Help me help my Dad buy a new stereo system!!

I love B&W's however im merely helping pops choose and $300+ is not in the budget for speakers since he needs everything else too (receiver, cd players, etc...)

For what hes looking for im wagering Polks are the best bet....

 

I have Paradigm Atoms and love them. I'm not an audiophile, though. I want speakers that enable me to play all the music I own. I have no interest in listening to recording horribilities, regardless of how "accurate" they may be.

 

My current system does allow me to play and enjoy all the music I own. Every time I've upgraded my system it's brought me closer to the music and made all of my recordings more enjoyable to listen to. My system doesn't highlight "recording horribilities," it just gets me as close to the brilliance of the music as anything I've ever heard. Speakers that are less accurate just can't do that.

 

I had 805s, and the thing they liked doing most was emphasizing each and every flaw in a CD. A miserable experience I wish I'd never had. If only I had understood when I read qualifying phrases like "on good recordings" or "with a flawless disc such as blah, blah, blah..." that most recordings aren't flawless, or even very good. Wish I could un-remember that sound, or un-hear it, but that's not possible. Oh, well. This is how we learn.

 

I have 3 pairs of B&W's currently, and they certainly do not emphasize the flaws in recordings, nor do they only work well with flawless recordings.

 

Well, we obviously experience them differently.

 

A friend of mine has B&W's. I can't stand to listen to them either. They sound thin, weedy, flat and cool to my ears. They just lack the musicality I enjoy in my own speakers. He likes the sound though and prefers it to the much fuller sound of my Speaker Art super clefs. Different horses for different courses.

 

Obviously.

 

I am owner of a pair of Celestion F30 speakers; IMO they sound very good .
You can see the detailed specifications HERE
These good pair of speakers cost only around 200$

 

I just got the Sony DVP-NS775V a couple of weeks ago for $120Cdn and find this player quite good for the price. I prefer this player more than the Cambridge Audio DV55 which I now have on my second system. I don't know how the 775 compares to the CE595, just curious to know if someone has compared them.

As the speakers, my main system is running B&W 7NTs. I found these speakers sound very different in different environments and with different amps. Maybe that's why such a variance on opinions. Originally, I had them with a HK AVR30 (50W/ch) in a long open room (20x11) with 9ft ceilings and they sounded very good. I moved and had the exact system in a 24x16 room with 2 walls open and 1 wall with windows plus a 20ft ceiling. The system sounded crappy. I have since upgraded to Rotel RSX1065 which brought a good improvement in power, changed to Cambridge Audio DV55 which improved the audio (don't really like the video) and now at 50% of the price the Sony 775 improved the audio and video.

In addition, a friend of mine has the B&W 3?? (biwired) - can't remember the exact model, and they sound amazing at his house with just an old 80s Pioneer integrated amp in a smaller room.

I guess I'm bias in that I really prefer British stuff, but the Sony was a surprise.

Hope this helps.

 

I'm amazed that you were able to get good sound out of your 7NTs with a Harmon Kardon receiver. In my experience the 7NTs need a high quality amp to really sound good. The Rotel is an excellent choice. I recently upgraded my main system and as a result I was able to switch out the NAD receiver that was powering my 7NTs for the McIntosh MC122 amp that had been in my second system. It really improved the sound I was getting from the 7NTs a lot.

 

Does your dad have a system yet? I'd be interested in hearing about your shopping experiences.

 

UNfortunately no, we did not go shopping yet. ALthough I did tell him about all my findings and he was QUITE interested and really looking forward to our shopping trip. Now we just need to find the time. I am very, VERY excited for him, its been a long time coming!

Theres only so long a 57 year old man can listen to Tom Petty through plastic Sharp 3cd shelf stereo....man that thing blows!

 

Holy Crap that does help!

THanks man!

As soon as we make it out shopping ill give a full report!