BitLess

Thanks! That worked.

A few pages back I posted that I recently purchased an AR EB-101 in new -- as in never used -- condition. Well, it finally got delivered the other day, and I figured I'd post some pictures of it.

Hmm...I tried doing that with some pictures I took of my new turntable the other day, and I couldn't get it to work. It kept giving me an error message. I'll try again.

Sorry, I got home from work kind of late last night, and didn't get around to taking any pics. I'll try to take some tonight. Also, this might be a good time to ask how I go about posting photos on this forum, since I never have.

I can take some pictures later tonight.

I would pack it in its original box, exactly as it was shipped from the factory, but I would also add some bubble wrap for extra protection. Then I would double box it in a larger box filled with packing peanuts. The acrylic platter would also go in that larger box. If you wanted the isolation table as well, I would ship that in its own box, because it is quite heavy.

Sorry guys. I'm known for my bad timing.

I used my Little Bear T10 Pro 2.5 right out of the box with no modifications, and to my ears it sounded great. There was some hum when I cranked the volume way up, but nothing noticeable during regular listening. I also had the gain switch set to high, and never tried switching to low gain to see if that made a difference, which I hear it does. I wouldn't let all of the talk about this thing needing upgrades hold you back, as long as you understand that what you're getting isn't a top of the line piece of audio equipment, and its price is indicative of its build quality. However, if you've only been using the built in phono stage on your receiver or integrated amp, you will get a lot of bang for your buck with this little pre. You should definitely notice an improvement. Personally, after using the Little Bear for a few days, I decided to switch to a higher quality solid state phono preamp, the Phenomena II+, as my daily use phono stage, but I plan on holding on to the Little Bear for the time being, for whenever I get a hankering for tubes.

Due to my new obsession with vintage suspended sub-chassis turntables, I am selling my light grey Pro-ject Debut Carbon DC that I purchased a little less than a year ago. Table has been well cared for, and the plinth is blemish free. The dust cover has some light scratches on the top, but is otherwise undamaged. Ortofon 2M Red with about 150 hours of use is included, as is the Acryl-it platter upgrade. Asking $350. I also have a Pro-ject Ground It Deluxe II isolation platform that I would like to sell with the table. It has a very nice dark grey enamel finish, and 3-point adjustable cone feet. I think it does a great job of isolating outside vibrations from the turntable. I paid $350 for it, which in hindsight I know is just a ridiculous amount of money to spend on an isolation platform, so I'm willing to let it go for $150. The turntable and Ground It are available separately, but I would like to keep the Acryl-it platter included with the Debut Carbon, so I'm not willing to drop the price on that if you don't want the acrylic platter. The stock metal platter will be included in the deal, however. I'm willing to ship anywhere, as long as buyer pays shipping, but I live in southern California, just in case there's anyone local who wants it. I'll be putting this up on Craigslist in a day or so, but I wanted to put the word out here first.

The vacuum on my Record Doctor V just died on me, so I might have to order one of these.

Thanks for the tips, Allen. I think it was actually one of your posts from a few months back that first got me into researching the various sprung chassis turntables. I finally settled on the AR because I love its understated design. As far as doing a rewire on the stock Jelco tonearm, how difficult a process would that be to do on my own? I have virtually no soldering experience, and very little experience with electronics, beyond stripping some speaker wire and attaching banana plugs to it.

One more question: I saw in an earlier post that you have an Ortofon 2M Red on your AR. Are you happy with that cart? Is it pretty much plug and play compatible with the Jelco arm/headshell?

Glad to hear it! I'm pretty excited about getting mine all set up. Have you done any mods/upgrades to yours? Does yours have the stock AR tonearm?

Just purchased an AR EB-101 (later U.S.-made version with proper walnut veneer and armboard) from an ebay seller. It's never been used, and is still in its original box with all accessories -- manual, oil, protractor, and even a tiny screwdriver. I should have it in-hand by tomorrow, but based on the photos, this thing is absolutely pristine. I probably paid too much for it, but I just couldn't pass it up.

You can order them on ebay, from the guy who makes them. The T10 2.5, which is the one you want, is around $150 with free shipping.

My Little Bear arrived a few days ago, but I just got around to putting it all together and hooking it up yesterday. Prior to this, I was just using the built-in phono stage in my Marantz integrated, and holy crap! What a difference! Having had no prior experience with a dedicated phono preamp, I am astounded by the added levels of detail and liveliness I am hearing now. I can't say how long I'll stick with this particular phono preamp. It's bulkier than I was expecting, not terribly well-built -- at least in terms of sturdiness and parts quality, and my wife isn't too thrilled with the visible circuitry aesthetic in our living room. But for $150 it was worth it, just to get a small taste of what tubes have to offer, and also to open my eyes (or ears, I should say) to the possibilities of phono preamps. I really had no idea.

I haven't listened to the Heresys or the Quartets, but I have listened to some of the newer Klipsch designs, like the RF-62 iis. I have read that some people find the horned tweeter to sound too harsh on the Heresys, but do you know if that is also the case with the Quartets?

Hi, I'm fairly new to this board. I need some help choosing between two pretty good deals on some used Klipsch speakers. I can get a pair of like-new Heresy IIIs, for $850 (about half what a pair of brand new ones would cost), or a pair of Quartets with upgraded crossovers and tweeters for $450. I imagine the Heresys are the better value, based on what they would cost new, but it seems a lot of people out there prefer the Quartets. I also don't know if I need to spend $850 on speakers right now, if I can get some great-sounding speakers for $450. The rest of my setup right now is a Debut Carbon DC and a Marantz PM6005 integrated, which I currently have an old pair of Polk Monitor 30 bookshelfs hooked up to. The room is about 20'x13', and is also my living room, so there's a big couch and a large, solid wood coffee table in there.

Thanks for the reply. I measured my living room today, and it's actually smaller than I estimated -- about 230sq ft., so I'm thinking my Monitor 30s will be ok for the time being. I do plan on buying some stands for them, though; right now they're too close to each other. The rest of my stuff is being delivered today, and I'm looking forward to getting it all set up. Would you say I should also hold off on getting a powered subwoofer for now?

Hey All, I've been lurking on this forum for about a week, mostly due to this thread. Just wanted to jump in and say thanks to Slinch for putting together such a thorough beginner's guide. I've been wanting to get back into collecting and listening to vinyl for a while now, but found the whole process of picking out equipment kind of intimidating. My girlfriend bought me a Crosley portable (I know) a few years ago, and that got me buying some records here and there, but I've known for a while that I would need to do a serious upgrade if I wanted to really get the most out of the hobby. After carefully researching all of the suggestions on this thread and some other websites, and doing a lot of hemming and hawing over how much I was really willing to spend at the moment, and where I should prioritize my spending, I finally pulled the trigger today. I ended up going with the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC, a Marantz PM6005, and a pair of Sennheiser HD598 headphones. I already own a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 30s that I'm hoping will get the job done for the time being, until I settle on some better speakers. I just bought a house about 6 months ago, and I haven't quite figured out where I'm going to set my system up, so I don't want to commit to a set of speakers until I know what size room I'm going to need to fill. It will most likely be my living room, which is about 400 sq ft., with hardwood floors, flat 8ft. ceilings, and a somewhat open layout in regards to the rest of the house. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.