Request player suggestions for budget audio system

[sudhindraaithal]

Hi All,
I have ordered the Norge 2060 + Norge Millenium Bookshelf speakers. A big thanks to Hifivision for helping me make the decision. I spent a few days going through various threads for budget stereo systems. Browsing the forum can get very addictive
I wanted suggestions for a music player. The player should be able to play MP3 from USB, CD/DVD and if possible external HD. I listen to mostly classic rock, blues, metal(Floyd,Zeppelin, Dire Straits, U2, Coldplay, The Black Keys etc) and bollywood songs.
My budget is 10K. If there is nothing good for that price, I can wait a few months and extend my budget to 30K.
If I want to use my laptop/smartphone as a source, do I need to do anything extra? Can I just connect them to the amp and listen to the music?
Any help and suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[vnmathur57]

Go for a simple but branded(Sony/Philips/Pana/Samsung) DVD player, to start with. It will cost you around 2K only, will play CD/DVD/USB/MP-3 and you can gift it away when you move to high end stuff.

 

[srisaikat]

I will not suggest 'branded(Sony/Philips/Pana/Samsung) DVD players'. They sounds really crap, but as your budget is very tight right now I will recommend to wait till you have some more money. Even 30k will not be that enough for a quality player from hifi (audiophile) brand as you are demanding "player should be able to play MP3 from USB, CD/DVD and if possible external HD" unless you want to buy an used one. But there is an alternative. When you have 30k then buy a decent media player within '10k' which will support all type of media including external dvd drive (buy an external dvd drive with '2k') and external hdd. Now you have '18k' spare to buy a standalone dac. So you connect that media player (10k) and external DVD drive (2k) together then use digital coax out of that player to pair with external DAC (18k), then line out of that DAC connect to Norge.

 

[sudhindraaithal]

Thanks for the suggestion SriSaikat.

At what price range would a quality hifi player start?I just want to get an idea.Please suggest a few names so that I know what to look for in future.

Also where does an 18K DAC stand in the DAC range. Towards the lower end or somewhere in the middle.

I am new to this whole stereo setup thing, so I apologize if my questions are dumb.

Thanks again for all the help

 

[srisaikat]

Look, within 30k there are some good hifi CD player with USB input (usb stick only, hdd are mostly not supported due to lack of proper power and limitation of file system support which is mostly FAT only supported) but problem is you also wanted to play DVD. So you need quality universal player to get video as well as decent audio and it will cost over 50k.

If the purpose of DVD play can be served by 'branded (Sony/Philips/Pana/Samsung) DVD players' like one suggested, then you can go for separate CD Player with 30K which will be dedicated for Music only. Then there is no need for separate DAC as CD player within 30k will be armed enough to satisfy the NORGE.

For sound quality I will recommend you to go for above option (separate DVD and CD Player)

I suggested DAC if you want to go for Media Player, as they supports great variety of files and external hdd and DVD drive. But the inbuilt DAC of media player is not usually that good, so to make it sound good you can buy a DAC like "audinst hud-mx2" or "Asus Xonar Essence One" or "Maverick Audio TubeMagic A1 Amplifier" etc...

 

[vnmathur57]

I suggested the above option as OP is starting at a low budget. Till he explores various options/cost/availability, a low-cost but versatile player should do. Thanks.

 

[sumeshj]

Congratulations on your purchase, and welcome to the world of hifi listening! The Norge 2060 + millennium is an excellent entry level combination and will give you endless hours of pleasurable listening. That is, until you are ready to upgrade to the next level !.

To begin with, I would suggest you use a laptop as source and feed into the amp via a NuForce uDAC (should cost < 3K). This combo should keep you happy until you can afford a higher end DAC and CD/media player.

 

[koushik]

I would suggest don't waste your money doing experiment as you are on tight budget. Wait for a while and get yourself a decent media player and an used DAC.

Asus O!Play mini would do the job for you and a DAC. There are few good DACs around 25K budget. But remember, you will need a display to play files from media player. So allocate some money to that as well.

Or you can go Music PC way. Get a good sound card around 10K (Asus STX) and you are good to go.

 

[sudhindraaithal]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.

For now I will use my laptop as source and NuForce uDAC.

When I have sufficient money, I will think of buying a CD player with USB input. Now that I had some time to think about, DVD and HDD support is not that important for me.