Beginner need suggestion on home stereo setup
I am glad you are enjoying the diary as I enjoyed a lot writing it 
.
I actually also enjoyed a lot the process of discovering...and it was a long one but every single experience added something more to my knowledge and made me feel much more confident when walking to the next demo.
The dealer is indeed very important and I spent quite a lot of time looking for the perfect shop! It is probably not mentioned in the thread but I visited ALL the hifi shops of Brussels and the near cities before meeting Francis in Antwerp which is, by the way, a 60km drive from where I live.
He was the only one who offered the service I was looking for...and in the end we developed a nice friendship along a business relationship (I stopped to eat at his place with his family once and also he came a couple of times to my place for some wine, limoncello and homemade tiramisu 
).
So keep looking for the place where you can feel at home once walking in and you can spend hours talking, listening and enjoying. I have driven up to 180km to have a demo once (in another country) as I couldn't find the brand I was looking for in Belgium (Pathos amplifiers) and it was a nice but different experience.
If you are not that far you could also fly here and I will take you for a music tour (Cno promised he will come this year 
)
Hi Alex, i bet everyone enjoy reading your diary on that one. And the way you write full of excitement and i'm happy for what you've discovered! i can felt how exciting you were from your writting lol, and i get excited too lol. Oh~~~ ! instead of found a great dealer, it seems more like you found a audio buddy !!! you make me jealous lol. Unfortunately i'm very far from where you are lol, i'm actually from Melbourne, Australia, so i couldn't go for a music tour with you guys, wish you guys have fun there ! Remember to have some beers after the tour ! lol
I'm over here in Oz as well. One of the things that I have taken from reading Alex's thread and a few others is the difference in dealers attitudes over here. I guess that we are a much smaller market & distributors jealously guard their teritories. But honestly the service over here is shocking at times.
& that's before we even start discussing the ridiculous margins that they work with. Different over here, we can't drive over the border to get a better deal.
I would recommend doing all your demoing but at the same time thoroughly research your pricing from overseas sellers. You might find that you are able to step up in the range, for example m3i to m6i, for the same or very similar money.
When I started an upgrade last year I was looking at the Focal Electra 1008be standmounts, but by importing from a dealer in France I ended up with a pair of Focal Diablos. It did push the budget, but they were around 35% cheaper even with inport duties.
I did the same comparison with my amp, but the % difference wasn't enough to warrant the import. I felt that importing speakers was less risky than an electronic device like an amp. Which turned out to be a blessing, but thats another story.
My rule of thumb was if I could negotiate the dealer down to 10 to 15% of the imported cost I would go with them. More than this & you really have to consider going overseas. At the very least you will enter any negotiation with them knowing what is a competitive price.
So thats not to say that there are not good dealers out here, there most definitley are. But know your pricing, be patient, be aggresive in your negotiations. You are the customer, they're not doing you a favour by letting you into their shop!
Good luck, look forward to hearing how you go.
Hello Neuphonix,
Thank you for your feedback 
. Actually, i'm from Australia as well . I'm from Melbourne
I've actually thought about purchasing the equipments from overseas such as UK before. I tried the audioaffair.co.uk unfortunately they do not ship MF to Australia as they have agreement with the manufacturer. Other than that, i'm not sure where else (which website) that i could trust and reputable for me to do the shopping online. Would you mind if i ask you do you have any recommendation on any good online stores who does shipping to Australia?
I'm not good at negotiation but i'll give it a try. I'll keep looking around until i found the righy system for me
Thank you
Hi ARE YOU DESPERATE TO BUY CAUSE FOR A LITTLE MORE YOU COULD GET SOME SECOND HAND STUFF THAT REALLY WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME AND FAR EXCEED THE SONIC ABILITY OF WHAT YOU ARE SHORTLISTING(AJUST SEEN MY CAPITALS TO LAZY TO CHANGE)
ATC scm 11s used e bay
Leema stream 2 cd around 500 pound
Astintrew 2000+ amp about 895 second hand from audio emotion
Hi ARE YOU DESPERATE TO BUY CAUSE FOR A LITTLE MORE YOU COULD GET SOME SECOND HAND STUFF THAT REALLY WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME AND FAR EXCEED THE SONIC ABILITY OF WHAT YOU ARE SHORTLISTING(AJUST SEEN MY CAPITALS TO LAZY TO CHANGE)
ATC scm 11s used e bay
Leema stream 2 cd around 500 pound
Astintrew 2000+ amp about 895 second hand from audio emotion
Hello expat,
Thank you for your recommendation. I'm not rushing to get a system, i rather listen and select carefully
I never had any audition with the components that you've mentioned above. But from the reviews they are pretty good. Thanks again! i'm really appreciate.
Still, if someone could let me know if there is any trustworthy online stores that ship HiFi equipment to Australia will be great Hope to hear from Neuphonix soon
Cheers
I made two calls this afternoon and try to get some audition with the naim nait 5i with the Dynaudio excite x12 speakers. There are only two naim dealers that i could found in Victoria state (Australia).
Store A:
I rang them and ask them do they have any Dynaudio x12 speakers in the showroom and if i could have an audition with the naim nait 5i. The guy on the phone told me that they don't have any Dyn speakers and he gave me two options:
1 - Go buy a Dynaudio x12 somewhere else and bring them in for testing.
2 - Look at some other great speakers that they have in their store.
Store C:
The guy on the phone said they don't have any Dynaudio speakers in the store and he told me to look at their sale item. And i explained to him that i'm actually looking for an opportunity to listen the Dyn x12 with the naim nait 5i if available at this stage. Then before the conversation continue he said they don't have any dynaudio speakers in the stores and hang up the phone call straight away.
I was wondering if there is anyone here from Melbourne, Australia know any places that have a naim nait 5i, MF M1DAC and Dynaudio x12 speakers would you mind to share so that i can have an audition with those equipment?
Thank you
I made two calls this afternoon and try to get some audition with the naim nait 5i with the Dynaudio excite x12 speakers. There are only two naim dealers that i could found in Victoria state (Australia).
Store A:
I rang them and ask them do they have any Dynaudio x12 speakers in the showroom and if i could have an audition with the naim nait 5i. The guy on the phone told me that they don't have any Dyn speakers and he gave me two options:
1 - Go buy a Dynaudio x12 somewhere else and bring them in for testing.
2 - Look at some other great speakers that they have in their store.
Store C:
The guy on the phone said they don't have any Dynaudio speakers in the store and he told me to look at their sale item. And i explained to him that i'm actually looking for an opportunity to listen the Dyn x12 with the naim nait 5i if available at this stage. Then before the conversation continue he said they don't have any dynaudio speakers in the stores and hang up the phone call straight away.
I was wondering if there is anyone here from Melbourne, Australia know any places that have a naim nait 5i, MF M1DAC and Dynaudio x12 speakers would you mind to share so that i can have an audition with those equipment?
Thank you
That's sad to read...I hope you will find a great dealer, I am sure it should exists also over there!
keep us posted on your research and good luck
Hi,
Just been reading through your thread and as you have mentioned Naim equipment thought this could be of interest
I have no idea how this will sound but will be around your budget, maybe a little higher but worthy of consideration,
As everyone has said listen to as much as you can, it will get confusing, frustrating but after a while you will discover what YOU like and you usually know for yourself when someting is right.
Also try and get a home demo on your final selection to be sure.
Finally and most importantly have fun, it is about the music you love.
Good Luck
Rather than searching for specific products, do a dealer search and find out what brands you do have access to..........if you then post a list of what you have available, we might be able to come up with something else that will work.
That's sad to read...I hope you will find a great dealer, I am sure it should exists also over there!
keep us posted on your research and good luck
Hi Acalex,
good to hear from you again. Unfortunately in the state where i live they only have two naim dealer, and that's what it happen when i gave them a buzz try to arrange an audition if possible.
Actually i've an audition with the MA RX2 / Dyn X12 with MF M1DAC + MF M1DAC / Cyurs 8 DAC couple days ago.
The first test was the MA RX2 goes with the MF combo. The RX2 have great bass punch! but imo, i think the speakers are a little bit bright to me. And i think this combination goes well with musics with more bass, movies, and gaming.
Then we switch the amplifier to Cyrus 8 DAC to play with the MA RX2. To me it sounds a lot cleaner, and have more balance bass with the MA RX2.
The next we did was switch the speakers to Dynaudio Excite X12 to play with the Cyrus 8 DAC. And that completely blow the MA RX2 away !!! I like way the x12 performed, sweet & smooth.
The last thing we did was hooks up the MF M3i + M1DAC with the Dyn X12. It was perfect and well balance! (No offence MA / Cyrus Fans, its just my personal perference) i'm not sure but somehow i felt like the Cyrus 8 DAC did not fully reveal the potential of Dyn X12, and i could be wrong, it was my personal thoughts only. And my conclusion for the winner that day will be Dynaudio Excite X12, Musical Fidelity M3i + M1DAC. I'm so happy that i've learned something new that day for me as a beginner, same speakers different amplifier sounds differently!!!
I'll try have a couple more listening on different equipment in the future and will update and share my thoughts with you all in the future. The staff told me bout Leema Pulse as you guys had mentioned earlier before, unfortunately thats beyond my budget at this stage. I felt like i should have a listen on that but i'm not sure if i should lol. The next amplifier that i would like to try to listen will be the Rega Brio-R, Roksan Kandy K2, and especially the Naim 5i, which unlikely be possible for me to have an opportunity in the state where i live. Hopefully i can found some other place have the X12 and Naim 5i in the same store.
Thank you for reading
Hi,
Just been reading through your thread and as you have mentioned Naim equipment thought this could be of interest
I have no idea how this will sound but will be around your budget, maybe a little higher but worthy of consideration,
As everyone has said listen to as much as you can, it will get confusing, frustrating but after a while you will discover what YOU like and you usually know for yourself when someting is right.
Also try and get a home demo on your final selection to be sure.
Finally and most importantly have fun, it is about the music you love.
Good Luck
Hello Shanka,
Thank you for sharing the information !!! I'm looking forward for it release and will have a listen to those when its available !!! Definitely worthy of consideration.
Actually, i'm in the middle of confusion and frustration stage for what i've had listened. Always come up in my mind like "Was that the result that i'm pursuiting? Will there be any improvement possibility with other equipment at the same stage? What if i goes wrong? Does it sounds right and prefectly well balances? was the treble or bass too much or inaccurate? oh i don't know i don't know !!! ...etc" and i still haven't get out of that. It's a bit stress but it's fun in somehow, i do enjoy it. And i'm really glad you guys are here!
I've also made a list of songs and burned into CD that i like for testing different instrumental, vocal, bass, acoustic area...etc. I'm not sure about my listening standard will be right or accurate, but i selected songs that i'm familiar with.
Thank you
Rather than searching for specific products, do a dealer search and find out what brands you do have access to..........if you then post a list of what you have available, we might be able to come up with something else that will work.
Hi Cno,
Thanks for the feedback. Hows your holiday going?
Used to do that but some dealer doesn't put every products they have on their websites so i'll have to call to confirm if they do have a few things that i could test and compare I have nothing at all at the moment lol (PS3, laptop, TV not included). This will be the first system that i will be getting lol. Sorry lol
Cheers.
Hi Cno,
Thanks for the feedback. Hows your holiday going?
Some Holiday.....recovering from back operation! 
Used to do that but some dealer doesn't put every products they have on their websites so i'll have to call to confirm if they do have a few things that i could test and compare I have nothing at all at the moment lol (PS3, laptop, TV not included). This will be the first system that i will be getting lol. Sorry lol
Cheers.
You are putting together some nice options. The Rega Dac is worth a listen as well.
The Brio R is a great choice, but the extra power of the M3i may prove useful when driving the Dynaudios.
Cno
Some Holiday.....recovering from back operation!
Glad to hear that, hope you get well soon!
You are putting together some nice options. The Rega Dac is worth a listen as well.
The Brio R is a great choice, but the extra power of the M3i may prove useful when driving the Dynaudios.
Cno
Yea, i've heard a lot bout the Rega Brio-R and DAC. Definitely have to listen in compare with the MF. Unfortunately i guess i won't be able to try the naim nait 5i with the Dynaudio X12. I've just read some exposure 2010s reviews on other sites with they Dyn speakers. Someone said it sounds boomy bass when drive further, also a bit harsh.
Hello everyone,
Have an audition with the following equipments today and the results was lots better than i thought, absolutely stunning. Unfortunately during the testing i couldn't play my own musics lol, but i would really like to go back some other time to listen the musics that i usually use for testing
By comparing these setup with Dyn x12 + MF M3i & M1DAC that i've listend last couple weeks ago, i would say the Dyn combo that i've listened the other day was smoother and lesser bass than then what i've listened today. Not sure it's because of the amps, or speakers, or dac as they are completely different setup (my initial plan was to test the naim nait 5i-2 with the Dyn x12 but they don't do any MF / Dyn products. Besides, i always curious about Quad speakers and naim amplifier so i guess no harm to do a different test with totally different setup). Correct me if i'm wrong, i found that the top notch or highs pitch (sorry, i'm not sure how to describe that) that i've listened today was a bit harsh for some reasons. The setup was really hard to beat and i'm very impressed. I'm actually quite confused at the moment lol. I wish i could be better to identify each specific details of sound.
Speakers: Quad 11L / Quad 12L
Amplifier: Naim Nait 5i-2
DAC: Audiolab m-dac
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And i'm jealous your discussion with Cno as well lol. So peaceful and info sharing... unlike many thread that i've found having a war for speakers comparison lol.
I'm here to help if I can....though I do tend to go on a bit.
I usually prefer the less trodden path, and like to encourage people to go and listen to a whole variety of equipment before coming to a decision. Alex and Roby were kind enough to humour me, and so try out some of my suggestions.
There is a wealth of experience on here, and it's just a matter of latching onto people who have a similar taste and outlook.
Thanks Cno, i'm really appreciate with your offer. i consent on your encouragement to listen to a whole variety of equiments is a better solutions that will not regret after purchasing. Any experiences will be a good references to me
I'm really glad that i came to this forum and get to know you guys lol. But i'm too noob and sometimes i might lost when it comes to advance discussion such as ohm... bi-amped...etc lol So please laught at me instead of hating me lol