[delvxe]

I am new here, so please forgive me if I step on my own toes a bit.

I am looking for some basic help as well as some recommendations.  I am about to take receipt of a very nice CD player from a friend. I cannot remember the brand, but he paid in the $1,000 range for it about a year ago. This is great, but the problem is that I have always had a crappy mini which will now be replaced. The problem is, I don’t know what else I need. I naively thought you could hook up the CD player to some speakers (PSB Image 25s probably). Now I know I need to plug the CD player into something but not sure what. I will only ever play CDs and would like to listen to FM radio but will never need surround sound or hook it up to my television / DVD player.

My question is first what do I need? A receiver? An amplifier?

My second question is what should I get?  Ideally it would be smallish and unobtrusive. I don’t have a big budget but am happy to buy something used.

Is there a place anyone here can point me to on the web to help me understand some of the basics?

Thanks for your patience and your insight.

[R_burke]

Some CD players, but not many, have their own volume control if yours does then you can get away with an amp and speakers.  If it doesn't then you need an amp, a pre amp and speakers.  Since you just starting out you may want to start with an integrated amp, or even a receiver.  Integrated amp is an amp and pre amp in one box, receiver is an amp, pre amp and tuner (radio) in one unit.  Decide how important radio is to you and then look for either an integrated amp or a receiver.  This site has a "trading post" where good equipment is sold and there are other sites that do that as well:  EBay, Audiogon, and AudioKarma are just a few.

A good rule of thumb for pricing is speakers, then amp, then source in descending price order.  You may not want to spend that much money since your source is $1,000.  None the less you should plan on spending more for your speakers than you would for your amp or receiver.

Speakers are a world in and of their own.  Decide what you want in terms of large room filling floorstanders, and or smaller bookshelf speakers.  I am assuming you want full range and not a monitor that has limited range (usually limited in the bass region).  Again check the sites listed above and then start going to some stereo shops and listening to different types of speakers. 

Happy hunting and welcome to the our world 

[WEEZ]

Take your time. A purchase made without a little research will almost always be a disaster.

What is your budget? Is your room large?

A little more to go on, and the advise you get will be more helpful.

WEEZ

[Rob Babcock]

Welcome to AC, delvxe!   You'll definately be happier with our purchase in the long run if you do a bit of research first.  Certainly it doesn't hurt to get recommendations (actually it's a good idea), but since what sounds good can be a bit subjective, and as you're the one who has to live with your purchase, you'll want to do a bit of legwork.

You may with to peruse the "Starting Block" Circle, right at the top of this forum section.  It has a lot of good info & links that will answer many of your most "nOObish" questions!

Have fun with it!

[G Georgopoulos]

here is my suggestions from cheapest to most expensive

option 1
cd
receiver
loudspeakers

option 2
cd
tuner (used)
preamp (used)
amp
loudspeakers

option 3
cd
tuner
preamp
amp
loudspeakers

[JLM]

Welcome delvxe -

Yes, more invoformation is needed: budget; musical interests; room constraints (size, is it shared); would this eventually be folded into a home theater system; are you interested in used stuff or willing to build/assemble some of it yourself?

If you make this into a hobby the hunt is half the fun.  Educate your ears (go to live performances, pick up a sound pressure meter and test tones to learn what frequencies and how loud you listen at).  Visit high end audio shops (don't listen to more than 3 or 4 systems per day to avoid "confusing" your ear).  Connect with local audio groups (that periodically get together and listen to various equipment and share advise).  Visit ecoustics.com for professional reviews and here too.

Just telling you to buy blah blah blah brand of stuff would be a dis-service.  You really need/should do your own research, soul searching, and decision making.

The advice to spend more on speakers than source is a good rule of thumb, all things being equal, but kits (particularly speaker kits) are available to greatly reduce cost.  Speakers are the most important component to select with care.  They will be the only component in your system to change energy from one form (electrical) to another (mechanical) and must do it in the unknown (to the designer) constraints or your room.

The room is undoubtedly the 2nd most important "component".  A dedicated room is ideal.  It allows for optimal speaker/listening positions, use of various room treatments, keeps your toys out of the range of little hands/paws, and of course listening when and how loud you want.  Unfortunately audio can be a very singular hobby.

The amp (short for power amp), integrated amp (pre and power amp combined to offer control, switching, and power), or receiver (stereo is rare now, or home theater multi-channel) should be selected to synergize (work well) with the speakers.  This goes beyond power ratings or even impedance matching (part of the hobby to learn).

Even if the CD player has a volume control, most are only suitable for "emergency" use as they lack range or compress the signal as the volume goes down.

The CD player your received is probably worth about half of original retail if its in good shape and not too old.  At retail the rest of your stereo system (speakers plus amp/integrated amp/receiver) should run about $1500.  Does that fit your budget?

[LightFire]

Based on the information you supplied. You should buy a stereo receiver (you can connect your cd player and it contains a FM tuner) and a pair of loudspeakers.

[delvxe]

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback, particularly R_Burke and JLM.  This brings a lot of clarity.  I looked around this week at some high end shops where they had systems that cost nearly as much as my house in Seattle. I have decided to either get a simply a power amp or a receiver. I am leaning toward a used receiver - maybe the NAD C720 BEE and a pair of PSB B25 speakers. Georgopoulos, I noticed you didn't suggest a used amp. Is there a paticular reason for this?

Here is a question, aside from speakers, amp, and source, what other accessories should I focus on? Good speaker cables? speaker stands? line conditioner?

Thanks again,
Terry

[miklorsmith]

For cables -

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

Fair prices, great construction, good stuff.  These guys are in Seattle.  They ship immediately.

Good advice all around.  Do you think this is going to be a hobby, or do you just need something to hear your music?  If the latter, then go for the integrated option, i.e. receiver or integrated.  If you think you might get the disease, keeping things separated has value.

Now for some gratuitous, self-indulgent opinion:  I could live with a basic solid-state integrated or receiver IF and ONLY IF the speakers were agreeable.  In this alignment, PSB's are not what I'd be aiming for, or their ilk.  The knock on solid state gear (sweeping generalities here) is that it is cold and clinical.  It can be hard in the upper frequencies.  This is often emphasized by digital signal (your CD player).

Add to that the common design empasis of speakers nowadays to highlight their superior tweeters and you can wind up with sound that may impress with sparkle and shimmer but ultimately will fall down.  You may not understand why, but you will never fall head over heels.

If you can find the space, which frankly isn't much, I would contact Louis at Omega about the biggest box he has for his 8" hemp drivers.  These will have superlative coherence, will not be sparkly (grating) in the treble region, and will allow any size amp you wind up with.  If you choose to investigate different amps, they'll play happily along, and will warm things up just enough, even with moderately priced solid state gear.

In your shoes, I'd go with the Omegas then figure out priorities on the rest.  The speakers would be game for any outcome.

[Bob Reynolds]

I have decided to either get a simply a power amp or a receiver. I am leaning toward a used receiver - maybe the NAD C720 BEE and a pair of PSB B25 speakers.

Here is a question, aside from speakers, amp, and source, what other accessories should I focus on? Good speaker cables? speaker stands? line conditioner?

I think you are on the right track with NAD and PSB -- you can't go wrong with either. I enthusiastically second the suggestion of Blue Jeans Cable for all you cable needs. I also suggest you keep a subwoofer in mind to pair with the PSB speakers. A sub from PSB would be good, but Hsu Research might be another one to consider. Good stands are worth the cost -- adjustable height is an advantage. Sound Anchor makes good stands, but they are pricey.

Good luck,
Bob