Have I done a stupid?

[zerodown]

Hi everyone, rookie here and just after some advice.

Anyway, had a great night on the punt last week and figured what the hell, let's finally listen to all this vinyl(as opposed to the cd I'd buy at the same time) that I've collected over 20+ years. 95% of it fits into the punk rock genre, ie. Fatwreck, epitaph, lookout, dischord, nitro labels, etc etc.

Being that there's no nearby hifi store and being one that's not exactly reckless or risk avoidant, I dived into some online stores and then cross referenced things with google/YouTube reviews.

I ended up with:

Debut carbon Evo w/2m Red

Rotel A11 Tribute integrated amp

Klipsch The Sixes Speakers

Now I'm positive there's no issue with the turntable and amp combination but having done further reading I'm now second guessing my choice of speakers.

Because the speakers have a built in amp and I don't intend to add a CD player at any time, should I have just purchased a phono pre-amp instead? I say that because I understand the inbuilt phono amp is rubbish. Is the amp basically useless now bar the phono? If I've made the wrong choice of speaker, what should I be looking for instead at or around that price?

I spent $900 on the Rotel, $750 on the turntable and $1300 on the Klipsch sixes, this is all Australian dollerydoos.

Ive opened the Rotel but understand I can return the amp with no penalty. The speakers which arrive in a couple of days, not so much.

If you've made it this far down, I thank you and sorry for the long, disjointed post. Yesterday I was confident but now having gone down the rabbit hole, I'm either second guessing myself or having a light bulb moment, so before I stuff up monumentally I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

Cheers and thanks heaps!

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.
Yes, if you want to stick with those speakers, you don't require the Rotel amplifier.
A decent phono preamp is a good idea although, personally, I don't think I would have purchased the speakers without listening to them if you cannot return them.
Speakers are a very personal choice and will depend a lot on your room size and layout of which we know nothing.
Get the wrong speakers and there is little point in spending good money of the front end.

 

[zerodown]

Welcome to the forum.
Yes, if you want to stick with those speakers, you don't require the Rotel amplifier.
A decent phono preamp is a good idea although, personally, I don't think I would have purchased the speakers without listening to them if you cannot return them.
Speakers are a very personal choice and will depend a lot on your room size and layout of which we know nothing.
Get the wrong speakers and there is little point in spending good money of the front end.

Thank you for the quick reply mate, much appreciated 👍

Yeah, perhaps in hindsight I should have really just set aside a Saturday and made a 6 hour round trip but alas, there's that recklessness! Truth is though this is my first foray into this world really beside spending $3.5k on the car stereo a few years back, I figured anything at that price point should sound better than a Sony srs-500 portable unit and past mini hi-fi systems.

It would be going in a room that's around 4m x 4m and would likely see around 2 hours a week of usage.

Let's say without the option of doing a listening test, in your opinion, what do you think my best port of call is here? Send the amp back and exchange it for a phono of the same value or send the speakers back and get something that is literally just a plain old speaker with none of the added electronic **** added in it?

Thanks again.

 

[WayneKerr]

Thank you for the quick reply mate, much appreciated 👍

Yeah, perhaps in hindsight I should have really just set aside a Saturday and made a 6 hour round trip but alas, there's that recklessness! Truth is though this is my first foray into this world really beside spending $3.5k on the car stereo a few years back, I figured anything at that price point should sound better than a Sony srs-500 portable unit and past mini hi-fi systems.

It would be going in a room that's around 4m x 4m and would likely see around 2 hours a week of usage.

Let's say without the option of doing a listening test, in your opinion, what do you think my best port of call is here? Send the amp back and exchange it for a phono of the same value or send the speakers back and get something that is literally just a plain old speaker with none of the added electronic **** added in it?

Thanks again.

Difficult one... This will all depend on your thoughts of the Klipsh powered speakers once you've given them a run. The Rotel amp is well regarded but you have no way of comparing it without a passive set of speakers = more expense. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Personally, whichever one you can get a full refund on then send that item back. Don't bother with an external phono-stage until you've lived with the set-up for a month or so.

 

[Al ears]

Difficult one... This will all depend on your thoughts of the Klipsh powered speakers once you've given them a run. The Rotel amp is well regarded but you have no way of comparing it without a passive set of speakers = more expense. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Personally, whichever one you can get a full refund on then send that item back. Don't bother with an external phono-stage until you've lived with the set-up for a month or so.

I think he might need a phono preamp with those speakers, could be wrong.
Do they have an inbuilt phono stage or just line level input??
EDIT: just seen the input is switchable....ignore the above.

 

[Al ears]

Thank you for the quick reply mate, much appreciated 👍

Yeah, perhaps in hindsight I should have really just set aside a Saturday and made a 6 hour round trip but alas, there's that recklessness! Truth is though this is my first foray into this world really beside spending $3.5k on the car stereo a few years back, I figured anything at that price point should sound better than a Sony srs-500 portable unit and past mini hi-fi systems.

It would be going in a room that's around 4m x 4m and would likely see around 2 hours a week of usage.

Let's say without the option of doing a listening test, in your opinion, what do you think my best port of call is here? Send the amp back and exchange it for a phono of the same value or send the speakers back and get something that is literally just a plain old speaker with none of the added electronic **** added in it?

Thanks again.

If you are unlikely to use any other inputs on that amplifier and simply use a turntable then I would return it and buy a cheaper phono preamp leaving yourself some money for decent speaker stands.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi everyone, rookie here and just after some advice.

Anyway, had a great night on the punt last week and figured what the hell, let's finally listen to all this vinyl(as opposed to the cd I'd buy at the same time) that I've collected over 20+ years. 95% of it fits into the punk rock genre, ie. Fatwreck, epitaph, lookout, dischord, nitro labels, etc etc.

Being that there's no nearby hifi store and being one that's not exactly reckless or risk avoidant, I dived into some online stores and then cross referenced things with google/YouTube reviews.

I ended up with:

Debut carbon Evo w/2m Red

Rotel A11 Tribute integrated amp

Klipsch The Sixes Speakers

Now I'm positive there's no issue with the turntable and amp combination but having done further reading I'm now second guessing my choice of speakers.

Because the speakers have a built in amp and I don't intend to add a CD player at any time, should I have just purchased a phono pre-amp instead? I say that because I understand the inbuilt phono amp is rubbish. Is the amp basically useless now bar the phono? If I've made the wrong choice of speaker, what should I be looking for instead at or around that price?

I spent $900 on the Rotel, $750 on the turntable and $1300 on the Klipsch sixes, this is all Australian dollerydoos.

Ive opened the Rotel but understand I can return the amp with no penalty. The speakers which arrive in a couple of days, not so much.

If you've made it this far down, I thank you and sorry for the long, disjointed post. Yesterday I was confident but now having gone down the rabbit hole, I'm either second guessing myself or having a light bulb moment, so before I stuff up monumentally I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

Cheers and thanks heaps!

Hi and welcome.

Unless I've missed the obvious, could you not use the Rotel as a preamp? It has a very good built-in phono stage, and although you have more inputs than you currently need, they may come in handy in the future.

 

[twinkletoes]

could you explain to the speaker retailer that you meant to purchase the Rp600's and in your haste clicked on these and you have only just realised your mistake. They maybe able reroute the order back to them and not cost you anything or they may give you some good will and allow you to return for free.

if not id keep the rotel and buy a different set of speakers off amazon with a good return policy. perhaps some KEF q150 or some such.

 

[zerodown]

I greatly appreciate everyone chipping in with ideas, suggestions and answers, many, many, thanks for helping a straggler out and putting him on the right track and his mind at ease. Id love to shout us all a beer but being this isn't the pub this thingy is as close as that can get 🍻.

Despite not planning on connecting the amp to cd etc, plastic penguin made a good point that you never know what tomorrow may bring. At the end of the day, even if it doesn't extend past being used for the turntable, it does have Bluetooth for the streaming apps and it's not money thats breaking the bank.

TwinkleToes, sorry mate I perhaps should have worded things to be a bit clearer, thats my fault. The speakers are fine to return unopened for a full refund. Though all things considered, Australia had a pretty good return/refund policy with consumer goods and I'd probably be able to get a full refund if opened, so long as its returned 100% complete and in the condition it left the store. I'm not going to push my luck though and have already spoken to the the outlet that I'll be returning them.

The plan now is to go your route and look at just some plain old speakers. No bells and whistles, no jack of all trades, a set with one job as such. Depending on end price, and sorry I've forgot the members username now, but I'll look into some speaker stands too. If not at purchase time then definitely when I've settled on a pair, which will 100% be the first ones anyway🤣 unless legitimately they're really that unpleasant to experience.

Twinkle suggested the kef q150 which ill be looking into later tonight. Is their any particular brand or model that would be classified as more 'rock' oriented as such? Norah Jones, orchestra, acoustic, classical styles etc won't be finding any airtime soon as such.

Anyway to those i haven't named, it's not because you didn't help, legitimately every post was of value but be three pages long soon. Thanks again!

 

[twinkletoes]

I greatly appreciate everyone chipping in with ideas, suggestions and answers, many, many, thanks for helping a straggler out and putting him on the right track and his mind at ease. Id love to shout us all a beer but being this isn't the pub this thingy is as close as that can get 🍻.

Despite not planning on connecting the amp to cd etc, plastic penguin made a good point that you never know what tomorrow may bring. At the end of the day, even if it doesn't extend past being used for the turntable, it does have Bluetooth for the streaming apps and it's not money thats breaking the bank.

TwinkleToes, sorry mate I perhaps should have worded things to be a bit clearer, thats my fault. The speakers are fine to return unopened for a full refund. Though all things considered, Australia had a pretty good return/refund policy with consumer goods and I'd probably be able to get a full refund if opened, so long as its returned 100% complete and in the condition it left the store. I'm not going to push my luck though and have already spoken to the the outlet that I'll be returning them.

The plan now is to go your route and look at just some plain old speakers. No bells and whistles, no jack of all trades, a set with one job as such. Depending on end price, and sorry I've forgot the members username now, but I'll look into some speaker stands too. If not at purchase time then definitely when I've settled on a pair, which will 100% be the first ones anyway🤣 unless legitimately they're really that unpleasant to experience.

Twinkle suggested the kef q150 which ill be looking into later tonight. Is their any particular brand or model that would be classified as more 'rock' oriented as such? Norah Jones, orchestra, acoustic, classical styles etc won't be finding any airtime soon as such.

Anyway to those i haven't named, it's not because you didn't help, legitimately every post was of value but be three pages long soon. Thanks again!

No worries mate me reading it wrong more likely

I primarily listen to rock/metal with other things thrown in for good measure

If you want to play loud and proud with rock/metal/electronica, id suggest looking at the Klipsch rp range. They can do the hifi thing but they're not afraid to let rip when you turn up the wick.

KEF is really good but over the years ive found them a little polite for my taste and there certainly constrained by there driver arrangement in regard to absolute SPL. But keep them in there happy place and they sound fab.

You could also try the new (2023) Mission 700s if you have that sort of cash. Loads of bang for you buck. Though dont know how much they are across the pound for you guys.

OR if you're happy to go second hand id look out for the old 90s bargains tannoy mission B&W

 

[Rodolfo]

FWIW, I love my original A12 (not "MKII"), which I've had for several years and believe is close (a predecessor, interestingly?) to your more current model. I appreciate the full feature set, use most of the inputs, including both A & B speaker terminals, and Bluetooth; plus I'm considering adding/trialing a small subwoofer using that input. The A14 tuner was never offered in the US, but I have an internet radio tuner, with its own remote, connected. Pretty great integrated amp, and I hope it lasts like my original Cyrus One has.

 

[zerodown]

No worries mate me reading it wrong more likely

I primarily listen to rock/metal with other things thrown in for good measure

If you want to play loud and proud with rock/metal/electronica, id suggest looking at the Klipsch rp range. They can do the hifi thing but they're not afraid to let rip when you turn up the wick.

KEF is really good but over the years ive found them a little polite for my taste and there certainly constrained by there driver arrangement in regard to absolute SPL. But keep them in there happy place and they sound fab.

You could also try the new (2023) Mission 700s if you have that sort of cash. Loads of bang for you buck. Though dont know how much they are across the pound for you guys.

OR if you're happy to go second hand id look out for the old 90s bargains tannoy mission B&W

Thanks again for the suggestions mate

No worries mate me reading it wrong more likely

I primarily listen to rock/metal with other things thrown in for good measure

If you want to play loud and proud with rock/metal/electronica, id suggest looking at the Klipsch rp range. They can do the hifi thing but they're not afraid to let rip when you turn up the wick.

KEF is really good but over the years ive found them a little polite for my taste and there certainly constrained by there driver arrangement in regard to absolute SPL. But keep them in there happy place and they sound fab.

You could also try the new (2023) Mission 700s if you have that sort of cash. Loads of bang for you buck. Though dont know how much they are across the pound for you guys.

OR if you're happy to go second hand id look out for the old 90s bargains tannoy mission B&W

Thanks for the tips mate. The missions were just a bit more than I really wanted to spend on this set up at $2600.00AUD, I had a look at the KEF's Q350 which can be had for $800, but in the end I've settled on the Monitor Audio silver 100 7G in ash at $1349 as they were just the most aesthetically pleasing of all the similar priced pairs.

Christ....speaker cables eh?! Only a fool would break into a hi-fi store and leave with the electronic goods. Suffice to say I didn't grab 3m of the Atlas ASIMI Grun Luxe at $67,000.00 but just a few metres of the pro-ject connect DS2 cables.

All of a which should arrive early next week!