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Beginner’s Guide to Hi–Fi Created to hopefully aid anyone venturing into this stressful, beautiful hobby. I will update this with more information whenever I have time to waste. Anyone is welcome to chime in. Basic Hi-Fi Chain: SOURCE -> AMPLIFICATION -> SPEAKERS (click to jump to section) The source component reads the recorded information and translates it into the signal that will be later perceived as sound. Amplification takes that signal and amplifies it (no, really?) in order to make it strong enough to move the drivers of the speaker. A speaker is a collective of drivers that are moved by the signal, producing air pressure in front of them which to us, mortal beings, means hearing sound. When putting together a hi-fi setup, always keep in mind: The end result will only be as good as the weakest link. Buying an expensive turntable and a good phono preamp is useless if you're using cheap computer speakers. By no means should you decide to just get a shitty turntable then. Instead, think carefully how to ration your budget across all important components. Jump to setting up & use: SOURCE, AMPLIFICATION, SPEAKERS LIST OF RECCOMENDED EQUIPMENT FOR DIFFERENT BUDGETS

My issue us that I don't listen to my records enough, but I need to be able to do it with headphones sometimes. My current setup doesn't allow this, so what is the best way to modify what I have? Turntable: Rega RP3 Preamp: Cambridge 551P Speakers: Kanto Yumi powered(I know...not exactly hi-fi but I use them for other sources) Since neither the preamp or speakers have a headphone jack what should I add? Is an RCA out > female headphone jack cable from the preamp an option? (Or even a good idea?) Thanks for any help!

OK, so it's been awhile since I've tampered with my setup and I'm ready to lay down some money on improvements. Right now I'm running a Music Hall 5.1 turntable with a (pretty standard and probably shitty comparatively) Onkyo TX-8255 receiver and some PSB Alpha B1 bookshelf speakers. I just purchased Sennheiser 6XX headphones from Massdrop, set to ship in December, and it got me thinking of my setup and what I can do to really get the most out of them. I'm guessing I should start with replacing the Onkyo receiver and was thinking of getting a Yamaha integrated amp in the $500-$600 range. I was also thinking of putting the money towards a dedicated headphone amp instead (or eventually in tandem) but don't know if I'll get the most out of the headphones if it's still running through the Onkyo. Suggestions? I'm open to any and all suggestions especially since I am fairly inexperienced when it comes to the finer points of setup. I'm willing to modestly invest and would like something that would last and obviously sound great. Thanks for any help and input.

So I got these Polk Audio speakers from my step-dad and they came with no cables and I'm not sure what kind of cable I would need to be able to connect it to my receiver or turntable. I'm new to actual set-ups outside of just using a turntable's internal speaker so help and knowledge is appreciated Below are the pictures of the back of the polk audio speakers and the back of my receiver. http://imgur.com/a/73Bun

Heyo, I'm reaching out with some questions for those of you more well versed in the world of tubes and preamps. I've been working with the same setup for a few years now and I am looking to step it up a bit (without upgrading my table). Currently I have: Pro-Ject Debut III Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge Marantz SR-63 Receiver Polk Audio RTI A1 Bookshelf Speakers Polk Audio PSW 111 Subwoofer I've been thinking about adding a Preamp stage for tonal control (specifically tube preamp) as the receiver I have has a decent preamp built in, but I want more. Any thoughts? I've been toying with the Parks Audio Budgie preamp, anyone have any experience with this? *EDIT* I recently upgraded to an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge so any suggestion on specific preamps (tube or not) welcome!

So I'm new to this. Not music or sound but vinyl. Im 19 a college student and have shit for money, that being said heres my set up that I'm damn proud of. -sony ps lx 300 usb turntable (around 100 bucks, a gift from my gf for christmas) -pre amp included in the turntable ​-old zenith receiver circa 1995 ( i found just laying around a family members house he was happy to see go) -two rca tweeters i got for free from a friend (the impedance isn't high enough but they work well) -two rca surrounds and a rca center i got from a thrift store (5 bucks for the lot) -one zenith powered sub i got with the reciever -all connected by the thinest speaker wire radio shack offers and old rca cables and a y split for the sub total is about 115 dollars including 100 for the turntable this is a shit set up that most people would laugh at but at the end of the day I'm quite pleased with myself each piece took time to find (lots of thrift store diving for those speakers) and it delivers music to my ears just fine so this is a thread to brag about a set up that won't turn any heads but that you enjoy and are proud of, now or in the past, id love to see this take off so share with your friends, enjoy the music:)

So last year i started a new job and the owner had a turntable and played records daily. After less then a week I was hooked and wanted to start a vinyl collection and have a nice setup. Now I'm far from being able to afford a $1000 setup or even a $500 setup. Im all about being patient and looking for the best deals which is what I did. My boss bought 2 vintage receivers and gave me one for free a Kenwood KR-3600 I was excited I love the vintage look. So I wanted to get a vintage turntable. Craigslist everything was $100+ and I didnt really have it. Well one day I was talking to a guy at an auction and told him i was looking for vinyl he tells me he will sell a collection a guy gave him along with a turntable for $60 I bought it right away. It was a Toshiba SR-255 Love the look. Also at the auction I managed to pick up an Polk Audio Monitor 60 for only $20. The Toshiba had no headshell so had to order it and the stylus off amazon Audio-Technica Universal Headshell (AT-HS1) and Audio-Technica Dual Magnet Phono Cartridge (AT95E). Im just wondering how decent my set up is. and what to improve first and with what. List again Kenwood KR-3600 Toshiba SR-255 Polk Audio Monitor 60 (only have 1 at the moment) Audio-Technica Dual Magnet Phono Cartridge (AT95E) Audio-Technica Universal Headshell (AT-HS1) I do get some humming when i have both left and right plugged into the receiver from the turntable. I do have the ground plugged in. I've tried reading the forums but I get confused pretty easy when I cant ask the questions from the beginning. Here are a couple pics as well

Hello everyone, I have my own setup in my record studio but recently I bought an old school Technics SL-BD35 for my GF. Next step is the speakers. Now, you know girls...one of her first requests is that it should also "look good". I know I know, girls.. My budget is 400 bucks and my idea was the following one: Technics SL-BD35 + Bellari VP29 Solid State Phono Preamp + Marshall Hanwell 50th Anniversary or Marshall Stanmore. Since I have a little discount on a certain internet site it would cost me exactly 405 $. Do you think that this is a good idea? I thought that the result would be a solid sound quality out of this system plus the damn look she's aiming for but plz let me know what do ya'll think. Thank you for your help. Fab PS: I can already tell you that she doesn't like Audioengine, Nocs n Pioneer S-DJ50X.

I just purchased a U-Turn Audio Basic Turntable and am in the process of getting my audio system required for it. I have the Bose V 201 Speakers and plan on purchasing a Yamaha RX-V375 5.1 Channel AV Receiver. Will I also need a pre-amp to act as the mediator between my table and receiver or can I just plug the table's RCA cables into the Audio-In of the receiver? Just want to make sure my setup is good to go once my table gets here. Thanks for any help.

I'm looking at getting into vinyl with Christmas money, but being a pastor's son, money is tight. On that note, I would like to know what the bare minimum would be to play a vinyl record without scratching it. I can get better equipment later; for now, I'd rather save some money to actually buy records. You know, start a collection first, then get a decent setup. Any advice/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Brand new member to these boards, and I cannot believe I have never joined here before! So I have been into vinyl since college (about 10 years) and I have always just put most of my money into buying new records, so I have a pretty sweet collection at this point of ~200-300 both used and new. A combination of not having the money, and blowing money on records has always prevented me from building a nice stereo setup. Over the years I have gotten a few vintage pieces together to make my current setup for cheap (~$250): Marantz 6100 turntable - with pickering XV-15 cartridge (original 625E stylus) Sansui G5700 receiver Infinity RSa speakers All of these pieces are in good working order and have done a decent enough job for me for several years as a poor college/grad student, but I am now able to finally upgrade to something better. I never really paid any attention to what components would/should work together since I just bought what I could find at local shops. I am now looking for which component upgrade would give me the most benefit initially, and if any of these components are actually pretty decent and not worth upgrading. I am not really in any rush to upgrade everything all at once (it's been long enough with the current setup that I can take my time) so I would say I have about $750-$1000 budget per component stretched out over the entire upgrade process. I would ideally like to buy new and upgrade to a system that will last for a long while, and not need/want to be changed anytime soon. I listen mainly to rock from all eras and I also have a good amount of classical/jazz records that I was given. I like music to sound clean and straight forward with not too much added color to it. I like hearing what the artist intended without the stereo adding what it thinks it should sound like. Any help and opinions would be greatly appreciated with all of this.....time to put on another track now! -Z

I'm hoping over the next year to acquire the components to a decent audiophile system. I think for a turntable I've chosen a Pro-ject Debut Carbon. What would I need (or want) in the way of preamps, stereos, speakers to complete a nice little living room sound system. This doesn't need to be something that can play my T.V. audio or CDs or anything. I just want a system dedicated to quality vinyl sound.

Perhaps you can provide a link or a photograph to go along with what you are describing? Happy Friday!

So here's the bottom line, I'm moving and I decided I wanted to completely get a whole new setup. My price for everything all together is probably going to be roughly $400 - $500. I'm not looking for completely high end stuff, but I am looking for decent stuff that's good. Nothing dirt cheap (though I hear good things about preamps). I'm just looking for some guidance for everything. I need a turntable, preamp, and speakers. Hit me with what you recommend. Thank you in advance!