New Hi-Fi up to ?500

[SuperDanX]

Looking for a new hi-fi set up. Im by no means an audiophile so i need your help please. My budget is up to 500? max, and the only specs it must have are cd player, dab radio and ipod docking, although im not intrested in a ipod dock alone. Thanks for your help.

[charlesr]

Does it have to be separates? Denon do some nice micro systems for £300-£400 with all that stuff.

Otherwise, http://www.richersounds.com/informat...st=hifisystems

[Garf]

Agree, some of the higher end systems are pretty good (Denon, Onkyo, TEAC etc) Apparently, Yamaha make some well rated all in ones as well..

Must admit, when I look to upgrading my kit, I'll be torn between separates and an all in one type thingy (that said, I'm no audiophile either)

If you get an all in one, you'll then have some money left over for a good set of speakers maybe..

A mate has this one..

Sony

[saif]

Richersounds are having an amazing clearance thing at the mo, I cannot recommend separates enough. They last ages, are adaptable and, most importantly, sound much much better.

Stereo or surround? or both?

[SuperDanX]

Seperates or an all in one is okay Stereo would be fine. Was looking at the Denon micro systems with upgraded speakers maybe? What should i be looking for when it comes to speakers?

[SuperDanX]

Or one of these, http://www.vitaaudio.com/products/vitaaudio-r4.html
not sure how good they are and am a little unsure about going with one of the 'niche' companys rather than a brand name, worring over nothing?

[charlesr]

Yikes. What's the point in having stereo if the speakers are next to each other. imho.

[eASY aDDICT]

Just taken a look at the Vita R4 and would be interested in hearing it to see how it performs. It gets some cracking reviews and seems to cover all audio bases.

[Brats]

Richersounds are having an amazing clearance thing at the mo, I cannot recommend separates enough. They last ages, are adaptable and, most importantly, sound much much better.

I agree. Separates will sound much better and you have far more choice, which means there are some real bargains to be had.

[kernow]

Those richer deals look alright for the money, but eltax speakers.. meh

I'd definitely get the dock seperate and not aim for a hifi with a dock built in. I'd even consider just using the dock that came with your ipod and plugging it in via analogue inputs. As for DAB Radio, I wouldn't have that built in either because they've changed the codec used in the past and made some older DAB stuff completely obsolete.

[charlesr]

DAB radio is plop anyway on most channels on decent hifi. Really low bitrate. Has benefits though (lots of channels, listen to them all over the place).

[kernow]

maybe an airport express so you could listen to digital radio via itunes (would you get the full 'range' of available DAB channels that way though? hmm)

plus I guess you could just connect the pc directly to the stereo. doh

[ucci]

Have a gander at www.Superfi.co.uk

Onkyo do some good seperates - bargain DVD receiver here

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3980

then KEF IQ speakers

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4942

- KEF are good for punch and bass

or if like clarity go NAD

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4863

[kernow]

I quite like that NAD setup, good price.

[SuperDanX]

Cheers guys, was just going to ask for the names of some cant-go-wrong-with brands for seperates and speakers. I'll have a mooch around.