I need a small, great sounding and classy looking stereo!
March 17, 2014 4:35 PM Subscribe
My google fu and tag searching have failed me.
I'm getting older, and the blingy black, blue plastic and chrome shelf stereo I have from years ago has become desperately, desperately ugly to me. I want wood, neutral colors, and good sound. I want a complete unit: speakers and a reciever with at least an audio in jack. I am reaching the start of my older age techno-weenie status, so buying individual components and hooking them all in to the right pieces and parts sounds like an all day ordeal to me.
An included (and yes, I know out-dated) CD player is desired; I haven't gotten rid of them yet, and have an extensive classical music collection (sorry, MP3 quality classical music generally shreds my very soul.)
I can't say that money is no object, but if I can live with it for the next decade or so I could go as high as a thousand bux.
Please help me find a small,simple stereo that will fit on a shelf and has good sound quality, without sacrifcing my need for the pretty.
Best answer: People like to be snotty about Bose, but I hear nothing but positive comments from people who buy the Bose Wave. There's also the Tivoli Music System which you can get in a nice wooden finish and, to my eye, is nicer looking than the Bose Wave. It also allows for all kinds of streaming/bluetooth options if you want to go down that road, but also gives you built in radio and CD.
posted by yoink at 5:02 PM on March 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by yoink at 5:02 PM on March 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
If you're willing to separate out the speakers, you could do a lot worse than a Denon mini system, which is black but small and non-blingy. (Reviews here.) Onkyo has models similar in size and style. I bought a Denon for my dad, who wanted something small and simple with good sound, and already had a decent pair of speakers.
posted by holgate at 5:23 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by holgate at 5:23 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm not an audiophile, but I do have a Tivoli radio at home. I think it passes muster (with flying colors) on aesthetics, and sound-wise it is as nice as any radio I've ever heard.
posted by katie at 5:39 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by katie at 5:39 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
I like my little Tivoli + Speaker + Subwoofer setup. Sounds great. I plug a Logitech Squeezebox into it to stream ripped CDs (FLAC, no compression -- that was one of the device's USPs) from my PC and/or the Internet.
Tivoli also sell a matching CD player, one of which I used to own, but recently gave away.
posted by notyou at 5:41 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Tivoli also sell a matching CD player, one of which I used to own, but recently gave away.
posted by notyou at 5:41 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sangean also make a wide variety of classy looking radios. The WR-12 meets your requirements, but look around, they have many more that probably suit you. I have a WR-1 and it looks and sounds great.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 6:18 PM on March 17, 2014
posted by Confess, Fletch at 6:18 PM on March 17, 2014
AudioEngines are integrated-amp speakers, available in attractive wood tone stylings but I only came here to say do not get them (just in case somebody else recommends them while I'm asleep). They're over-hyped and likely to burn out as soon as the warranty is up.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:00 PM on March 17, 2014
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:00 PM on March 17, 2014
Sangean also make a wide variety of classy looking radios.
The Sangeans are good, but I don't think they have any wood-finished models that have CD players.
posted by yoink at 8:15 PM on March 17, 2014
The Sangeans are good, but I don't think they have any wood-finished models that have CD players.
posted by yoink at 8:15 PM on March 17, 2014
Best answer: Another vote for Tivoli Model Two + subwoofer. Really enjoy ours for casual listening.
posted by Diddly at 8:58 PM on March 17, 2014
posted by Diddly at 8:58 PM on March 17, 2014
How big is your space? How loud do you want to listen? Will a TV be hooked up to it?
posted by bensherman at 9:02 PM on March 17, 2014
posted by bensherman at 9:02 PM on March 17, 2014
Response by poster: Tivoli seems nice, right. We have one in the kitchen.
My space is a room about 12'x9'.
posted by k8oglyph at 9:14 PM on March 17, 2014
My space is a room about 12'x9'.
posted by k8oglyph at 9:14 PM on March 17, 2014
Response by poster: (Sorry if I sounded like a dork- The Tivoli is in my Mom's kitchen, just a radio - I had forgotten about it completely!)
Thanks everyone!
posted by k8oglyph at 7:29 AM on March 18, 2014
Thanks everyone!
posted by k8oglyph at 7:29 AM on March 18, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Schielisque at 4:44 PM on March 17, 2014 [1 favorite]