Re: Slim MP3 - what amp and speakers for Kitchen

["mark_harrison_uk2" <mph@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, paul@p... wrote:
> I'm fairly new to this forum, so apologies if this is
> over simplified

Welcome to the group. Your question makes perfect sense to me.

> Having researched this the best option appers to be the hugely
> popular SlimMP3 device.

Good choice. Personally I use Rio Receivers (no longer produced), but
if I were starting again from now, the SliMP3 (or the wireless version
- called the Squeezebox) would be very high on my shortlist.

> Would be grateful if people could respond with there thoughts on
> a amp and speaker combination for a kitchen.

It's a bit of a "Mad Max" job. You may not be old enough to
remember
the original movie, but there's a classic line "speed's a question of
how much you're prepared to spend."

Well, hi-fi's like that as well - quality's a matter of how much
you're prepared to spend.

Personally, I have a Linn system in the kitchen (Wakonda pre-amp, LK85
power amp, and Keilidh speakers.) The tall thin speakers actually work
very well either side of a Welsh dresser.

If, on the other hand, your kitchen is fully fitted, then you may be
looking for a rather smaller speaker solution.

Personally, when it comes to small speakers, I like Mission, Chario
and Rogers. Something like a pair of Rogers LS 3/5a speakers, powered
by a Quad 306/34 amplifier pair would be an excellent kitchen system,
and the Quad amps are very narrow.


Over the years, I've bought an awful lot of hifi, and there's one
thing I've learnt - buying speakers second-hand makes an awful lot of
sense.

The thing about speakers is that they have very few failure modes, and
you can hear whether they've failed inside a couple of minutes. It's
not like CD players where you buy and then discover that the
"random"
button is broken, because you didn't go through everything on the
front panel prior to purchase.

Amps can be good value second-hand, but there's more to go wrong.

Hence, I tend to purchase from a hi-fi dealer, and ask what they've
got in their "ex-demo and trade-in stock".

I still cling to the belief that you shouldn't buy hifi unless you've
actually heard it.

If you're, by any chance, in the Sussex area, then drop me a note, and
I'll take you down to my favourite hifi dealer (in Worthing) and see
what they can do for you.

Other people I've taken there have come away with surprisingly good
kit at very reasonable money :-)

Mark