Putting together a used/new combo system. (Long)
Hi all,
I know only enough to be dangerous and have always relied on the great people here for guidance, with great results. I have a really nice system (Ayre, Innuos, Herren, VPI, Quatros) and now I am trying to put together a system for my 20 y/o son.
His original budget was $700. I didn't tell him that he was crazy, but that I would do what I could and not bankrupt him, but it might be a small Christmas this year. We're currently up to about a bit over double that, which isn't a problem, except that I'd like to not stretch it too much more, as I'm already setting a bad example of stereo purchasing control. Then again, I blew through that idea with my own setup.LOL
He likes all sorts of music, but most of his taste is rock, hard rock, metal, blues....not a lot of soft vocals. ;-)
Here is what I came up with so far.
Pre-amp: I found a Marantz 3300 for under $600. I'm figuring that this is the base of the system, as I don't think I'll find a pre that is as good as this one for anywhere near this price. Feel free to give me an alternate idea. Aside from the good looks and known good sound, I like the benefits of the headphone jack, and some of the controls, which will be good for him to mess with. He plays guitar and does some sound board stuff for other bands, local venues.
The next is pairing the amp and speaker. Right now, I'm considering the following amp. A David Belles 200 Stereo Power Amplifier. It's $300, and currently working. I'm sure it could use some work, but again, a great "skeleton" of an amp for only $300. I'll revisit this later in an AMP thread.
If I go with a lower powered amp, I will go with one of the below:
a.)Shiit Aegir, $660 used, not much needs to be said about this.
b.)NAD 2140, $240, This is another "vintage" great amp, that likely needs a work over, but this is another skeleton value piece in my mind.
c.)Other options are the same kind of power level but needing work. Perhaps a Marantz 140A, or Model 32, but they're not as easy to find, and would be about 3x or 4x, the price of the NAD if I was going to go lower power vintage.
Speakers:
Current #1 choice is Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 bookshelf speakers. I picked these because they're bookshelf, they're high quality, and they can handle the load/power if I go with the Belles.
Alternate: Boston Acoustics VR2 Floorstanding,$450 I think they look nice, and are not too big. Good reviews, but my son is leaning towards bookshelves. I think that's the right way to go for a young person who will be in apartments and moving, etc.
Lower power Alternate....Plan B: PSB Imagine-B, $400 I like these because they're bookshelves and have great reviews and look great, but they're rated 60W and have an impedance of 6 ohms. The Belles amp is 160W into 8 ohms, or 260 into 4.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and offer advice.
Cheers,
Jetson
PS Other gear that will be inherited to this system is an MMF 5.1 TT, Wavelength DAC, cables, etc.
Given his tastes, skip the preamp and go high power integrated. NAD is great gear for rockers, I was one, and had one. I recommend a used NAD 375BEE, gobs of power, and darn good sound. If he wants higher quality sound he can bypass the pre later with a separate. Bluesound Node for a source. Lots of speaker choices of course. ELAC might be a consideration, front ported for good bass and flexible placement. HifiShark is your friend here. |
Purchase a new integrated amp and used speakers. Two that come to mind (both have good MM phono sections) are... -PS Audio Sprout100 (on sale now from PSA for $500). -Rega Brio (on sale now for $725 - Google it). Pick up speakers locally. The Sprout100 + speakers would be fairly close to the original budget
DeKay |
Sale is over @ PSA, but they have a refurbished Sprout100 for $499. https://www.psaudio.com/products/sprout100-refurbished
DeKay |
Does he live at home? Does he live away at university? Does he expect to move frequently? In general, you should keep things small and easy to move. $700 means maybe a pair of used monitors and a Wiim Pro streamer and a used integrated amp. A set of Q Acoustics M20 actives ($499/pair)and a Wiim Pro would do it. Or possibly a used Sonos Amp (which has a streamer and DAC and can accept a turntable SE input) and a pair of Emotiva B1+ or SVS Prime Bookshelf or Wharfefdale Diamond 12 ($399/pair!) or Dali Oberon 1s ($450/pair). There are many combinations that will get you good sound for that $700. I agree that you should respect the discipline of that budget, and it is not unreasonably small to accomplish good listening at a sensible price. |
Hey all, I just wanted to give an update and share where we landed We ended up creating two systems and my son and I both came out winners! Somehow I think one of the earlier thread replies disappeared. It’s unfortunate because I went with some of the recommendations, and I hoped to thank the respondent again. My son’s: Inheriting: KEF LSXII active speakers + stands, Music Hall MMF 5.1TT, Clear Audio Phono pre, Grado SR 60 headphones, misc cables New: Wiim ProPlus, as yet undefined headphone amp (suggestions welcome Total outlay: $186 + headphone amp ——- For my bedroom, I got: Used: ProAc Studio 1 MKII speakers, AQ Indigo+ cables, but need to change one end to bananas. Right now I am using some old Kimber Kable 4PR-L. New: Same Wiim ProPlus, Fosi V3 stereo amp (32V supply), nice but thinking I should probably increase headroom, kicking myself in the…. If anyone is interested what I paid for the used equipment I put into my end of this: ProAcs:$600 AQ cables: $80 Thanks again for the assists, gentlemen. |
Sorry, I should’ve posted my first impressions. I literally just put this together tonight and haven’t done anything with the speaker placement, room correction or EQ that the Wiim offers, but I can’t say that I could’ve expected much more than what I have heard so far for this price point. There’s no comparison between the ProAc and the orig KEF speakers I used here. The sound is neutral and balanced. The soundstage is very lacking, but we will see as things progress. Frankly, having gone through the usual evolution of smaller bookshelf to slim tower to full floorstander speakers route, I don’t know how I ever convinced myself that I would like the KEFs to spend that much on them. Ultimately, the amps are clear, and sounding pretty crisp and neutral - I was concerned they’d be bright. I should add, this is also when listening to optical off of my TV. So there’s that…lol…I am figuring it can’t go downhill from here |
