Looking for a good system for my apartment. Any advise?
I have a medium sized living room. Any ideas for this fledgling audiophile? I'm looking for a decent turn table, amp, speakers and a cd player. Money IS an object so if there is anything you can recommend that won't break the bank but still offer a nice sonic experience (We love classical, jazz and the Grateful Dead). Thank you. fojomo
I saw this setup at an audio show in Toronto a year ago .... a GREAT. modest priced system....the in-person audition was jaw-dropping for its price- point strata.
Here is the show reporter take on it that echoes that sentiment . It impressed me enough to buy the TRIANGLE. standmount speakers for my “C” system that I listen to in my office daily.
highly recommended ....
”.... In one room, Toronto retailer Star Electronics / Motet demonstrated that you can achieve some great sound without spending a ton of money. The affordable system here showcased the Triangle Borea bookshelf speakers ($599), Triangle Tales 340 subwoofer, Music Hall A15.3 integrated amp ($750), Music Hall C-DAC15.3 DAC / transport ($750) and Music Hall mmf-2.3wh turntable. The music had me tapping my toes in seconds flat. Vocals were vibrant, clean, articulate and full of emotion. Guitars displayed detailed string textures as they danced around in the mid / high ranges. The bass was also surprisingly deep and well articulated for such a small and inexpensive system. Overall, this was perhaps the highest value system I had the pleasure of listening to at the show. Amazing value!...”
@ebm Not sure about the banks being broken or not. But if I was a bank, top on the list would be to make my branch a sonic wonderland complete w/speakers under the floors.
@twoleftears Hey thanks for the advise! I always figured speakers would be the first thing on the list to look at. I DID check out the Schiit's range of products and I'm blown away! Cool company.
Those Klipsch heresy speakers look sweet! The IV towers especially, however the price (at nearly 3k) would eat up 3/4 of my budget unless there are some used heresy's I can nab for 1k or under? Many thanks for the suggestion.
+1 decide on speakers first. They are the tail that will be wagging the rest of the dog. In the meantime, explore Schiit's range of products, especially their amps.
For an apartment I like the idea of stand mount speakers. This approach sends less music to neighbors.
I agree that with a $5000 budget you can put together a very nice system. Are you willing to purchase some items used?
For the same sound quality, vinyl is more expensive that digital. Which is most important?
I would limit my choices of speakers that would play well with 50-80wpc into a medium size room. What is room size?
Consider integrated amplifiers. There are many that have both internal DACs and phonostages. A great way to get started within budget. If desired an external DAC or phonostage can be added at a later date as funds become available.
Select speakers that have reasonable sensitivity and not difficult to drive impedance wise (therefore fitting the 50-80wpc power restriction).
Well, I need to get a bird on, happy Thanksgiving!
I recommend you speak with Walter L who owns Underwood HiFi
He is a wealth of knowledge and fantastic prices on products, many of which are his own and sold direct (including amps, preamps, headphone amps, turntables, cables, power conditioners..., eliminating dealer markup. He also buys closeouts from well known companies
I have purchased amps and speakers, over the decades
There is no inherent advantage to Integrated vs. Separates at any level. Only comparison will tell. Perhaps start by looking at Schiit Audio brand - no joke. Blessed Thanksgiving.
Okay. You have a huge amount to learn. $5k is serious money. You owe it to yourself to put in the time to do it right. The difference is anyone can spend $5k and wind up with nothing more than an expensive stereo. For the same $5k I can blow your mind. No one will ever believe its only $5k. People will wonder why they never heard anything in their life this good. If you can get to 20% of that you'll be better than just about anyone you ever saw. Right now you are starting from zero. Do not buy anything yet.
The signal on a record is equalized with the bass turned down 20dB and the treble turned up 20dB. This is called RIAA equalization. Playing a record the cartridge generates only a fraction of a millivolt to maybe 1mV. This is way too low a voltage and way too messed up EQ to listen to. The phono stage is required to equalize and amplify. The signal coming out of the phono stage is now flat and high at what we call line voltage, around a volt or two, the same as other components like a CD, tape or tuner or streamer, etc.
Cartridges can be moving coil, moving magnet, or moving iron. Each has their fans, strengths, and weaknesses. You need to learn at least a little about cartridges. At your price range you will want a turntable with arm, or maybe even a package of table/arm/cart. Each really is its own thing and at a higher level you definitely want to be considering each one separately. But at your budget level it makes more sense to do a package.
Same goes for the phono stage. But you do need to understand. Because in looking you may come across a very fine integrated amp but it is only line stage. No phono. That's fine. You get a separate phono stage. Just need to be aware.
Its way too early to be talking specific components. First you need a plan. One might be $5k breaks down into $1k each for amp, speakers, turntable, CD, and wire. This is very rough, just to give some idea, so you don't spend $2k on speakers like a lot of guys would and wind up either way over budget or with no money for cables, etc. $1k is probably more than needed for CD, and less than for the table, but again its not a requirement its more of a guide.
Now what you do, instead of asking a bunch of random dudes what to buy, now you know how your budget breaks down you go reading reviews of amps, speakers, etc in your price range. When reading reviews pay attention to only a very few things. With speakers, sensitivity. Anything less than 92dB ignore. They will eat power and force you to waste money chasing more power. Virtually any amp with 20 watts or more will be plenty if your speakers are over 92dB. With MC cartridge you want medium output, nothing less than .5mV. This makes phono stage selection a lot less critical. These two simple things will make your life a whole lot easier.
That's it for technical stuff. Get those right and then all you care about is sound quality. When reading reviews skip right past the stupid tech stories, go straight to the listening impressions. Features are generally more BS just like tech stories. How's it sound? All you need to know.
Then go hit some stores. Listen to as much stuff as you can. Listen to much more expensive gear. Listen to much cheaper gear. There's a way to get the most from this. Its not what everyone says, "bring your reference recordings." Its make the sales guy change something. This is critical! You can listen to a dozen systems and learn almost nothing. You listen to one system, make the guy change a power cord, interconnect, or amp, now you just learned a lot. Huge difference. Its a hassle so nobody does it. Just do it. Advice so good it was the Nike slogan for 20 years.
Rega Io Integrated Amplifier Rega Planar 2 turntable/Elyse cartridge Vandersteen VLR Wood Speakers Rega Apollo-R CD Player or Bluesound Vault if you want to add streaming capabilities and are willing to load your CD's into the Vault. Audioquest cables
This system will be below $5K and will sound great.
I'll be starting from scratch. I don't have any vinyl yet but the turntable will serve as motivation for me to start my collection.
I will take your advise on the stand alone phono stage. What model do you recommend? (just now learning about it- also known as a phono preamp). "..
it corrects the tonality of the music that is carved into the record so that the music sounds right.
" Pretty cool I must say- never knew about that). From what I understand, this thing also significantly increases the bass, which I loooove.
As for the integrated amp, do you have a make/model in mind for this as well? Also, what about a receiver? I like to listen to some radio stations from time to time (classical, jazz, etc).
As for the turn table and speakers, what would you recommend I look at? I am the guy who wants to take the first step on a long journey. Yes, I have background tunes going more for atmospheric (mood setting) for when I study, do work, etc. But than I also love to be fully absorbed and intentional about my listening experience when I'm not in front the computer. Am I making sense here (or more appropriately, hear)? Thank you.
Okay so $5k. So what else? Are we starting from scratch? Or do you have something like speakers you can use? Everything counts. If you have an iPod or cell phone with music on it, that's a source. You mention turntable first which is right, the turntable is The First among Equals. But you don't mention records, which a turntable kind of needs.
Generally speaking, with that kind of budget and wanting to play records the smart (read, cost-effective) thing is to look for an integrated amp with a built-in phono stage. However- and this is kind of a big however- you need to know a few things about that. The phono stage is a huge factor in sound quality, and stand-alone phono stages are almost always way better than built-ins. In other words just this one seemingly simple decision revolves around a bunch of things like how you prioritize "serious" sit-down listening (turntable rules) over background tunes (DAC will do) and other things like long term plans.
Component choices in other words are different for the guy who wants a system and that's it, done, than the guy for whom this system is just the first step on a long journey.
Nice! Yeah, 5K is definitely my upper limit. May have to start one or two components at a time. Thank you for the suggestions! I'll def check it out. How do those Phil bombs sound on the Dynaudio Evoke 20s?
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