Beginner’s Guide to Turntables & Hi–Fi *READ 1st PAGE BEFORE POSTING NEW THREADS / BASIC QUESTIONS*

[Tardcore]

 

Hi friends, new kid here. Please don't bite.

 

The OP suggests the Yamaha A-S300 as a very low-end receiver with phono. I don't have an exorbitant budget, so I was looking at the Yamaha R-S300BL as an option. Is there any reason why this wouldn't be an acceptable receiver? I live in a 3-room (not bedroom, ROOM) apartment so I don't need it to be loud or large.

 

Am I correct in my understanding that if I were to get this receiver (or the A-S300) I would not need a phono preamp?

 

Thank you. 

 

 

 

you could also look at the HK-3490:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-3490-120-Watt-Receiver/dp/B00198F89A

 

Or keep an eye out for a Marantz PM5004 to drop below $200 on amazon warehouse.

[slinch]

 

Hi friends, new kid here. Please don't bite.

 

The OP suggests the Yamaha A-S300 as a very low-end receiver with phono. I don't have an exorbitant budget, so I was looking at the Yamaha R-S300BL as an option. Is there any reason why this wouldn't be an acceptable receiver? I live in a 3-room (not bedroom, ROOM) apartment so I don't need it to be loud or large.

 

Am I correct in my understanding that if I were to get this receiver (or the A-S300) I would not need a phono preamp?

 

Thank you. 

 

 

 

Well the A-S300 isn't a receiver, but the R-S300 is. With the R-S300 you get some extra functionality, but vastly inferior sound quality. Check the differences to see if the extra functionality is something you need and is worth sacrificing the sound quality.

 

Both have phono inputs though, so you are correct, you wouldn't need a phono preamp.

[P1ZZAPARTY]

Shit, late night shopping got me mixed up. Thank you for the help!

[ptothedo]

Anyone have good experience with in wall speakers?

[jase]

For listening to records? I wouldn't bother

[ajxd]

Jase has never heard good in walls.

Yes. I have very good experience with in walls. What were you looking into?

[circuit bored records]

Speakercraft speakers are awesome, B&W also makes some great in-walls as well. But mostly

What were you looking into?

[ptothedo]

I'm looking for some to play records ( rock, electronic ) as well as general tv use, no home theater. The only place I looked so far was amazon and Polk was the highest rated, but they were more for surround and not front/main.

[allenh]

I would think most in walls were geared toward AV rather than 2 channel and when I have been looking for AV kit be it amps or whatever I have always found makers known more for 2 channel than AV tend to make more musical sounding equipment.

 

I've not heard many in walls and what I have heard were not great, I have heard some good reports about the Kef Ci130 and Monitor Audio W280 in wall speakers though, not sure if they are available to test or cost effective where you are though.

[chils123]

Alright, I'm debating buying a new cartridge for my table, but I'm wondering if it will make any real difference in sound with my current setup. Here's what I have:

Technics 1200
Ortofon OM Pro cartridge

Yamaha NS-1000 floor speakers

Yamaha HTR-6230 receiver

Por-Ject Phono Box MM Preamp

 

I'd guess the weakest part of the setup is the receiver, being that it's just a 5.1 home theater system. I'm not unhappy with the sound now, but I'm sure it can sound better and I feel like that DJ cartridge needs to be replaced. That is what the shop installed when they set up the turntable originally.

So what are your opinions on what I should change? Should I get a new cartridge first or another part of the setup?

Also, budget wise I'm not entirely sure. This will be an after the holidays purchase. I'm thinking $300 or less total. Originally I was just planning on replacing the cartridge but now I'm not sure. Thanks guys.

[Toph]

So I'm moving into a new place shortly and my lovely GF is allowing me to use a spare room/office space for pretty much whatever I would like. So my first priority is to get my very first set up in there. Was looking for any tips or reccomednations any of you could give me.

 

My budget is a little flexible at the moment ,but I'd say that I'm willing to go up to about $1300, give or take.

 

I think I have decided on the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon as my turntable. As far as my amp and speakers, that's where I need some help. I'm currently looking  at the Marantz P6004, mostly because I can pick it up for about $340 which seems to be a pretty good price.  I haven't done to much research on speakers yet, so that is completely up in the air.

 

All the info I've been looking at can get be a bit overwhelming so any advice or reccomendations any of you guys could give me based on my budget would be awesome.

[ajxd]

I will push Triad in walls as I have heard both Bronze and Gold. I promise they sound better than 95% of the speakers of users on this board. For records, movies, etc. I don't really play/care for anything more than 2 channel anymore, but I've heard a 5.1 using Triad in walls. Also good. But mainly 2 channel for Triad In walls.

Unfortunately for you, I just sold my last pair of Triad Gold/4 Omni. For a damn good price.

[faceghost]

I'm planning on buying some new speakers within the next couple of weeks and my budget is around 300-400. I'm strongly considering the Wharfedale 10.1 but was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions. Thanks.

[piky0032]

I'm planning on buying some new speakers within the next couple of weeks and my budget is around 300-400. I'm strongly considering the Wharfedale 10.1 but was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions. Thanks.

i own 10.1's and they seem to be pretty solid....don't have a heap to compare them to unfortunately.....i ended up getting them very cheap (for Australian prices) and jumped on em 

[casinonightzone]

edited: made a separate thread

[HxChile_]

I finally came up with some cash and decided it's time to upgrade. I'm still on an extremely tight budget so this is what I had in mind:

 

-Turntable: Project Debut III

-Pre-Amp: Pro-Ject Phono Box MM

-Speakers: Pioneer SP-BS22-LR 

 

For the turntable, I was debating on the U-Turn for quite some time but after reading about all the issues some members had I completely forgot about it. So the Debut III was my other choice to get the best sound for the price ($300). The pre-amp ($100) is just the best i can do right now, and I'm still not clear whether I need just this pre amp for the debut III (I'd really appreciate if someone could clarify this for me). As far as the speakers go, I live in an apartment complex in a small bedroom so I figured I wouldn't need that much power. Any feedback is much appreciated!

[slinch]

Well there's one essential thing missing: an amplifier. Can you stretch another $300? If not, ditch the Pioneers and buy some active sperakers, then you don't need an amp.

 

Something like these: http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-Premium-Powered-Desktop-Speakers/dp/B000VKEFN2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1388219610&sr=8-4&keywords=audioengine

[agua]

oh man, decided to venture in to this part of the forum as i've known i needed to get rid of this player i have now.

but this seems overwhelming so far, especially the price tags on the recommended players. i guess i'll have to save up

[slinch]

Sell the red TDAG if you get one and you'll have the phono pre-amp covered

[allenh]

oh man, decided to venture in to this part of the forum as i've known i needed to get rid of this player i have now.

but this seems overwhelming so far, especially the price tags on the recommended players. i guess i'll have to save up

If price is an issue do some research and go vintage

[HxChile_]

Well there's one essential thing missing: an amplifier. Can you stretch another $300? If not, ditch the Pioneers and buy some active sperakers, then you don't need an amp.

 

Something like these: http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-Premium-Powered-Desktop-Speakers/dp/B000VKEFN2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1388219610&sr=8-4&keywords=audioengine

I see, I'd probably stick with those active speakers then, not enough cash to drop on an amp. I will do some more research on what speakers to get though. As far as the turntable I was also looking at the Denon dp300f as well, would you recommend that over the debut 3 or not? Thanks for the advice!

[P1ZZAPARTY]

Hey guys, could someone give me an opinion on something? I have a relatively limited budget to get my first set up running and plan on upgrading piece by piece over time.

 

My original plan was to get the DJ PRE2 phono preamp and the Audioengine N22 amplifier for around $225. Recently, however, I've found some decent prices on integrated amplifiers including $250 for the Yamaha A-S300. Are either of these options acceptable? Is the Yamaha markedly better than the ART/Audioengine combo?

 

Thanks guys.

[slinch]

If you can really get the Yamaha for $250, I'd definitely go for that.

[P1ZZAPARTY]

Thank you for the quick response! It was an open box item from a seller on Amazon.

[mmcdermo]

So I have been browsing around for a while and need some help on the last piece of the puzzle.

 

I plan on buying the UTurn Orbit. I know some people seem to be against it but for 180 dollars and a good amount of positive feedback compared with a few people having an issue with the belt it seems like a decent deal. I also am in school and once I get out and get a steady stream of money I can get a upgrade to a better table. For right now it seems like it will be good enough.

 

I also plan on buying the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers. Again for 130 dollars and a lot of good reviews, it seems like another good enough for now.

 

So all I have left is something to plug these two pieces into to get them to talk to each other. I am looking at integrated amps in the 200-300 dollar price range (hopefully) and it seems like the choices are limited.

 

I know both the Marantz PM5004 (There is a PM6004 priced closely to this one) and Yamaha A-S300 (There is a used A-S500BL priced closely to this one) have been recommended in this thread. All of those right now are above 300 though right now. I do look frequently to see if a warehouse deal drops below 300 though.

 

As for the below 300 mark I have found two Harman Kardon stereo receivers (3390 and 3490) and there are some Onkyo's floating around that are around 300 give or take. I do not need the tuner functionality of the HK but it doesn't really bother me if it is there.

 

I have also been checking Craigslist but as we all know that isn't always the best option and I haven't found anything that seems like a good deal yet (to me at least).

 

I want to stick with this setup over something else since this one should allow me to upgrade individual pieces without having to do massive upgrades across the board.

 

Any recommendations on the above or other suggestions are welcome.