Building a system on a budget

[Joe Smith]

It is worth pausing to consider, if you do not have a large LP collection now, or a particular nostalgia for it, whether you want to go down that road. I am source-agnostic, still play everything except 8-track or reel-to-reel, but vinyl is its own particular rabbit hole. A collection over time takes up space. There is the thrill of the hunt to find something you love in great condition, or something new, and fiddling with the sound quality. But it is expensive. And fiddly. And with more noise/crackles than digital unless you have perfect disks and very expensive TT/stylus. There are rewards, but many offsetting things too.

 

[ZolaIII]

great speakers good enough everything else and a hd music streaming service.
eq and dsp for the last 10%

DRM source and DSP freedom usually don't go together and besides catalogues aren't really that great even for a "popular music" regarding streaming services and when it's local, local you won't really find it on such or at least not entirely satisfactory for fun they can be great but that's about it at least for me. I am a bit of a control freak I know but it's nice to have full control of the source (both regarding quality check and digital alterations), besides we do need a hobby gathering something (and preserving it as PCM digitaly is most convenient way). Embedded DSP's (any DSP actually) is as good as you have good control of it (and that it has enough juice for your needs). That's my 10¢ on the topic.

 

[BradW]

Depends. Are you specifically wanting a vintage-style setup? Because that’s what you are describing.

I think I've decided to go with a new system, not vintage.

 

[Mojo Warrior]

I think I've decided to go with a new system, not vintage.

Define "New" and "Vintage"

There are many AV receivers from the last 20 years available second hand for under $50 with a remote. The benefits are:

1) they can be used for stereo or surround sound should you want to pursue that, later

2) most have decent DACs

3) they usually have a subwoofer output should you want to go that route

4) Many have DSP for room correction (Audyssey, DIRAC, etc )

5) they have FM tuners

6) most have Bluetooth, so you can wireless stream music or radio from your smartphone

7) they can connect to your TV to enhance the sound

8) they have headphone outputs

9) you can later upgrade as your budget allows and as you become more knowledgeable

I would recommend putting most (80-90%) of your money into speakers because ultimately that is what you will be listening to and make the biggest difference to YOUR ears. Get out and listen to as many speakers as practical. Remember that anonymous people who post on the internet have very very different preferences in sound and hearing abilities. There is no one speaker that pleases everyone and there is no "perfect" speaker.

You can check locally on Craigslist or garage sales. Ask for a demonstration. Bring or request music that you are very familiar with. Depending upon where you live there may be a reputable company in your region. For example in Utah there is Tektondesign.com and ZUaudio.com In SoCal HsuResearch.com Some offer 60 day risk free trial in your home.

Finally, avoid vinyl and CD unless you already have a large collection. Streaming is the way to go.

 

[TSD]

plus four smallish subwoofers?

Willem - You should know that this short comment has sent me on quite the audio journey in the last month. Thank You! Took my first REW sweeps yesterday. Curious by what you consider "smallish" as my room size is about the same, maybe a little larger. 8"? 10"? 12? other? I was looking at the Elac sub1010s but they seem to be sold out everywhere, along with other well-reviewed models. Out of frustration I ordered a Jamo C912, arriving this week, to get myself started with sub integration.

 

[steve59]

The great thing about buying used is saving the markup. Most dealers won't give you 50% off. The easier the speakers are to drive the less power you'll need. Speakers up to 10 years old 1/2 price, over 10 yo .25% retail. Amps/pre I wouldn't shop anything over 10, but 2-5 years old and you can still get really sweet deals. I've read some systems can reveal differences in cables, wire can be bought used for pennies on the dollar. Rule of thumb is half on speakers and half on the rest. Spending on complex speakers without good enough electronics often backfires and sounds worse than less ambitious speakers in a balanced system! I learned this the hard way and being stubborn, multiple times. There are active systems out there that probably sound better than a cobbled together system, just make sure you like the house sound. Paradigm, Dynaudio, Klipsch and Kef on the short list. Since Samsung bought HK I don't think I'd expect the same support from Revel as the founding staff offered.

 

[ampguy]

Hi All,
New member. After raising my children I'm finally able to get back into wifi. I would love help in knowing what peices I should get. Fyi...I would rather go good used to save $ since I'm on a budget but want great clear sound.
My room is about 14' x 22' , wood floors and connected through an open large doorway to the kitchen on one end and another small (13'x12') room on the other end. I'm ok with either bookshelf or floor speakers. I'll need a turntable, receiver/amp and speakers to begin. I'll grow it from there. Budget is hopefully under $4k. I've listened to several incl paradigm founder 40b and 100f. It's hard to find them used (80f or 100f). I'm seeing that several of you really like the reveal's and I'm seeing them used at fair prices. I'm sure there are others I should consider. Please help me with what components I should get. Not to confuse things, but also contrast this new system with the buying a vintage system (for example: Marantz 2440, klipsch kg4.2 and a new or vintage turntable). Again, my main goal is to listen to clear beautiful sounds from vinal, old cd's and steaming from Playlist (know i would need a Bluetooth with vintage). Thank you for your help!!

I would get a good table, the Marantz TT15S1 is one of the best values out there. Then some efficient speakers, Tekton, Zu, maybe JBL's or the KLH reissues. For a classic amp, I'd get a made in Japan Marantz. For efficiency and willing to take some risks, a couple of Class D SMSL A300s will give you a lot of power (bridged - 400WPC! each, letting you choose low efficiency speakers if you like) and sound good to me but only have 2 inputs, but do have fixed limited subwoofer management, and EQ. Disclaimer, they measure relatively poorly here, yet to many, they subjectively sound as good or better than better measuring products here.

 

[CleanSound]

Vinyl is really more for nostalgia and the ritual of putting a record on a TT and looking through the album art cover. Basically, it's for the experience. Scientifically and objectively, it sounds terrible.

Do digital source instead, streaming is the way to go:

Revel tower speakers.
Either a Topping or SMSL DAC (if you don't mind the miniature desktop size)

A cheap mini PC from Amazon to send the stream to your DAC. (If you don't care about the looks)

Buckeye amp (if you are ok with a plain old black box).

All of the above components will run you around $4k-$5 new.