I'm looking for recommendations for a mid to high end system not over £1K.

Needs to have

• Pretty good sound quality
• CD/FM/DAB
• iPod dock, and HDD to store its own music

I've looked through the 'obvious' sites like Currys and the nearest they have is the Sony NASE300HD but Mrs TC doesn't like the style and I have some doubts if a mass-market product will give the best sound (yes I know MP3 is a shitty compressed format but I want to start with good kit for at least a fighting chance for my CDs and LPs).

TIA

Originally Posted by Mr. Dazzle

Seperates Hi-Fi is the way to go at this price, you'll not find anything like that in Curry's et al. Even a cheap set-up will sound better than a combined system.

What he said

I dunno if Hi-Fi buffs rate them or not, but I've always had excellent service from Richer Sounds stores. You really must try before you buy too, something that RS will let you do no probs. I'd just go to one of their branches and tell them what you've just told us.

Richer will be pushing Cambridge Audio (because they own CA ). Nothing wrong with Cambridge stuff - we've got one of their DVD players - but there's other choices out there.

Pick up a Yellow Pages, look for local hi-fi shops, Go and audition as much stuff as you can. And use your ears not your eyes

The RS website looks promising - had heard the name but hadn't considered them thus far. Been to a few 'separates' shops but those seem to be run by techies for techies..... hence asking for any reccs

Thanks to all BTW - good stuff - keep em coming

You could consider getting an AV receiver, and having surround sound for your TV, too.

I have an Onkyo receiver, which has FM radio built in, with a Samsung Bluray player providing DVD / CD source, and a Kensington iPod dock. A JBL subwoofer, JPW front and JBL rear speakers.

It's not the ultimate in hifi for music, but it's relatively compact, convenient, and sounds good enough for our living room. And having good quality sound for movies is awesome.

If you have the cash to splash, i'd get a valve based amp at least. The sound really is unique.

Checkout Richer Sounds - The UK's Hi-Fi, Home Cinema & Flat Panel TV Specialists! as they cater more for those who have the cash.

True. You'd only be wanting to buy surround at sub 1k if it's specifically that which you are after, rather than audio from radio/music.

I've also had good service from Sevenoaks in the past (Sevenoaks Sound & Vision).

One persons ace system might well be anothers horrendous cacophony because people prefer different "tones" to the music so it's always best to go and listen to it yourself rather than rely on a review or recommendation, although they are a good place to start.

For reviews, AVForums.com Home and AVForums home cinema equipment reviews are good alongside your normal review type sites.

Originally Posted by Tomcat

I'm looking for recommendations for a mid to high end system not over £1K.

Needs to have

• Pretty good sound quality
• CD/FM/DAB
• iPod dock, and HDD to store its own music

I've looked through the 'obvious' sites like Currys and the nearest they have is the Sony NASE300HD but Mrs TC doesn't like the style and I have some doubts if a mass-market product will give the best sound (yes I know MP3 is a shitty compressed format but I want to start with good kit for at least a fighting chance for my CDs and LPs).

TIA

If you're going to be playing mp3's or other lossy formats through a high-quality sound system then you're wasting your money. I've tried playing high bit-rate mp3 through my system and the system just shows how bad these lossy formats are in terms of fidelity.

As for separates..I recommend and use Arcam. Excellent stuff, but it isn't cheap.

I'm not disputing that separates are better, but if 'er indoors really wants to go small and neat try the Bose kit. SWMBO was determined to remove "ugly black boxes and wires everywhere" when we redecorated. She likes the small neat Bose, and for a very small unit it sounds good.
They also do a 30 day trial so if you cannot stand the sound you can send it back.

Originally Posted by Slenver

In terms of the iPod part, I wouldn't get too hung up about it. All you actually need is a 10-quid cable of course, or a 15-quid dock if you want it to look pretty. Quite a lot of lower-end stuff will have an integrated dock which is all very neat, but I wouldn't limit yourself by only considering these..

There is a problem with this insofar as the iPod (like every other mp3 player) does not have a proper lineout. You'd be using a headphone output and that just doesn't have the ooomph to properly drive sound into an amp. There headphone jack is usually tuned for a completely different input impedance. This results in a low volume output through the amp and not enough dynamic range. In short...it sounds shit.