JoToRoBo Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 This thread helped me: http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/98633-help-me-come-up-with-a-decent-setup-on-a-budget/ I'd just suggest if you have less money to spend, try the U-turn http://uturnaudio.com instead of the Carbon TT. Thanks! When I go to set myself up, I will have around 300-400 to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbbrew22 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Thanks! When I go to set myself up, I will have around 300-400 to spend. Is this for the turn table only or all-in? Do you currently have an amplifier and speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodigitaljazz Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Yeah because I got a deal on my Carbon which was $360 shipped and my total for my new setup was like $690. Stretch as much as you can and plan hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoToRoBo Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Is this for the turn table only or all-in? Do you currently have an amplifier and speakers? Yeah because I got a deal on my Carbon which was $360 shipped and my total for my new setup was like $690. Stretch as much as you can and plan hard. I was going to run it though my tv/soundbar surround sound. So all I need is the turntable and amplifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dethrock Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I was going to run it though my tv/soundbar surround sound. So all I need is the turntable and amplifier. WHY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoToRoBo Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 WHY I just had an old turntable playing through it, and it sounded great. Is there something I'm missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I just had an old turntable playing through it, and it sounded great. Is there something I'm missing? Man, are you lucky this is the beginner thread!!!Soundbars are generally considered fine for TV, but not great for music. Your opinion obviously differs. It is your system, so ultimately it's only your opinion that matters. It sounds like you may need a phono preamp as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbbrew22 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 If you are getting the turntable and the amplifier you might as well get the speakers too. Or at least get a temporary setup going while you save up for speakers, which it sounds like you are on track for. So you are looking to spend $400 for the TT and the amp then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Man, are you lucky this is the beginner thread!!! Soundbars are generally considered fine for TV, but not great for music. Your opinion obviously differs. It is your system, so ultimately it's only your opinion that matters. It sounds like you may need a phono preamp as well. Read this thread properly from the start, there are only 20 odd pages and I bet it will answer most if not all of your questions, I know I've answered the ones about the pro's and cons' between AV (surround sound) and hifi (music) several times. Once you have read it all and have an idea in the direction you want to go in you can at least narrow down your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigalanp Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Just recently got into vinyl, and I really appreciate this guide. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob9874 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 At that point, which is the better starter table? The one that requires you to: 1) learn about carts/needles (good luck newbie!) 2) replace the cart (see above) 3) deal with the phono preamp fake out (it's included...but don't use it!) or the one that costs $20 more but saves you the hassle. That is exactly my thought process as I choose my first TT this week. I read that article as I researched entry-level TTs, and decided to get the AT-PL120USB off Amazon. My Prime 2-day shipping guaranteed I would get it last Saturday, but it never arrived. I called Amazon on Monday, and they said it looked like it got lost in transit, and refunded my money. I saw this as divine intervention, and decided to order the Debut Carbon. I also bought a pre-amp on eBay for the Debut. However, yesterday the 120 arrived, so I called Amazon and cancelled the Debut Carbon delivery. Then I found this thread, which states at the beginning "Avoid Audio-Technica" and the recommended entry-level TTs include the Debut Carbon. Further Google research comparing the two had the same conclusion. So now I have an unopened 120 on my living room floor that I need to return to Amazon, so I can repurchase the Debut Carbon, which was already on its way to my house yesterday! But I think I'll be happier in the long run. The fact that it comes with the $100 2M Red, and I would be buying an upgraded cartridge with the 120, was the deciding factor for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchard Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 A Marantz 2245 popped up on CL for $100. Seems to be in good shape. Decent deal? They guy is also selling a paid of Speaker Lab Super Seven Speakers for $100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 If it works, $100 is good. Talk him down and it'll be better b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviex2shoes Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Just saw this auction up on ebay, not a bad deal if you can get it for a good price. Pro-ject Debut III w/ speedbox II, phono box ii, and "2 Ortofon needles" currently at $174 w/ free shipping http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Ject-Debut-III-w-Pro-Ject-Phono-Box-II-USB-and-Pro-Ject-Speed-Box-II-/141284547248?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item20e5371ab0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agua Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Found a "Brother" and a "Pioneer" player. Either don't look good though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Just bought an RP3. I'm officially Hi-Fi! dethrock 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordentl Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hello all another noob here. I heard a friends setup and now I have the bug. I have read through most of this thread (which is an awesome resource btw!) and I have already picked out some items to get started. I just want to list them here and see if I'm missing/overlooking anything. For starters, I already have a Yamaha HTR-5940 receiver that I am going to use. It has no phono inputs, so I'll be picking up a pre-amp. I also have a set of 4 Athena S.5 bookshelf speakers + center + sub. No idea if these are good or not, I bought this all as a home theater setup for gaming/movies a few years ago. After reading through the thread I understand that 2.1 is generally better than 5.1 for phono, and I can switch between the 2 easily on my receiver. This will help get started and reduce some initial cost assuming there are no issues I am overlooking. My friend has a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, and I liked what I heard, so I figured that's a good starting spot for me as well. For pre-amp I'm going to pick up either the Pro-Ject phono box MM or the Cambridge Audio Azur 551P. TLDR; Already have: Yamaha HTR 5940 receiver Athena Speakers + sub Planning to buy: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Pro-Ject Phono Box MM or Cambridge Audio Azur 551P pre-amp Am I on the correct path? Am I overlooking anything? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Hello all another noob here. I heard a friends setup and now I have the bug. I have read through most of this thread (which is an awesome resource btw!) and I have already picked out some items to get started. I just want to list them here and see if I'm missing/overlooking anything. For starters, I already have a Yamaha HTR-5940 receiver that I am going to use. It has no phono inputs, so I'll be picking up a pre-amp. I also have a set of 4 Athena S.5 bookshelf speakers + center + sub. No idea if these are good or not, I bought this all as a home theater setup for gaming/movies a few years ago. After reading through the thread I understand that 2.1 is generally better than 5.1 for phono, and I can switch between the 2 easily on my receiver. This will help get started and reduce some initial cost assuming there are no issues I am overlooking. My friend has a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, and I liked what I heard, so I figured that's a good starting spot for me as well. For pre-amp I'm going to pick up either the Pro-Ject phono box MM or the Cambridge Audio Azur 551P. TLDR; Already have: Yamaha HTR 5940 receiver Athena Speakers + sub Planning to buy: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Pro-Ject Phono Box MM or Cambridge Audio Azur 551P pre-amp Am I on the correct path? Am I overlooking anything? Thanks in advance! You've got it pretty covered. The only thing I would pick you up on is that anything .1 is not as good for music as a proper 2 channel hifi amplifier, basically because of all the processing that goes on and that music isn't really what these units are primarily intended for. That said your Yamaha will be more musical than some and should do a perfectly good job for you. I don't know the Athena speakers so can't comment and you have your friends system as a reference although you don't say what it is but a start is a start so enjoy If it were my money I'd get the Cambridge phono stage in preference to the Project but that is my choice and might not be yours. Make sure you have decent enough cable and that it's all positioned and set up correctly and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordentl Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 You've got it pretty covered. The only thing I would pick you up on is that anything .1 is not as good for music as a proper 2 channel hifi amplifier, basically because of all the processing that goes on and that music isn't really what these units are primarily intended for. That said your Yamaha will be more musical than some and should do a perfectly good job for you. I don't know the Athena speakers so can't comment and you have your friends system as a reference although you don't say what it is but a start is a start so enjoy If it were my money I'd get the Cambridge phono stage in preference to the Project but that is my choice and might not be yours. Make sure you have decent enough cable and that it's all positioned and set up correctly and enjoy. Awesome thanks for the reply. Further down the road I may pick up a more appropriate recevier and maybe some speakers. The Athenas have always sounded good to me for gaming and movies, but I understand that may not be the case for music, but they are a decent starting point. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dethrock Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Just bought an RP3. I'm officially Hi-Fi! Nice! I'm moving soon and I'll get to set mine up. What cartridge did you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Nice! I'm moving soon and I'll get to set mine up. What cartridge did you get? MusicDirect had an open box demo of this for $900: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-49318-rega-rp3-turntable-with-elys-cartridge.aspx So the answer is an elys 2 cartridge. I really didn't research a bunch of different cartridges. I just kinda trust MusicDirect to sell quality gear. There really wasn't a huge amount of savings on ebay so I just went with a store. Model seems to hold it's value pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dethrock Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 MusicDirect had an open box demo of this for $900: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-49318-rega-rp3-turntable-with-elys-cartridge.aspx So the answer is an elys 2 cartridge. I really didn't research a bunch of different cartridges. I just kinda trust MusicDirect to sell quality gear. There really wasn't a huge amount of savings on ebay so I just went with a store. Model seems to hold it's value pretty well. Sweet! I picked mine up around Christmas last year and I got the same cartridge as you. It was on sale at the time so I'm glad I picked it up, with the Canadian dollar being so shitty now the prices on them went up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigalanp Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I ended up going with a Marantz PM6004 (refurbished) and Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (new) as my first setup thanks to this helpful thread and I am very pleased with the results for the price range. Hopefully I'll get to upgrade to a RP3 and high end speakers like some people here eventually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eight1echo Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Does anyone have any experience with the Music Hall a15.3 integrated amp? Thinking of making an upgrade from my current receiver+phono pre amp to an integrated amp, and since my store is a Music Hall dealer I can probably get a pretty nice deal on the a15.3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 This thread isn't working well enough!! I've just received an email from Amazon UK showing me their best-selling turntables, every one of them a Crosley or Crosley type piece of cheap plastic record wrecking complete and utter cack Head in hands and face a picture of complete disappointment. Edit. Forgot to mention the only other product in the email was Nagaoka 102 Anti Static record sleeves. I think static will be the least of your worries after purchasing one of the recommended turntables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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