My niece's first system for under $1000 USD - suggestions

[tomtoo]

Who ever was coming up with this rule of thump must have worked in a sawmill.



P.S sry dear sawmillworkers for the bad joke.

 

[ThatM1key]

Really? Strange kind of thumbs you have. I say: cut off those thumbs and actually look at the objective performance of gear instead of price tags. If you do that that you'll see that you don't need a lot of money to buy a decent amp. For speakers, on the other hand, usually more money gets you better objective performance. Not always, but if you stick to the things that actually have some objective data, you should be fine.

I'll still follow them. My local pawn shop has some fluance towers (I don't know if there any good) hooked to a 12 year old bottom of the barrel Yamaha AVR. Those thumbs don't apply much to used gear.

That's nothing: a microSD card can hold a TB of data, so about 2k+ of lossless albums

That's convenience, I don't need that. I love the speed drops and the high hiss of poorly made tapes. Also the changing of belts compared to turn tables.

 

[Lambda]

I would go with active monitor speakers.

 

[tomtoo]

@Audiodogg

Titel is not good, decision for you system is mostly done.
Titel would be better, search for decent TT and passive speakers, budget xxxx.

 

[Count Arthur]

Using Amir's reviews, and given you already have an amp:

Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 - $399.00 - https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...wharfedale-diamond-12-1-review-speaker.26780/

Phono Preamp: U-Turn Pluto 2 - $99 - https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/u-turn-pluto-2-review-phono-preamp.24451/

Turntable: Used Dual CS505 ~ $200.00 - https://www.vinylengine.com/library/dual/cs-505.shtml -

A few years ago you could pick a nice one of these on Ebay for under £50, but with the recent increase in the popularity of vinyl, they've gone up a bit.

The Dual CS505 isn't a fully automatic turntable but it's very simple to operate and unlike a lot of low cost turntables, it is also suspended, so it's less fussy about where you put it. There are several versions CS505-1 through to CS505-4, but I don't think there's a great deal of difference between them, so buy one in the nicest condition you can find and maybe budget for a new stylus and belt.

I had one many years ago, it's obviously a budget deck and doesn't have the heft and build quality of more expensive decks, but I liked it; I thought it had a fun sound.

Having said all that, they were quite popular in Europe, but I'm not sure how easy they are to find in the US, as you will need a 120v, 60Hz version.

 

[kongwee]

What is her preference? How will she listen in her room? Does she know about setting up stereo? For me, just a get Sony or Denon mini hifi and see whether she will setup like an hifi system.

 

[DanielT]

As others have said the same thing:Send back the amplifier. Buy another (new or used) with phono input. Take the opportunity to ask if she is interested in other functions, which she does not have now. For example, remote control.

Turntable, new or used.When considering a used turntable, if you or she does not know what to look for then before buying, ask those here at ASR who use turntables. What she should think about.

Put the most money on the speakers. Subwoofer can be nice to supplement with if smaller bookshelf speakers are purchased.
Subwoffer, it depends on the liking and taste if she would like a sub. Maybe better to put all the speaker money on only full-register speakers.

Edit:
Here she can look at some nice pictures. So maybe you get an idea of the appearance in itself regarding turntable is important to her:

Nice turntables. Attached picture is an absolute requirement.

Post a picture of a vinyl lathe that you think looks good.:D Performance information, optional. I am most interested in some nice pictures. How vinyl sounds is of secondary importance. For me anyway.:) Feel free to tell us about your youth's vinyl player. Take a trip down memory lane...

audiosciencereview.com

Note there are some really expensive turntables in that thread. The idea I had was more that she would check in general, because it's fun. Turntables themselves but also how they are placed in the listening room and so on.

 

[JayGilb]

Using Amir's reviews, and given you already have an amp:

Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 - $399.00 - https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...wharfedale-diamond-12-1-review-speaker.26780/

Phono Preamp: U-Turn Pluto 2 - $99 - https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/u-turn-pluto-2-review-phono-preamp.24451/

Turntable: Used Dual CS505 ~ $200.00 - https://www.vinylengine.com/library/dual/cs-505.shtml -

A few years ago you could pick a nice one of these on Ebay for under £50, but with the recent increase in the popularity of vinyl, they've gone up a bit.

View attachment 183683

The Dual CS505 isn't a fully automatic turntable but it's very simple to operate and unlike a lot of low cost turntables, it is also suspended, so it's less fussy about where you put it. There are several versions CS505-1 through to CS505-4, but I don't think there's a great deal of difference between them, so buy one in the nicest condition you can find and maybe budget for a new stylus and belt.

I had one many years ago, it's obviously a budget deck and doesn't have the heft and build quality of more expensive decks, but I liked it; I thought it had a fun sound.

Having said all that, they were quite popular in Europe, but I'm not sure how easy they are to find in the US, as you will need a 120v, 60Hz version.

Thank you. It's her money and she wants a turntable and speakers.

Not everyone is looking for a system with subs, room correction, room treatment and additional complexity.

 

[tomtoo]

Thank you. It's her money and she wants a turntable and speakers.

Not everyone is looking for a system with subs, room correction, room treatment and additional complexity.

Is it possible you quoted the wrong post?

 

[DanielT]

Thank you. It's her money and she wants a turntable and speakers.

Not everyone is looking for a system with subs, room correction, room treatment and additional complexity.

Even girls can like subwoofers. There are women who are bass heads. It depends on what kind of music she likes to listen to.

Edit:
However, considering the budget so. Hm then it is probably used Hifi, if amplifiers with phono input, turntables, speakers plus sub should be bought.
The usual: Pros and cons new vs used.
(you can of course also combine new and used).

 

[JayGilb]

Is it possible you quoted the wrong post?

Count Arthur gave a recommendation of a turntable, phono preamp and speakers for < $1000 and that is what the op requested.

 

[tomtoo]

Count Arthur gave a recommendation of a turntable, phono preamp and speakers for < $1000 and that is what the op requested.

Ah ok then i missinterpredet you post about Count Arthurs post. I thought it was negative ment. Couse my opinion was thats decent.

 

[Snoopy]

If she could upgrade her budget I would look into powered speakers with streaming.

The KEF LSX (used or open box) and add a turntable later

 

[JayGilb]

Ah ok then i missinterpredet you post about Count Arthurs post. I thought it was negative ment. Couse my opinion was thats decent.

No negativity was implied. I liked his reply because it fulfilled the op's request.

 

[fredstuhl]

Not everyone knows yet that he/ she is looking for a system with subs, room correction, room treatment and additional complexity.

Ah, you made a small mistake here, let me correct this for you!

Just kidding - totally get the appeal of an oldschool hifi with a turntable. Nothing wrong with that. And who knows, maybe she‘ll get into it and request advice for dsp and measuring gear next

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

The rule of thumb is that the amp should cost more or cost as much as the speakers themselves. You wouldn't put goodyear tires on a jalopy.

Personally, I would send back that amp and not spend more on a turn table than the amp itself . You should divide that budget better, something like 333 / 333 / 333 or 400 / 400 / 200.

I would recommend getting a used turntable instead of trying to find new. There plenty of great midrange vintage automatic direct drive turntable's and preamps out there that cost a lot less than most of these hunks of new junk. Sure you gotta supply your own cartridge but most of these new "budget" ($200 and over) turn tables come with audio-technica's cheapest cartridge, the 3600L (Which costs $20), so essentially buying a new car with cheap tires and cheap oil. If you want something new and don't care much about audio quality, I second the "Audio Technica LP60". Automatic, Built-in preamp, 3600L cartridge and a nice $100 price tag.



Even the cheapest "normal style" turntable and cheap records can sound better than lossy Bluetooth. They are very hard to care for, constant cleaning and takes up a lot of space. That's why I like cassettes better, you can fit hundreds of tapes in a 18 gallon tub vs 30 some records in a 18 gallon tub. One of the reasons I sold all my turn tables and gave away most of my records.

holy wrong information batman.

 

[Trouble Maker]

Who ever was coming up with this rule of thump must have worked in a sawmill.

If one's not supposed to trust a skinny cook, then should we also not trust 10 fingered woodworkers?

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

As far as helping OP out with his decisions here I can't offer much because the TT presents a significant "problem" really. Generally, I'd never suggest a TT as part of a budget system. For $1000USD you can get a fully audiophile set up with not much trouble at all really. assuming you already have a laptop or a phone for a source. Spend a hunny on a dac, a couple hunny on an amp and the rest on speakers (Elac DBR62 are a nice option as they sound great out of the box) and you're there. The TT complicates things...

And bluetooth (even SBC) is perfectly serviceable (and more "audiophile" than a turntable)

 

[Apesbrain]

What would you get for $840???

Fully automatic turntable w/cartridge & onboard phono pre-amp, $249: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6YK1GA/
Bookshelf speakers, $280: https://www.amazon.com/ELAC-Debut-Bookshelf-Speakers-Black/dp/B07B4Q5588/

Many different ways to go with speakers. The larger ELAC B6.2 and DBR62 are also well-reviewed, as are similarly priced offerings from KEF and Wharfedale. It's a personal choice.

Don't forget speaker wire: https://www.amazon.com/InstallGear-Gauge-Speaker-Touch-Cable/dp/B01CSZUSLA/
And, record brush: https://www.amazon.com/Record-Turntable-Cleaning-Portable-Collections/dp/B07C6G58RL

 

[Trouble Maker]

Spend a hunny on a dac....

People keep suggesting hundred dollar DACs, which does seem like the sweet spot on the market. However I wonder if a cheap dongle is 'good enough' and would allow more money to go towards speakers?

I got JBL305Ps for the garage and run them from a cheap dongle... actually new phone has headphone output so I just use that. There a $100 DAC makes zero sense to me. Something cheap but good enough with Bluetooth (and maybe volume/track control) is what would be worth it there to me, I haven't found it yet.
But this situation is different from a few viewpoints. I wonder where the budget threshold is where that $100 DAC makes sense, maybe it's around here.