Buying a new system, any advices?

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Hello, I am Paul, and I decided to buy some new turntable->amp->speakers system, because until now I was using my old Tesla NZC420 with shitty 5.1 setup for 100$ (yeah *scratch_one-s_head* ). I am really a newbie into all this audio stuff so I thought maybe someone would help me out or give me some advices about this all and to give me greenlight with components I chose.

I mostly listen to house/minimal and i need turntable purely for listening, not DJing. I was thinking about Pro-ject Debut carbon DC with price (in my country) 450$(without pre-amp) but more appealing to me is Pro-Ject Essential II for about 330$ (without pre-amp) which isnt just 120$ cheaper but big advantage is, you dont need to take off the plate to swtich from 33 to 45 RPM mode (some of my vinyls are 45, and it would be annoying to always take off the plate, adjust the rubber band, put it back and do the same thing again after I fiinish that vinyl). I am not sure how big difference is between theese two but Essential II might be good as a starter?

As for speakers, I read a few reviews and I quite like Monitor Audio BX2, which has very nice design and its also available in my country (yeah lots of stuff isnt available here so sometimes its hard to find some things) for about 400$ per pair.

When I was searching for amplifier I came up to Pioneer A-30 (is there some difference between A-30 and A30K? *scratch_one-s_head* )Its for about 340$. It has also built phono input so I guess I wouldnt need pre-amp built in turntable? Theese 2 turntables I mentioned earlier would cost about 120$ more with pre-amp built in.

So what do you think? would this setup work together? Thanks!

Paul.

 

[iMark]

I would have a look at the Pro-Ject Carbon Esprit SB. The specifications look very similar to the 1Xpression III Comfort we bought 2 years ago. It's got the same 8.6cc tonearm, Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, acryllic platter and best of all a built-in speedbox. This means you can change between 33 and 45 rpm by turning a knob and it saves you buying a separate speedbox, which is recommended by almost everyone that has tried one.

If this new deck is as good as ours, I can highly recommend it.

Personally, I would buy a decent amp with a phono stage built in. It will not sound as great a an expensive phono stage but I think the biggest improvement is buying a more expensive record player. You could always buy a seperate phono stage later, but if you're happy with the sound of the Pioneer, stick your money in a better record player.

We have a Yamaha R-S500 and that has a pretty decent phono stage. If you're not interested in a tuner, have a look at the Yamaha A-S500.

 

[lindsayt]

Which country do you live in Paul?

How big is the room you'll be putting your system in?

What's more important for you: best sound quality for the money spent or high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) followed by best sound quality?

Would you be confident in doing some basic DIY repairs or servicing on whatever you bought?

 

[Overdose]

Try a well looked after 1210 deck into either a mixer or audio interface and then into a pair of Yamaha HS80s.

 

[hybridauth_facebook_100000472506720]

@iMark : Thanks for huge reply! About Carbon Espirit, unfortunatelly in my country its about 700 USD which is over my budget, I am ohwever thinking about Denon 300f (oh I totally fell for its design and ability to switch 33 to 45 so easily) I would however buy 2M red cartridge for it.

That Yamaha amp seems to be great option! I was also thinking about Marantz PM5004, that one seems to be nice too.

@lyndsayt: Iam from Slovakia, my room is about 4,5 x 5,5 metres, fortunatelly I dont have wife, problem is I am quite on a budget heh

About repairs/fixes: Well depends on what exactly you would mean, I did some repairs on electronic stuff but I wouldnt want to mess up with 500$ worth electronics

@overdose: I might consider those Yamaha speakers, thanks!