Janus77 Posted March 19, 2009 Posted March 19, 2009 Hi All, Sorry for my first post to be a question, have been on this site all day reading people's posts realising how little I know about home audio! Anyway, I've been running a sony mini system for years off my computer, and it's starting to give up, i've had it for 10 years anyway, the minidisk quit on me after a few years, it's been going faithfully till now. The idea has always been to upgrade to a component system when i'm able, and i guess now is the time to start. My budget is not high, though i'm happy to pay for low end quality components. I'm looking at buying a Pioneer A109 amp from a guy second hand, it's had about 4-5 years use, and is reputed to be working fine (i will check this when i view the amp). The price is nice at $55, so i figure i don't have a lot to lose by giving this thing a go. Essentially I'll be hooking up my mini system speakers to it to start, then i'll hook up the TV and my computer to play music. The thing is I'm happy to pay about $300 for a good low end amp if it will make a big difference, though for playing music out of itunes, is it worth it? For that price too, I'd be looking to get something new I think with warranty. For the speakers, i'll use my current ones for a bit, I've looked online and really like the look of those www.orbaudio.com stereo systems, they seem to get good reviews, does anyone have any experience with these? This would be probably what I'd look to purchase in the following months once i get used to having the amp. Anyway, thanks for your help guys!
the.decline Posted March 19, 2009 Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) i say in this case your weakest link would be your speakers. The 109 new is ~$350 so for $55 if its working fine then i say go for it and save your pennies for new speakers. Looking at the orb speakers.. is it right to assume you plan on having your speakers on your PC desk? Or can bookshelf speakers be accommodated? Edited March 19, 2009 by the.decline
Janus77 Posted March 19, 2009 Author Posted March 19, 2009 I'd have the speakers by my television in the lounge room, i just plug my laptop in normally, so the amp will be plugged into the tv too.. Bookshelf speakers would work too I guess, I don't have a lot of space which is one of the reason the orb speakers are appealing.
Grizzly Posted March 19, 2009 Posted March 19, 2009 Welcome Janus! I second what TD said. Buying good quality used gear is the budget enthusiasts' best mate. (I'm in the same boat!)
the.decline Posted March 19, 2009 Posted March 19, 2009 looking at small yet affordable speakers the Tangent Evo range may be a good option. Either the E4 or E5's with their E8 sub if you would like to go 2.1. http://www.tangent-audio.com/00003/00016/00128/
Janus77 Posted March 19, 2009 Author Posted March 19, 2009 thanks for the info, will check them out. Picked up the amp this morning, $55, excellent condition, all the nobs switches work properly. Wasn't able to hear the amp, but the guy has a bunch of them, so if the speaker outputs don't work, I'll take it back. My first peice of component audio equipment!
snakeyfi Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Janus77 said: thanks for the info, will check them out.Picked up the amp this morning, $55, excellent condition, all the nobs switches work properly. Wasn't able to hear the amp, but the guy has a bunch of them, so if the speaker outputs don't work, I'll take it back. My first peice of component audio equipment! I hope he's not a house breaking type thief.
Janus77 Posted March 20, 2009 Author Posted March 20, 2009 No, it was an audio visual company selling old stock, i went to their office, the guy had to mark off the serial numbers for the ones sold etc, seemed very legit. They have a bunch of them, so he said if there's any issues with inputs or speaker outputs or anything, I can take it back and replace with another one. Anyway, getting all stoked to hook it up and see how she goes. Now i'm doing research on speaker systems.. very interested to see if the amp makes any difference to the sound coming out of my mini system speakers.
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