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A 'First' System for my Son

I am considering the purchase of a 'first' audio system for my 18 year-old. Not sure if this will be a long-term interest for him, but I think there is some basic curiosity there.

Anyone have recommendations on a good starter system? I would definitely consider one of the 'all in ones', something like the Cambridge Audio One +. Not sure just how much true music fidelity this thing can offer, but it does have a headphone jack and an iPod dock. Or, maybe an all-in-one just won't cut it; I would consider spending a little more on separates. There are probably some good deals here on Audiogon. I'm not even sure if a CD player is really a necessity here. An iPod dock, a headphone jack, USB, or lossless MP3 ability is important. Suggestions?
stickman451

Showing 1 response by tobias

tobias
1,534 posts
 
My sons each have a NAD 320BEE amplifier and a pair of Paradigm Titans. The Titans are wall-mounted (with Smarter Speaker Supports) so to tame the boom from the rear port, the port is stuffed with a sock.

Both of them stopped using their CD players quite a while ago. Their source now is iTunes and a connection from their computers.

One guy uses a 2-meter Zu Pivot cable from the headphone output. This cable was a very nice upgrade from a $10 Radio Shack miniplug-to-twin RCA.

The other guy listens a bit more carefully. He has a Muse Audio TDA1543 outboard DAC and a TeraDak USB-to-S/PDIF converter. Cables are by Canare (the S/PDIF cable is 1.5 meters long) except the USB cable. That's by Audiogoner Acreyes.

If the source were to be an iPod and not the computer, I would suggest using a Zu Pivot cable, or one just as good, and a SendStation PocketDock. The PocketDock gives you a line out jack from the iPod's dock connector. It's a cleaner-sounding alternative to the iPod's headphone jack.

More recent NAD amps in the C320 series have a minijack input on the front panel. Using it just means you don't have a cable hanging off a rear-panel input.
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