2. tech-talk
  3. 1098153788

Help - Need Audiophile advice on small systems

Hey guys - I need some help - I want to give someone I know a really good Stereo system for a present. I would LIKE to give a real good quality audiophile system w/ all the latest Dolby Digital/EX /Pro Logic II/ DTS-ES/ NEO 6, DVD-Audio, SACD, DVD-RW, CD-RW, DTS-CD, VCD, MP3, multi channel surround bells and whistles, etc.

VERY Big problem - they have EXTREMELY limited space available (Very small studio/loft apartment). Due to that single fact - I need to find a quality MINI sized system.

I have never been impressed with mini or micro systems - I have never found one that came close to a full blown system. IMHO most seem to be made with the teen age rapper or gamer in mind rather than the audiophile.

Does anyone know of a really nice one they could recommend?

Looking through Bose, Cambridge, Sony, Pioneer, and B & O, just make my quest seem less likely....

Thanks for the help...

Rob
itjock42d6
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
You forgot to mention your price range.

Dave
tombowlus
416 posts
 
Well, can you fit a "full sized" receiver, or do your electronics have to be "mini", too? If you can fit "regular sized" electronics with smaller speakers, I think that you can fairly easily put together a quality, small system. If you must have DD, DTS, etc., then I'd go for a Rotel receiver with your favorite universal player. For speakers, I'm sure that you will have tons of recommendations, but to narrow things down, I'd go with NHT, Totem, or ProAc, depending on your price range. The NHT SB1/SB2 are very good for their size. The Totem Dreamcatcher's are tiny (and quite lovely!), and if you can fit some skinny floorstanders, Dreamcatcher center and surrounds with Arros works out very nice (a friend of mine has this). I am also a big fan of ProAc Tablette Reference 8's, and an HT system based on these would be very good, indeed.

If you are truly looking for a "stereo" system, then any of the above with a nice integrated amp & electronics would work well.

For a subwoofer, I'd try a Velodyne DD-10. Quite small, and incredibly good (especially for difficult rooms).

Hope this helps, Tom.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Check out these Teac components, they seem very nice and are certainly space-efficient:

http://www.hifi4less.com/TEAC_Ref_300_DAB_Mini_System.htm

Good luck!

-RW-
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Here's a better link than the previous one I posted:

http://www.teac.com/ref/ref.html

Good luck!

-RW-
More to discover