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Complete newbie needing guidance/purchase advice

Hi folks-

First of all, let me apologize in advance for a lengthy post. I'm a brand new forum member after recently being introduced to this site by an acquaintance who heard I was looking for sound advice... As my thread title states, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to the audiophile world, but I really want to start building a system and learn something in the process. A little background on me: I've been making a living as a recording artist and studio musician for almost 20 years, but my career choice as a music-maker has somehow ironically detached me from the simple pleasure of just sitting and _listening_ to music for the sheer enjoyment of it. My wife and I are currently in the process of remodeling our bonus room into a media room, and one of my objectives is to at the very least turn it into a space where I can do some critical listening.

I currently don't have anything decent... Just some old Bose bookshelf speakers and a Yamaha surround receiver. The closest thing to 'something decent' that I own are a pair of Etymotic ER-4S headphones coupled with a Headroom headphone amplifier.

The big limiting factor is my budget. Given that fact, maybe I have no business posting here... I will probably need to build this piece-by-piece over time, so I'm content with having to stretch the process out. I'm not concerned with having to have the 'best' of anything; I would just really like to make listening to music an engaging and emotional experience for me like it was for me many years ago.

Would a speaker purchase be a good place to start? I was perusing the Audiogon classifieds today and saw that there is actually a pair of DK Designs LSA-2's for sale local to me. The asking price is at the top of my speaker budget, a little over a grand, which I realize is probably 'chump change' in the audiophile world. However, I've read some reviews and they seem mostly positive. Would be super-convenient to be able to find something nice that was used and local, but as I said before, I'm completely new to this. Another related question: Is it better to go with floor-standing speakers, or can decent sound also be accomplished with bookshelf speakers combined with a subwoofer?

Also, what are the other 'basic' components that would need to be purchased? The only other thing I know I'd love to have would be a decent turntable; I'd love to be able to go and purchase some of my favorite classic albums to listen to once again. Do I need a separate preamp and power amp combination? Are there any 'receivers' that do a decent job of covering both tasks?

Any other feedback or direction you experts could throw my way would be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance!
renaissanceman9
renaissanceman9 OP
14 posts
 
Hey everyone-

Thanks for the most recent feedback. Over the last week, I had a chance to audition several pairs of speakers here in town and learned more of what I was looking for... It really is interesting how different some of the manufacturer's philosophies are when it comes to speaker 'tuning'. Ultimately after much listening and even more research, I ended up making an offer on an Audiogoner's pair of used Salk Songtower QWT's and am having them shipped. So, hopefully by next week my speaker void will be filled and then I can at least start listening to music in the room while I take some time to check out some integrated amplifiers. Also got to speak to the head of the Nashville Audio Society and am going to get plugged into their local network here.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
Great progress, Rm9, thank you for the update. Sounds like the New Year is starting well!
renaissanceman9 OP
14 posts
 
Thanks, Tobias! Will post back after receiving the speakers... Can't wait!
renaissanceman9 OP
14 posts
 
Hello again, audio friends. Ugh... Unfortunately my foray into this new hobby has not begun too well. The SongTowers I purchased were damaged during shipping, and now I am in the middle of a complicated claims process with FedEx. Needless to say, I am really disappointed. Although the speakers were not completely destroyed, they suffered multiple 'wounds' in the form of dents and chipping off of the finish. Having spent a considerable amount of money on them, I'm not interested in keeping a damaged pair, so it looks like I'll be starting over again once I get my money returned. On a positive note, they do sound pretty good in spite of their looks. :) Really, really frustrating, but there's nothing more I can do at this point. Stay tuned...
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jazzerdave
163 posts
 
Hey Renaissanceman9, when I was a musician, I also realised that I wasn't taking much time to just sit down and listen. I did however, come from an audiophile household and I'm pretty familiar with most of the gear that's been discussed on the thread so far. It sounds like our musical tastes seem to line up a bit as well, so I think I might be able to help a bit.

For a digital source, I highly recommend one of the Denon mult-format DVD players (Denon 2200, 3910, 3930, 5910). I would try to aim for the 3910. You can find them all the time hear and on eBay. Even though the 3910 was originally a ~1500 player, blu-ray has dropped it's value to where you should be able to get one for $200 or less. The 3910 (and other multi-format players) will let you play CD, DVD-A, SACD, DCD, and even mp3 cds. It should keep up at least through the $5K upgrade cycle, and can be upgraded modified to compete with players that cost >$6K alone.

As far as turntables go, I can only recommend buying locally. Start with either a vintage table or one of the lower line current tables. Since your budget isn't huge, I'd wait until the next upgrade cycle to get into the nicer tables. Perhaps someone in the Nashville area with have an old deck they can sell you. Heck, if you were in the greater DFW area in Texas, I'd just let you borrow my old Technics table for a while.

For speakers and the rest, since you're back to the drawing board, keep listening to other people's setups. Definitely continue to get exposed to different speaker technologies. Heck, even at one of the local Best Buys in the Dallas area, you can go listen to Martin Logan Summits and McIntosh amps. I'm not really big on the McIntosh gear, but it's a good way to check out some good speakers to see if something else in that style of speaker might suit you. Make note of products you've heard and enjoyed more than others (don't forget to indicate things you definitely didn't enjoy). List more of those here, and you'll get plenty of other suggestion for similar products that might fit your budget.

Good luck with your shipping claim. I certainly know it's a beating.
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