Cheap AMP and speakers

TempestSabre

What a good but cheap amp and speaker set up I can use with MP3 player. I think all those docking stations sound like carp so I want to get a decent amp and speakers. I'm using an old stereo at the moment. Which is ok but a but bulky. So a small sized amp and book case speaker would be best.

david

Have a look in Maplin, they have a selection of budget amps and speakers, bring your MP3 player and get a demo of some systems, dont buy a system blind, or deaf as the case may be

commited

Dont bother with maplin - its all overpriced tosh.
Depends on your budget, but I might have the perfect solution..

The Sonic Impact T-amp..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SONIC-IMPACT-AMPLIFIER-T-AMP-5066-TRIPATH-PORTABLE-NEW_W0QQitemZ5840882291QQcategoryZ3280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
£31 (about €50). I have a few that I've modded slightly and the sound is pretty spectacular unmodded for the price. For sheer detail, it's up there with the several thousands worth of meridian gear we have.
Its also tiny - fits in the palm of your hand. And it's plenty loud as long as you go for reasonably efficient speakers.

I've used the amp with speakers varying for €20 (cheapy aristons I bought for the laugh) and €10000 (B&W 802s) and it powered both fine..

if you contact cloney audio in blackrock and go for a demo, they might have some used speakers in there.

TempestSabre

For some reason I lost the subscription for this thread. How does the T-Amp and Aristons sound? The B&W 802s are kinda out of my league.

commited

The aristons are dreadful. So bad that I took them apart and broke them so that no one's ears could ever be broken.
The 802s were just a silly example of how the t-amp can power expensive speakers.
The T-amp is quite a bright amp, so needs careful matching - anything by B&W suit it quite well as they are warm speakers.
You'd be better off spending a couple of hundred on an integrated amp and then another couple of hundred on a pair of speakers.

TempestSabre

LOL

Was kinda keen on getting a pair of missions myself. But every time I put some money aside some bill requires the funds. Ah well.

commited

Missions are hit and miss in my opinion. Just buy what you like the sound of!

prospect

JPW mini monitors.

commited

what about them? They're pretty woeful imho.

prospect

You think, gosh. I have a pair and I think they are grand, for light use, e.g. in the Kitchen.

Goes to show you, differnet strokes.....

commited

I dont think he's looking for light use.
Sure it's an option worth considering, but not really speakers to keep forever.

Kintarō Hattori

Onkyo and Teac both do budget Amps that sound terrific. I laughed when I first thought about a Teac Amp, but apparantly they are one of the orignal Home Entertainment companies. Their gear while cheap is well thought of and gets rather decent reviews.

In terms of speakers you should be able to pick up a set of JBL bookshelf speakers cheap enough.