newbie seeks help with system design


Hello! I come to you to humbly ask for help getting myself set up to listen to and eventually stream vinyl without breaking the bank. I have inherited the following components:

B&O Beogram 3404 turntable
Acurus Line Amp L10
Bryston Stereo Amp 2B
a pair of AR 15 speakers

I think I still need a phono amp even to simply listen to vinyl. For that purpose, I'm considering a Pro-Ject Phono Box DC Phono Pre-Amp. As for streaming, I think the Sonos Port will get me there, although if I want to replace my Acurus and Bryston then I could go for the Sonos Amp. I would consider this strategy if the quality of the Sonos amp so far surpasses the Acurus and Bryston as to justify it. Does it? Am I going about this correctly? Can you point me in any further directions in terms of good but not crazy expensive phono amps? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your time!

-Alec
alecberlin

Showing 2 responses by millercarbon

Being a newbie probably should explain, according to what I found the cartridge that came on that table had an output of 2.2mV which should be fine with the MM Pro-Ject Phono Box DC phono stage you mentioned. Basically any MM stage should be fine. 

As for streaming, its doubtful you'll find anything in your budget to match what you have. Then again what you have does not seem to include any interconnects or speaker cables. So at the very least you are looking at an interconnect between the pre and power amps. 

In the price range you are at it makes no sense to be buying separates that need more stuff like that to sound good. So much depends on budget, and future plans. Everything has its pros and cons.

The ProJect phono stage for example is probably very good for the money and being a separate component can be easily upgraded. But how good it sounds will depend on the quality of interconnect used and that's another budget item. Theoretically you could find an integrated amp with built-in phono stage that will sound a lot better than what you have now. But then if you want to stream now you're talking some kind of digital in there too, or a separate outboard device for streaming. 

Its choices like these made me pretty much abandon digital. Because it makes no difference really whether we're talking $100 or $10k or $100k the choice is always one or the other. What it really comes down to more than anything else is how will your system be used, which comes down to what kind of listener you are. Get a handle on that, learn a few basics, and everything pretty much falls into place.
Honestly, being as it is B&O then I would call Peter Ledermann at The Soundsmith as he is probably the man in the country to see about that particular cartridge. Because in your case you have what you have and don't want to have to buy anything you don't need. The cartridge in that case determines somewhat the phono stage. Ledermann also does repair and refurbishment and may even have a phono stage in stock. You never know. At the very least you will be talking with one of the giants in the field. 
https://www.sound-smith.com/lookup/bo-cartridges/133

Other than that all I can say is set your budget, make sure you have enough cartridge output for the phono stage, then pay attention to listening impressions more than anything else, and don't forget to include a decent quality interconnect in your budget.