Recommendations for a beginners setup

[Rosenild]

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.

Hi JeremyFife

Thank you for you comments.

I tried to search for Sansui and MC cartridge but I'm not sure if it is possible. I don't know why I feel drawn to the idea of purchasing a MC cartridge.

I have heard that the Ortofon cartridges have high a standard however produces a very clear and neutral sound. That might seem appealing for a lot of people. I was recommended Sumiko "Moonstone" which is in the same price range as Ortofon Blue MM. People argued that Sumiko has a more deep, warm and soothing sound.
A friend of mine recommended me to search for a used Ortofon Black MM. Obviously I have to find one that hasn't played that much and is in good shape.

 

[Timcognito]

Sansui AU-9500 Stereo Integrated Amplifier Manual | HiFi Engine

www.hifiengine.com

 

[Midwest Blade]

If everything is in working order (and you amp has been recently serviced by a knowledgeable technician) I would simple suggest finding a good cartridge for the tonearm and getting down to some listening. As an owner of a relatively vintage set up I did eventually pack up the turntable in favor of cd's, but this is a personal choice. While I enjoy my vintage set, I spend most time streaming AmazonHD on my condo set.

I would not invest too much money into upgrading or adding on to an old hifi equipment as long as it continues to work.

Time to sit back and enjoy!

 

[JeremyFife]

Sansui AU-9500 Stereo Integrated Amplifier Manual | HiFi Engine

www.hifiengine.com

Extract ...
"Two phono inputs are installed. Phono1 is designed to switch the input impedance between 50k Ω, and Phono2 is designed to switch the input impedance between 30k Ω, 50k Ω, and 100k Ω depending on the cartridge."

You can try a MC cart, but I really wouldn't go there yet.
For me, the Ortofon Black is getting expensive if you haven't measured your system and understood if there are problems with your room.
Recommended impedance for the Ortofon Blue, or Black is 47kOhm ... so Phono 1 is perfect.

And, seriously, try a WiiM mini streamer too (£90 GBP) - half the price of an Ortofon Blue and you may be surprised at the results.

Your system though - enjoy your music

 

[Timcognito]

And, seriously, try a WiiM mini streamer too (£90 GBP) - half the price of an Ortofon Blue and you may be surprised at the results.

Agree streaming is very rewarding and a must have even if you love LPs more. There 100s of Jazz internet radio stations to stream. Here is my favorite one 24/7/365 no commercials only pledge drives two weeks a year. https://kcsm.org/

 

[Tom C]

Let’s focus.
1. You already have phono stage (built in to Sansui).
2. You already have a pre-amp (Sansui )
3. You already have speakers
4. You already have a digital streaming solution
What you don’t have is a cartridge to get that turntable and tonearm up and running. Which, it seems, is part of why you posted here in the first place. I would solve that first. Then enjoy, while you take your time evaluating what else it is you might like to accomplish. And it may turn out that there is really nothing else to accomplish, at least in the short term.
MM can be less cost and hassle vs MC. But the differences are not insurmountable, you just need to understand each type thoroughly before you pull the trigger. MM is the type that needs the capacitive load tuned to the system. For MC, you need a dedicated MC input on your phono stage (Sansui in your case), or you can use a step-up transformer ( also called SUT) into a MM input. Yes, you can plug a MC cartridge into a MM input, but you have to have a properly matched SUT to do it. If that’s enough to make your head spin, then save yourself grief and just go MM.

 

[Rosenild]

Extract ...
"Two phono inputs are installed. Phono1 is designed to switch the input impedance between 50k Ω, and Phono2 is designed to switch the input impedance between 30k Ω, 50k Ω, and 100k Ω depending on the cartridge."

You can try a MC cart, but I really wouldn't go there yet.
For me, the Ortofon Black is getting expensive if you haven't measured your system and understood if there are problems with your room.
Recommended impedance for the Ortofon Blue, or Black is 47kOhm ... so Phono 1 is perfect.

And, seriously, try a WiiM mini streamer too (£90 GBP) - half the price of an Ortofon Blue and you may be surprised at the results.

Your system though - enjoy your music

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Rosenild]

Hi again.


A friend of mine tells me I can have his JBL 4311. What do you guys think about these? They are old so they probably need to be refurbished.

 

[Tom C]

Have? For free? What do you want for nothin, your money back? Take them and run!

 

[BossBunos]

From my personal experience the components that have the greatest impact on sound quality are in order of importance:
- speakers (tonality, low frequency extension, max spl) 55%
- room eq 35%
- (power) amplifier 10%

Your speakers seem to measure very well so improving here for a couple of hundred dollars seems to be a hard task. Also I think you don't listen at very loud levels (jazz) so buying a bigger speaker won't really be necessary.

I'm not familiar with your amplifier but based on others people's comments that seems to be fine as well. And really making a significant audible difference will be hard with a small investment.

I haven't used Vinyl since I was a kid so I have no knowledge at all about that.

Seems to me that the best investment to improve sound quality will be a room correction device like a minidsp flex. I'm not sure tough if that can be booked up directly to your integrated amp.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi again.


A friend of mine tells me I can have his JBL 4311. What do you guys think about these? They are old so they probably need to be refurbished.

Doesn't hurt to experiment... but your own speakers measure well and unless you can find comparable measurements for the JBL I don't see the point. If they need work then it's very likely they will just cause you problems (failing components) that might not be obvious.

Get a decent MM cartridge (Ortofon Blue, Audio Technica AT549ML) - get it set up properly - and play some jazz

If you still feel like upgrading then get a umik microphone and measure your system. That tells you what and where to make changes (probably your room, then perhaps speakers or add a subwoofer)

 

[Zek]

A friend of mine tells me I can have his JBL 4311.

Try those speakers, you might be surprised that they fit the Sansui amplifier better.