Good People,

Within the last year or two, I gave up on the CD and MP3s for the most part, and returned to the joys of vinyl-hunting and listening. At the moment I am running my fancy DJ-type turntable thru my computer speakers, which suck.

So one of these days I'm going to upgrade. I was wondering if any of you had suggestions for a decent setup -- amplifier and speakers for the moment -- that won't cost an arm and a leg. I was thinking of getting a refurbished "vintage" receiver from our friends at Saturday Audio in Chicago and using some PSB-or-similar bookshelf speakers. Does that sound reasonable -- and what's the next step beyond that? Is there a decent middle grond before you get into the $15,000 needle and $6700 tone-arm silliness? And is anybody on here into that cool stuff I'll never afford?

Thanks.

I currently have a Harman-Kardon T-55c from the mid 80's, which is a fairly good table I picked up about 7 years ago for $125 used. I have a Grado Gold, which is a fantastic cartridge, at only $180 list. The only caveat with the Grado is that it is not shielded - so it must be kept away from TV's, power supplies (ie the big ass transformer on a tube amp/preamp), and unshielded speakers.

If I was going to upgrade I'd get a Rega Planar 3, which you could probably get for about $700 with a RB300 tonearm, and reuse the Grado cart. This combo would be an excellent value for under $1000. Another good combo might be a used Linn Sondeck, or even an old higher end Dual model with a Shure V15 Cart.

Good Luck,

I have had a Harmon-Kardon amp for about 11 years now (bought from Saturday Audio Exchange) and it has never given me a single problem. It also sounds fantastic, by the way. I would look into having them hook you up with one.

I would also re-think bookshelf speakers, depending on your preferred listening volume. I don't like the way they sound once you get past the level of normal conversation.

My two cents.

Superking,

A great, fun way of going about it is just picking up pieces to the system as you find them, and can afford them. If you're running a decent turntable, but wish better loudspeakers then certainly start with those. After that, you may be better off to upgrade the turntable first, before the amp. Generally speaking, you'll notice more of an improvement in sound by bettering the 'heart' of the system.

It doesn't have to be all that expensive either. If you're having fun searching for records, then do the same for components. For example, in the last year and a bit I have picked up numerous pieces at garage sales; such as a 1960's Thorens TD-124 with a shure sme arm and a solid grado cartridge for $10CAD, a Dynaco solid state amp and pre-amp for $15CAD, and a pair of AR speakers for $20CAD. Pick up some decent cables and interconnects and you have a pretty cool setup for $60. Just takes some patience.

Also, another great route is to look up some of the numerous DIY kits out there. They even have turntable kits, which resemble Rega, Linn, etc. and amps (solid state or tube). These aren't usually a cheap way to go, but they're cheaper than store bought branded equipment, and it's something you can put your own sweat into. DIY speakers are an option to, but there are so many variables in building the enclosures that it's best left to the professionals.

Braden

I reccomend the Rega P2 or 3. Also the Music Hall tables are really good. There's one that's around 300 and one that's like 500 which would be the one I'd reccomend. Old Duals and Thorens are decent, too.

Harmon Kardon receivers are okay. As an alternative to SatAudExg and with a ton more character try 20th Century at Ashland and Montrose. Also for integrated amps you can check out Audio Advisor, they ussually have some sort of cool stuff on sale, and they're pretty knowledgeable.

For speakers I tend to lean towords B&Ws over the PSBs, though my father has a nice pair of PSBs. Also don't skimp on the stands. Audio Advisor always has some cool stands on sale. Get steel over wood and get ones with spikes. ebay ussually has a small variety of older B&W speakers, the DM110s are pretty alright and go for under $200 ussually.

-n

i think we've talked about this a couple of times. i'm sure i've said most of what i am about to say....

you really just have to come up with a budget first. you can spend any amount between a few hundred bucks and several thousand and be 'reasonable' about it. the more money you spend, the better it will sound, given that you choose wisely. there are both ripoffs and 'bargains' in every tier--i mean, magneplanar 1.6qr speakers are $1700/pr, but they slay every other speaker i've heard in their price range.

my exp has been as follows:

low cost, i have an h.h. scott receiver that i like. they're sort of a poor man's mcintosh, w/parallel product lines in some respects, at least in terms of their tube/solid state bifurcation. not clean, exactly, and not overly powerful, but easy on the ears and pleasant to use. i had a cheapo technics direct drive ttable that wasn't that great, and i wouldn't recommend wastin' money on anything super cheap here. i think mission makes ok cheap speakers.

middle cost, arcam makes good mid-fi stuff that i think is better than nad, denon, and the like. i've heard quite a bit of this tier of stereo gear. b+w makes speakers that start at maybe $300/pr that are decent, on up to great speakers for a lot of money. music hall turntables are quite good, rega knockoffs sort of. i think they might be about $300 a pop for the cheaper ones. a lot of people like dual and thorens in this area. i haven't been overly impressed by them, but i also haven't spent a lot of time on them.

more $ than that, i won't bother talking about

except to say that i have a rega planar 3, and i love it. i have heard vpi ttables that i liked a lot, but i don't know if i'll ever buy another brand. i've changed up every part of my stereo exc. the ttable in the last seven yrs or so.

saturday audio exchange is probably a good place to start, but don't be afraid of audio consultants in evanston. they have tons of high-end shit, but they sell some great used gear, and if you tell them what you can afford, they'll help you get set up. listening is the big thing, and audio consultants, for one, will let anyone borrow pretty much anything in the store. i recently borrowed about $5k worth of stuff, all in all over a period of a couple weeks, before i figured out what i really wanted and could afford.

more praise for rega: i have a planar 2 (usually around $450-500 new) and one of the rega cartridges (forget the name but it was purple and on the lower end, around $200). it sounds great! i can't afford to be a real audiophile, but i have good ears and OCD, and i'm quite happy with that stuff.

rega tables are also really easy to set up.

my ears are also really big, so i look stupid when i wear hats.

good luck!

i'd go with b&w too. you can find them cheap used.

I'll second the rega p2. I went for two years without a turntable.....for some odd reason I was to lazy to buy one even though I have a extensive record collection. I finally got a rega p2 about 7 months ago. I'm so glad I did....... it sounds amazing.

I've got an old B&O Beogram 8002 turntable that I love very much. Nothing's easier on your vinyl than a B&O.

Speakers? I just build my own. [b]I[/b] can chose my design parameters, and get alot more for the money I spend. Sure is time consuming, though.

another TT recommendation is a Goldring Gr-1. built by Rega, same design as the p2 (and comes with a rega tonearm) but slightly cheaper ergonomically. about $350 new. i like mine a lot. i wanna get a nicer cartridge eventually but my current speaker setup doesn't justify the additional frequency range.

i'd also recommend Arcam integrated amps. i recently got an Alpha7 used for $200. the phono pre is slightly noisy (my house has noisy power though), and the EQ is mediocre, but you can bypass that anyway and it sounds real clean. i don't have a huge frame of reference for this type of stuff, but i do know that it's a solid step up from circuit city type stereos.