benmarks

Thanks Eloise, they're a possibility. I'll check them out. Ben

Annoyingly, I'm not going to be able to use stands. Here are some things I'd be prepared to consider. Any thoughts what might work best? Add a subwoofer (prefer not to), bi-amp speakers, buy AVI 9.1s which are active speakers -- perhaps with the subwoofer. Will these get me closer to the 'real thing' I mentioned? Any thoughts?

I will be running my new system (yet to buy it) -- Mac Mini or iMac through a Sonos. I auditioned an old Cyrus amp playing some big AE floorstanding speakers and the sound was brilliant -- very full, rich and bright -- brought a big smile to my face :-) Then the bad news. Last week I discovered I would only be able to use bookshelf speakers (max depth 350mm) on bookshelves (not stands). It's going to be in a big room too. I listened to some systems on Saturday and I was so disappointed. None had big sound I craved. Is there a way, ideally without using a sub-woofer, that I can get that sound back? If anyone can recommend a setup (amp, speakers (and maybe, optionally a CD)) for say under £2k, maybe £2.5k I would be very grateful! I'd be happy enough to buy new or used kit. (Note that money will all be for the new system, not the Sonos, etc). I can live without the CD. Thanks! Ben Marks

Ok, thanks for that very useful summary / recommendations. I am getting the message now! I'm going to spend some time researching kit now. Any tips on what speakers and amp combination I should go for (budget about £1600?) -- considering the Neo might not be best for me. I'm probably going to be getting Cat 6 cabling now having taken so much advice suggesting I go for a wired solution.

Many thanks to everyone for your thoughts. I've taken away the following. 1) I may as well wire the place, largely as a precaution if I want to become more of an audiophile later, or just as a precaution - wire has higher bandwidth and is more reliable. 2) But on 'lossy' music I should be fine with wi-fi or repurposed co-axial cable. 3) Maybe I'm over-paying for the cabling (although I'd need a LOT of cable in this new place and I have to get a professional company in to do it as my builders won't touch Cat 6). I'm still undecided, actually, but I have a better understanding of the issues now. Thanks again to everyone for your help.

Looks like it's going to be an eco-palace! Must be a lot of fun. You've got to watch some episodes of Grand Designs (UK Channel 4 - superb show). Ours is an existing building in a boring street but will still take 6 months! Anyway, thanks for the advice.

Chris, I wanted to house the Mac Mini in a different room from the amp (other side of the house). But it could be right next to our main TV. So I guess we won't have to use Apple TV or at least I'd be able to 'wire' that bit of 'wireless'. So I want to have lovely music coming from my Mac Mini, over the airwaves playing 'lossy' AAC files. Given that (probably nightmare) scenario, how would you best go about trying to get excellent sound? One friend said a good thing would be to buy a good old amp from the 1970s -- it would sound warm and make up for the harsh, lossy AAC files I'll be sending it. I guess I'd want to control my music selection via iPad or iPhone... So what would you do? Would you buy a good 2nd hand amp?

Hi, my name is Ben and I'm not an audiophile. Sorry about that, had to get it out of the way... For anyone who's still with me I'd really appreciate some help! I love great quality reproduction on music but have been suffering with a small set of iPod speakers for the past few months as I'm in rented accomodation awaiting a big deal move to a new hose I'm having renovated. We move in in 6 months. I was intending to install Cat 5 cabling throughout the new place so I could get a high data stream between a Mac Mini server and the TV, the amp, etc. But a techie at a party the other night said I was crazy and I should just set up the Mac Mini and use Airport Xpress to get music around the home. Or a Sonos for a 'Rolls Royce' solution. I've read around this site quite a bit now. And I think these are my key issues: * Most of my music is on 'lossy' AAC. Is that going to be my greatest constraint to listening pleasure? Would installing Cat 5 throughout the house make life significantly better than just using the wireless options? The techie I met said the sound quality would be almost identical. * I had intended to buy a nice amp for the new home - Arcam Solo Neo + big B+W speakers. Am I throwing good money after bad (given most music is on AAC), will these systems just make my low quality sound louder? Should I stick with a more modest amp? * Would you recommdend something like Twonky or should I just keep everything on iPlayer? * What would you do if you were in my shoes (I'll be saving around £6k or $10k if I don't install the cable, some of which I'd be prepared to divert to better hardware). Sorry these are probably very naive questions but I'd appreciate any guidance from you guys! Many thanks in advance. Ben