Hi all, first post here, although I've used the site for a while. I've been meaning to ask a question for a friend for a couple of weeks now so I thought it was about time I posted something!

Basically, she has an Aiwa mini-system, bought from Comet a couple of months ago. I advised her to buy seperates at the time, but money was an issue and she wouldn't go home without buying SOMETHING! Typically, she now wants bigger speakers to kick out a bit more volume, however I'm not really sure how upgradeable mini-systems are since I've only ever bought seperates myself.

The speakers wire in to the back of the stereo in a similar way to seperates, but the cables are much thinner. I'm guessing you can't just hook in a big pair of floorstanders since the built-in amp probably won't power them.

I've never really heard of anyone upgrading their speakers on a mini system so my question is basically - would she be able to buy some bigger speakers seperately, and if so, what would I be looking for specifically and where might I get them from?

All help appreciated

Hi Munch,

Hmm! it's not the speakers that give you more power but more watts in the amplifier department.

I suggest visiting Richer Sounds or a HiFi shop for advice and a demo - take your mini system with you [ring up and make an appointment] you may well be able to find bigger better and more efficient [the key point] which will then give you a louder sound

Thanks Johnny,

I gave our local hi-fi centre a call and they said pretty much the same. They reckoned adding some new speakers might improve it a little, but at the end of the day the amp is the major factor. Like you say, they're happy enough for us take the system down and give some new speakers a try so I guess we'll give that a go, I'm not really holding out much hope though! If only Ruth had taken my advice and bought seperates in the first place... sigh!

Cheers again mate,
Chris

That's girls all over m8.

You could get a new amp and speakers and use the minisystem as a source [ie CD-player/radio/cassette] as long as it has a line output eg a tape out.

Or perhaps a trip to the local girlfriend centre for a trade in ;-)