I've been using older smartphones connected to the stereo in my garage and my living room to stream music. It works great except that the phone has to be plugged in at all times. Both of the phones that I've been using now have swelled batteries and I don't feel comfortable using them anymore. Is there a budget ​standalone component that can serve that same purpose without risking burning the house down? Less than $50? Thanks.

I live in Washington in the United states, and I am using an older Sony amplifier-receiver combination.

I’d like to get some budget speakers, probably for the the ProJect Debut E Carbon Phono turntable. Which ones are good in the 300–500€ range? Of course, I’d love to get a system for 300€, but most important to me is getting speakers that offer good value and that go well with the turntable. For example, I’ve already seen the Argon Fenris A4/A5 for €350/€430, and the Q Acoustics M20 HD for €430. I don’t know anything about this at all—are these any good, or should I keep looking? And should I also consider used speakers to save money or get more value for my money? O, and my room is about 12–18 m² I think and I live in the Netherlands. Does someone have advice?

Hi all.

Me and my wife have recently moved into a new home and our friends gifted us an AT-LP3XBT. We’re total vinyl newbies but love music and always wanted to have a "music corner" with vinyl.

Looking for active speakers with RCA for the turntable + Bluetooth for Spotify.

Room is ~30m and we mostly listen to DnB and rock, so decent bass would be great.

Location: Ireland

I'm OK with buying both new and used, but Ireland is quite small market, so the is lack of used options.

Budget: being a newbie I would aim for 200-600eur window (though would consider raising the cap if it makes sense). For now I would not like to go over 1000eur in any case as I'm not planning to use it too frequently.

Have been listening to music through earphones for my whole life so this is completely new territory. Would appreciate some advice.

I have some size limitations so looking for compact speakers (trying to improve WAF..)

I got to audit to the Emit 10s, and loved its clarity and how expansive the soundstage was - it did get a bit muddy at higher volumes through

I didn’t have the chance to audit the PMC as the only shop that carries it where I live don’t have one on demo

I also considered the Evoke 10s, but from reviews it seems the PMCs are better at that price point

Any thoughts on these speakers? Any other suggestions?

They will be hooked up to an Arcam A15 amp. Loving room is around 70sqm, but listening area is just half of that (they will sit on tv stand, with sofa right across the room at 3-4m)

Appreciate your help!

Budget: $1000
Location: UAE

I am building out a vinyl set up for my small collection that I am interested in growing. I'm starting with a modest set up to see how much the collection grows, so for now it will be Audio Technica LP70X -> powered Vanatoo T1E. In the short term and after I have some listening hours I might upgrade the stylus to their microlinear option, which I'm told is a substantial upgrade even on this turntable and something I could carry forward to a nicer turn table. Eventually I'm thinking ~$1000 table (assuming this all sticks and I feel limited) -> Schiit Mani 2 phono amp -> Vanatoo + sub.

From what I have read the Vanatoo perform shockingly well for their price, so if I want to make a meaningful upgrade I'd need to budget for $1500 - 2000 passive speakers and a solid amp to power them. I'm not willing to make that jump just yet, but I've read that they also really benefit from a subwoofer: they implement low pass filtering to free up their woofers and tweeters to focus on the mid bass frequencies and up, and just generally sound better with more bass.

I'd like to buy something that pairs well with them and in my current set up and ideally gives some room to grow. A compelling option I've found is the Speedwoofer 10S MkII. Assuming that is about my budget for now, are there other options worth looking at for this setup? I'm in the US, but unfortunately there aren't many high end audio stores in my neck of the woods, so listening to a lot is tough.

Many thanks for advice and options worth considering!

I've been using older smartphones connected to the stereo in my garage and my living room to stream music. It works great except that the phone has to be plugged in at all times. Both of the phones that I've been using now have swelled batteries and I don't feel comfortable using them anymore. Is there a budget ​standalone component that can serve that same purpose without risking burning the house down? Less than $50? "!Thanks.

I live in Washington in the United states, and" I am using an older Sony amplifier receiver combination.

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to this whole audio thing and I’m stuck between two setups. Hoping some of you can point me in the right direction.
My room is about 19 m² (204 sq ft). My receiver will be the Marantz Stereo 70.

The two options I’m weighing are:

1.	Dali Sonik 3 + Dali E-9f subwoofer  
2.	Dali Sonik 7  no subwoofer

I mostly care about listening to music. Movies and the TV/home theater side of things aren’t really a priority for me. Going with option 1 would save me around $500.
Which setup would you recommend? Is the sub worth it for music, or would the floorstanders on their own give me fuller, more satisfying sound??

Should I also be considering the Dali Sonik 5 + a subwoofer as a third option?

Thanks!

Max budget USD 3k

I’m setting up a vinyl listening area in a 12x15 room. Want to listen to classic American and British rock, jazz and some blues. I current have old KLM speakers that sound surprising okay, but certainly need an upgrade. I’m Not planning to add a subwoofer. I have an A/V system in another room with older Paradigms thst sound really nice for CDs to my ear and I’ve listened to vinyl at a friends on vintage Boston Acoustics that sound great. Those Boston A60 are a bit big for my current needs.

I’ve looked at and listened to Wharfdale 12.2i that sounded good to me but maybe slightly out of budget. I also listened to KEF Q1 metas that sounded good, too. Unfortunately, I can’t listen to both speakers together, and I think they’re quite different. They’re definitely on budget. Also considering Wharfdale 12.1i for both budget and footprint, since I liked the 12.2s but don’t think I’ll be able to listen to them. Also considering the newer Paradigm Premier 120 v2 since I like my older Paradigms, but I don’t think I’ll be able to hear them in person.

I know I don’t like bright speakers (For example, kilpsch sound very bright to me). Would love to stay in the $400-500 range if possible.

Looking to get this set up.
20x30ft living room for basic movies and music purposes
KEF Q3 front corners
KEF Q2,back corners
Kilpsh R 120SW back left
Denon AVR front right

Wiring through the attic

Is this too much or too little?
Any other brands to consider?

(Whats budget or location?)

Hello I have tinnitus in my right ear, and high frequencies tend to set it off. All roads seem to point at the Wharfedale Denton 80th anniversary as a warm speaker with rolled off highs. I just cant find a deal on a pair below the list of $599.

Yes, I have an EQ but it just won't seem to quell a hot tweeter. My receiver is a Nakamichi TA-2A, which is warm by nature.

Any other suggestions for budget bookshelf speakers for stereo?

I'm in the US.

Thx

Hi, everyone!

A few years ago, I bought a pair of KEF 104/2 speakers, which I’ve been using ever since with a relatively low-quality amplifier. I recently started thinking that it might be worth investing in a higher-quality amplifier, so I began doing some research.

First, I thought about what type of amplifier would best suit my listening habits. I listen to music exclusively from my laptop and phone, mainly using Tidal, so initially I thought that a Class D all-in-one amplifier with integrated streaming platforms would probably be the ideal solution for me.

However, I’ve also read on various forums that all-in-one streaming amplifiers may not be the most future-proof option, since software platforms and streaming services can eventually lose support. If I separate the streaming functionality from the amplifier, I might be able to get better amplification for the same money, while also having a system that could potentially remain useful for several decades.

I’ve also come across the common opinion that some traditional Class A/AB amplifiers can sound richer or more lively than modern Class D designs. I realize this is a somewhat subjective topic, though, and I’d be very interested in hearing the opinions of people who have actually used different amplifiers with the 104/2.

The logical alternative, therefore, seems to be buying a good traditional amplifier and pairing it with a separate streamer (e.g. a WiiM Mini or WiiM Pro). This would also mean that if the streaming technology becomes obsolete in 10 years, I could simply replace the inexpensive streamer rather than having to replace the amplifier.

Genre-wise, I mostly listen to alternative rock, but I also like grunge, nu metal, jazz, trip hop and dubstep.

My amplifier options so far:

• WiiM Amp Ultra / Eversolo Play

These would obviously be the options if I wanted to save money, but there are surprisingly good reviews and reports of great value for money, especially for the WiiM, on various forums.

In the country where I live, the WiiM would cost around €475, while the Eversolo Play is around €600.

With the WiiM, I might be able to minimize my concerns about longevity, since it’s relatively inexpensive and it wouldn’t be as painful to replace if its software became obsolete in 10 years.

One major drawback for me is the lack of AirPlay 2. I’m wondering whether AirPlay 2 is likely to be more future-proof than proprietary streaming integrations such as Tidal Connect.

• Cambridge Audio Evo 75

Honestly, physically, this is the one I like the most. It’s simply a beautiful piece of equipment. I know that with an amplifier you should focus on the sound rather than the appearance, but my heart still leans toward this one.

I’ve read a lot of positive reviews about its sound as well. My main concern is whether it makes sense as a long-term investment if, say, Tidal—or even AirPlay 2—were no longer supported in 10 years.

On the other hand, many people say that the Evo 75 is still an excellent amplifier even without its streaming functionality.

I recently found a used unit for €1,000 in my location, with a warranty valid until 2030. From what I’ve seen, this seems like a particularly good price.

• Audiolab 7000A / Cambridge Audio CXA81 Mk II / Rotel S14

These are some of the other models I’ve come across in a similar price range.

With the Audiolab and Cambridge, I could simply add a separate streamer. The Rotel S14 already has streaming functionality, so it raises some of the same long-term questions as the Evo 75.

As a relative newcomer to hi-fi, I honestly don’t know which of these would be the best match for the KEF 104/2, so I’d really appreciate some advice.

I’m also open to other alternatives in this price range.

I’ve read in many places that 40-year-old used amplifiers in this price range can offer significantly better sound quality than modern equipment at the same price. However, this would be completely new territory for me.

My main concern with a 40-year-old amplifier is reliability. How much longer can I realistically expect it to last? Do they generally require restoration or replacement of aging components? Since I don’t understand the electronics inside an amplifier and wouldn’t be able to repair one myself, buying a vintage amplifier would feel considerably riskier to me.

So, while sound quality is obviously very important, my main priority is long-term reliability and getting something I can keep for many years or even decades.

I’d also like something that allows me to connect my laptop or phone quickly and easily without having to deal with complicated setups.

What would you recommend for my KEF 104/2 and my needs?

Would you go for:

• a modern all-in-one such as the Evo 75,
• a cheaper all-in-one such as the WiiM Amp Ultra,
• a traditional integrated amplifier + separate streamer,
• or a good vintage amplifier?

And if you would choose a traditional or vintage amplifier, which models would you recommend looking for?

My budget is €1,000, and my listening room is quite small, so I don't need a huge amount of power.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Location: Bed room or living room.

Price range: $100-250

Basic listening speakers with sub-woofers, nothing too fancy (but captures the full-spectrum of sound. I want full clarity).

Even some brand names would definitely help.

Thanks!

Budget and location - 2k to 5k; - United States - California
How the gear will be used - 10X15 room with 20 foot ceilings primarily for stereo music
New or used -new/used
Past gear experience - Wharfedale Lintons with boutique DACS, AS2200 Yamaha, Rose streamers

Hi,
Just moved, building a hifi system for a living room / dining room shared area

Current signal flow:
* Bluesound Node N132 streamer (only for eARC path and spotify connect)
> Lynx Hilo DAC (yes pro audio)
> preamplifier (NEEDED)
> Parasound A21+ amplifier
> speakers (NEEDED)

Needs from preamplifier:

• Tone shaping (ESPECIALLY!!! - bass treble etc)
• Balanced XLR in/out (must have)
• Strong voltage output + very low noise
• Low output impedance
• High-quality volume control
• DAC on preamplifier will be bypassed

Considering:
Parasound Halo P6

I'm considering the Polk R700s at the moment as a baseline for the speakers but I'm not fully committed to them yet. I just want an awesome foundation that new preamps and speakers can be inserted to. I'm leaning towards a Parasound Halo P6 at the moment, but I think there may be other options for perhaps better tone controls and EQ or even DIRAC. Keep in mind the preamplifier would not do much aside from setting crossovers and powering the sub and doing tone controls

I am looking for some advice to check myself while getting into a mid-fi / hi-fi journey. I little background to explain where I'm at. I love music and appreciate sound, but I have never really had a hi-fi setup. The most I've had is a 5.1 setup that was given to us. I loved being able to listen to music louder without distortion and the wider stage but was always disappointed in the lack of hit to the sub. I have had a couple of cars with decent factory speakers plus a sub and enjoy those. I know that hi-fi is one of those things that when you hear something better, you can't go back and your expectations then also rise. I am a tinkerer, I don't mind putting in some work and adjusting things. I actually love researching and fully understanding how things work to then be able to make adjustments. I'm not worried about having to align things or things that have ways to adjust this and that. Though I do have young kids and don't have time for a restoration at the moment.

To start, I am looking into getting a first turntable. First, Budget and Location, I am in Florida, U.S., the Tampa-Bay area, and am willing to spend up to $500-$600-ish on the turntable itself. I listen to a range of jazz, brass-band, New-Orleans funk/blues, rap, hip-hop, electronic (whatever re:um and Labrinth are), and electronic dance. Though I don't expect to listen to the electronic dance on vinyl. What I am looking to do, is start to get some equipment, a turntable first, with the understanding that I will acquire better equipment down the road. What I would like to avoid with the turntable, and everything, is that I don't want to get some good surrounding components, speakers, amps, etc., and then realize that I need a whole new turntable in the next 5-10 years. I don't want to get a good set of speakers or amps to realize my turntable sucks and can't keep up. So, I am hoping to get some advice on a solid turntable that I can expect to be happy with for years. For instance, I like that with turntables, you can upgrade certain components to get a different experience, thinking about cartridges in particular. But maybe also upgrading to a new platter or new arm and bearings.

I have been looking at Fluance, Pro-ject, and Rega, among others. Maybe the Fluance RT81+ is a good place to start. Or maybe I should start with the RT82 and leave an upgrade path to an RT85? Or maybe I should just get an RT85? I do have some young kids and I wonder how sensitive the turntable will be. It isn't like they will be using it much but could one clumsy drop of the arm ruin a $200 cartridge? Also, am I cutting myself short by jumping straight to nicer equipment and losing the appreciation that comes with hearing the difference of an upgrade? Though it appears much costlier to upgrade a turntable compared to getting one with the upgrades from the factory. Does the Rega have a longer upgrade path? It seems like Fluance has a better value than Pro-ject for new turntables, but I have recently seen a used Pro-ject Debut Carbon Evo for $465. Might that be a no-brainer? Though I wonder about buying used turntables if the entire point is for it to respond to the vibrations of micron level grooves, when parts wear or it hasn't been treated great, that ability must be affected. I have read of course about plenty of people being happy with their vintage turntables purchases. But I am skeptical of how well I can evaluate a used turntable in those 5 minutes when you go to see it.

How I'm thinking of hooking up the turntable. We have been listening to music on a Sonos Move for years. Recently, I found a pair of Edifier S1000db on marketplace which has reawakened my interest in better sound and stereo. My intention is to first get a turntable, with or without a built in phono, and hook that up to the Edifiers. I have a concurrent project of bettering our whole home audio. To that end, I am leaning toward making a raspberry pi, with an audio hat, into an Airplay 2 receiver to hook into the Edifiers. It looks like I should be able to stream to both the pi and the Move over Airplay 2 to get better sound spread around the house. From what I can tell, it looks like some of the pi hats from HiFiBerry will accept a phono line-in to then run the RIAA correction and then send out to the powered Edifiers. So, to start, I'm wondering if I can get away with using one of those pi-hats as the phone pre-amp. I also have a small SVS sub that I bought from a neighbor, it is powered and its only has an LFE input. I am hoping, but not sure if it could work, to run the Edifiers off of the digital output from the pi-hat and the sub off of one or both RCA outputs to get an Airplay 2 receiver 2.1. I'm not sure how that will all work and is maybe best addressed in one of the diyaudio subs. This would probably be located in our dining room which is in the middle of the house. It is about 14'x20'.

Assuming that initial plan works, the upgrade path would be better speakers, that I will probably want to make myself, which would need an amp so I would probably take the A/V Receiver route and move the turntable and the "better sound" to the living room and leave the pi-Airplay 2 receiver with the Edifiers in the dining room. And then run the TV through those speakers, maybe eventually running PC games through the receiver to the TV.

To end, I have been stuck, perseverating on this for a bit and I understand it is a bit of a stream of consciousness. I have gotten stuck wanting a good turntable that I won't regret and trying to figure out if it will fit in with the wider goals.

I don't post much on Reddit, but I will keep the thread open for a while to respond. I appreciate anyone that is willing to read all of that and offer their opinion. Thank you! If this is better posted in a diyaudio or the turntable sub, please let me know.

Budget and location - ~$10,000 total, planning $6K for speakers + $2-4K for amp. Located in a United States metro with access to a few local shops that specialize in hifi.

How the gear will be used - music is most important; however, will be connected to a TV (games, movies). Streaming audio. No plans for vinyl... yet.

Room size is ~225 sq ft room. The room has a vaulted ceiling that slopes to the second floor. The speakers will have walls behind them, and a wall ~13 ft from their placement (prime seating is ~10-11 ft from speakers).

New or used - Prefer new. Goal is to buy something that I can stick with forever (yeah, yeah, I know...)

Past gear experience - Current set up is ~$1200 home theater, 7.1 with Atmos. We don't care about surround, and want to create a high-end music listening experience.

Anything else? - I've auditioned several speakers, and narrowed the options down to a favorite: the Focal Aria Evo X No 3. At $6K/pair, that leaves up to $4K for the amp. Amps have been much harder to navigate because no local carrier has them all, meaning direct comparisons are difficult.

Options I'm considering:

• Hegel h150: excellent technical match to the Focal speakers; however, very limited features (no WiFi, basic interface, optical only, etc.
• HiFi Rose RS520: slightly more expensive than Hegel; seems to provide what I'd need to drive the speakers, but I'm not sure if they're actually complementary because I haven't found anyone local that carries this model. I like the features a lot (WiFi, eARC, touchscreen). While admittedly gimmicky, I love the album art display and the ability to control the unit from an app.
• Cambridge Evo 300: Same price point as the Rose, with more power and a few more unit features (like the dedicated sub output); not quite as flashy as the Rose
• Lyngdorf TDAI-1120: This one makes the list because I wanted to compare to a great option that isn't at my max budget, and the Room Perfect correction is interesting.

It seems like the Cambridge Evo 300 should be the winner, and worth spending toward the top of my budget vs the lower cost Hegel or Lyngdorf. But before I commit, I wanted to get a second opinion. What am I missing?

My father passed and he bequeathed to me, his early 1970s Pioneer SX-535. Was always in awe of the sound quality (he had it paired with giant 1980s era box speakers) and can’t think of a more perfect item to remember him by.

Would love any more modern speaker recommendations- book shelf? Towers? Is a subwoofer out given lack of dedicated channel?

Budget is <$1500 and located in the U.S.
Hardly an audiophile but really appreciate a setup that makes you go “damn, that sounds good”. Will hookup a turntable and a Bluetooth adapter to the RCA ports. Maybe a TV to add some punch to movies (have 7.1 in other room for true HT experience)

Open to any suggestions.

Thanks.

My set up is the RT82, Fosi X5 pre amp, fosi ZA3 amp. I was going to go with the KEF Q150 speakers but they don’t seem to be available on the market. My budget is around 1000-1500$ CAD. The set up is intended for listening in a dorm room and I don’t plan on getting a subwoofer so the speakers will be the only speakers.

I don’t want an AV amp with lots of extra fluff, just a simple stereo amp for a 2+2 setup. Dual sub outs are rare enough, but getting them in stereo seems very rare. I’d prefer it to have Airplay input but it’s not essential.

I’m currently using an Integra DRX 3.4; it works well, but it’s overkill with all the AV stuff. I want a simpler system, preferably in a smaller footprint, like WIIM or Schiit stuff. I’m currently driving two Infinity towers and Sunfire subs; I may upgrade the towers.

Anything out there? Budget is under $2k.

I'm interested in buying a cd player as I've recently started collecting cds and need some help finding some based on the features I want. Based in Australia and my budget is a couple hundred ($400 max) as I dont want to spend alot on it. My room is around 6m by 4m. I want it to have remote control either from a remote or Bluetooth. I also want to be very square as I'm not a fan of curved cd players. Doesn't need to have it but some ability to see the cd as it's playing would be nice or for it to have a cool moving mechanic like the Panasonic sa en25. I like the look of the 2000's cd players, but I want to be able to buy it new. I know these requests are picky, but I can't find any way to find a cd player based on these requirements.