Any Audiophile Quality Small, Affordable Mini Systems?

[Ari]

Since the birth of our son some months ago, and literally running out of room, my wife, finally prevailed upon me to put away, in storage, my full size system, that I had been happily using for maybe 10 years now. (Aragon 4004 Mk2/18K Preamp/CAL Icon Mk2 PB)ML SL3's, MIT Cables/interconnects)
So, I am an audiophile, and, it looks like until we can afford a bigger place, I will have to be happy with a very small mini system that can fit, unobtrusively on the dresser in our bedroom.

I recall from the days just prior to learning about true audiophile systems and that any amp worth listening to must weigh at least 100 lbs. , that Denon makes a decent mini system, and, it looks like they are now coming with some model of Mission speakers. Was never a fan of Mission, but, they have to be better than most speakers thrown into a mini system package.

So, my questions are:

What are my choices if I want audiphile sound from a mini system under $1,000, hopefully well under.

Where should I look to get one at a good price? Few if any of the typical online sellers offer high end mini systems.

Maybe I should add, I do not generally listen to music at very loud volumes, and my tastes are varied, but generally are some type of classic to soft rock, vocals as well. No rap/hip hop, no classical, some jazz and R&B though. I have been happy with my Logans, but, probably in retrospect would have been happier with B&W Matrix 802's.

Should I buy, or CAN I buy a good mini system without the typical poor speakers, and then, buy my own? If so, what is recommended in a very small speaker, I can't currently afford to invest in this enough to get, say a small pair of B&W Nautilus'. So, for maybe $250-$300, in a very small footprint speaker, what is the best?

If there truly aren't any audiophile quality mini systems, what about seperates, BUT, they would need to be a smallish integrated amp, and an equally smallish CD player, and then, some, yet again, smallish speakers. In other words, building a decent mini system from seperates. I guess I realize this would not be possible for under $1,000, which is one reason I might opt to buy a ready made mini system.

Any info or advice is much appreciated.

Ari

 

[Leprkon]

If there truly aren't any audiophile quality mini systems, what about seperates, BUT, they would need to be a smallish integrated amp, and an equally smallish CD player, and then, some, yet again, smallish speakers. In other words, building a decent mini system from seperates. I guess I realize this would not be possible for under $1,000, which is one reason I might opt to buy a ready made mini system.

Any info or advice is much appreciated.

Ari

the smallest seperates I can think of would be a Harman Kardon DPR 1001 and a Pioneer 578 dvd player. that would give you SACD/dvd audio capability at a very modest price. the H/K runs about $500 and the Pioneer was $111 at Circuit City as of yesterday...

http://www.shopping.com/xPC-Harman_Kardon_DPR_1001

a pair of energy bookshelf speakers like these

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=39.1

or even smaller, these:

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=32.1

or possibly these:

http://ww2.onecall.com/PID_22931.htm

or some on-wall like these:

http://brandnamez.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=466&lastcatid=155&step=4&AffNo=44658133

such a system would hardly be as small as a cube system, but would sound quite a bit better. you could get better sound for that price, but the toys would be a lot bigger

 

[Ari]

Thanks, I think I kind of like the size and specs of these, and $250/pair isn't bad at all:

Maybe coupled with an Acurus 100W DIA Integrated, which should be around $350 used, and a smallish CD player, that might be a nice setup on a space, and $$$ budget.

But, I'm still very much open to other ideas for small footprint integrated amps and CD players on a relative budget. I think as nice as the better Denon minis are, they can't compete with decent seperates.

Thanks again,

Ari

 

[zumbo]

How about NAD
There are lower grade models on this site also.

 

[surveyor]

You might like this little system. The sound is pretty good.
http://www2.shopping.com/xPF-KIT100


Read product information for the KEF Audio KIT100 System The high-end market is continuously morphing into new forms. Just when we were adjusting to the idea that Porsche makes an SUV, KEF--the legendary British speaker manufacturer--has unveiled its first home theater in a box (HTIB).

Cheers

 

[farscaper]

Small, inexpensive and good. Sounds like it may be a job for one of the new fully digital receivers people have been talking about. I believe Panasonic, Kenwood and JVC have their receivers under $300 US.

 

[miklorsmith]

Here's a great, little speaker choice from Epos, about $300 new or $200 used:

http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/104epos/

McCormack makes (made?) a great, little amp/preamp separate combo in a very small shell called the Micro Power and the Micro Pre. You can pick them up on Audiogon for about $800 combined. The pre is Stereophile Class B, and the amp (50 wpc) is probably of similar build.

These would kick your price above the stated amounts, but what's more important, budget or sound? You have to live with this stuff every day, after all! This combo would kick the snot out of a prepackaged arrangement. Use a discman for your source temporarily.

 

[Nick250]

What about a headphone system? A pair of Senns HD580s for about $200, a headphone amp for another $200 and whatever mini integrated receiver/cd player you can find.

 

[Ari]

Well, just thought I'd give a quick update.

What I ended up doing is, I found a lightly used Acurus DIA 100 Mk2 for $550 shipped, bought a pair of new Epos ELS-3's, which seem to be pretty much universally praised as offering a lot for the money and small size, and, I will use my existing California Audio Labs Icon Mk2 CD Player, so, for a total expenditure of $850, I don't think I could have done much better, especially keeping the footprint/size of the system small.

I don't have the Acurus nor the speakers yet, should be arriving end of the week, but I'm looking forwward to it.

Thanks for your replies, I believe it was one of you that turned me onto the Epos speakers.

I was really eyeing a lightly used Muscial Fidelity A3.2 intergrated, but I just could not swing $950 right now, well, and still have enough for speakers that is. Amps are nice, but of little use without speakers.

Ari