Help with First Cohesive Build

[Cosmic_Error]

I've been interested in hifi audio gear for years now and I have bought a few things over the years but there was never any real cohesion to my equipment. Now I have a bit of money put aside to do my first real build. This build is going to be in my bedroom which is rather small (L14'xW11'xH8') and not do super ideal in terms of layout, so one of my speakers will be in a corner and both wont be very far away from the front wall (about 2' max). I don't have a solid budget but I'm not looking to spend much more than $3000 to get a system that plays music, it doesn't have to be complete i.e. missing a subwoofer or not having a turntable yet. I'm thinking about the Dynaudio Evoke 10 speakers. I'm not super sure about the amp I have plenty of space for a power amp and phono pre amp or Bluetooth DAC, but I'm also open to integrated amps; I'm not looking to spend much more than $1000 on this section of things. This will mostly be used for vinyl and CDs but I would like to have some sort of streaming capabilities as well. For the turntable I'm thinking a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo, I don't really have any clue what cd player/transport that I want; vinyl is my priority right now. I listen to a lot of types of music ranging from acoustic folk music to heavy metal to edm so I want a system that can do all genres of music as well as is possible at this price range. I think that's all of the information I could possibly list but if I missed anything let me know.

EDIT: Right now I have a pair of Adam Audio T5Vs plugged into my computer, they really cant get loud enough for my taste and also they don't really have enough bass. Other than that I like these speakers.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

I’m not as knowledgeable as other here, but I will just throw out what I’ve seen. I know that TT is popular but I thought there were downsides to it in terms of upgradability? I was/am going through researching TTs and the Rega Planar 1 (2016+, not the old P1) was considered better. I almost bought it, then the P2, but opted for a Technics SL12000MK5 (now I’m over $1000 though) because I don’t want a lot of wow and flutter. Just some thoughts from my personal experience the last 2 weeks of research. Preamp has been a huge issue with me. It came down to 3 options. The $129 Schiit Mani which can suffer from not enough power, no Subsonic filter, and tendencies to hum or pick up RF. The $299 Cambridge Audio Alva Duo, which is reviewed as the best under $300, and which I may still buy. And the $200~ Muffsy PP-4 DIY Kit which I have on the way, but has no subsonic filter. No measurements on it yet but I may ask if they want me to send it in for review. Have to solder the breadboard and stuff together so it’s pretty cool.
As for speakers I can only speak of what I have, JBL Studio 590s, amd tonight I’m picking up my buddy’s 570s, and the 520c is on its way. They go on sale all the time for half off. My buddy got the 570s for $400/pair 2 months ago. Those or the Klipsch RP-8000 or below which are only slightly worse than the studios, they are not as harsh as the last gen. I heard them at a local shop and was going to get them but picked the 590s instead. I love them, but not everyone likes treble. I heard the B&W 6000? And a few other sub $700/pair speakers with cone tweeters and they all sounded like trash to me, no treble/life/air. My uncle has Definitive Technologies and they sound good as well. No clue about the ones you mentioned, sorry. As for an amp, in a small room you may not need a lot of power, so IMO I’d go with a high quality D amp with low distortion. Audioholics have some reviews/talks about them. Or just get a Marantz Receiver or similar with HDMI 2.1.
Accessories4Less is a great site with refurb equipment at near half off sometimes btw. Got my $900 Marantz SR5010 from there for $500 + free HDMI cables for Black Friday.

 

[Cosmic_Error]

Why do you recommend a class D amp? I've heard that they don't sound as good as class A or Class A/B. Also in terms of integrated amps I've heard that Dynaudio Evokes are a bit harder to drive and I like loud music so I'm looking for a bit more power, I've heard that 60-80W per channel is best. I've only really looked into integrated amps I've been looking at a few but every time I feel like I've found a good option I hear something that changes my mind. The amps I've looked at are the Yamaha A-S501, which I liked but I want to use a sub eventually and I've heard that the sub output on this is not very good (I can't remember exactly why) and it doesn't have built in Bluetooth so I would have to buy a streamer or Bluetooth dac (correct me if I'm wrong about any of this); the next amp I looked at is the Iotavx SA3 possible with a PA3 to get more power, but I've been having a lot of trouble with shipping from the UK recently plus this is pretty close to the top of my budget possibly even a bit over and that's without the Bluetooth dongle; the last amp I looked at is the Outlaw Audio RR2160MKII which is also at the top of my budget and I haven't heard much about it aside from one reddit post saying Outlaw Audio has bad customer service, I think this one has built in wifi streaming but I could be wrong about that. Any thoughts on any of these amps?

 

[watchnerd]

I own 2 pairs of Dynaudio speakers and have owned more in the past.

They do tend to be power hungry, but I've had good results using class D amps and newer Pro series monitors all use Class D amps, as do the Focus XD series. My Dynaudio monitors use Class D, and my passive Dynaudios are using a Class A/D hybrid.

@Cosmic_Error Have you considered active speakers?

 

[Cosmic_Error]

I own 2 pairs of Dynaudio speakers and have owned more in the past.

They do tend to be power hungry, but I've had good results using class D amps and newer Pro series monitors all use Class D amps, as do the Focus XD series. My Dynaudio monitors use Class D, and my passive Dynaudios are using a Class A/D hybrid.

@Cosmic_Error Have you considered active speakers?

I have considered them but I'm not too sure about them, I've heard that I can get better speakers if they are passive. I've only ever owned active speakers though. Any thoughts on the PS Audio sprout? I've heard good things about it.

 

[watchnerd]

I have considered them but I'm not too sure about them, I've heard that I can get better speakers if they are passive. I've only ever owned active speakers though. Any thoughts on the PS Audio sprout? I've heard good things about it.

I don't think the Sprout is competitive these days. The ICEPower amp chip is a generation behind.

As for "how much speaker you get for your money", remember that with active speakers you no longer have to buy an amp.

And as for net quality, remember that most studio monitors these days are high quality active designs.

 

[Cosmic_Error]

I don't think the Sprout is competitive these days.

As for "how much speaker you get for your money", remember that with active speakers you no longer have to buy an amp.

And as for net quality, remember that most studio monitors these days are high quality active designs.

If the sprout is a no go what amps do you recommend? Also there is at least imo room for an amp in my budget but if there is a much better set of active speakers I am open to hearing about it.

P.S. Thanks for taking the time to answer all of my questions

 

[watchnerd]

If the sprout is a no go what amps do you recommend? Also there is at least imo room for an amp in my budget but if there is a much better set of active speakers I am open to hearing about it.

For a bedroom, depending your budget, if you like the sound of Dynaudio, the LYD 7 would be fine.

Then you don't need to buy a separate power amp or integrated amp.

What you do for the phono depends on if you buy a TT with an integrated phono stage or not.

Dynaudio LYD 7: $1300
RME ADI-2 DAC: $1150

That leaves $500 for a decent entry-level TT with a built-in phono stage with USB-out.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

For a bedroom, depending your budget, if you like the sound of Dynaudio, the LYD 7 would be fine.

Then you don't need to buy a separate power amp or integrated amp.

What you do for the phono depends on if you buy a TT with an integrated phono stage or not.

Dynaudio LYD 7: $1300
RME ADI-2 DAC: $1150

That leaves $500 for a decent entry-level TT with a built-in phono stage with USB-out.

This isn't meant to sound aggressive, it's only inquiring about what you said as it doesn't make sense to me.

I'm curious why you suggest a $1150 DAC and then a $500 TT budget. Doesn't that seem a little backwards?
He could get a much better TT instead of an entry TT. That's Rega P3 territory. I imagine a $1145 Rega P3 w/Elys2 + $300 Cambridge Audio DUO + some $200 DAC/CD player/whatever, would have a much bigger sound improvement over a $450 AT-LP5 with that overkill RME ADI-2 DAC, especially when he said vinyl was his primary goal.
Am I missing something?

BTW he said he wanted to play CDs and IDK if he wants to rip them to his PC then output to the DAC, or play the CDs on a CD player. I'd just get a basic cd player. I'm in the "super expensive DAC processors don't make a big difference" crowd. If people don't hear the +.2% wow and flutter and all of the other coloration/imperfections/errors on a TT, then you're not going to hear the difference between a $50 DAC and a $5000 DAC unless they purposefully color the audio with EQ. With that said, the RME ADI-2 DAC has a lot of features, but he most likely won't use most of them if we're being realistic.

 

[watchnerd]

This isn't meant to sound aggressive, it's only inquiring about what you said as it doesn't make sense to me.

I'm curious why you suggest a $1150 DAC and then a $500 TT budget. Doesn't that seem a little backwards?
He could get a much better TT instead of an entry TT. That's Rega P3 territory. I imagine a $1145 Rega P3 w/Elys2 + $300 Cambridge Audio DUO + some $200 DAC/CD player/whatever, would have a much bigger sound improvement over a $450 AT-LP5 with that overkill RME ADI-2 DAC, especially when he said vinyl was his primary goal.
Am I missing something?

BTW he said he wanted to play CDs and IDK if he wants to rip them to his PC then output to the DAC, or play the CDs on a CD player. I'd just get a basic cd player. I'm in the "super expensive DAC processors don't make a big difference" crowd. If people don't hear the +.2% wow and flutter and all of the other coloration/imperfections/errors on a TT, then you're not going to hear the difference between a $50 DAC and a $5000 DAC unless they purposefully color the audio with EQ. With that said, the RME ADI-2 DAC has a lot of features, but he most likely won't use most of them if we're being realistic.

Because $500 TT's are just starter TT's and won't last long if one is really into vinyl.

And if not, there is not reason to waste more.

If his budget was $5000, I'd say to get a SL-1200GR and a Puffin.

But feel free to offer your own gear recommendations.

 

[Cosmic_Error]

This isn't meant to sound aggressive, it's only inquiring about what you said as it doesn't make sense to me.

I'm curious why you suggest a $1150 DAC and then a $500 TT budget. Doesn't that seem a little backwards?
He could get a much better TT instead of an entry TT. That's Rega P3 territory. I imagine a $1145 Rega P3 w/Elys2 + $300 Cambridge Audio DUO + some $200 DAC/CD player/whatever, would have a much bigger sound improvement over a $450 AT-LP5 with that overkill RME ADI-2 DAC, especially when he said vinyl was his primary goal.
Am I missing something?

BTW he said he wanted to play CDs and IDK if he wants to rip them to his PC then output to the DAC, or play the CDs on a CD player. I'd just get a basic cd player. I'm in the "super expensive DAC processors don't make a big difference" crowd. If people don't hear the +.2% wow and flutter and all of the other coloration/imperfections/errors on a TT, then you're not going to hear the difference between a $50 DAC and a $5000 DAC unless they purposefully color the audio with EQ. With that said, the RME ADI-2 DAC has a lot of features, but he most likely won't use most of them if we're being realistic.

I'll be listening to CDs from a cd player not from a computer, I prefer physical media whenever possible. I like to collect things... I may be a hoarder.

 

[Cosmic_Error]

Because $500 TT's are just starter TT's and won't last long if one is really into vinyl.

And if not, there is not reason to waste more.

If his budget was $5000, I'd say to get a SL-1200GR and a Puffin.

But feel free to offer your own gear recommendations.

This isn't my first TT. That's why I'm ok with waiting a bit to buy a new TT. I already have an Audio-Technica LP-60XBT. I'm looking to upgrade at this point.

 

[q3cpma]

Neumann KH120A + KH750DSP + MA-1 or Genelec 8330A + GLM kit + 7350A (possibly later). If using computer based room correction, the KH120A or 8030C with something like a JBL LSR310S.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

I'll be listening to CDs from a cd player not from a computer, I prefer physical media whenever possible. I like to collect things... I may be a hoarder.

Ah I see. I rip my CDs to lossless files on my pc. I then can steam/download them to all of my devices via my PLEX server at full quality or lower if I want.
As as side note, sometimes vinyls come with a digital download at places like badcamp, and the digital version can be hi-res. Like Cattle Decapitation’s last album had a 48khz/24bit download, so it was better than the CD version.

 

[Cosmic_Error]

Ah I see. I rip my CDs to lossless files on my pc. I then can steam/download them to all of my devices via my PLEX server at full quality or lower if I want.
As as side note, sometimes vinyls come with a digital download at places like badcamp, and the digital version can be hi-res. Like Cattle Decapitation’s last album had a 48khz/24bit download, so it was better than the CD version.

I've got a few vinyls that came with flac/alac downloads, but I prefer physical media if I have it. I only use digital content if I have to.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

I've got a few vinyls that came with flac/alac downloads, but I prefer physical media if I have it. I only use digital content if I have to.

Does save on storage space lol. I built a 24TB NAS and next thing you know I built a 100TB server for PLEX lol

 

[Cosmic_Error]

Does save on storage space lol. I built a 24TB NAS and next thing you know I built a 100TB server for PLEX lol

That couldn't have been cheap

 

[andrewskaterrr]

That couldn't have been cheap

Around $2000. Picked up the 10TB WD external drives when they went on sale for around $180, and schucked them. The NAS was like $1200 I think but I bough bare drives and they are more expensive than shucking externals.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

But back to the TT. During my research I found that there’s different give and takes. People say the Rega P3 has better sonics than an old SL1200 like I just bought, but in the comparisons I heard the 1200 sounded better but who knows lol. Belt driven tables have higher wow and flutter than direct drive, but DD can be noisier. Like Regas tend to run fast, so music is pitched up more than a DD’s would be, and that’s why I personally passed on the P2 I was about to buy, even though I would not have even noticed it since I don’t have perfect pitch lol. From what I read you’ll have to spend over $1000 to get a “good” TT. Idk much about them though

 

[Cosmic_Error]

But back to the TT. During my research I found that there’s different give and takes. People say the Rega P3 has better sonics than an old SL1200 like I just bought, but in the comparisons I heard the 1200 sounded better but who knows lol. Belt driven tables have higher wow and flutter than direct drive, but DD can be noisier. Like Regas tend to run fast, so music is pitched up more than a DD’s would be, and that’s why I personally passed on the P2 I was about to buy, even though I would not have even noticed it since I don’t have perfect pitch lol. From what I read you’ll have to spend over $1000 to get a “good” TT. Idk much about them though

Ugh everything seems like it going to cost way more than I thought.