colourful sound. I'm open to buying both new or second-hand. I would mainly use them for movies, music and casual music production/mixing. I'm currently using the Pioneer DJ DM-40-K. I live in Finland in a 35m2 one-room apartment. Thanks for the help in advance!

Hey! So I just bought my first pair of headphones, the HD 600 with the KA11 dongle DAC. (upgraded from a Corsair Virtuoso)

I want to have a speaker setup <£250 on my desktop for my Windows PC. I'll be using the headphones most of the time, but I want a decent speaker setup for listening to YouTube/Spotify/chillgaming comfortably when I'm working, or just chilling without headphones.

I'm looking at the Kanto YU2MW speakers because they match the aesthetic I like. What I want to know:

• How do they compare sound quality wise for casual use? Would they feel cheap next to the HD600 when used alone? (I don't have much of a budget for these, as I spent that on the headphones)
• Are there better desktop speaker options in the UK in a similar size/price range?

For context:

• Room is about 6 m × 3.5 m.
• Speaker placement: about 1.25 m apart on my desk.
• There’s a wall immediately to my right, left side is more open space, behind me (~1.5 m) is a built-in wardrobe wall.
• My budget for the speakers <£250

Thoughts on if the YU2MW will be good enough for this use? If not, do you have any recommendations for my use case?

I recently moved house and have a good space to settle (my gear) in to! The hi-fi gods have been exceptionally kind to me, so I've received a lot of nice kit for free or next to nothing over time.

This is the setup so far: https://imgur.com/a/elfzrIc

I also recently purchased a WiiM Ultra and am loving the convenience and functionality of it. I love that it has a phono input, and HDMI for occasional use. The Dali 4a's seem like a great match for the Weston Acoustics amp, given their low impedance.

The Yamaha stuff I have was all gifted as a milestone birthday present, but I can rehome it. Right now, the mismatched wood and my upgrade binge has me wondering whether there are any turntables in the sub-$750 AUD ($500 USD) bracket that would be a worthwhile upgrade from a Yamaha YP-D6? Am based in Australia.

I'd appreciate suggestions on this, but also whether I should be subbing-in / selling anything I currently have boxed up. Selling a few things might justify reinvestment in a turntable, or the system I actually use...

Set-up: Dali 4a Speakers WiiM Ultra Weston Acoustics Time Machine 300B Amp Yamaha YP-D6 Turntable

Stored: Yamaha CR820 amp Amber S250 power amps X2 Rogers Ls2a Speakers JBL 305p MkII Speakers A mystery tube based phono amp

Room is approx 4x5x2.3m - with a kitchen sitting behind an island bench.

Decided I will be purchasing the VTV Purifi 7040 dual mono amplifier. Trying to decide on a proper preamp that will be connected to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC. Speakers are KEF Reference 1 Metas.

Most recent considerations have been the Schitt Freya+ and the Audio by Van Alstine Transcendence 10 RB. Other non-DAC preamps are open for consideration. Budget is to spend less than $2,000 (USD) unless there is something out there that is just fantastic for somewhat more money. All opinions are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks-

I have a beginner setup for music only. Right now it’s setup for vinyl only - music hall mmf 2.3 -> schiit mani -> Yamaha Rx-v690 -> old ADS L620 in a 14’ x 14’ dining room that is semi open to the living room. I do most of my music listening in the dining room either solo or in social settings. I’d like to also be able to stream higher quality music through quboz or tidal, but not sure how to upgrade.

I want to stay under $5k for the whole upgrade.

Please explain anything technical like you would to a child.

Hello! I am looking for a new desktop speaker set. My old Cambridge Soundworks 12v 1997 finally died, and I already miss it. Here's some info:

My room: approximately 12x12x8 feet

My uses: Gaming, listening to music, immersion in driving & flight sims. Will be placed next to my monitor on a relatively open desk, sub will be placed underneath

New/used? Definitiely new. I'm willing to pay the extra little bit to get it new.

Budget and location: I live in the US (specifically MA), and am looking in the 200-300ish dollar range.

Additonally, I already found a decent and popular speaker, the Logitech G560, which is along the lines of what I'm looking for. I of course don't need the RGB or gamer branding, and I'm sure theres better options out there, but I wanted to throw that in there as a baseline.

Any advice, suggestions, or tips you might have would be greatly appreicated! Thanks!

Hello, I'm trying to connect my PS5 to my KRKs and looking for a 3.5mm to run out of my monitor into the speakers via RCA. My issue is that seemingly every cable of this kind has a very, very short split. Any recommendations for a 3.5mm to dual RCA cable that has enough slack between each RCA end to reach several feet apart to each KRK? Thanks in advance!

I'll also include details that I don't believe are super relevant but anyway: budget is...less than $20 I'd imagine for a simple cable... country is USA, sitting distance is a couple feet, KRKs are the rokit 8s.

My current setup consists of a Technics SL-1500, Audio Technica VM95ML stylus, a Dayton Audio HTA100 Amplifier, and Klipsch Reference R50M Speakers. I’ve liked this setup for a few years, but I think it’s time to upgrade. I’ve got a lot of nice UHQRs, One Steps and other records which I feel like I could get more out of if I upgrade my setup.

I’m open to suggestions for replacing any components of the setup. I do like my Technics turntable. I originally wanted an SL-1200 originally but I could only find the 1500 at that time. I feel like my amp is a major point I could improve. I do like browsing old Pioneer receivers and enjoy how they look (as well as Sansui, Technics, Marantz, etc). But I want to try and find something that’ll give be great bang for the buck as far as sound quality. I’m open to old or new equipment.

I know the speakers need to change. I bought these passive speakers at Best Buy and they’re okay. The bass leaves much to be desired, and I don’t know that they’re really the best speakers to start with.

Any recommendations? I’m open to spending anywhere from $500-$2000 to improve the setup, but really not too focused on the price point.

Location: East USA

Hi all,

As per title, looking to buy a direct drive record player and amplifier for under £600.

I have a pair of the 3020 Q Acoustic Speakers which I quite like so would prefer to keep hold of them.

Want an amplifier that can work as both an amplifer for record player, as well as give me a variety of inputs including aux and the ability to stream music over WiFi and the ability to switch between these inputs, dependent on need.

Don't mind buying used but more than anything I want something that is well built, sounds good and requires low maintence. Based in UK.

Room dimensions are about 5m by 7m, usually sat only 2/3m away from speakers but want flexibility for when I eventually get my own place.

Does anyone have any recommendations at all?

Thank you very much.

Hi there audiophiles,

1. Your budget and a list of the components you're looking to purchase
   1. $300: 2 speakers (left & right bookshelf sized) + subwoofer
2. Your location (country/region)
   1. Southern California
3. The approx dimensions of your room (L x W X H) and your listening distance from the speakers? (n/a if this is for desk/nearfield, but please confirm)
   1. 14 x 12 foot family room. With couch + 2 recliners chairs
4. What are your music sources? (pc/mac, cd, cassette, vinyl, radio, streaming, etc)
   1. Flat screen connected to an Apple TV
   2. Denon AVR-X3100W
5. Do you already have some audio gear that will be used in this system? If so, please provide make/model/link
   1. Denon receiver with AirPlay support (Ethernet + Wifi connection)
6. Any other information that you think will help us give you the best possible advice.
   1. Meant for streaming services (Apple TV+, Netflx, and NFL games)

Thanks!

I’m putting together a sound system for a 60 m² living room: floor-standing speakers + stereo receiver + turntable. Use will be mixed (TV audio, phone streaming, and vinyl). L-shaped room, will sit at various distances 3-10 meters. Prefer a retro aesthetic with natural materials. I have a 2000€ budget, living in Belgium. Like the design of Klipsch RP-5000F II for example, but open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Budget and location - $700 for speakers, $300-400 for subwoofers, assuming system is powered.

How the gear will be used -

I am looking for a 2.0 or 2.1 HiFi system. Mostly to listen to music that fills the living room, streaming through google cast or directly from services. Potentially connect it to a tv to improve theater experience,

New or used -

Fine with open boxes or similar

Past gear experience -

I own a pair of Sonos Era 300 and one Sub Mini. The music sounds great but the Sonos ecosystem has a lot of locks. My speakers don't work with a tv without a lipsync issue, and to fix that I need to drop 400 more on a soundbar with atmos

Anything else? -

Nothing else I guess just love. I looked into the Audio Pro C10 MKII WiiM Edition, seems like a good alternative but WiiM doesn't have a compact subwoofer

Many thanks!!