$15k for entire analogue setup.

[richardb]

need some advice on spending my money. have around $15k to invest but need to replace my entire setup including turntable/speakers/cables/amp (+CD player).

I am a music fan and have always spent my money buying CD's, records, going to gigs. I've never had the spare dough to own anything good to play them on. Have the unique opportunity during a house reno to get serious about my system. I buy and listen to almost exclusively vinyl now, but plan on keeping about 1000 of my favourite CDs in a drawer as i can't bear to get rid of that investment in time and money. I currently run a 30 year old kenwood turntable with cheap cartridge, a low quality amp and a pair of $300 second hand speakers.

 

i think i need a belt drive table and would be happy with a solid base not suspended. I am designing my own wall/shelving in lounge room to keep all this stuff - bench of solid wood, hard floor with rugs or carpet. (in fact that is another question: if anyone has advice on the best physical set up, in terms of the shelving/materials etc I'd love to hear about it)

 

I prefer the vintage styling and am probably looking at going second hand on most things. I like the look of something like the VPI classic, and vintage thorens, but also the shape and look of Dr Feickert woodpecker. I appreciate that the key is in the tonearm and cart - I really have no idea how to approach those. I'm not even sure I know about all the components I'd need to run the system - TT, amp/?pre amp/speakers/cables is that about it? I'd like to get a good CD player as well and this will need to be worked in somewhere.

 

I live in melbourne and would be happy to shop local, but notice a lot of this stuff 2nd hand is online from overseas - buying advice?

 

so basically, getting half of my house steamrolled and have an opportunity to set up my record player (and CD) as i want. around $15k +/- to spend on TT + everything i need to make it sound great. belt drive, vintage styling, 2nd hand ok.

would love some ideas on what to get and where from.

 

thanks very much for your help.

 

[joz]

Welcome.

Boy are you going to be inundated with suggestions.

but with some patience waiting for the right bit of used gear you can build a killer system.

Btw how big is your room and is it well treated or say acoustically good?

 

 

[richardb]

thanks joz

the main room for the setup is around 3.5 x 5m. brick walls + the wall of wooden cabinetry that I'm planning to rest my turntable in and store my music collection. 

[Janjuggler]

Hi

 

As you are in Melbourne you have the opportunity to go to many stores and listen to many different systems in your range,in lots of configurations, so take your time and be critical of what you hear ....

 

JJ

[Guest Hensa]

I agree with the advice that you take your time. I'd suggest that you start with speakers and work back from there. Do you know whether you want floorstanding speakers or standmounts (with or without a subwoofer)? Will the system be for music only or combined with video duties?

 

Once you have an idea of what you're looking for you can set a budget for speakers. Then try and audition as many as you can in your price range and keep a close watch on our classifieds.

 

Once you have your speakers sorted, you can look at amps suitable for those speakers. Decide if you want an integrated or separate pre and power and whether you want an in-built phono stage or separate stage. If possible try and audition the amps with your speakers.

 

The analogue front end is almost a thread in itself when you consider the options around tonearms and cartridges! Choices abound and preferences are a very personal thing in both looks and sound. Again, best if you can hear plenty of rigs and get a feel for your own sonic preferences.

 

Great fun ahead - enjoy!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[joz]

With the brick walls allow some $$ for room treatments, regardless of the gear your choosing.

 

 

 

[stevoz]

I have no suggestions....that budget is way over my limits (for now), all I'll say is have fun and good luck. You should be in analogue heaven.......

[tubularbells]

Although there is no doubt there are some screaming bargains to be had here on SNA imo building a system from scratch using this method will be trial and error not considering the time it would take to build such a system.

 

If I were starting from scratch id be getting friendly with a local hifi dealer to see if they had any packages on offer such as the Carlton Audio packages which are carefully auditioned and matched to particular price points.

 

A bunch of great stand alone gear might not cut it when assembled together....

[Full Range]

Are you looking just for advise or for members that may be considering selling complete systems to PM you 

 

And I agree with the below quote

 

11 minutes ago, Tubularbells said:

Although there is no doubt there are some screaming bargains to be had here on SNA imo building a system from scratch using this method will be trial and error not considering the time it would take to build such a system.

 

 

 

[Tasebass]

3 hours ago, Tubularbells said:

 

 

A bunch of great stand alone gear might not cut it when assembled together....

 

and a bunch of "meh" gear can blow your socks off...

Tase.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Tasebass

[Ooogh]

Hello Richard,

 

Happy times ahead for you! Personally I think the best thing to do is invest a heap of time going to every GTG you can in the Melbourne area. Even put out a "want to listen" post. 

 

Where I think this is of most use is you get to hear lots of different systems in domestic environments with no pressure to buy and no guilt taking up store time.

 

There are a million ways to put a system together and they all sound different. You need to find what is most important to you in reproduced sound , the non negotiables. This may be timing, tone, imaging, bass, et al , some aspects will be more critical for your enjoyment. You can't have it all but you can have what you need.

 

Then there is the choice between high power low efficiency ,low power high efficiency or the middle road. Valves v Solid State etc.

 

Easier said than done but be very, very, patient. It is easy to blow big money for poor sound. It is however possible to get great sound for a very reasonable price. The more systems you can hear the better, you will enjoy it and might even make some new friends.

[ABG]

Great advice you've received already Richard.  

 

I agree totally with @Hensa - get your speakers sorted first.  They're easily the most important part of the chain (just keep in mind the old weakest link saying).  As @Hugh Barnes said, take your time.  I'm sure you're impatient to get it all together, but do your best to resist that urge and invest time in listening to as many speakers as you can.  Go to as many SNA get togethers as you can.  Talk to the attendees and pick their brains.  If the Melbourne based SNA fraternity are anything like those based in Sydney, you'll get more great advice than you would from visiting every hifi shop in the country.  

 

Once you know the sound you want to achieve, either start visiting retailers in your area, or take the much slower and much better value approach and look in the SNA classifieds.  Hi Fi equipment devalues as much as cars do.  You can pick up some serious bargains second hand.  I took the slower route and am glad I did.  There's no way I could have bought my system new.  The other advantage of buying second hand is that you can generally offload anything you don't really like without taking too big a financial hit.

 

Fun times ahead mate.  Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions here.  Read lots of posts, especially from the more knowledgeable members (read @Cafad's post on amplifiers, for example)  - the level of expertise on SNA is astonishing.  But most important of all - enjoy the music!

[captain.j]

Speakers, speakers, speakers! While you have the budget, splash out. You can then spend the next few months/years catching up the rest of your system with your speakers. In the meantime, your speakers are not going to wear out, go out of fashion or become superseded by some new fandangled technology. There are (quality)speakers on this forum decades old that sound fantastic.

$14,500 on speakers, $500 on cables, and plug in your current gear.

Whatever you do, enjoy [emoji106]

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Cafad]

Welcome to SNA Richard.  

It sounds like you have some serious decisions to make.  Most people already have at least one audio component in mind (something that they, for whatever reason, just plain want and want bad), if that is the case then you simply start with that one item and then work out from there.  If that isn't the case then I would suggest you start with speakers, find a pair you really like and then you can go looking for amplification to suit them and possible room treatment to assist them and build outward from there.

 

Again, welcome to the boards.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Cafad

[Wimbo]

I tend to think old school, turntable/Arm/Cartridge. Garbage in/Garbage out type thing. Then amp and speakers mate.

Good luck with your endeavour mate. 

[richardb]

Thanks very much everyone for the great info and warm welcome.

I'm not sure how to do the quote thing from each post, so I'll try to run through a few answers and pose a couple of extra questions.

 

time is something that i do have - not in any mad rush to get through all this. I'm happy to purchase components one at a time (will help with the budget really) and do so after proper consideration.

 

the system is for music only. vinyl and the occasional CD. Not really sure about floor standing or stand mount speakers - i could incorporate a custom space in my shelving, but will also have space on the floor. i guess I'll have to have a look and compare options.

 

looks like speakers first is the general consensus (having no real specific audio component in mind other than a TT Cafad). I guess captain.j is only half joking when he suggests a 99% spend on the speakers. in reality what is the best distribution of funds here? 40% speakers, 30% TT + components, 15% amp, 10% CD player, 5% cables???

 

I also appreciate the point tubularbells makes - would definitely be easier and maybe better to just walk into a hifi store. i kind of prefer the digging, am happy to take the time and do the necessary research. its got to be part of the fun right? I'm obviously more than happy to consider whatever the members have for sale and will try and keep an eye on the classifies when i have a better idea about what I want.

 

not sure how this works, but where are the best places in melbourne to go and listen to this stuff?

[Guest Hensa]

While it goes against my earlier comment that you ought to start with the speakers, this sna classified gives a great indication of the sort of value you can procure by going second hand as this is comfortably in excess of $10k's worth of analogue front end. And the seller is happy to audition so a great opportunity to hear it in action.

 

http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/120820-fs-vpi-aries-ii-w-jmw-105-unipivot-lyra-dorian/

 

[Wimbo]

3 hours ago, Hensa said:

While it goes against my earlier comment that you ought to start with the speakers, this sna classified gives a great indication of the sort of value you can procure by going second hand as this is comfortably in excess of $10k's worth of analogue front end. And the seller is happy to audition so a great opportunity to hear it in action.

 

http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/120820-fs-vpi-aries-ii-w-jmw-105-unipivot-lyra-dorian/

 

Work of art and under $5,000. Great way to start off.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Wimbo

[Peter_F]

How about a complete killer, near vintage system:

• Mint and fully refurbished set of Gale 401C speakers;
• Accuphase C200 pre-amplifier;
• Accuphase P300 power amplifier; and, 
• Thorens TD160 Super, fully serviced with new belt and cartridge.

TOTAL $5000 

 

You'd have to spend your full 15K, and maybe then some, on new crap to come close to this system, and you can spend the other 10K on vinyl!  

[Sir Triode]

On 5/1/2017 at 0:52 PM, richardb said:

need some advice on spending my money. have around $15k to invest but need to replace my entire setup including turntable/speakers/cables/amp (+CD player).

 

Not a term I would use with Hi-Fi equipment.

You will rarely get your money back except in musical enjoyment.

 

But buying 2nd Hand is a very good way to start  - you can get very good 2nd hand equipment from brands that tend to keep their resale values. I would look at brands like Audio Research, B&W, Spendor, Proac, Conrad Johnson, Accuphase, Airtight, etc etc...

 

I would also stick with tube pre and power amps because they are generally simpler in circuit design and easier to fix later on or if you wish to upgrade the coupling caps for better performance. 

 

Good luck in your quest.

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Sir Triode

[Guest Misterioso]

27 minutes ago, Sir Triode said:

Stay away from brands like

Just when it got interesting...

[Sir Triode]

1 hour ago, Misterioso said:

Just when it got interesting...

 

Haha - was going to add that but forgot to put in the rest. Decided not to start a war.

[stevoz]

19 hours ago, Peter_F said:

How about a complete killer, near vintage system:

• Mint and fully refurbished set of Gale 401C speakers;
• Accuphase C200 pre-amplifier;
• Accuphase P300 power amplifier; and, 
• Thorens TD160 Super, fully serviced with new belt and cartridge.

TOTAL $5000 

 

You'd have to spend your full 15K, and maybe then some, on new crap to come close to this system, and you can spend the other 10K on vinyl!  

......and a very decent cartridge!  PS: Whoops, just saw you had mentioned cartridge.

Edited May 3, 2017 by stevoz

[Ian McP]

Item: Rega Planar 3 Turntable without cartridge
Location: Melb East
Price: $600
Item Condition: Perfect
Reason for selling: No longer used
Payment Method: Cash
Extra Info:

Up for sale is an original Rega Planar 3 with Sonic Art SA250 arm

Tone arm is a modified Rega RB250  with more info here http://www.sonicartaudio.com/tonearm.htm

This item is only for sale to local buyer without any packaging.

I'm happy to offer my expertise to setup locally in your home if purchased with any one of the following cartridges at an extra cost:

Ortofon 2m Red MM - Brand new unused zero hours $130
Ortofon 2m Bronze MM - Used for 10hrs $400
Denon DL-103 Low Output MC Phono Cartridge - Brand new unused zero hours $260
Denon DL-103R Low Output MC Phono Cartridge - Used for 10hrs $380

[Mat-with-one-t]

Having just done the big Reno thing, make sure you start at work done BEFORE the system:

- have the sparky run separate circuits to where your setup will be (a loop from the front board to your stereo directly, not via a dozen other points with stuff adding noise to the supply.

- make sure there are good quality breakers on these loops to protect your gear from surges

- insulate the walls well (good for comfort, saving, environment, and loud parties)

- you may wish to consider in-built sound buffer pads behind your speaker placement.  These can be quite nice architectural additions if carefully considered.

- if you are certain about speaker placement, consider running cabling through the walls to keep things nice and neat.  Place plastic conduit in the framework so, when you want to try new speaker cables, you can tie to the end of the old ones and pull it through.  You will need to get onto this at early frame stage.  Make sure conduit generous diameter enough to get through some fatter cabling. Don't use extra wall plate jacks (keep the cable continuous end-to-end). You can get cheap wall plates that will make it all neat for your cables to come out behind speakers.

- make sure that any signal (such as speaker) cabling that goes in the walls is kept away from power cabling (tradies have no idea - keep an eye on them and let them know what you need!)

- I would highly recommend running Cat6 cabling to every room, and a few runs to where your hifi will be (and TV).  Yes, I know you are talking Analogue, but you'll likely at some point add a digital front end.  I did this despite vinyl being my main love, and you'll thank me!  Cat6 is cheap.  Again keep it away from power cables where possible.  Choose a place for it to all meet (I used a laundry cupboard).  You can then terminate to switches>router>modem +\- NAS or mini computer.

- you cannot run too much Cat6. Go nuts.  If you don't use it, it doesn't matter.

- if you'll hang a TV on a wall, again run a vertical pvc pipe, so all cables to TV can come out behind it, and travel through the wall to behind cabinetry.  You can later add/remove any cabling you need.

 

Once that's sorted, then onto the system.....

 

geeeezuz!

Mat