Recommendations for new turntable/amp/speakers please.

[UKRuss]

Hi, first post, apols if there is a million threads on this same topic, I checked the stickies and all the recommendations for kit seem a few years out of date.

OK, I am slowly rebuilding a lost vinyl collection of mainly 80s/90s UK and US Rock so, while I want to hear the records as they were intended, clearly it’s not a genre that demands closed eyes and deep diving into orchestral level recordings. Also, this is for vinyl only, I am happy to listen to streamed music on my headphones and iphone or Alexa, no problem.

So I need a turntable, amp and bookshelf speakers.

Budget will be £1000 max.

My room is a normally furnished lounge 15’ x 30’. The listening position is seated on a sofa halfway along one of the 30’ walls. No real restrictions to place the speakers on top of cabinets at head height on the opposite side if the room. No room for speaker stands.

I have had a look at the Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 speakers and the Emotiva TA-100 but with bluetooth (which would be good if I did want to switch to my Bose headphones) its double the US price. Thats as far as i’ve got and i need a shortlist to go and listen to. Can you recommend?

 

[lucid]

Speakers on top of a cabinet at head height? Do you mean head height sitting or standing?

Emotiva TA-100, it has a lot of bells and whistles, but IMO it's overpriced in the UK. Have a look at the NAD 316BEE or Marantz PM6006 at roughly £300 which is really where the TA-100 should be.

Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2...... with the Emotiva.... bright speakers + bright amp + vinyl surface noise + rock at high volumes? Not feeling it. Kudos to Elac for their revisions, but the UK has some of the world's best speaker manufacturers right on home turf. German speakers designed by an English man for the American market but now available in the UK...hmm. Maybe a pairing with the warm-sounding Marantz might balance things, or just try some Dali Spektors or Q Acoustic 3020?

Overall, £500+ on a bright amp with a million gizmos when all you really need is something simple with a bit of grunt and maybe a decent phono stage built in, paired with some edgy sounding £250 speakers... and so far no talk of a turntable/arm/cartridge... it all seems a bit tail wagging the dog.

 

[PrincessB]

I've got some ideas for the speakers.

I would seriously consider a subwoofer, modern bookshelf speakers tend to use pretty small woofers, the bass you can get out of them and the low frequency roll off won't really suit rock'n'roll. It won't suit dance or reggae either.
It won't sound awful, just a bit lacking and thin.

If I'm understanding correctly, you're going to be aiming to sit on a sofa on one side of the 15" room with the speakers on the other side of the shorter wall. I've got a hi-fi of sorts at the far end of my kitchen/diner which is a similar size to your room, the difference is that my speakers are at the end of the long side of the room, projecting down the 29" rather than across.

Don't get me wrong, it sounds nice but the bass is a little thin and the speakers (Tannoy Mercury V1) are a bit directional, so the sound changes around the room.

Idea #1 is a to use a pair of speakers using balanced mode radiator units along with that most important subwoofer.

In the middle of my kitchen/diner, I've got a radio with a single balanced mode radiator (BMR) speaker and the sound dispersion is amazing, you can roam all over the room and the sound barely changes. If you're going to sit in one spot and listen, this might not be important but those BMR speakers can fill the entire room - The radio (which is all interneted) gets 10 times more use than the Tannoys over in the corner.

Speaker company, Cambridge audio are worth looking at. They do some mini BMR speakers that can look a bit like a Bose setup.

Note, the balanced mode radiator speaker can do a pretty good job of being a woofer (or low range midrange) and a tweeter in a single unit, they are not perfect as the treble rolls off giving a very mellow sound. Not tiring to listen to, but if you want a more sharp edgy sound then option #2 might interest you.

There's a good value pro audio company called Behringer. Essentially they are German designed units made in China so very well priced. Their product range is pretty easy to Google and could be considered 'the antidote to hi-hi', downside is that last time I looked they did some fairly small passive speakers which might have appealed.

Most of the current range is active, which might not work (as your amp would be mostly redundant) though the monitor speakers and smaller 8" units might fit if you want to mix and match. You will still need a subwoofer and I'd be seriously tempted by the 10" 300watt front firing Sub if I had any spare cash.

Just my 0.02p worth,

Regards,

B.

 

[a1ex2001]

Go second hand and save a fortune get some decent b&w speakers and pair them with an arc amp a great combo for rock music. Can’t help on a turntable i’ve Never owned one.

 

[signs]

as above , but add a Thorens TD 160 or pioneer PL12D