Please, a suggestion!

[Rosy]

Hello!

I'd like to know what king of stereo equipement you hear your favorite music.
Beacause I would like to buy a new stereo, I would get some advice from forum friends; in particular amplifier, Cd player, speakers

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Thank you very much!

Ciao

Rosy

[charlesb]

Hi Rosy,

It is good to hear from you again, it seems like we have not heard from you for awhile.

The short answer to your question is: I don’t know what you should buy.

Choosing stereo equipment is very personal. It depends on the sound you like, the size of your room(s), how much you can afford to pay, where you live (you can’t have a loud system if the walls are so thin that you will annoy your neighbours).

As a music lover, you probably have a stereo system already. Do you want to replace it all? If the CD player and the amplifier are still OK, it might be best to just buy better speakers.

In an ideal world, you should hear the equipment you buy first. These days, it is hard to find shops in England (and maybe in Italy) that allow you to listen first but you probably have friends with stereo systems. Ask them if you can take some of your favourite CDs round and try them on their systems. This will give you a better idea about what you like and don’t like.

Once you have an idea of the kind of sound you are looking for, read the reviews on sites like Amazon to see what equipment is most likely to please you.

Are you sure that you need a separate CD player? Most DVD and Blu-ray players will play ordinary CDs as well.

You ask what stereo systems we have. I have a 20 year old Bang and Olufsen Ouverture for my CDs and an even older Bang and Olufsen music centre for my LPs. I like the warm sound of B & O equipment but I know that other people prefer a more punchy sound. My speakers are B & O too.

[~Linda~]

Hello Rosy

I have just returned from holiday so I have only just read your post.

I agree with Charles that choosing your equipment is very personal and subjective as the sound quality we like differs from one person to the next. To some, a warm sound can appear too mushy and lacking clarity, whilst to others a more analytical sound can appear too bright and harsh. Your room furnishings should also be taken into consideration so try and find a dealer who will let you try out the equipment in your own home. For example, I borrowed a pair of speakers to try out before I made the decision to buy a pair.

Like Charles, my own equipment was bought about 20 years ago and consists of a Pioneer A400 amplifier, a Marantz CD-72SE and a pair of floor-standing KEF Q30 speakers.

Best wishes

Linda

[stuartg]

Dear Linda - Pioneer A-400 - memories, memories! £230 of sheer excellence!

For the record, I like my music thrown in my face, so I have a 13 year old Naim system. Will need to replace it in the near future, but the prices nowadays!

P.S. I have just returned from a 3 month traversal of Eastern Europe & Turkey where my iPod crashed and left me with only up-loadable 1970s Rock!

I have just spent the last 10 hours back in my London flat drinking incredibly cheap Champagne (all I can afford these days!) re-loading classical music to my iPod.

Of course I started with Karajan - do my immediate alcohol-influenced choices reveal anything interesting?

Here are the first 20 re-loads that I did:

1. Schoenberg, Berg ,Webern 3 CD box set (2nd Viennese)
2. Beethoven 9 1963 BPO Live
3. Mahler 4 Galleria
4. Das Lied von der erde Galleria
5. Brahms 1, Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht, RFH 1988 Testament
6. Beethoven Overtures 2 CDs Galleria
7. Bruckner 8 BPO EMI 1958
8. Bartok Concerto for Orchestra & Music for Strings Percussion and Celeste - Galleria
9. Debussy La Mer, Prelude A L'apres midi d'un Faun, Ravel Bolero & Daphne Suit 2 - Galleria
10. Opera Intermezzi DG 1968
11. Bruckner 9 - 1966 - Galleria
12. Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Serenata notturna D-dur & divertimento KV 287 - DG digital 1982-88
13. Respighi Fontane Di Roma, Pini Di Roma Antiche Danze Ed Arie Suite 3 DG The Originals
14. Sibelius Symphony #3 - Testament ;D
15. Debussy Pelleas et Melisande EMI Great Recordings of the Century
16. Turandot VPO - DG
17. Mahler 9 BPO Live 1982 DG
18. Shostakovich 10 - Digital DG version
19. Strauss 4 Last songs, Tod und Verklarung, Metamorphosen - DG Originals
20. Franz Liszt Hungarian Dances, Rhapsodies, Hungarian Folk Fantasy & Mephisto Waltz

Stuart

P.P.S. UPDATE Later that morning - I must have sat in a draft while I made these uploads last night because I woke up with a neuralgia in my head. Anyway I have added The 1961/2 Beethoven SACD Cycle - glorious stuff! Will put the Ring on next.