Recommendation For A Decent Sound System.

[RimBlock 0]

Yup, I am also quite skeptical of him selling right after purchase. Many questions pop up. Haha... You had a good deal as you know what to look out for. As for us first-timers, not confident in getting 2nd hand products with little knowledge. How about Definitive Technology Mythos Nine?

Yeah, saw that too. Difficult as in Singapore not many people openly advertise the prices.

I believe this could have been the speaker I demo'd my subwoofer with. I personally didn't like it too much but then I may have been a bit spoiled .

Best bet is to let your ears do the listening.

Buying second hand, you are never sure of how the equipment has been used. This can be especially true of speakers and subs which could have been run hard, under or over powered. It is also hard to test against other equipment as the seller usually only has one item to sell so buying from a shop will give a better idea against comparable products.

I tend to do a bit of research, check prices, and compare with other products of the same price and work out if the difference in price is worth that fact that the item is not new. When I go to buy, I just listen to check for defects rather than to check the sound as I have nothing to compare against and aural memory tends to be very subjective. When I bought the Opus center I listened to the sellers Opus 2 and then the Opus. For me they sounded more or less the same and so getting a speaker that sounds like an Opus2 for half the price is a bit of a no brainer.

I think research and user feedback is the key and with some wild and wonderful speakers, this can be a bit of an issue. Past that it is checking with your ears and looking for any obvious damage. Damage and marks can indicate they have not been looked after as well as they could be. Someone is selling some Dynaudio speakers which have some ring marks on the cabinet. I would stay away just due to that unless they are very cheap. Someone who puts candles or hot cups on the unprotected wooden speaker enclosures may have done a lot worse things with the speakers you cannot see.

So what have you got short listed so far or are you still hopping all over the place like a guy with chilly down his pants .

RB

[EmptyDivided 0]

Yeah, saw that too. Difficult as in Singapore not many people openly advertise the prices.

I believe this could have been the speaker I demo'd my subwoofer with. I personally didn't like it too much but then I may have been a bit spoiled .

Best bet is to let your ears do the listening.

Buying second hand, you are never sure of how the equipment has been used. This can be especially true of speakers and subs which could have been run hard, under or over powered. It is also hard to test against other equipment as the seller usually only has one item to sell so buying from a shop will give a better idea against comparable products.

I tend to do a bit of research, check prices, and compare with other products of the same price and work out if the difference in price is worth that fact that the item is not new. When I go to buy, I just listen to check for defects rather than to check the sound as I have nothing to compare against and aural memory tends to be very subjective. When I bought the Opus center I listened to the sellers Opus 2 and then the Opus. For me they sounded more or less the same and so getting a speaker that sounds like an Opus2 for half the price is a bit of a no brainer.

I think research and user feedback is the key and with some wild and wonderful speakers, this can be a bit of an issue. Past that it is checking with your ears and looking for any obvious damage. Damage and marks can indicate they have not been looked after as well as they could be. Someone is selling some Dynaudio speakers which have some ring marks on the cabinet. I would stay away just due to that unless they are very cheap. Someone who puts candles or hot cups on the unprotected wooden speaker enclosures may have done a lot worse things with the speakers you cannot see.

So what have you got short listed so far or are you still hopping all over the place like a guy with chilly down his pants .

RB

Yeah I agree with RB on the Mythos 9. A lot of fellow forum posters are liking the Deftech speakers. I have personally heard the mythos 9. I did not like what I hear and for that kind of price, I felt at that point of time, I would have better and more options.

Second hands are "caveat emptor" for everything regardless. Like you, this is an entire new hobby and the amount of research, write ups and reviews are too many.

What I did was read up on the many write ups and reviews, choose what I like from my research, go to the shop and listen. Try and use the amps that you are going to purchase to pair it with the speakers. Then I played different tracks, movies and music and see if I liked them. Then I asked for prices.

With a knowledge armed, I search for used items if I can to save some money. How do we know if we are buying a "lemon"?

Test the speakers/amp like what you would do at the shop. If the seller stops you from certain things, then something might be amiss. It might not be a bad thing, so just ask why. Maybe he has sensitive neighbors or their baby might be asleep.If for some other reason that I can't understand, then I would give it a miss.

Look at their demographics. Ask them what they like to listen to.Talk to them and ask questions. Why are they selling? What music do they like, what movies they love and if they have complaints from neighbors. If its rock music and they love jamming their systems, it is usually a sign their drivers have received a fair amount of wear and tear. It might seem to be stereotyping but i think it is a fair deduction. Look at their settings as well and other equipment used.

You would somehow know an audiophile fanatic when you see one. And if I may stereotype again, many of them take care of their systems immaculately. I wish you luck on your search and hope you get some great buys!

These should give you a good indication on how much wear and tear the system has gotten, besides a visual and physical inspection.

[dan2512 0]

Hi I am a newbie very interested in getting a entry level system. Can anyone advise in the mirage mx5.1? Is it worth the money or should I go for Def Tech pro800? Understand mirage is kinda a sys which can fill up a small room, but still torn over both sys. Thanks in advance.

[RimBlock 0]

Hi I am a newbie very interested in getting a entry level system. Can anyone advise in the mirage mx5.1? Is it worth the money or should I go for Def Tech pro800? Understand mirage is kinda a sys which can fill up a small room, but still torn over both sys. Thanks in advance.

First of all,

Budget:

Useage;

Movies: %

Music: %

Any other requirements (eg. flat speakers, small speakers, any size speakers)

This will help provide suggestions rather than an endless back and forth of 'what about this' and 'what about that' .

RB

[Herlynn 0]

Wats ur opinion of a 5.1 system which comes with those small small speakers and sub? Or should i get a floorstand or bookshelf? I gonna put in my living room. Wat i expect of my ht is they should be able to create heavy accurate bass and the vocal and instrument sound must be crisp. Eg. Shoul be able to listen clearly to the sound of glass shattering . Wow. Care to comment please. My budget is very low and max is 2k please and honestly i would prefer a floorstand coz it looks great in my living room.

[RimBlock 0]

Wats ur opinion of a 5.1 system which comes with those small small speakers and sub? Or should i get a floorstand or bookshelf? I gonna put in my living room. Wat i expect of my ht is they should be able to create heavy accurate bass and the vocal and instrument sound must be crisp. Eg. Shoul be able to listen clearly to the sound of glass shattering . Wow. Care to comment please. My budget is very low and max is 2k please and honestly i would prefer a floorstand coz it looks great in my living room.

Hi Herlynn,

I think you will be hard pressed to get floor standing speakers for 2k unless you look at an all in one system. A reasonable entry level subwoofer will set you back over S$500 on its own. To this end I think we need to manage your expectations.

KEC are doing a few packages around your budget area at the moment but be aware there may be a few extras like cables or stands (if needed). A three of these offers I would strongly recommend listening to are the Yamaha 467 & Q Acoustics 2000 series, the Onkyo 508 with the Wharfedale 10 HCP (slimline) speakers and the Pod speakers and the Marantz NR-1501. All arre around 2k - 2.1k. They can be found here.

A rule of thumb is that you should listen to a number of systems. Don't feel pressured to buy right away. Go out for a coffee and thing then come back later or another day. Don't be led. Just because someone tells you that XXX speakers sound more detailed, listen for yourself and ignore them. People prefer different types of music / sound and so you should buy based on what you like the sound of.

Hopefully that is enough to get started with .

RB

[Herlynn 0]

Thanx rb for the advise and i would like to share with all my shortlisted systems if i have manage to find those of my choice. And i welcome ur reviews. My last best sound system i guess is a NAD integrated amp and 2 way JBL bookshelve. Cant recall the exact model number. The amp went missing when i move house in 1997 i guess. Sharp treble and i should say good bass as no sub were used. That i only use for music and not movies. Even my dad love it. Hope to own a good one this yr end with the help of u all the sounds forumers. Thannx in advance.

[Spikey 0]

hi all

Purchased my kef t205 already...now looking for a suitable amp to pair it with. Any recommendations? Budget is $2k.

[RimBlock 0]

hi all

Purchased my kef t205 already...now looking for a suitable amp to pair it with. Any recommendations? Budget is $2k.

Looking at a 2k budget, I would take a look at the Yamaha RX-V1067, Onkyo TX-NR808 and the Denon AVR-2311 which should all be around that level give or take 100-200 S$. All three amps are a level above the standard entry -> mid level for most people. I would also be tempted to look at the level below (Yamaha 667/671, Onkyo 608/609) or the like to see if they are good enough and the extra may be spent somewhere else like another pait of T105s to give a 7.1 system rather than a 5.1 if that is what you currently have. 7.1 is currently not used very much but will probably come in more as time goes buy.

Go have a listen and report back as I am sure the information will be useful for others as well.

RB

[Spikey 0]

Looking at a 2k budget, I would take a look at the Yamaha RX-V1067, Onkyo TX-NR808 and the Denon AVR-2311 which should all be around that level give or take 100-200 S$. All three amps are a level above the standard entry -> mid level for most people. I would also be tempted to look at the level below (Yamaha 667/671, Onkyo 608/609) or the like to see if they are good enough and the extra may be spent somewhere else like another pait of T105s to give a 7.1 system rather than a 5.1 if that is what you currently have. 7.1 is currently not used very much but will probably come in more as time goes buy.

Go have a listen and report back as I am sure the information will be useful for others as well.

RB

I was reading What Hi Fi and the Pioneer VSX-LX53 comes highly recommended. Any idea how much it goes for here?

[prodigus 0]

hi all

Purchased my kef t205 already...now looking for a suitable amp to pair it with. Any recommendations? Budget is $2k.

How much did you get it for? I went down a couple of weeks ago and was quote 2.6k.

For a 2k budget, you can go for a nice mid range amp. Onkyo TX-NR808 and Pioneer SC-LX53 are having a lot of excellent review. For more details, you can check out whathifi.com. They provide a very detailed reviews.

[prodigus 0]

I was reading What Hi Fi and the Pioneer VSX-LX53 comes highly recommended. Any idea how much it goes for here?

Just been to Best Denki today. They are selling at SGD1699.

[RimBlock 0]

Just as a note.

WhatHiFi is seen as being not the most accurate reviewers. They are known to circum to market forces when doing reviews (i.e. products have been given more favorable reviews due to the manufacturers advertising budgets or threats to withdraw all advertising). Now this does not mean their reviews are worthless as there are many other examples of the same products getting good reviews elsewhere. The technical knowledge of the reviewers is also more than a bit suspect with reviewers claiming that a certain HDMI cable adding more vibrancy and detail to a picture which, if you know anything about how information is transferred over an HDMI connection, you would know is complete rubbish.

Use WhatHiFi as a guide of items to demo and then make your own mind but don't us it to choose a product for you without giving that product a good listen.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Just been to Best Denki today. They are selling at SGD1699.

Give a call to a few shops in The Adelphi and they may be able to beat it. I got my Yamaha 667 from Courts and could have saved quite a bit if I had bought it from Adelphi instead.

RB

[Drexter 0]

My shortlisted 46" Sony NX710 at $2499 discontinued. The version after that was NX720 which cost $4699. **** ex. Any other brands or models that are comparable with NX710 to recommend?