Recommendations for a beginners setup

[Rosenild]

Hello everyone.

I have recently become very interested in hi fi and I would like a nice setup to listen to my jazz records. I usually purchase high quality records made from master tape recordings. I would like recommendations on my current setup and furthermore, I have some questions regarding this matter.

Amplifier:
Sansui AU 9500 (I received my fathers old amplifier and I have had it through service).

Speakers:
B&W CDM1 speakers (an old pair made of rosewood, but in excellent shape. I'm aware that this might be an obvious element to upgrade).

Turntable:
Mudita Vâk turntable (https://beautifulturntables.com/mudita/) with a SME 3012.
The SME 3012 is from my fathers old Garrard 401. A friend of mine was amazed by it and recommended me to keep it.

Questions:
- I'm not sure which pickup to choose . It seems that MC pickups can be installed on the SME 3012, but there are also great MM pickups out there. I have been recommended Sumiko Moonstone and Ortofon Blue pickup. From what I can read on the internet, I think the Sumiko seems suitable for jazz records with its warm and deep sound, but I can't be sure. Maybe there are other options that I overlook?

- From what I have researched online it seems a lot of people recommend a "RIAA" or "preamp".

- I like my current speakers but I'm aware that this might have to be upgraded sometime. I'm thinking that the B&W speakers will fit perfectly in my office, where I could use an upgraded version in my living room. I like their size and I like the vintage look with the rosewood, which compliments my home very well. Which brands should I look for? I'm happy to buy things used .

Personal information:
- I live in Denmark (it seems that this has relevance to some people when I ask for recommendations. Furthermore it seems we have a great market for used hi fi)
- My budget is flexible. My basic approach is that I don't want to save money if there's something extraordinary for "an extra buck", if that makes sense. If I have to reduce this unspecific approach to dollars, I guess I'm looking for a pick up for around 300-400 usd and the RIAA could be in the same price range. If you recommend me to consider a pickup for 500 dollars or more, knowing that the sound would be even better, I could be persuaded to that. In terms of speakers I'm thinking around 2000 usd.

Thank you for your time and considerations.


Post scriptum: I hope I use the correct forum for this matter. Also I would like to excuse my poor English and my lack of knowledge when it comes to hi fi.

 

[VMAT4]

You might want to buy a Wii Pro Plus and start streaming. As far as speakers go the Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ may be ugly but, have been favorably measured and reviewed. However those are rated at 4 Ohms. Maybe with your current amp you'll need an 8 Ohms speaker pair.

 

[Rosenild]

You might want to buy a Wii Pro Plus and start streaming. As far as speakers go the Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ may be ugly but, have been favorably measured and reviewed. However those are rated at 4 Ohms. Maybe with your current amp you'll need an 8 Ohms speaker pair.

Hello VMAT4.

Thank you for your reply.

I have an Apple Airport so I can listen to music from Tidal, but I enjoy my jazz records very much and it is therein my interest lies. Why would I prefer streaming than having the jazz record mastered by an excellent sound engineer.

 

[VMAT4]

Hello VMAT4.

Thank you for your reply.

I have an Apple Airport so I can listen to music from Tidal, but I enjoy my jazz records very much and it is therein my interest lies. Why would I prefer streaming than having the jazz record mastered by an excellent sound engineer.

We have a thread for that. Here

 

[Tom C]

Hello Rosenild, and welcome to ASR!
‘You will find many different points of view here, and a number of folks who see things the way you do. For you, a few of your items of gear are heirlooms, and a direct connection to your family, so I can certainly understand your desires.
For starters, I would say that since you feel there are some things you’ve yet to to learn about audio, you should take your time regarding purchase decisions. I realize you are anxious to get your setup going, but you will learn as you go, and except for those times when you just get plumb lucky, some of the decisions you make today you may change your mind about later, as your knowledge increases.
‘Your Sansui has a built-in phono stage that is probably pretty good. We don’t know for sure about any product until somebody puts one on the test bench. That’s just one of the reasons the work Amir does here is so valuable. There are, of course, some companies that consistently put in excellent performance, but even those once in a while surprise us with a less than stellar result, so you never really know until the particular unit you are interested in gets tested. So my advice would be to just use the phono input on your Sansui for now. There is time later for adding a dedicated phono stage later, but you may find the Sansui is all you need. If you do end up adding one, there are several reviewed here by @amirm that measure pretty well. To find them, just do a search in the box at the upper right of the web page, putting the name of the product you are interested in into the box labeled search, and his name in the box labeled member. You will find a link to an index of all the products tested here at the top left of the web page, labeled Review Index. Follow that link, and you will see that as of today, 41 phono stages have been reviewed here, and some of the best ones are pretty affordable.
For the cartridge, the situation is less well sorted. You will find many varying opinions on what is “best.” Attempts have been made to remedy the dearth of test bench measurements, but is a work in progress at this time. You can find some measurements by members here on ASR, and a handful of other places, but to my knowledge Amir hasn’t tested any. Vinyl, from a technical point of view, is a limited medium as compared to digital sources. Not that the potential quality is always fully utilized by the people making the recordings. Sometimes the quality is compromised somewhere along the way, no matter the medium. The upshot is, some say a basic cartridge is good enough, since we’re dealing with high noise and high distortion (compared to digital) no matter what, so spending gobs of money on a cartridge makes no sense. Some feel a flat frequency response is the only important difference between different cartridges. Others say that since distortion is high enough to be audible, minimizing distortion is another import difference. My own biased, not factual opinion is that a hyperelliptical profile stylus is worth the extra money, putting us into the US $500 to $1000 cost range. Based on personal experience, I would not recommend anyone ever spend $5000 or more on any cartridge, ever. You get nothing for the extra money that isn’t available for much less. Once you get a Shibata, line contact, or similar stylus, and a flat frequency response, there is not much more improvement to be made. Properly set up, MM vs MC is not a practical difference, outside of cost and convenience. There are good and bad examples of both. Also keep in mind that the stylus will wear out and need to be replaced after a couple years (if you play records daily), so cost control is very important. Personally, I use a MM Ortofon 2M Mono SE for my mono setup. The SE (not the regular mono edition) has a Shibata stylus. For stereo, I use Audio Technica AT-OC9XSL, which is MC, along with a step up transformer. That’s just kind of where I settled as good enough for me. There are other choices that may be as good or better, some for more, and some for less money.
‘Speakers are the single most important piece. I didn’t believe this when I first heard it 40 years ago, but now I recognize this as true. Only personal experience convinced me. The subject is deep and wide, and much knowledge is available here. I consider ASR to be indispensable as an information source, unlike any other. You just need to start reading, and keep reading, until you gain a good understanding of what the options are. It would be hard to start making recommendations to you until you have a good understanding of what your wants ands needs are. If you wanted a direct replacement for what you have, I would look at Kef R3 or LS50. Revel has several excellent options, but may be better for those in USA. If you are willing to go with active speakers, you could consider Genelec or Neumann, which are among the very best available, but then you wouldn’t use your Sansui, so might not be the best choice for you.
I would definitely consider adding a subwoofer, but you would need a way to do the crossover.
‘I think many of us here don’t mind spending a little more if we get something worthwhile for the extra money, yet don’t like to waste money by spending more than is necessary. From what you write, I expect you would agree with that. Knowledge is your best defense in that respect, which will require time and effort on your part. But it is well worth the effort. Best of luck!

 

[AnalogSteph]

With the CDM-1, dried-up ferrofluid in the tweeter seems to be a potential issue to look out for, unless this has already been taken care of. A measurement of both may be advisable. Otherwise this model seems to have been pretty solid for the time, one of B&W's last no-nonsense speakers. Obviously the bass has its limits and things start going downhill below 60 Hz.

Amplifiers from the mid-seventies are not generally exempt from various kinds of construction SNAFUs (a lot of the best practices we take for granted today had yet to establish themselves), so I went on a bit of a hunt. I didn't find anything major (unlike on the newer AU-5900), except a ca. 1974 favorite, the built-in ground loop on the preamp board:

Boy, that'll be fun to fix. (Not.) Unfortunately it is very hard to reconstruct the exact ground routing from service info. I would either cut the offending loop somewhere in the middle at the far left and far right (which may, however, create a megaloop if the grounds are joined again somewhere else on both sides), or run a bunch of wires vertically as "stitches" so loop area is kept to a minimum. Might be something you'll want to get looked at. If you can hold a mains transformer near this board and the amp starts to output hum, you'll know why.

Being from the times of 250 kOhm volume pots and above-average gain, the amp is never going to be the most noise-free either. The built-in MM phonopre, a 3-transistor affair, should be pretty decent though, certainly by the standards of the day (which would continue advancing rapidly).

 

[Rosenild]

member

With the CDM-1, dried-up ferrofluid in the tweeter seems to be a potential issue to look out for, unless this has already been taken care of. A measurement of both may be advisable. Otherwise this model seems to have been pretty solid for the time, one of B&W's last no-nonsense speakers. Obviously the bass has its limits and things start going downhill below 60 Hz.

Amplifiers from the mid-seventies are not generally exempt from various kinds of construction SNAFUs (a lot of the best practices we take for granted today had yet to establish themselves), so I went on a bit of a hunt. I didn't find anything major (unlike on the newer AU-5900), except a ca. 1974 favorite, the built-in ground loop on the preamp board:
View attachment 311174
Boy, that'll be fun to fix. (Not.) Unfortunately it is very hard to reconstruct the exact ground routing from service info. I would either cut the offending loop somewhere in the middle at the far left and far right (which may, however, create a megaloop if the grounds are joined again somewhere else on both sides), or run a bunch of wires vertically as "stitches" so loop area is kept to a minimum. Might be something you'll want to get looked at. If you can hold a mains transformer near this board and the amp starts to output hum, you'll know why.

Being from the times of 250 kOhm volume pots and above-average gain, the amp is never going to be the most noise-free either. The built-in MM phonopre, a 3-transistor affair, should be pretty decent though, certainly by the standards of the day (which would continue advancing rapidly).

Hello AnalogSteph.

Thank you for your reply.

I have to excuse my poor knowledge, but I'm in doubt whether you actually find this "vintage" amplifier good or not. I've heard that it is the "top model" of Sansui and the technician that conducted the service was very fascinated by it. He said it was a very good amplifier.

 

[Rosenild]

Hello Rosenild, and welcome to ASR!
‘You will find many different points of view here, and a number of folks who see things the way you do. For you, a few of your items of gear are heirlooms, and a direct connection to your family, so I can certainly understand your desires.
For starters, I would say that since you feel there are some things you’ve yet to to learn about audio, you should take your time regarding purchase decisions. I realize you are anxious to get your setup going, but you will learn as you go, and except for those times when you just get plumb lucky, some of the decisions you make today you may change your mind about later, as your knowledge increases.
‘Your Sansui has a built-in phono stage that is probably pretty good. We don’t know for sure about any product until somebody puts one on the test bench. That’s just one of the reasons the work Amir does here is so valuable. There are, of course, some companies that consistently put in excellent performance, but even those once in a while surprise us with a less than stellar result, so you never really know until the particular unit you are interested in gets tested. So my advice would be to just use the phono input on your Sansui for now. There is time later for adding a dedicated phono stage later, but you may find the Sansui is all you need. If you do end up adding one, there are several reviewed here by @amirm that measure pretty well. To find them, just do a search in the box at the upper right of the web page, putting the name of the product you are interested in into the box labeled search, and his name in the box labeled member. You will find a link to an index of all the products tested here at the top left of the web page, labeled Review Index. Follow that link, and you will see that as of today, 41 phono stages have been reviewed here, and some of the best ones are pretty affordable.
For the cartridge, the situation is less well sorted. You will find many varying opinions on what is “best.” Attempts have been made to remedy the dearth of test bench measurements, but is a work in progress at this time. You can find some measurements by members here on ASR, and a handful of other places, but to my knowledge Amir hasn’t tested any. Vinyl, from a technical point of view, is a limited medium as compared to digital sources. Not that the potential quality is always fully utilized by the people making the recordings. Sometimes the quality is compromised somewhere along the way, no matter the medium. The upshot is, some say a basic cartridge is good enough, since we’re dealing with high noise and high distortion (compared to digital) no matter what, so spending gobs of money on a cartridge makes no sense. Some feel a flat frequency response is the only important difference between different cartridges. Others say that since distortion is high enough to be audible, minimizing distortion is another import difference. My own biased, not factual opinion is that a hyperelliptical profile stylus is worth the extra money, putting us into the US $500 to $1000 cost range. Based on personal experience, I would not recommend anyone ever spend $5000 or more on any cartridge, ever. You get nothing for the extra money that isn’t available for much less. Once you get a Shibata, line contact, or similar stylus, and a flat frequency response, there is not much more improvement to be made. Properly set up, MM vs MC is not a practical difference, outside of cost and convenience. There are good and bad examples of both. Also keep in mind that the stylus will wear out and need to be replaced after a couple years (if you play records daily), so cost control is very important. Personally, I use a MM Ortofon 2M Mono SE for my mono setup. The SE (not the regular mono edition) has a Shibata stylus. For stereo, I use Audio Technica AT-OC9XSL, which is MC, along with a step up transformer. That’s just kind of where I settled as good enough for me. There are other choices that may be as good or better, some for more, and some for less money.
‘Speakers are the single most important piece. I didn’t believe this when I first heard it 40 years ago, but now I recognize this as true. Only personal experience convinced me. The subject is deep and wide, and much knowledge is available here. I consider ASR to be indispensable as an information source, unlike any other. You just need to start reading, and keep reading, until you gain a good understanding of what the options are. It would be hard to start making recommendations to you until you have a good understanding of what your wants ands needs are. If you wanted a direct replacement for what you have, I would look at Kef R3 or LS50. Revel has several excellent options, but may be better for those in USA. If you are willing to go with active speakers, you could consider Genelec or Neumann, which are among the very best available, but then you wouldn’t use your Sansui, so might not be the best choice for you.
I would definitely consider adding a subwoofer, but you would need a way to do the crossover.
‘I think many of us here don’t mind spending a little more if we get something worthwhile for the extra money, yet don’t like to waste money by spending more than is necessary. From what you write, I expect you would agree with that. Knowledge is your best defense in that respect, which will require time and effort on your part. But it is well worth the effort. Best of luck!

Hello Tom C.

Thank you very much for your response with a throughout introduction to Audio Science Review.

If I use Neumann or Genelec, which seems to be the highest rated speakers, I'm not able to use my Sansui. Can you elaborate?

I have been looking at brands like Tannoy, Klipsch, Sonus Faber etc.

 

[GXAlan]

No right or wrong answer, but I think I would recommend adding a good subwoofer to your setup.

Since your amp has tone controls, you will already get a lot of control over your subjective sound. Getting a subwoofer with speaker level input will help fill in the bottom octaves, which will be appreciated even with LP vinyls are your source.

I don’t know how good or bad your phono preamp is, but I am a fan of the “kit” based Luxman LXV-OT10 which is found new in box used on eBay and other places. It’s a Luxman designed hybrid phono preamp with tone controls to tweak the RIAA curve in a way that I find better than traditional tone controls, again, in a pure analog setup.

Speaker position is also really important. Toeing in and toeing out can be done along with adjusting distance from the back wall. Instead of doing this via trial and error, having a calibrated microphone is a good idea. The UMIK-1 and UMIK-2 are popular choices.

 

[Tom C]

Hello Tom C.

Thank you very much for your response with a throughout introduction to Audio Science Review.

If I use Neumann or Genelec, which seems to be the highest rated speakers, I'm not able to use my Sansui. Can you elaborate?

I have been looking at brands like Tannoy, Klipsch, Sonus Faber etc.

The Neumann and Genelec products are designed specifically for professional and commercial applications, such as movie studios and music recording studios, where they are used in the recording, mixing and mastering stages of the content you pay to stream, or for broadcast TV, movies you see in the theater, etc. Their products can also be founds in cafes, pubs, restaurants, and other public spaces. While they can be used to excellent effect in private homes and offices, they are not specifically designed for use by consumers. So it should be no surprise if some consumers find them a little harder to use, or at least unfamiliar and different from what they are used to. Part of the deal is that they have built-in power amps. The amps are inside the speaker housing. So you simply wouldn’t need the power amp section of the Sansui. What I wasn’t thinking about when I said that is that the AU-9500 is an integrated amp, meaning that there is a pre-amp and power amp built into a single box. So you actually could use the pre-amp functions of the AU-9500, and connect its pre-out to the input of a powered speaker. You may be pretty happy with that arrangement, since it can be hard to find the right pre-amp these days. The downside is that you would be paying for the power amp built into the speaker, which in a sense you don’t need, since you already have that in your integrated amp. Studio monitors like Genelec and Neumann have other advantages, though. It’s up to you to decide if the benefits outweigh the cost.

 

[chips666]

Hello Rosenild
If you like vintage looks
Keep the Sansui,as it is already serviced
Its perfect and add second hand Wharfedale Linton Heritage speakers
Concerning vinyl i cannot help you but there are alot good cartridges on the market to go with your SME arm
Good luck
Enjoy...

 

[Triliza]

I'd agree with @chips666 about the Wharfedale Linton 85th Annivversary speakers, if you like the look, I find them charming in their old school way. They can be found around 1100 euro on sale if I remember correctly, or something like Kef R3.

I'd consider buying a MiniDSP with Dirac also (around 900 euro), and use the Sansui as an amp only. I don't know which MiniDSP model would allow you to connect turntables and such, there should be information around that if you search about.

 

[ZolaIII]

Well if you are satisfied with current speakers which aren't bad but on the small side and enough for near to mid field calibration (1~2 m away from listening spot and quiet efficient for the size - 88 dB/W) and current power amplifier is working good (again not bad and good regarding 4 Ohms load but with a bit low damping factor of 50) you should keep them for now.
I would recommend going for ADC-DSP-DAC like MiniDSP Flex (you can pass without Dirac with a little bit of effort) and measurement microphone, preferably UMIK-1. And getting a subwoofer, preferably two of them. For example SVS SB-1000 Pro.
Then after a lot of playing with those (learning about PEQ filters including crossovers, proper placement and best to the space you have with lot of trial and error) consider better main speakers and amplifier. Regarding speakers the Wharfedale Linton's currently are a very good choice for mid to far field setup (2~4 m) and can be found for around 1100 € (with their own stands).
I am not into turntables so listen to someone who is regarding that.
Anyway measurement microphone with free measurement software like REW should be a first step so that you can see what you are receiving as it is and then filling up the gaps and digitally correction it (EQ - DSP). Best regards and have a nice time.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, and welcome

Your amplifier looks fantastic - great 'vintage' vibe unsurprisingly - and as it's recently serviced is probably fine. I don't know what the phono stage performance is like, but it's probably ok.

Your speakers seem to measure well (don't pay too much attention to the review on Stereophile, but the measurements are good quality) https://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-compact-domestic-monitor-1-loudspeaker-measurements

For Cartridge recommendations ... take a look here https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...he-phono-cartridge-measurement-library.46108/
Personally, I'd stay with MM cartridges unless you plan to get really serious.
The Ortofon Blue is a good performer, along with old favourites like the Audio Technica VM540ML

Sounds like you are all set to enjoy good quality music with what you have

Advice to measure your system and room before making any major (expensive) changes is really good advice - that's a UMIK mike and REW. There is a steep learning curve here though, but it's interesting and worthwhile. If you don't measure, you don't have a reference point for future changes and it's hard to tell if that change actually made a difference! (ears are notoriously unreliable).
Meanwhile, experiment with speaker positioning and make sure you have some furniture in the room (rugs on wooden floors etc)

Many people will advise you against vinyl, but if that's what you like then ignore that
Having said that, streamers like a WiiM are cheap and give you access to even more music quickly and cheaply - start with the internal DAC and you can add a better one later if you start to like using digital sources.

Enjoy

 

[Rosenild]

Hello Rosenild
If you like vintage looks
Keep the Sansui,as it is already serviced
Its perfect and add second hand Wharfedale Linton Heritage speakers
Concerning vinyl i cannot help you but there are alot good cartridges on the market to go with your SME arm
Good luck
Enjoy...

Hello there.

Thanks! They would fit my interior design perfectly and also contribute to setup being "vintage"

 

[Rosenild]

No right or wrong answer, but I think I would recommend adding a good subwoofer to your setup.

Since your amp has tone controls, you will already get a lot of control over your subjective sound. Getting a subwoofer with speaker level input will help fill in the bottom octaves, which will be appreciated even with LP vinyls are your source.

I don’t know how good or bad your phono preamp is, but I am a fan of the “kit” based Luxman LXV-OT10 which is found new in box used on eBay and other places. It’s a Luxman designed hybrid phono preamp with tone controls to tweak the RIAA curve in a way that I find better than traditional tone controls, again, in a pure analog setup.

Speaker position is also really important. Toeing in and toeing out can be done along with adjusting distance from the back wall. Instead of doing this via trial and error, having a calibrated microphone is a good idea. The UMIK-1 and UMIK-2 are popular choices.

Hi there.

I have been recommended a subwoofer several times. I must look into this.

 

[Rosenild]

The Neumann and Genelec products are designed specifically for professional and commercial applications, such as movie studios and music recording studios, where they are used in the recording, mixing and mastering stages of the content you pay to stream, or for broadcast TV, movies you see in the theater, etc. Their products can also be founds in cafes, pubs, restaurants, and other public spaces. While they can be used to excellent effect in private homes and offices, they are not specifically designed for use by consumers. So it should be no surprise if some consumers find them a little harder to use, or at least unfamiliar and different from what they are used to. Part of the deal is that they have built-in power amps. The amps are inside the speaker housing. So you simply wouldn’t need the power amp section of the Sansui. What I wasn’t thinking about when I said that is that the AU-9500 is an integrated amp, meaning that there is a pre-amp and power amp built into a single box. So you actually could use the pre-amp functions of the AU-9500, and connect its pre-out to the input of a powered speaker. You may be pretty happy with that arrangement, since it can be hard to find the right pre-amp these days. The downside is that you would be paying for the power amp built into the speaker, which in a sense you don’t need, since you already have that in your integrated amp. Studio monitors like Genelec and Neumann have other advantages, though. It’s up to you to decide if the benefits outweigh the cost.

Thank you for the elaboration.

My question is probably stupid, but I don't see the idea of investing in Neumann and Genelec products, if I can use alternatives where my Sansui will be of more usage.

Is the Neumann and Genelec speakers much better than the other brands I have mentioned?

 

[Rosenild]

Hi, and welcome

Your amplifier looks fantastic - great 'vintage' vibe unsurprisingly - and as it's recently serviced is probably fine. I don't know what the phono stage performance is like, but it's probably ok.

Your speakers seem to measure well (don't pay too much attention to the review on Stereophile, but the measurements are good quality) https://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-compact-domestic-monitor-1-loudspeaker-measurements

For Cartridge recommendations ... take a look here https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...he-phono-cartridge-measurement-library.46108/
Personally, I'd stay with MM cartridges unless you plan to get really serious.
The Ortofon Blue is a good performer, along with old favourites like the Audio Technica VM540ML

Sounds like you are all set to enjoy good quality music with what you have

Advice to measure your system and room before making any major (expensive) changes is really good advice - that's a UMIK mike and REW. There is a steep learning curve here though, but it's interesting and worthwhile. If you don't measure, you don't have a reference point for future changes and it's hard to tell if that change actually made a difference! (ears are notoriously unreliable).
Meanwhile, experiment with speaker positioning and make sure you have some furniture in the room (rugs on wooden floors etc)

Many people will advise you against vinyl, but if that's what you like then ignore that
Having said that, streamers like a WiiM are cheap and give you access to even more music quickly and cheaply - start with the internal DAC and you can add a better one later if you start to like using digital sources.

Enjoy

Hi there.

Thank you very much.

I do not know so much about the technical details of my speakers. I was recommended the model (actually the special edition, but couldn't find them) as a "beginners speaker" and I find them alright to be honest.

Regarding which pickup. Maybe I should start by going for a MC cartridge, even though a lot of people recommend me to get a good MM cartridge. It's funny to reflect upon how "serious" you want to get. I'm not going for a complete high end setup with cartridges for 10.000 euro, but I would like a nice setup that I can enjoy for a long time. It all comes down to my passion of the music. Listening to beautiful recordings and noting every detail is such a wonderful experience.

What are your thoughts on the Sansui? I know it's old, but as I said, I have heard it used to be one of the best amplifiers that Sansui ever did.

 

[Timcognito]

Why would I prefer streaming than having the jazz record mastered by an excellent sound engineer.

Because those same masters are on Qobuz in high resolution files and more Jazz than Tidal. So you get to try before you buy and create playlists with your favorites. If entertaining music can be diverse and nonstop or make mood changes quickly. I have both steaming and LPs and in most cases differences are very subtle if one can even detect the difference. For $10/mo you discover so much new music and buy your favorites or only play the best songs.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi there.

Thank you very much.

I do not know so much about the technical details of my speakers. I was recommended the model (actually the special edition, but couldn't find them) as a "beginners speaker" and I find them alright to be honest.

Regarding which pickup. Maybe I should start by going for a MC cartridge, even though a lot of people recommend me to get a good MM cartridge. It's funny to reflect upon how "serious" you want to get. I'm not going for a complete high end setup with cartridges for 10.000 euro, but I would like a nice setup that I can enjoy for a long time. It all comes down to my passion of the music. Listening to beautiful recordings and noting every detail is such a wonderful experience.

What are your thoughts on the Sansui? I know it's old, but as I said, I have heard it used to be one of the best amplifiers that Sansui ever did.

Hi,
I don't know your amplifier, but there are nice reviews about it - it stick with it for now.

Your speakers measure really quite well - I don't think you need to change them until you have settled in your system and perhaps tried to make some measurements. They may well be much better than you think.

As for the cartridge - you may have mixed up the terminology: MC (moving coil) are more complex and more expensive and they also need specific handling by a phono stage (capacitance matched to the cartridge). I don't know if your Sansui is capable.
MM (moving magnet) is the starting point, plenty of very good cartridges at all price points. The ortofon Blue you mention is a good mid-range MM with a decent Elliptical stylus (the shape matters - stay with elliptical or 'micro line')
Your Sansui will accept a MM .

Subwoofers, room EQ, DSP, streaming and digital sources are all fascinating... and come after you get the basics sorted.