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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
cleaneduphippy
323 posts
 
My first choice would also to be to keep your NAD receiver and put the money into some better speakers.

Second choice, I would recommend a Jolida 502A or B (I have the 502A myself, and both amps are essentially the same) and perhaps match it with a pair of Quad 11L (or even 12L, as it'll give you a little more bass) or maybe even one of the smaller Spendors like the S3/5 or S3/5se. Btw, have heard both the Jolida/Quad and Jolida/Spendor combination, and they both combinations worked quite well together.

Truth is, the Quads and the Spendors should work quite well with your NAD receiver and Cambridge Audio CD player, with the added bonus of leaving a quite a few dollars in your pocket for stands, wire upgrades or even a few more CDs.

Best of luck in med school.
gsm18439
895 posts
 
One of the best bargains in audio is a used pair of Spica TC-50's (or TC-60's that have deeper base, but are harder to find and sacrifice in other areas). A pair in decent shape can be had for $300 or so plus stands.
ptt660
20 posts
 
John, a couple of thoughts to go along with some excellent feedback here.

i have had the quad 11L's in a room similar in dimensions to your's. If you choose the quad's, I feel you would be better served moving up to the bigger 12L's for improved bass response. The 11L's were great but bass impact in the mid-sized room i have was not enough. These quad monitors are excellent for jazz by the way. The roksan kandy mk3 integrated amp is known to go well with the quad's. I feel they need a lively sounding amp (which the roksan is) to complement the quad's laid-back nature. The roksan kandy mk3 and quad 12L's could be had for around $1200 used on audiogon.

The previous recommendation of the usher s-520's is a good one. I have these and feel they would pair well with your nad receiver and save you some money for now. The usher's are a little on the bright side, which would balance out with the slightly dark sound of your nad receiver.

good luck with your search and have fun with it!

regards,
Paul
cleaneduphippy
323 posts
 
T'all do know this thread started over a year ago on 06/09/06. I missed it when I made my posting, but I'm betting that Enugdamer has alread made his decisions about what he's going to do with his system. Guess in the future, I';; pay attention to when the orginal thread was started. :-)
ptt660
20 posts
 
ouch! i hate when that happens.
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