My first audio system

[shaishav]

<font color='#000000'>After much search and comparisons I have decided to purchase the Roksan Kandy MK-I amplifier with NAD CD 521 cd player and Cadence Arita bookshelf speakers with stand from Cadence itself. &nbsp;I havent auditioned them all together but have seen them independently. &nbsp;Advise is sought on the choice.</font>

[EdR]

<font color='#000000'>Hi, *From your selections, I'm guessing that you're in the UK or Europe. *I googled the Kandy (the MIII seems to be the current version) and it looks like a decent stereo integrated amp. *You didn't mention either your listening interests nor your financial situation. *Your heading indicates that this will be your first audio system.

Why are you looking at a stereo only system? *Is your only interest in critical listening to classical and jazz? *What sort of upgradablity do you want? *Are you never going to be interested in home theater, or DvD audio as it matures? *Is this a lot of money for you or will it be relatively easy to scrap this and get something else should your needs change?

How good is your ear? *Have you listened to a lot of the types of music you like live to have a standard of comparison? *I've always said, don't pay for differences you can't hear.

What sort of room is this system going into? *Have you been educating yourself on room acoustics? *Don't forget, especially when you're critically listening, what you're actually hearing is the synergy between the speakers and the room- a hundred bucks spent on intellegently improving the room acoustics can have as big (or bigger) impact as putting another thousand into better speakers.

By the way- higher end speakers tend to be sold by higher end stores that know how to set them up and thus show better in the store. *There are less expensive speakers that could do a very decent job that you can't get a good impression of in the store as they're running them from a mid-fi receiver through a big switching system in a room that hasn't been very well acousticly set up. *So if you compare them to speakers directly connected to twenty thousand bucks worth of separates in a room put together by a store that does custom installations, you can't really make a good decision. *I had that experience comparing CSW Towers in their low end showroom, and then driving to a high end audio store and listening to the same material on Paradigm Reference Studio 80's through the aforementioned separates in a really great room. *It was no surprise that the Paradigms sounded more open and smoother in the mid-high ranges, but the interesting thing was they weren't hugely better, indicating that the Towers might be a very good value if properly set up. *Six years later, I got them, and am amazed at the musicality of them.. even when I haven't upgrading my amplifier yet.</font>

[Rip Van Woofer]

<font color='#000000'>Excellent advice, Ed. But you have ignored the Awful Truth:

No matter what you buy, you will soon want something &quot;better&quot;.

It's just the nature of the disease. &nbsp;<img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'></font>

[EdR]

<font color='#000000'>Don't I know it. *I have found that shopping is 90% of the fun, so I tend to shop a lot before I buy- currently a new receiver, though that new Yamaha 2400 has so much to offer it seems to take the fun right out of comparing *<img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':;):'></font>

<font color='#000000'>Hi EdR

Thanks for the detailed reply. &nbsp;I am pleased to answer some issues you have raised:

a.I am in India and not the UK but British equipment has always been the flavour in the local market.

b.Yes the system is expensive but i felt that i may buy a system once which will last me long enough specially when compared to the cheaper component systems which need to be changed almost every 5 years.

c.My listening interests include classical instrumental, pop and rock. &nbsp;I dont have a very keen ear to music but can surely differentiate between colored sound and good clean natural sound (which formed the basis for my speaker selection)

d. I have heard the speakers in different showrooms as well as one which is not accoustically treated and found the sound quality fairly consistent and hence selected them. &nbsp;I still have to work on the improvements of my room which is about 12 feet X 12 feet. &nbsp;I guess i will be able to do this only after i install the system.

e.I would like to believe that a good basic audio system is what one needs to enjoy clean music. &nbsp;Home theatres should be independent.....(:-) dont mean to sound snooty here but i hate multifunction devices)

somewhere from your reply i get an impression that my selections are rather hi end for my first system but would still appreciate your views further on the same. &nbsp;If you could throw some light on interconnects and cables please do as i presently intend to use Ven Dan Hulls for the same.</font>