System for a 16yr old, could I do better than this?

[diddley]

Yeah, he’s been building his collection for the past couple of years, he’s got around 70ish (one and a half dj cases full) at the moment and I try and buy him at least one a month (for educational purposes of course). For Xmas he’s got the new Underworld, Mogwai, Craven Faults, Aphex Twin box set, Unkle box set (his dads fav) and my mum has bought him a couple of his choosing



You bloody genius, I had totally overlooked those.

And it’s available in white to go with everything else and his room, gonna get him This in white , and I’ve found it online for £200 from a dealer with 6year warranty. I’ll phone them t’morn to make sure it’s in stock and white……..it comes with the basic AT-VMN95C cartridge
, do I upgrade to the AT-VMN95E cartridge?………just joking

Ta very much indeed.

You are a great friend to have!

 

[Soniclife]

two tickets for Mogwai next year

I hope you have also bought him some ear plugs, last time l saw Mogwai. they were stupidly loud, even with ear plugs. I would have loved it at 17, no such thing as too loud for me then, but I hope the younger generation are more sensible.

He's going to love the system, your doing a lovely thing.

 

[Somafunk]

I am so.......so.........tempted to unpack it and set it up, just to make sure it's all functioning as it should...and I have his Aphex Twin Selected Ambient works Vol 2 Box Set that I could use to test the turntable and response of the wee Kanto Ora........ , but I won't.......it'll be getting wrapped later and sat in the corner.

 

[BDWoody]

I am so.......so.........tempted to unpack it and set it up, just to make sure it's all functioning as it should...and I have his Aphex Twin Selected Ambient works Vol 2 Box Set that I could use to test the turntable and response of the wee Kanto Ora........ , but I won't.......it'll be getting wrapped later and sat in the corner.

How nice of you to do this for him!

Will you be with him when he unwraps to help him set it up?

 

[Multicore]

I am so.......so.........tempted to unpack it and set it up, just to make sure it's all functioning as it should...and I have his Aphex Twin Selected Ambient works Vol 2 Box Set that I could use to test the turntable and response of the wee Kanto Ora........ , but I won't.......it'll be getting wrapped later and sat in the corner.

That's a nice photo and I'm glad we're getting closer to the main event. I hope there will be at least a photo if not a video of the unwrapping.

 

[Somafunk]

Will you be with him when he unwraps to help him set it up?

Unfortunately not, I’ve severe mobility issues/can’t walk as my legs are pretty much paralysed due to spms and whilst I could park outside his mums house there’s a 30ft walk to the door across rough garden, 4 steps to get in and his room is upstairs so nae chance of me actually hearing it, I’m sure he’ll play it down the phone to me though.

He and his mum are away down south (400mile away) to bottom of England from 22nd to 27th December to her brothers for Xmas with gran/grandpa for Xmas as they’re getting on in years, So all Xmas presents will be opened when they’re home.

 

[Somafunk]

I hope you have also bought him some ear plugs, last time l saw Mogwai. they were stupidly loud, even with ear plugs. I would have loved it at 17, no such thing as too loud for me then, but I hope the younger generation are more sensible.

He's going to love the system, your doing a lovely thing.

I bought him tickets last Xmas for Underworld @ the Usher hall in Edinburgh/march of this year and he & mum went off and I did get them good 25db attenuation earbuds.

I got him two tickets to see Fontaines DC next week at the Hydro Glasgow so he’s going with a mate and making a night of it, I imagine it’ll be a belter of a gig.

 

[V.b.]

I know I am late to the party, but i noticed powered speakers Elac connex 41 with Bluetooth, HDMI ARC and phono input.

Elac Debut ConneX DCB41 Active Bookshelf Speakers - Premium Sound | Home Audio Retailer in London UK

Active bookshelf speakers driven by (2) 50-Watt Class D amplifiers, no need for an external amp. ConneX series features Elac's proprietary XBass Enhancer, providing a better overall bass extension and output (can be turned off). Integrated Bluetooth w/ aptX technology for high-quality...

premiumsound.co.uk

 

[Rob_Gordon]

It’s for a mates kid as a Xmas present, he’s into vinyl and currently uses a very cheap all in one unit with inbuilt speakers but on visits to drop shopping & stuff at mine/listen to my system, he has been casually asking me about better turntables so I’ve cleared it with his mum that I can buy him something better for Xmas, but that means turntable + amp + speakers so due to space constraints in his tiny room I’ve thought of the following setup,

Project Debut S turntable - £349

Wiim Ultra Streamer - £350

Kali LP-UNF monitors - £300

It’s a lot of money but he’s been through hell over the past few years with his dad (close mate) dying with oesophageal cancer (horrible) and yet he’s been so mature and been a rock for his mum (my best mate) as well as doing loads of stuff for myself (I have spms), he did well at his standard grades, teachers love him, wants to study international relations so I feel he needs a wee treat for Xmas.

All the above get excellent reviews and the Wiim Ultra seems to tick two boxes with having the phono input, and also being an excellent streamer (he also has a Spotify subscription). As I mentioned his room is small (10ft x 6ft ish) so the speakers would have to fit on his ikea desk and the turntable on a wall shelf (something else I’ll need).

The only thing I’m not 100% convinced on is the turntable?, I have zero knowledge regarding spinny black discs so is it worth the money?, or should I be looking elsewhere?

Ta very much,

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

EDIT : No need to read any further, Thanks to advice I think the most sensible option is Q Acoustic M20 monitors and Project T1 Bluetooth turntable with built in phono stage as it can connect together with Bluetooth (or phono lead if necessary) he can stream his Spotify account from his phone to M20 and connect his TV/Xbox to M20 as well so that’s a bonus and it’s £300 cheaper than my original setup above.

No need for a Wiim Ultra - that was a daft idea.

He’ll be off to university in two years so ease of use and convenience trumps ultimate sound quality, especially as he’ll be stuck in pokey little university halls of residence rooms or flat-share with mates (if funds allow).

This would get him started with good enough sound quality to satisfy pretty much anyone and be more “HiFi” than what 99% of the population own/use, he’s got a lifetime to explore the black hole of audio and upgrade if he sees fit.

just super moving story.
you're a great friend. Please let us know how he reacts!

 

[Somafunk]

His 17th birthday next Thursday so I obviously had to buy him the Kanto Sub8 to pair with his Kanto Ora speakers, I’ve also bought him an IKEA Kallax 2cube unit to be fixed to the wall for his records, as well as a few choice albums from this years releases that I think he needs to appreciate, it’s my form of education/imposition of my taste

So that’s him all fully sorted for audio playback/appreciation, my job is done n’ dusted - it’s not the height of audio nirvana but it’s a bloody good introduction.

His bedroom (laminated flooring) is right above his mum’s sitting room so I need to attempt to isolate it as much as possible otherwise I’ll be getting abusive phone calls from his mum. I have a sizeable slab of 40mm thick slate in my back garden so I’ll get my bro to cut a suitable 12” x 12” slab and I have sorbothane hemispheres each rated for 4kg so 6 should be suitable for under the slab and I’ll prob use 4 under the sub as the sub comes with cheap n’ hard plastic style feet.

I’ll try and make it up the stairs to his room to help him get the sub setup but there won’t be any sub crawl for optimum placement as the sub will be going under his desk, no other possible place in his room. I may try and have a play with the Wiim Ultra’s room correction to see if that makes a positive impact.

The sub looks quite large but it's rather dinky @ 30cm2 and only weighs 10kg.

 

[LtMandella]

It’s for a mates kid as a Xmas present, he’s into vinyl and currently uses a very cheap all in one unit with inbuilt speakers but on visits to drop shopping & stuff at mine/listen to my system, he has been casually asking me about better turntables so I’ve cleared it with his mum that I can buy him something better for Xmas, but that means turntable + amp + speakers so due to space constraints in his tiny room I’ve thought of the following setup,

Project Debut S turntable - £349

Wiim Ultra Streamer - £350

Kali LP-UNF monitors - £300

Those Kalis are described by the manufacturer as being "ultra near field". Is that really his expectation for his listening? Near field listening is great but I am not sure I would recommend "ultra near field" speakers for use other than that specifically...

 

[Somafunk]

Those Kalis are described by the manufacturer as being "ultra near field". Is that really his expectation for his listening? Near field listening is great but I am not sure I would recommend "ultra near field" speakers for use other than that specifically...

Ta for reply , but you’re 5 months behind with the conclusion as to what was “eventually’ purchased

 

[LtMandella]

Ta for reply , but you’re 5 months behind with the conclusion as to what was “eventually’ purchased

Hell, being 5 months behind _anything_ is pretty good for me!