Hi-Fi Upgrade Recommendations

[JtB]

I've got an old 70's Hi-Fi (separates) in the living room which is long overdue an upgrade. The Hi-Fi is linked into my wireless Sonos network through a gateway (Sonos Connect) and I also have plans to expand my wireless Sonos network with a soundbar (Sonos Playbar) and woofer (Sonos Sub) for the TV.

My question though is how to go about upgrading the 70's Hi-Fi in the living room which currently consists of an amplifier (50w), speakers, CD player, cassette deck and turntable. My initial thought was to upgrade first the speakers then the amplifier, but maybe these two components should be upgraded together.

Everything on the old 70's Hi-Fi is still working, but my motivation for upgrading is that I want a richer sound and I also want some more aesthetically pleasing speakers.

Any advise or recommendations much appreciated - thanks.

 

[derrick]

Naim

 

[Hill Wimp]

@phil_hg_uk has just upgraded at Richer Sounds

 

[cisamcgu]

^^
That - classic 70's hifi is as good or better than any budget stuff today- - the only possible exceptions are:
1) capacitor degradation in amplifiers
2) foam/rubber decay in speakers
3) general wear and tear on the mechanical mechanism in the CD transport

But basically, it is probably better than anything you can buy for a reasonable amount now a days

 

[Dan B]

If that 70s hi-fi includes a 70s CD player, post pictures :-)

 

[JtB]

It's a cheap and nasty Japanese system that does not sound great. Also, the CD player was an 80's addition to the original system.

 

[mustang1]

If that 70s hi-fi includes a 70s CD player, post pictures :-)

+1.

Actually post pics anyway, including any old speakers you have, if that's OK.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Yeah, if you've got one of those rubbish Linn turntables I'll take it off your hands.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I keep wanting to recommend my Arcam stuff for these sort of questions but then I remember it's 15 years old and probably not the latest and greatest anymore.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

I keep wanting to recommend my Arcam stuff for these sort of questions but then I remember it's 15 years old and probably not the latest and greatest anymore.

I love Arcam gear and I have an Arcam Alpha 7 amp myself that I have owned for many many years from new but the new range is hideously expensive compared to the competition & doesn't have digital inputs which at £695 to start is just silly. So I just upgraded my amp to the Cambridge CXA60 amp for £499.99 and it is excellent. I have also upgraded my B&W 601 S1's to a pair of B&W 685 S1's I picked up on ebay for £146 which was a bargain considering the S2 version is £500

 

[phil_hg_uk]

@phil_hg_uk has just upgraded at Richer Sounds

Oh is someone talking about one of my favorite subjects

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I love Arcam gear and I have an Arcam Alpha 7 amp myself that I have owned for many many years from new but the new range is hideously expensive compared to the competition & doesn't have digital inputs which at £695 to start is just silly. So I just upgraded my amp to the Cambridge CXA60 amp for £499.99 and it is excellent. I have also upgraded my B&W 601 S1's to a pair of B&W 685 S1's I picked up on ebay for £146 which was a bargain considering the S2 version is £500

Arcam 8 amp, 7 CD, Tannoy M3 floor standers.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I've got an old 70's Hi-Fi (separates) in the living room which is long overdue an upgrade. The Hi-Fi is linked into my wireless Sonos network through a gateway (Sonos Connect) and I also have plans to expand my wireless Sonos network with a soundbar (Sonos Playbar) and woofer (Sonos Sub) for the TV.

My question though is how to go about upgrading the 70's Hi-Fi in the living room which currently consists of an amplifier (50w), speakers, CD player, cassette deck and turntable. My initial thought was to upgrade first the speakers then the amplifier, but maybe these two components should be upgraded together.

Everything on the old 70's Hi-Fi is still working, but my motivation for upgrading is that I want a richer sound and I also want some more aesthetically pleasing speakers.

Any advise or recommendations much appreciated - thanks.

Why not just replicate the Sonos system in the living room?

The Connect Amp and some decent floor standers would sound good.

CD's aren't worth bothering with - just rip them to FLAC etc and stream.

Cassettes are a waste of space sonically and try as you might they will always sound poor.

***

I have a Sugden/Dynaudio system fed via a Logitech streamer and I have been thinking of switching totally to Sonos or Bluesound as I am pretty sure my ears are lacking the ability to hear eg high frequencies as per yesteryear!

 

[raleighnut]

I love Arcam gear and I have an Arcam Alpha 7 amp myself that I have owned for many many years from new but the new range is hideously expensive compared to the competition & doesn't have digital inputs which at £695 to start is just silly. So I just upgraded my amp to the Cambridge CXA60 amp for £499.99 and it is excellent. I have also upgraded my B&W 601 S1's to a pair of B&W 685 S1's I picked up on ebay for £146 which was a bargain considering the S2 version is £500

I managed to get a set of B&W 602 S3s before they changed the range, lovely sound mind you they are driven by a pair of QUAD 303s (one for each channel) and I now use a QUAD 44 pre-amp/control unit.
For inexpensive modern gear though Cambridge kit takes a lot of beating, as for speakers I think I'd go Tannoy next time I have to buy new.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

I managed to get a set of B&W 602 S3s before they changed the range, lovely sound mind you they are driven by a pair of QUAD 303s (one for each channel) and I now use a QUAD 44 pre-amp/control unit.
For inexpensive modern gear though Cambridge kit takes a lot of beating, as for speakers I think I'd go Tannoy next time I have to buy new.

I just love B&W speakers I am on my 4th pair in 30 years the first 2 pairs I sold and the 3rd pair (DM601) I still have on the HiFi in the bedroom.

When I was looking at a new amp I had a demo of the Cambridge Audio AZUR 651A and the Marantz PM6005. I hadnt even considered the one I ended up buying as it had only just come out, but it just totally blew away everything else I tried it was just in a totally different class and as it was £200 cheaper than the entry level Arcam and had the addition of the digital inputs and bluetooth it was a no brainer