What system shoud some one with 5k monthly income build?

What system should some one with RM5k monthly income build?
If he is single, like music, practical person, no commitment.

go n get an all NAIM system .. suitable for young single person with lots of money to spend

Sonus Faber + Audio Research = monthly installment for 24 months of RM1200. Will impress the ladies with looks and sound

Be patient, wait till KLAV show mid year and look out for best deals since its not really far off. Meanwhile save your money. AND DON'T WASTE MONEY ON CARS!.. it depreciates faster then your pants.

ya better drive kancil with stock head unit. if got nice nice and big big car then later ingers fitchy go spend on high-end ice like dynaudio n tube amps. worse.

but seriously if i was short on savings, i'd do a personal loan with the banks (6-7%). go grab a used a$$ kicking system, so a$$ kicking that the value of the system would have covered the cost of interest, eg a rm20k system for rm10k. use it until you're bored and sell it back for the price you paid plus interest.

hifi is good in some ways. its turning repayments into savings, savings into music and back into savings again. i got my used speakers for 1/5 of the retail price. the savings are really singing now, happily, no stress... at all. sometimes we just have to look a little harder, its well worth it in the end.

Question : are u into Lp's or CD's or both.
Question : you prefer gear that are made in UK or US or Japan or China. Do you like a mix setup ?
Question : new or used gear
Question : Tube or solid state setup

Patience, read a lot, scout, audition that would net you a system that you prefer and enjoy.

Not forgetting until the next KLAV fest.

My 2 cents of a view.....

Happy hunting....

cheers

And not forgetting look at the "For Sale" thread. There are some very good gear for sale..... ( used and some new )

cheers ....

Should factor in the fact that the system should be written off in 10 years time, and what residual value left at the end of that period, as u will be itching to upgrade and the system u bought in the 1st place is already considered 'junk' by yourgoodself!

if it was 5K a month, 10 years ago , yeah .. all the above seem like good advices to have a nice enjoyable hifi hobby.

But today, 5K a month, feeding a hifi hobby would be akin to just living from hand-to-mouth. OK if u like living without a safety net.

Otherwise personally, IMO, better to go be hardworking & smartworking, build your career to a higher level, then only start dabbling with stuff like Naim (for example, or whatever XYZ) brand stuff.

Otherwise, hunt for bargains (here and elsewhere) and just keep a modest system.

cmboy wrote:Be patient, wait till KLAV show mid year and look out for best deals since its not really far off. Meanwhile save your money. AND DON'T WASTE MONEY ON CARS!.. it depreciates faster then your pants.

Well, depends on what car also lah .... Not your average Protons and Kancils definitely.

But some cars on the street, hold easily 50% of their value after 10 years.

Perhaps a more practical take on an "automotive hobby" vs an "audioholic/audiophilic hobby" as an example would be that Hi-Fi is just pretty much CAPEX intensive. Cars instead are very OPEX intensive.

- br@d - wrote:Sonus Faber + Audio Research = monthly installment for 24 months of RM1200. Will impress the ladies with looks and sound

Are you from Perfect HiFi??

chenht wrote:

- br@d - wrote:Sonus Faber + Audio Research = monthly installment for 24 months of RM1200. Will impress the ladies with looks and sound

Are you from Perfect HiFi??

He's not. He just a Sonus "kaki".

He's not. He just a Sonus "kaki".[/quote]

Great, I am one too myself.

Chenht,

Hello fellow sonus kaki. I'm in the telco industry. You using the Cremona auditor m?

- br@d - wrote:Chenht,

Hello fellow sonus kaki. I'm in the telco industry. You using the Cremona auditor m?

I am in factory automation. Yes, I am using a pair of Auditor M. How bout you?

mugenfoo sounds like a person with multimillion income per month
rm5k per month for a 25 year old is not bad. still single?

btw, how much is a pair of cremona auditor m selling now in malaysia? i have a new pair offered by sg dealer for around rm15000. i am still thinking want to get it or not

Chenht,

Ahhh... Same same le... but mine is the older model without the "M". Granite color. Good choice.

Lamkochai - The dealer offer you "M" Cremona Auditor with Stands or the older Model with out the M?

newer cremona auditor "m" with v shape stand.

Lamkochai wrote:mugenfoo sounds like a person with multimillion income per month
rm5k per month for a 25 year old is not bad. still single?

Curious, how did Lamkochai come to make that conclusion in the first place?
Hmmm... also, who was it also that was considering a pair of RM15k Sonus Faber speakers ... ?


rocketman's advice is the sensible one ... got to take into account "disposable" income.


Drife's advice is the typical of today's "credit-card generation yuppies". Getting the luxuries of life on loans. WongKN (with his maggi mee/ajinomoto examples) would surely FROWN upon such. , From the other thread ... Money goes to taking care of the welfare of health and family first. This includes not having to rely purely on Maggi mee (or equivalent) for one's own sustenance, just so that one can afford to buy that "Audio Research or Conrad Johnson or (fill in your fav. brand) amp".


Where is WongKN ? ... come quick and save the young padewans from the temptation of the dark side of the hifi force.

Mugennnnn.....

Breath in..... Breath Out..... count 1 to 10.....ha ha ha...

cheers

The thread starter haven't even breath a word since...

With all the words of encouragement...he has made a wise decisionnnnnnn...... or he is totally stunned ???

Wataru....

cheers

I got your drift, drife. Thats what my late dad did too...

Dear All,

Thanks for the inputs you guys, really appreciate it. i never thought i was so complicated was thinking i might can get a RM3-5k amp, and pair with some speaker in same price range. Then sourcing for a cdp while im using my current cheap player.

Yes, forumers here can complicate matters for you very easily.
You may have easy answers at the upcoming KLAV show.

drife wrote:
so which part of this is the typical credit card yuppie?

Spoiler:

This part: "so i went to the bank and got a personal loan (7%pa)"


Herein, the case rests.

wataru wrote:Dear All,

Thanks for the inputs you guys, really appreciate it. i never thought i was so complicated was thinking i might can get a RM3-5k amp, and pair with some speaker in same price range. Then sourcing for a cdp while im using my current cheap player.

IMO, the system should be built based on your listening taste. Then the next question would be the $$$ factor.

Regards.

Wataru,

Take your time mate and visit some of the Hifi shops to find your hifi ear... meaning the music you like le...

Ultimately, find a mentor/sifu , something like a personal trainer for hifi on what to look for and what is an over rated piece of equipment.

I'm sure someone in here would like to be your personal Hifi trainer , 2 a week session out in the field for a small monthly fee

any takers?

today i received a message from CIMB: your card no ****80 is now overdue. kindly remit RM 3145.45 ASAP to avoid usage interruption. thanks to overzelous spending past 1 month upgrading my amp and buying cds I am now broke. not forgetting deadline for paying tax is next month.

so Wataru my friend, please think carefully before you indulge in this hobby, unless you have a very clever accountant wife controlling your pocket....

Wataru.....

If you do want to visit any audio shops....this would be my choice....

1. CMY -OneU, Damansara
2. Desa Home Theatre - Kepong Branch
3. Asia Sound
4. Audio Synthesis - mostly products from China

Very helpfull and informative person / persons manning these outlets. Do come back to this forum for clearing your doubts as well, cause there's a bunch of very helpfull / experienced forummers who would guide you as well.

Digest as much information as possible before the the KLAV audio fest. The fest would give you a broader view of the types of Hifi gear that's available and mainly the pricing not forgetting your salary bracket requirement.

Suggest you start of with some used gear. Move up the chain as and when possible.

Have a walk around in Amcorp flea market, as there are a few sellers of used hifi gear. Came across a NAD integrated Amp 325BEE and a Nakamichi CD4 for less then RM1.6K. ( working condition )

Think before you invest in a expensive hobby.

Happy hunting.

drife wrote:hehe. so according to a fellow forumer, if you come across a RM15K krell going for RM5K, no, don't do anything, just sit there and watch it fly. good one.
if Paul has anti-cables, this one's anti-hunting. If someone has a disposable income of RM500 a month, better get a piggy bank. wait another 24months till you get your rm12k system. in the meantime, make do with some PC speakers or mini compos. wow, good advice ain't it...

Of course!
It's always a DAMN GOOD advice for people to not buy things on loan if they can't bleeping afford it! Nevermind if its RM5K for a Krell worth RM15K, or even being offered "just to pay" RM200K for a brand new showroom piece of a RM800K Merc S350. Oh well .. u get the idea!

Of course the banks would love to give u a loan to buy it nevertheless, coz if u default, they'll repo that asset worth much more. And if you don't they're still happy to pocket the jew-rate interests that you're being whacked with.

Well, Just a personal view that: yes, passing on such a "sweet deal" would still be a better advice than telling someone to take a bank loan (at whatever ##% p.a. rate) to buy a 5K equipment (nevermind if the initial price was 15K or even 25K...).

When u really gots the moolah, the purchasing power and power of choice is in your hands. And this is more like anti-anti-hunting. If a SWEET DEAL comes along here, and if u gots the spare dough, BAMM! the deal is yours. Speaking from personal experience and only just 2 days ago too! And the seller was still being bugged after the article was sold. Now that's purchasing power!

And yes, if you really do have a disposable income of RM500 , waiting 2 years for a RM12K system ain't that bad either. As opposed to some who would rather "take a loan" to buy something outside of their own sensible affordability. It would make owning that 12K system all the more sweet in the end.

How long did a certain someone here wait for his Mark-Levinson No.3-something/ ???

That's the problem with kids (or even certain grown-ups) these days ... instant gratification in an overly eager credit-driven economy.

The gist of the matter is, hi-fi is an expensive hobby, so play within your means. Taking a credit loan for such luxuries beyond one's own affordability (for whatever excuse) is just plain silly. That's how credit card debts pile up. They sneak up on you quietly, send u nice and tempting brochures about this month's promos etc etc, and the next thing you know, you're servicing the exorbitant rates just to barely stay afloat. Bank loans may not charge such high rates, but the mechanics are exactly the same if you're taking credit for the same reasons to feed one's "consumerism".

On the topic of credit: Take a credit to buy a home, good for you. As long as the property appreciates much faster than the repayments, that's a net positive cash flow. Take a loan to buy a Camry/Accord for the family as a good family sedan for daily work commute and the outstation trips? Fantastic. You're a decent family person. No one's gonna accuse u of getting a Accord/Camry for luxurious splurgings.

But get a flashy and handsome BMW 6-series or a Cayman-S from an equally flashy & handsome loan?? Lets see who's laughing here: the owner or the bank? I'd guess the bank.
Worse case would be having to end up selling it after a few years (coz maybe the owner got sick (metaphorically and literally) of/from eating packs of maggi mee with ajinomoto every day) , and the used-car market value is not enough to cover the hire-purchase settlements.

To put it politely, the term "marginal owner" comes to mind. Lets hope most if not any of us here are "marginal owners" when it comes to getting that big black/grey/silver Krell or even the likes of Audiolabs or Cyruses in your home.

If any of you folks wanna play hi-fi on a credit line, well, hats off to you and good luck with whatever. Oh well, suckers will always be suckers no matter what they see/hear/read. And the Bankers will be there in their gleaming suits with the pen and paper for that signature on the dotted line......



Anyways .... my point of view or debate ends here.

save money till rm20k & sets your target & go

Wataru....

Obiviously there are two schools of thought here, the conservatives and the radicals. ( no offence to anyone )

All we can do is to give our individual views on the upside and the downside to your question until the "cows come home". End of the day, you would be the best person to decide base on you monthly expenses and planned future commitments.

Happy Hunting.

Cheers

thats what im trying to practice & advice this wataru. buy everything in cash. but until you have the money, keep your eyes & ears open & go for auditions as many as you can..

mugenfoo wrote:

Where is WongKN ? ... come quick and save the young padewans from the temptation of the dark side of the hifi force.

Hahahahaahaha... Mebbe still changing his cloths inside a red phone booth before going out to save people.

Talk about how much to spend on hifi, it really depends on your disposable income and make sure that it will not affect other necessities.

I am trying to avoid putting in my words as I feel spending on luxury / hobby items is very personal and different people have different approach. Plus often there is no hard and fast rules.

But generally I am more inclined towards mugenfoo's approach which is not to spend if I don't already have the money. Sometimes if I can use the credit card, I will actually swipe first and make sure I fully settle later but that is due to the influence from my wife who asked me once "anything wrong with getting more points from the bank to exchange for gifts ? In this case, it's free what !" Women can have some interesting and often very valid ideas !

However I also feel there are exceptions. These are usually for used equipment. Say I am looking at a Goldmund Reference turntable someone wants to let go. This TT is so blardy rare (apparently a few hundred is made only) and is a legend amongst analogue lovers. If I don't act fast, several others will grab it and another might never be available for sale again. In such a scenario, I would think it might be conceiveable that it can be justified to take some sort of loan to get it if I am very eager to get one for collection sake. However, my character is even then, I will only really do it if I already have SOME MONEY to pay for PART of the TT - i.e. I won't take full loan to buy any used equipment. Plus I need to be able to see a cash flow in the near future that assures me I can pay off the loan. I.e. I don't have so much commitment and so servicing this loan is not an issue.

My opinion is that if I can't afford something at all, then perhaps I should just accept that I am not in that league, i.e. I don't earn enough to indulge in those things. After all, the rich people have all sorts of toys and compared to them, I earn peanuts.

I feel the danger is in going overboard. Today I take 2k loan for a Sansui (just a convenient example). This then becomes common already, I have already done it before so no big deal. So tomorrow I will borrow more to get some other thing. And once again, having done that, it's no big deal again. Then there becomes a real danger of going overboard. What happens when I start borrowing RM300k to get that Porsche GT2 that I have been dreaming of ? If I can afford the repayment then fine but what if I really can't but just thought that I can ?

Another thing about borrowing and then paying installment is that we often see each installment plan in isolation. Hmmm... RM500 per month is OK what. After all I earn 5k a month. But I forgot that I am also already servicing 3 other loans at the moment, totally RM1.5k for all three. Now each month I need to service RM2k in loans now. Suddenly this extra RM500 is not something a 5k monthly salary can absorb !

Mugenfoo has given some wise advice I personally feel. Perhaps he has seen the world a bit (the chinese say keen khor sai mean, or literally 'seen the small face' - experience a bit the harsh realities of life). My only addition to his words would be that do be aware also that nothing is black or white and there are always exceptions. Like the sansui example, or my Goldmund Reference example. In the end, the keyword is always MODERATION and CONSERVATIVE, and CAREFUL.

My 20 sens lar (money very small nowadays so 2 sens cannot do much already ! )

I just setup a bedroom system, pairing Harbeth P3ES2 speaker with Denon dm37. I hope my experience can be of some value to you.

Denon dm37 is a mini system, and cost around RM 1k+ without speakers. It has a CDP, USB, tuner, plays MP3 from CD and USB, plus heaps of electronics like sleep timer, alarm on/off, tune control etc. The current Harbeth P3ESR is around RM 5k+.

The paring of Denon mk37 with Harbeth was actually by accident. I have
been searching up and down for a proper sound system for my bedroom to
replace a cheap mini combo system. I thought about using my existing pair Harbeth P3 that I used as a center speaker in the HT system in the living room, but I simply could not find a 'proper' amplifier and CDP setup that is small enough pass the wife acceptance criteria.

Then a bit over a month ago the mini combo unit broke down - so I have
to get a replacement fast before my wife went banana on me; and I
settled on the Denon mk37 together with the speakers.

When I set it up in my bedroom I found the Denon speakers simply not to
my taste. The speakers are of thick wall design with solid internal
bracing and a back facing port. I found the bass sound lacking in body.
The ported sound is especially ugly, with a sharp hump somewhere between
the mid/lower bass region rolling off sharply at both ends. It was OK
for modern one-note bass type of music, but was really ugly for
classical and acoustics music.

So I swapped the speakers with the P3ES2. The improvement was
astonishing to say the least. In fact at present I actually prefer to
listen in the bedroom over the larger and newer Harbeth C7ES3 in the living room because of the much better acoustics of the bedroom, with the parquet floor, asbestos ceiling, thick curtains and the many soft furnitures.

This is another confirmation to me that the speaker and room acoustics
are the two most important factor in sound reproduction. Electronics is
really way down the list in terms of audible differences it can make. I
actually suspected many people will not be able to tell the mini Denon apart from more expensive electronics with blind tests.

The Denon mini delivers 30W per channel. Last weekend I took it out for a resident association BBQ function. It is able to flood the whole playground with music. So 30W is plenty of power for a typical living room. To give you a reference in terms of power vs. loudness - 10 times increase in power = 2 times increase in loudness. So 300W is only twice as loud as 30W.

well, i have opt for 36 months 0% installment plan for some of my electronics instead of paying cash to the CC company which I've make some "income" from the liquidity I have for not paying the seller in one shoot.

But, you need to make sure that you can disciplinary service the installment on time and not letting the CC company make money from you and only buy other new gear after the current installment are fully paid of.

So far, the CC company never made any interest off me (apart from government tax), not even any annual fees....

Lamkochai wrote:
please think carefully before you indulge in this hobby, unless you have a very clever accountant wife controlling your pocket....

This part i really have to agree with, without that you'll probably spend every single penny on this hobby.

Basically, I usually buy stuffs cash before this. And just recently started to run those 0% installment to get my system upgraded faster than originally planned. To be honest there're always pros and cons depending on each individuals.

For me, I sometimes feel tied down knowing next month there's an additional fixed overhead on top my the "real life day to day commitments" e.g house, cars, food, petrol, bills and the list just goes on. But on the other hand when I get back to my crib and see my most enjoyable moments are getting better sooner. The issues of "extra overhead" tends to fade off.

BUT!, please note this. The excitement does not last that long, bill are the realitity. *that's for me*
& this hobby never ends. For an example 36months 0% on something might last 6months or so till you feel you hands starting to itch again.

So back to the question of 5K salary a month, I'd say get a simple unit first. 5K can't do much these days, unless you don't have to pay any other thing besides food alone. and still if it is so, i'd say start off with a 15K system and just run it 6 months easy payment the max.

Just sharing.
Cheers.

CN Yee wrote:To give you a reference in terms of power vs. loudness - 10 times increase in power = 2 times increase in loudness. So 300W is only twice as loud as 30W.

Totally wrong. Must be your uncle who taught u this....