Micro Hi-Fi paired with turntable

[Ordnael]

Disclaimer:
Not an audiophile myself, although I understand and appreciate the quest for great audio but the price of admission for barely entry level audiophile hi-fi stuff is just to steep for someone that just wants to enjoy music with a minimum degree of quality.

Context:
My old Philips LX-3600D which I've been using only as a receiver to play music, on my living room/kitchen open space, either radio, CD or a paired Sony PS-LX300USB turntable has started to randomly jump from input sources while playing, meaning one minute I am listening to a vinyl record through the Aux-in source of the Philips and the next I am suddenly hearing FM radio!
Since I don't have the technical expertise or will to repair the the Philips then it has to go! And it's too bad as that home cinema has a subwoofer, but all the speakers are connected by proprietary Philips ports so... though luck!
(Curious facts both the Philips and the Sony are hands-me down from my dad and brother, not that I am cheapskate...well I am ...in healthy doses... and it felt wrong to turn them down and be wasteful throwing way good working devices...the Sony still works well)

After much, way too much consideration I've decided for the micro Hi-Fi paired with a turntable route, instead of going for the separate amp, separate cd player, separate speakers paired with my Sony turntable route. Also the wife really wants a device with Bluetooth (another nail in the Philips repair coffin).
The bill: Micro Hi-Fi System with RCA-in and Bluetooth capability that I can get preferably from a brick and mortar store for better (face to face) post sale warranty support. Budget 200€

So I've been ogling these micro hi-fi equipments that might fit the bill:

Aiwa MSBTU-500 – Aiwa Europe

Kind of my template for the device I am looking for
Pro: Can get it from a brick and mortar store for as little as 115 to 1126€
Con: Not sure of this nu Aiwa quality also not sure on the Sound quality specially because the next model:

Aiwa MSBTU-600 – Aiwa Europe

Pro: I am no expert but it seems more capable of quality sound than the 500 series and I can get it for around 180€
Con: Can't get it from a brick and mortar store yet*, may order it now through a regular store but then I might get in trouble with shady warranty procedures with online store that sells it.
Then there's this:

D-M41 - Mini HiFi System with CD, Bluetooth and FM Tuner | Denon - US

Denon

www.denon.com

Pro: It's Denon, from what I gather it's good, like really good compared to the other 2, although output power is lower, maybe sound quality is better? Can someone educate me about power output and audio quality? Also the only system with a pro-ish review:
https://www.whathifi.com/denon/d-m41dab/review
Con: It's over-budget like almost twice. I can get it for as low as 370€ from a brick and mortar store. I might just wait and keep ogling it, maybe black Friday will bring a nice discount. For a renown quality brand like this I think I should fork something extra.

My wife might get a 100€ gift card from the store she works for by Christmas, I already planted the idea that maybe we could wait for that card, and make the purchase from her store. The Denon will be kinda more expensive as her store doesn't sell the receiver+speakers bundle so I'll have to make the purchase in separate, but without further discount than that gift card I am still looking at 350€.
*She already spoke to a manager about getting the store to sell the Aiwa Msbtu-600...but for now no promises.

What do you think about these micro hi-fi systems? Do you have something like this at home? What's your audio setup? Do you have other suggestions? Another perspective? I'll appreciate your input.

 

[Moriarte]

Power output of the amplifier and sound quality don't necessarily correlate if that's what you're wondering about. There are 11w amplifiers sounding.better than 300w amplifiers and vice versa. It's all about individual components and their complementarity along the sound path. I think picking up that integrated Aiwa/Denon solutions are fine, especially considering they have over-the-air capability to stream your music from mobile devices (very convenient). The best thing you can do is listen to the device you're going to buy, I can't stress this enough. Human ears (and brains between them!) are vastly different, not to mention with age the higher frequency perception fades. What sounds terrible to you (in any price range), can sound amazing to me, so I'd suggest finding a way to listen first and purchase later.

Maybe you'll enjoy a boomy bass, maybe a tight, punchy one. Maybe you want none of that bass business in your life altogether? Maybe you want sharp highs tickling your brain, or maybe you want want them tamed as you get tired from sharp highs... No one knows, even you. Before you listen, that is!

I have a pretty system of my own at home: 2 speakers, subwoofer, tube amp, pre-amp, turntable, tv, dac. I've probably spent hundreds of hours over 15 years slowly getting it together, tweaking it and experimenting with it. Overall, this is not the quest that I'd suggest to the faint hearted - I'd wholeheartedly suggest buying an integrated HiFi system assembled by professionals instead and just enjoy the damn music. You are definitely on the right track, maybe you can save up over time and buy something in the next price range, other than that - listen before you buy.

Then, there is the subject of source sound quality, which trumps further considerations. Vinyl is interesting to listen to, it is a source of music that aged very well. It is not as detailed as some modern digital recordings, but there is a certain elusive atmosphere conveyed through vinyl recordings, created by clicks, hisses and other distortions. Professionals argue why that is, I wouldn't want to get into that at this point. There are streaming services, like Spotify, most of them offer low-medium quality music, but offer vast libraries to download from. Roon is a far better streaming service, offers high quality audio streaming. And then there's getting music yourself or listening to well recorded CD's. To this day CD's are one of the top choices for high quality music, but not all CD's are created equal. That is because some sound engineers are magicians, while others should be jailed. Another source is downloading/buying digital recordings from internet. This is where you can get the highest quality possible.

Good luck in you audio travels!

 

[Birdjaguar]

Can't get it from a brick and mortar store yet*, may order it now through a regular store

I know nothing about audio, but this sentence caught my eye. "Regular store" now seems to be online and "brick and mortar" is the exception. Times are changing.

 

[Ordnael]

Very sound advice and insight @Moriarte, thank you, but I don't think I will have the opportunity to have these systems demonstrated to me though. I can get them through brick and mortar stores but I don't think they are stocking them. Just the other day I was at a store from a chain from which I can purchase these systems but they didn't have them in exhibition, they had other systems yes but they also weren't playing. And the the ones they have don't fit the bill, Bluetooth capable is easy to find nowadays, RCA-in is way, way harder to find in micro Hi-Fi systems, hence why I only pointed those 3 systems I am ogling.

I know nothing about audio, but this sentence caught my eye. "Regular store" now seems to be online and "brick and mortar" is the exception. Times are changing.

Worst than that, some brick and mortar stores have their own online marketplace where other stores can sell and thus they only exhibit some of their products. The store chain my wife works for is considering joining that bandwagon too!
I remember when my stepfather bought is own Hi-Fi System (separate amp, speakers, cd player and radio receiver...all different brands!) in the late 90's and he probably had the opportunity to test them. Now we have to take the plunge online or drive far way to very specialized stores that only sell the cream of the crop most expensive Hi-Fi components.