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Best small flat stereo setup <€1600

D

dante_a

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Hi all,

I am looking to buy a stereo setup for background music listening (jazz, soft rock, soul, classical etc.) in my small apartment (c. 30m2 living room with open kitchen).

Considerations:
  1. I know that I will be upgrading my speakers in 2-3 years to 2k+ EUR, floor-standing ones (once I move to a bigger flat), so I don't want to be spending more than 500-800 EUR on the speakers - BUT, I would like the rest of the equipment (amp, streamer) to be enough to power them in the future.
  2. I want the streamer to be separate from the amp
After (way too many) hours of research I've realised that I can either get a traditional integrated amp (e.g. Yamaha A-S801 or Cambridge Audio CXA81), or go down the path of Class-D.

Sooo... I have distilled all the information to the following:

What I don't understand:
  1. If I get Hypex... should I get pre-amp with a volume knob to make sure I don't blow up the whole apt by mistake? Which Hypex amp manufacturer would be the best from features/future-proofing perspective? It seems like Apollon are well-regarded (and I really enjoyed reading their posts!).
  2. And - obviously... which speakers to get? :-)
Thank you very much for your kind help and guidance!
 
Last edited:
levimax said:
Buy a streamer and put the rest of you budget into a pair of active speakers. This will give you the best sound for your money.
Click to expand...
This. Don't buy amps you don't need. I'd get the Kali LP-6v2 and the Wiim streamer and call it a day.

Kali Audio LP-6v2 (Second Wave) 2-Way Studio Monitor Review

Kali Audio LP-6v2 2-Way Studio Monitor Review
www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Other options:

www.audiosciencereview.com

Active Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

I'm constantly asked which speakers to purchase...so, here you go! :D This guide is for ACTIVE speakers. For PASSIVE speakers go here. Click on the "Spoiler" buttons below to expand each section. Readme: Legend: Active Speakers (aka Studio Monitors): Bookshelf speakers (when turned 90deg)...
www.audiosciencereview.com www.audiosciencereview.com
 
I'll add another vote for actives given the brief... You can get Genelecs or Neumann in your budget and be in good shape. They hold their value well so when it's time to upgrade you can get a decent chunk of cash back on the secondary market.

If you are set on passives I think all your options are pretty good. I'd go for Elac or KEF among those, it's a matter of taste between the two so try to hear them in a shop if you can.
 
I bought the WiiM Pro Plus, was so impressed I ended up selling it and buying the ultra 3 months later. Both are very user friendly and really enhance the Hifi experience but if you might value the USB & HDMI functionality, Ultra is a no brainer. I like having the screen on the ultra too. When not in operation it displays the time and when on I have the VU metre showing. Of all the money I have spent in this hobby, the Ultra is my favourite Hifi purchase by a mile.
 
Buy a streamer and put the rest of you budget into a pair of active speakers. This will give you the best sound for your money.
Click to expand...

As mentioned earlier, I am planning to buy new 2k+ EUR floorstanding speakers in c. 2 years time, once I move (I don't even have space right now for full-size ones). I am not sure why I should be putting all my money into speakers which I know I will be selling in 2-3 years time... I'd rather invest in good peripherals which will survive the upgrade and last for 15+ years, and speakers to carry me until that time (i.e. 3 years), which I wouldn't cry about if I moved them to a bedroom or gave to a nephew... :P
 
I had the Kef Q350s, which I really liked. Of the ones you listed, I'd say the Q3 Meta, as long as you don't want to listen at rave party volumes.
This isn't technical advice, just subjective advice based on what I liked.
 
dante_a said:
As mentioned earlier, I am planning to buy new 2k+ EUR floorstanding speakers in c. 2 years time, once I move (I don't even have space right now for full-size ones). I am not sure why I should be putting all my money into speakers which I know I will be selling in 2-3 years time... I'd rather invest in good peripherals which will survive the upgrade and last for 15+ years, and speakers to carry me until that time (i.e. 3 years), which I wouldn't cry about if I moved them to a bedroom or gave to a nephew... :P
Click to expand...
As mentioned if you buy some well known speakers like Neuman or Genelec they will be relatively easy to sell when you are ready to upgrade. Technology is racing ahead on electronics and amps are going to depreciate more than speakers so you will be able to get both better sound and lower cost in the long run. Either way is fine though... enjoy.
 
Hmmm. How about this: really good active speakers now. For 1000-1500 there's terrific ones. Then later at the new place, just add stands and a subwoofer? Will give great performance and no worries about reselling and wasting money.
 
I understand that maybe just once we try to offer a solution that is different from those foreseen, but once the user has said that he is not interested I don't understand why we should insist on proposing something that for us seems better but which evidently for the person posting it is not.
 
dante_a said:
Hi all,

I am looking to buy a stereo setup for background music listening (jazz, soft rock, soul, classical etc.) in my small apartment (c. 30m2 living room with open kitchen).

Considerations:
  1. I know that I will be upgrading my speakers in 2-3 years to 2k+ EUR, floor-standing ones (once I move to a bigger flat), so I don't want to be spending more than 500-800 EUR on the speakers - BUT, I would like the rest of the equipment (amp, streamer) to be enough to power them in the future.
  2. I want the streamer to be separate from the amp
After (way too many) hours of research I've realised that I can either get a traditional integrated amp (e.g. Yamaha A-S801 or Cambridge Audio CXA81), or go down the path of Class-D.

Sooo... I have distilled all the information to the following:

What I don't understand:
  1. If I get Hypex... should I get pre-amp with a volume knob to make sure I don't blow up the whole apt by mistake? Which Hypex amp manufacturer would be the best from features/future-proofing perspective? It seems like Apollon are well-regarded (and I really enjoyed reading their posts!).
  2. And - obviously... which speakers to get? :-)
Thank you very much for your kind help and guidance!
Click to expand...

Whenever I get lost in the what if situation, I demo and know what to do.
Listen to a few speakers listed above.
Then you know where to start.
Personally, I find the dbr 62 really good and hard to beat for the money. Kef (Q3 meta or R3) will be a good contender too.

My experience so far is that really good amps can be really cheap.
Good quality speakers is where you can hear the difference. So I would always opt for the best speakers your budget can afford.

(Btw: if I were in your situation, I would choose a Wiim streamer + amp all-in-one. At a later date you could add a iom hypex amp in matching case.)
 
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