Decent sound for the masses

Conrad Hoffman · 24th December 2007, 04:34 PM

People sometimes ask me what hi-fi stuff to buy, and since I diy almost everything, I'm usually clueless. This year I picked up some speakers for the TV, some KEF iQ1 little bookshelf thingies. I stole a diy amp from my tri-amped system to run them, but then my wife complained she couldn't play Christmas music in the living room. I have a couple amp projects going, but at the speed I work they might be ready for Christmas of 2010, certainly not this one. OK, off to see what one can buy that resembles an amp, without spending much. Found a Sherwood RX-4109 receiver at Radio Shack for $99. The thing said 200 Watts, but I figured it was peak-falling-off-a-cliff-high-line-voltage-music-power. Probably 5 watts rms when measured properly.

This may be hard to believe, but the Sherwood really is 100W/channel, though I doubt it could keep that up continuously, and the KEF speakers are serious competition to some much more expensive stuff. They use a tiny coaxial driver, and image like crazy. They seem to be almost a point source at any frequency. KEF wisely used a non-rectangular enclosure. The bass is impressive for the size, but with a sub this system would be amazing.

Thus, my current recommendation for cheap but good hi-if for the masses is KEF iQ1 bookshelf speakers, and a Sherwood RX-4109. Plus whatever CD/DVD/turntable source one prefers. If you get a deal on a DVD player, the total cost is under $500.

KBK · 25th December 2007, 01:01 AM

Bose for Everyone?

Yep, the Kef's are nice.

Look into the crossover, might be some caps needing replacement. In the end, you will likely assess them as being a bit 'slow'.

Kinda 'Theil'-like, in the slowness department, due to the flat response done with a ton of parts.

Luke · 25th December 2007, 02:56 AM

I bought some kef c55 for 100 bucks, replaced some of the electrolytics with old films I had and was quite amazed. They are first generation concentric speakers and the construction is pretty good. The front baffle is cast iron, and has a passive radiator.
While they are not as good as my breference kls10s they sound better than they deserve to. In my expoerience, cheap speakers are good, cheap amps are not, but thats just in my limited experience.

planet10 · 26th December 2007, 03:25 AM

It would sure be nice to know what the sleeper budget HT receiver is.

dave

24th December 2007, 04:34 PM	#1
Conrad Hoffman diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canandaigua, NY USA	Decent sound for the masses People sometimes ask me what hi-fi stuff to buy, and since I diy almost everything, I'm usually clueless. This year I picked up some speakers for the TV, some KEF iQ1 little bookshelf thingies. I stole a diy amp from my tri-amped system to run them, but then my wife complained she couldn't play Christmas music in the living room. I have a couple amp projects going, but at the speed I work they might be ready for Christmas of 2010, certainly not this one. OK, off to see what one can buy that resembles an amp, without spending much. Found a Sherwood RX-4109 receiver at Radio Shack for $99. The thing said 200 Watts, but I figured it was peak-falling-off-a-cliff-high-line-voltage-music-power. Probably 5 watts rms when measured properly. This may be hard to believe, but the Sherwood really is 100W/channel, though I doubt it could keep that up continuously, and the KEF speakers are serious competition to some much more expensive stuff. They use a tiny coaxial driver, and image like crazy. They seem to be almost a point source at any frequency. KEF wisely used a non-rectangular enclosure. The bass is impressive for the size, but with a sub this system would be amazing. Thus, my current recommendation for cheap but good hi-if for the masses is KEF iQ1 bookshelf speakers, and a Sherwood RX-4109. Plus whatever CD/DVD/turntable source one prefers. If you get a deal on a DVD player, the total cost is under $500.

25th December 2007, 01:01 AM	#2
KBK diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Wilds Of Canada	Bose for Everyone? Yep, the Kef's are nice. Look into the crossover, might be some caps needing replacement. In the end, you will likely assess them as being a bit 'slow'. Kinda 'Theil'-like, in the slowness department, due to the flat response done with a ton of parts. __________________ "Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream." -- Malcolm Muggeridge. "Truth cannot be brought down, rather the individual must make the effort to ascend to it." -- Jiddu Krishnamurti

26th December 2007, 03:25 AM	#4
planet10 frugal-phile(tm) diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Victoria, BC, NA, Sol III Blog Entries: 4	It would sure be nice to know what the sleeper budget HT receiver is. dave __________________ community sites t-linespeakers.org, frugal-horn.com ........ commercial site planet10-HiFi p10-hifi forum here at diyA

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25th December 2007, 02:56 AM	#3
Luke diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Wellington NZ	I bought some kef c55 for 100 bucks, replaced some of the electrolytics with old films I had and was quite amazed. They are first generation concentric speakers and the construction is pretty good. The front baffle is cast iron, and has a passive radiator. While they are not as good as my breference kls10s they sound better than they deserve to. In my expoerience, cheap speakers are good, cheap amps are not, but thats just in my limited experience.

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