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Recommend an "entry level" setup

nab1828

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I'm looking to get a hi-fi stereo system for music listening. I would play vinyl and stream digital music. Currently I have a very basic non-audiophile 5.1 system for movies connected to a RX-V4A AVR and LG CX. I also have a MusicCast 20 speaker in my room.

Right now I'm thinking about buying a quality pair of speakers for music, but not sure how to go about it. Active vs passive? Will studio monitors be too expensive and "boring"?

So far I have this in mind: a pair of ELAC DBR62s, a Yamaha A-S301 and Thorens TD 402 DD. Or a set of Neumann KH 80 DSP, a preamp with MusicCast like the WXC-50. How good are the Fives from Klipsch btw? Thanks.
 

Jdunk54nl

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voodooless

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What’s up with the Thorens? Why spend so much money on that?

Also, what is your total budget? What’s the goal of the setup? What environment? Do you want to play loud?
 

Jdunk54nl

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nab1828

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Budget, definitely under 2k euros. 1500 would be perfect. What's loud? As loud as I can, sometimes, the neighbors are a limiting factor lol. The Thorens is a direct drive and has auto start/stop and an integrated phono preamp, I don't want to fiddle with it too much. Yes none of that is what's preferred here, I don't want any more belts and I don't want to fall asleep while the thing is running without auto stop (I tend to do that a lot).
 

Jdunk54nl

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voodooless

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I’d say look for a second hand player.

I’d put the Kali IN-8 second wave on the list as well.

Why the need for MusicCast?

Why not use the AVR and add better passives? Like Kef R3?
 
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andrewjohn007

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My suggestion is to go passive, rather than active. That way you can incrementally upgrade either amplification or speakers independently.
 

Jdunk54nl

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Jdunk54nl

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Passive vs. active,

What are your ultimate goals? If just for a 2 channel listening room, active is fine, with respect to listening distance (loudness comes into play).

If your plan is to upgrade to a full home theatre with multi channel, actives are a little harder to integrate, you need signal and power at each speaker location.
 

Jdunk54nl

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Is there any advantage to getting passive speakers? Would those Neuman's sound better than ELAC's, purely for music listening?

Can't 100% say for sure. There is way too much information missing that you will never be able to provide. Like personal preferences, how the room reacts to each set of speakers, how loud you actually play (Most don't actually know and it is usually quieter than everyone thinks) etc.
 

voodooless

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My suggestion is to go passive, rather than active. That way you can incrementally upgrade either amplification or speakers independently.

So because later on you have the option to spend yet more money, you should go passive? Does not sound like a very good reason.

The Neumann’s are really small and meant for near-field listening, so behind a desk for instance. For anything further away they will quickly struggle.
 

Ron Texas

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JBL LSR 308 (pair} Topping D10B balanced DAC, some wires, generic stands. Get a UMIC-1 microphone $100 and learn to use REW. Use an old computer for playback.
 

Jdunk54nl

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Chrispy

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What speakers do you have hooked up to your Yamaha?
 

Jdunk54nl

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Your link earlier on the Kali worked for me....
Stop giving away my secrets!

Edit* Since Moderator Adam already chimed in, I had to use a workaround to get the links to work by shortening them with bit.ly links
 
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