Ideas for third system/upgrade path

junglefox88

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Hi there. I've been reading this forum for about a year and had some good advice in the past, not to mention picking up some excellent speakers from the classified section!

I'm curious about suggestions for interesting or fun ideas for a third system.

My main system in the living room (2.8m x 4.3m) is a Linn Wakonda and LK140 and a pair of Harbeth HL2 speakers. The second system in my study (2.3x2.3m) is a Yamaha A-S500 and a pair or Rogers JR149 set up in an extreme nearfield position. The source for each is the same: 2 x Technics 1210 and and a basic Ortofon concorde for vinyl and a Bluesound Node 2i and a Chord Qutest, all through a Mastersounds Radius 2. The Radius is a high end DJ mixer, which functions as a decent preamp for the record players and offers multiple outs to the two systems. Amongst other things, I get multi-room, but in a wired way. I would say that 80% of my listening is digital (Quboz or internet radio) and the music I listen to is fairly broad: folk, soul, electronic, ambient, paradise garage era disco, shoegaze, astral jazz, modern classical etc.

The first question then, is for interesting speaker and amp combinations for a third system in an open plan family room/kitchen diner (4m x 7m roughly). Everything would be in the family room end, but there are still plenty of hard surfaces around and conditions would be sub-optimal for serious listening. Currently, I'm using a pair of cheap active Mackie monitors, which are better than bluetooth speakers, but still limited. My budget would be maybe around £800 and I'd be interested in something fun and a bit different to the Harbeth/Rogers/BBC sound. In that area of the house, it would get a lot of use, sometimes as background music to cooking, eating but also some more focused periods of listening on the sofa. 

The second question, is whether I should instead be thinking about upgrading part of the first two systems to free up kit for the third set up. I have a pair of Mordaunt Short Mezzo 2 speakers in storage that could be paired with one of the amps, if I upgraded there, for example. I'd be interested in suggestions for amps that would pair well with the Harbeths or the Rogers.

Thanks for reading!

 

tuga

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I would put my money on the system I listen to most.

For work I use the iMac speakers (after all I am working and music is only playing occasionally and at background levels), for cooking and other chores I either plug some headphones onto an old iPhone full of mp3s or use my son's butter-block sized bluetooth speaker (no need for high fidelity here either), so that means the family room system gets my undivided attention and budget.

If your main system is your main system then I'd consider replacing first the amplification and then the speakers.

 
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Southeastern

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Buy a Naim Muso for 2nd and if necessary, 3rd.

I use a Muso in the kitchen and office, I couldn't deal with listening to poor quality music anywhere. My car has a Bang Olufsen system also.  The Muso is a great hybrid between good quality hifi sound, but without the faff, space, room domination of a full system. 

For a cheaper option, the Audio Pro C range is absolutely fantastic. The C5 and C10 and game changers for Bluetooth/Airplay speakers at that price point. 

 
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junglefox88

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Thank you. It does make sense to prioritise the main system, although the reality is that I'll be spending more time pottering about the kitchen than in the main living room. Hmmm.

The Audio Pro range is really good. I picked up one of their budget offerings for work and was very impressed.

I've been looking at the Croft range of amplifiers and some vintage Quad amps and wondering how they'd pair with the Harbeths. 

 

Southeastern

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Thank you. It does make sense to prioritise the main system, although the reality is that I'll be spending more time pottering about the kitchen than in the main living room. Hmmm.

The Audio Pro range is really good. I picked up one of their budget offerings for work and was very impressed.

I've been looking at the Croft range of amplifiers and some vintage Quad amps and wondering how they'd pair with the Harbeths. 
This is why I put Musos in the kitchen and office, I spend more time in there realistically, so having something very good makes such a difference, but the Muso also looks good, takes up minimal space and is built in with most streaming platforms. I use Roon, so have control of the Musos and the main system through one interface.

I find it surprising when people use crappy Bluetooth speakers when not using their main systems, as there are such great quality affordable units , like the Audio Pro stuff. 

 
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uzzy

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Thank you. It does make sense to prioritise the main system, although the reality is that I'll be spending more time pottering about the kitchen than in the main living room. Hmmm.

The Audio Pro range is really good. I picked up one of their budget offerings for work and was very impressed.

I've been looking at the Croft range of amplifiers and some vintage Quad amps and wondering how they'd pair with the Harbeths. 
The answer to this is simple - run extension speaker leads to the kitchen and put a speaker switching box in (if you do not have provision for two sets of speakers on the main amp) and have the second pair of speakers in the kitchen  ... 

 

pmcuk

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One of the best bargains you will find is early Wharfedale Diamonds, mk 1, 2 and 3. Good sound and pretty much given away and plenty about. So you could put all the money into a really nice amplifier. I'm all for tubes, but for a kitchen I guess something more practical. I don't know the Sugden class A amps, but that would be one suggestion given the good feedback I read here. 

 

junglefox88

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Tubes! With the harbeths that's quite tempting, but I'm also a bit wary of extra maintenance/cost/faff. 

 

tuga

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Tubes! With the harbeths that's quite tempting, but I'm also a bit wary of extra maintenance/cost/faff. 
Load is generally benign on most models (except for the smallest sealed-cabinet one) but sensitivity is on the low side so you'll need some power.

 

junglefox88

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worth a look especially if (like mine) your cooking involves a lot of oil & fat. You don't want cooking debris in your cd player/amplifier etc so put your speakers out of harm's way in the kitchen and run some extra wires to them.
Thanks. I see that. In this instance, they'd be right at the other end in the family room area, so probably ok, though I wouldn't be looking to set anything too high end up there. 

 

DomT

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Another vote for a Naim Muso. In our small kitchen we happily use a Roberts internet radio. If we had more space would get a Naim Muso or similar depending on space. 

Otherwise I would be tempted by a speaker designed to be hung or fixed to the wall like some Kefs. Dali do some wall hanging speakers. I haven’t heard them but I have heard other Dalis. 

 

DomT

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And just to add to get something that is easy for all of the family to use including the kids if you have any. 

 

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