Hifi buffs

[oshuk]

I used to own a quality hi fi system, and as time has gone by this has been replaced by i-tunes. I don't even buy cd's records now Are there any decent speakers anyone could recommend for playing music from the computer? Something small and un-intrusive preferably.

If quality is important you need to take the Digital to Analog Converter on your pc out of the equation. What is your budget?

Not sure really, not hundreds though. I won't pretend I understood the first sentence!

Oops, I'm afraid the words 'hi fi buffs' and 'quality hi fi' meant I was thinking in tems of, er, quite a few hundreds!

Well yes, but I don't have hundreds. Thought things might have moved on a bit since the days of my mission 10's (budget but good) or the very large kefs. OK Mr Anchovy, what do you have in the way of a sound system, and do you play itunes through it. Does it matter what sort of music you are going to play as it used to in the old days. I remember having to have a certain sort of stylus to go with the type of music too. Or maybe I'm just talking shit.

We bought a Bose ages ago and it is still going strong. Got it hooked up to the mac and also iPhone wirelessly, and is great for watching films too. When DH accidentally watered it instead of a plant he asked them to fix it and they did it for free

Are you normally fussy about sound 2to3? I am, hate tinny speakers. Maybe I should check out what hifi at some point.

Watching this thread with interest

Mission still make great budget hi-fi speakers at about £120, you could team these with an £80 Cambridge amp or maybe one of the budget Tripath amps (I haven't heard any of these personally) or a decent second hand amp from eBay.

I store my music files on a server which stays on all the time (NAS for Network Attached Storage) and a wireless Sonos system feeds various systems around the house, primarily a Cyrus 8 running an ancient pair of Castle Severns.

I can't recommend Sonos highly enough, but it is not cheap (although if you already have an iPhone/iPad/Touch you don't need to buy a remote control). The Logitech Squeezebox is a viable alternative.

On my PC I have these which for less than £25 work far better than they really should!

As for type of music, yes it does make some difference as it always has (for instance my Castle's don't have enough bass weight for Dizzee Rascal//Bob Marley/Saint Saens Organ Symphony but give Adele/Joni Mitchell/Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas a warm clarity I love (it really is impossible to talk about hi fi without sounding like an arse isn't it?)

the trouble is I dont want anything big and messy. I don't want amps and stuff either - used to have a british made NAD 3020 (I think) which was fab, but seriously do just want something that sounds as good as a decent hifi, but coming from the itunes on computer. I'm probably a very difficult customer!

Actually have just looked at the sonos link and will investigate. This looks just the ticket. Hopefully there will be a 'listening centre' near me.

Thanks Mr A!

That's the problem with Hi Fi, what you want is always more than you wanted to spend! You could also look at these although I haven't heard them, or one of the Bose systems although these have never impressed me.