If I had my time again it would be active all the way. KII, meridian, ATC etc loud speakers with a little left over for room treatment. They will work anywhere and everywhere then.
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Geez, he’s a kid, he’s a musician, he’s a doctor (and therefore an inveterate hardware tinkerer and gadget lover, in my experience). So why saddle him with hardware that you buy? Get him a gift certificate, or a check, for Heaven’s sake. Or, my preference, give him the $10K to start an IRA with. 
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I agree. I would much rather choose my own system than have someone give me one. The gesture is great, but I think cash would be better.
If I give him cash, he’ll just put it towards paying off his medical school debt. Now I’m happy to help with that if things get tight (within reason) but I want him to have something he can use and enjoy now, not in 10 years.
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That would be a rare bird here indeed! Locally we have Downy, Hairy, Red headed, Red bellied, Pileated, and Red cockaded.
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Bowers & Wilkins Duo. Sounds very good.
Think of it this way – why not help him do what he wants to do, based on his adult, after all, consideration of his needs and objectives? Instead of what you may want him to do. If he has any sense, he’ll appreciate the gesture and the gift.
Is the 210 a DAC?
Gato Audio integrated amp with dac and network board. Free delivery worldwide. Add speakers of choice.
Thanks for catching that. As a Meridian speaker user, I forgot that the 210 doesn’t have analog outputs. I’ll substitute a Meridian 218 for the DAC.
If it was me, I’d do the following:
Buchardt A500 bundle. Gets you fantastic active speakers that compare favorably to the much more expensive Dutch & Dutch 8Cs. Eliminates the need for separate amps/preamps. You can go XLR direct to the speakers or use the Hub included in the bundle which talks wirelessly to the speakers to connect a turntable, CD player, TV or other audio components. Also comes with a remote. This bundle (which was just created and ships in may) costs $4500 and saves you $500 over buying separately. You can look at it here:
I’d add a Lumin Ui Mini for a Roon endpoint to go XLR directly into the Buchardt A500s. This will cost you $3200. You can look at it here:
https://www.luminmusic.com/lumin-u1-mini.html
This combo comes in it at $7,700 and would provide a super flexible audiophile setup. You can use full Roon capability. You can access Spotify via the Lumin App if you want. You can connect pretty much any other stereo gear desired and use the setup with your TV. Leaves you $2,300 to cover tax, shipping, good xlr cables, and a turntable if your nephew wanted one. Or you can pocket the change and call it a day.
As one final alternative you could go with Genelec 8361a active speakers and the Lumin U1 Mini. A few people in the Roon forums liked these speakers better than the Dutch & Dutch 8Cs. They are $5K so would take your total to $8,200, still under budget. This is, however a less flexible setup as Genelec doesn’t offer the Hub device that Buchardt offers but if your nephew doesn’t need to add any other components this would also be a splendid option and still leave you some extra for shipping, tax and cables.
The Genelecs can be seen here: 8361A - Genelec.com
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An all Elac system -
DDP-2 Streamer-DAC-Preamp RoonReady
Navis ARF-51 powered speakers
(so many choices; so little time, so few rooms)
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Whatever you do if he plays organ music get a couple of sealed musical subs not just one sub. Organs play the lowest notes in music and if you can’t reproduce it well, he won’t be happy.
Take him out with you (c19 restrictions permitting) and go and audition some systems if you can.
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If a sub is on the list, an example of compact sub with app control is the recently released SVS 3000 Micro. SVS made a good decision here it’s not wireless but has an app with things like peq, phase control
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the info! I like the idea of subwoofer you can control over wireless but is wired.
Just to be clear, this is a powered subwoofer with integrated amp? Hook up to preamp over RCA or something else?
Also, do you know if you can hook 2 subwoofers together? See comment about organ music.
Really appreciate it.
Best re
So, if anyone is interested, I bought him a pair of b&w formation duos with a subwoofer. 5k total, so hugely under budget. Also bought a pair for my basement. Sound really great. Not the same as my 800 D3s, but still pretty damn good for a fraction of the price.
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He’s young, going into his internship. He’s not going to have a lot of time for fussy. I would get a very nice streaming integrated and nice speakers on stands.
Just give him the 10k to help him pay off the med school debt, which he’ll greatly appreciate in the long run, instead of getting him a f**#*$# 10k stereo. Jeez… He’s not gonna have time to listen to it anyway cuz he’ll always be at the hospital.
Along with the helping to get the debt down, maybe, help him with some money to learn how and begin investing so he can retire early. Believe me, he’ll want to…
Hi Sammie
Your kind insights are much appreciated. As I said earlier on in this thread, I will help him to pay down his debt if he needs it. I would appreciate it if you could tone down the language, however. A******.
Hi Vincent,
Yes I agree. I actually bought him a pair of b&w formation duos with a sub in the end.
Thanks!
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