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Equal $$ for Phono OR Streaming?

Consider the following situation. A friend who's watched me put together my system has decided to follow suit. He's inherited some very good speakers and amplification (no DAC) from a relative and has about wants to finish out the main elements of the system with the best possible source. He has about $4-6k to spend and wishes to spend it on either a phono stage/TT combo OR a DAC/streamer combo. (For content, he is willing to spend either on vinyl or streaming services to fulfill whichever path he chooses above.)

Focusing simply on the potential for sonic quality (rather than, say, the variety of music one can stream), where do you think his money would best be spent and why? Could he reach the same outcomes after spending on a TT, cartridge, phono stage, record cleaner, isolation table and all the other accoutrements necessary for a good phono set up as he could if he bought a good DAC, streamer, etc.?

If your tastes weigh so heavily toward analog or digital that you can simply decide this without considering the details of the comparison, please try to set those aside and answer based on what he might be able to get for $4-6k.

hilde45

Showing 1 response by musicfan2349

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musicfan2349
257 posts
 
@ hilde45I've been watching this thread with some amusement. Being in software for almost 40 years (Cripes I'm old!) I can tell you that unless one has complete requirements, including details on what the current environment is, ANY solution will be less than optimal. Audio is no different IMHO... People, as usual, are making all sorts of specific favored equipment referrals not knowing what amp and speakers your friend has! (I looked, did I miss that somewhere?) So I will necessarily speak in general terms.
Unless your friend has inherited some over the top equipment, I would think that for $4-6Kilobucks they could actually get BOTH a nice analog and digital front end. Some folks HAVE been asking the right questions: Would he go in for the gestalt that is vinyl? Would he want to collect LPs and fiddle about with a turntable? Or do you think he'd prefer the convenience and flexibility of a digital source? Or does he only want to do one type?
One thing is certain that the $4-6K budget would seem to be quite fortunate for your friend. The trick would be to maximize it to make the right choices.
Happy listening.

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