help me build a system for $1200


I am a medical student, and as such, already have tons of debt to begin with. That said, I've been wanting to upgrade my current system (cambridge audio CD player, squeezebox v3, a 10 year old NAD receiver, and a pair of minipod speakers that I received for free). I will probably keep the cambridge audio CD player for now.

So I've been perusing audiogon incessantly the last week or so...but can't seem to come up with a good integrated/speakers combo. I have thought about the following systems:

Onix sp-3 (for about 500-600 + onix ref 1/epos M5
musical fidelity ($700)+ quad 11L
jolida 502b + something in the 600-700 range

and this last crazy idea:

sonic impact super T amp ($150!) + an efficient speaker in the $1000 range (suggestion?)

I'd love to hear your comments.

John

p.s. This new system will be used almost exclusively for music. My current room is pretty small I'd say about 13x20 with 9 ft. ceiling. My musical taste is mostly indie rock...with the occasional jazz and "electronic" thrown in.
eungdamr

Showing 1 response by sfar

There are lots of good choices. I've been putting together similar systems for friends, relatives and colleagues and the best bang-for-the-buck integrateds I've found are the Audio Refinement Complete and the Creek 4330R. The best small speaker for little money I've discovered is the Usher S-520.

Of course, I haven't tried everything out there but I've cycled through half a dozen amps and speakers in that price range and the ones above are the ones that I'd keep for myself if I wanted a second system.

The Sonic Impact amp is actually a pretty interesting idea as long as the speakers are efficient. I've built several modified versions of the original T amp, putting them in new cases and replacing all the parts except the board. The sound is very good but the output might not be enough for you in a room that size.