Question Help. £1000 for a record player system with amp and speakers?

[marvinp]

A friend of mine who has zero equipment has asked me to set him up with a record player system for £1000 but I am getting conflicting opinions on how best to spend the money. One is to spend £500 on a turntable make it the star and then £250 a piece on amp and speakers but other people are suggesting a £250 turntable and more on the rest? He may upgrade later but I can't imagine for a long time.

I can't imagine getting less than an RP2 but what would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[Al ears]

Does he own any vinyl?
if not I would get him to think again.
However, depending on what else he is likely to connect to the amp as a source there is always this:-

Pro-Ject Juke Box E Speaker Box 5 Turntable Speaker Bundle, Black at AV.com

Pro-Ject Juke Box E Speaker Box 5 Turntable Speaker Bundle, Black at AV.com

www.audiovisualonline.co.uk

or if he can go another £99 this is a bargain:-

Rega Planar 2 Turntable System Package

Our Rega Planar 2 Turntable system gives an incredible sound from a such a compact system, The new Rega io Amplifier has won multiple awards and is the best entry level you can buy so we have put this together with Rega's Planar 2 Turntable and the amazing Dali Oberon 1 speakers, together these...

dougbradyhifi.com

Of course he will also need some speaker stands and cables....... Or just stands with the second package.
if he only ever needs a turntable system then the first package is the obvious choice leaving money for stands

 

[insider9]

I agree with Al if he doesn't have a large vinyl collection then I would not spend much on vinyl end. Conversely I'd prioritise it if he indeed has a large collection. Worth pointing out for someone starting it's likely the vinyl he buys will not be the best quality so no point going broke for an amazing cart.

 

[RoA]

Yes, Rega's system 1 or the aforementioned Planar 2 bundle seems to make sense.

 

[Oxfordian]

I agree with Al if he doesn't have a large vinyl collection then I would not spend much on vinyl end. Conversely I'd prioritise it if he indeed has a large collection. Worth pointing out for someone starting it's likely the vinyl he buys will not be the best quality so no point going broke for an amazing cart.

Curious, what’s up with the vinyl that is in the shops today?

My local store is full of it, people flicking through the boxes with big smiles, mainly old gits like me but some youngsters, it seems to be doing ok, the LP’s I have picked up sound fine but I have been away from the stores for many years, maybe my ears need retraining or are just ............, see comments else where on the forum.

 

[insider9]

Curious, what’s up with the vinyl that is in the shops today?

My local store is full of it, people flicking through the boxes with big smiles, mainly old gits like me but some youngsters, it seems to be doing ok, the LP’s I have picked up sound fine but I have been away from the stores for many years, maybe my ears need retraining or are just ............, see comments else where on the forum.

Sure, there's lots of vinyl around. But some pressings are better than others. It's far more important in the world of vinyl to research what you're actually buying.

 

[Oxfordian]

Sure, there's lots of vinyl around. But some pressings are better than others. It's far more important in the world of vinyl to research what you're actually buying.

I started a thread on that subject, I got the impression that it was a bit of a lottery, I still have no idea what a good recording is, how to identify one or where to get them from, I just buy the artists I like and just hope that it is a great pressing of a great recording with nothing taken away (or added).

From what I can see an LP is now in excess of £20, bigger named artists seem to be around the £25 mark and anything resembling a double LP or collection is well over £30 and don’t get me started on ‘Collections’, so not cheap investments.

If anyone has a magic formula as to how to identify these ‘better pressings’ I am happy to learn.

 

[insider9]

I started a thread on that subject, I got the impression that it was a bit of a lottery, I still have no idea what a good recording is, how to identify one or where to get them from, I just buy the artists I like and just hope that it is a great pressing of a great recording with nothing taken away (or added).

From what I can see an LP is now in excess of £20, bigger named artists seem to be around the £25 mark and anything resembling a double LP or collection is well over £30 and don’t get me started on ‘Collections’, so not cheap investments.

If anyone has a magic formula as to how to identify these ‘better pressings’ I am happy to learn.

Lots of research required for every purchase. If you truly want the best.

 

[marvinp]

Brilliant advice guys, glad I posted.

 

[Gonepostal]

I started a thread on that subject, I got the impression that it was a bit of a lottery, I still have no idea what a good recording is, how to identify one or where to get them from, I just buy the artists I like and just hope that it is a great pressing of a great recording with nothing taken away (or added).

From what I can see an LP is now in excess of £20, bigger named artists seem to be around the £25 mark and anything resembling a double LP or collection is well over £30 and don’t get me started on ‘Collections’, so not cheap investments.

If anyone has a magic formula as to how to identify these ‘better pressings’ I am happy to learn.

I buy my LPs from Disccogs, people normally leave reviews on the quality of the pressings etc. Worth having a look.

 

[filipplord]

Dali Spektor 2 Black Ash 208,00 €
Pro-Ject Audio Primary E (Black) 229,00 €
YAMAHA R-N303D (Black) 332,95 €
Pro-Ject Phono Box E Black phono stage 79€
Thats the setup I got and it sounds awesome, with some extra 100$ you can also buy a really decent cd player of the used market!

 

[filipplord]

I started a thread on that subject, I got the impression that it was a bit of a lottery, I still have no idea what a good recording is, how to identify one or where to get them from, I just buy the artists I like and just hope that it is a great pressing of a great recording with nothing taken away (or added).

From what I can see an LP is now in excess of £20, bigger named artists seem to be around the £25 mark and anything resembling a double LP or collection is well over £30 and don’t get me started on ‘Collections’, so not cheap investments.

If anyone has a magic formula as to how to identify these ‘better pressings’ I am happy to learn.

What genre of music are you intrested in? I know for a fact that classical music's golden recordings are the 50s and early 60s where the mastering was amazing, nowdays the mastering of a vinyl doesnt really matter (on modern records that is) because you are paying a premium and the technology is at a point where digital music quality can be way better than the actual vinyl music quality therefore its way easier to convert, I think though that most people buy new records (and not used or second hand) in vinyl more for the warmness of the sound than the supperior sound quality... But there are certain labels that scream quality and great mastering (the red decca label is one of them for example) but in most cases its just trial and error especially for newer pressings

 

[Oxfordian]

What genre of music are you intrested in? I know for a fact that classical music's golden recordings are the 50s and early 60s where the mastering was amazing, nowdays the mastering of a vinyl doesnt really matter (on modern records that is) because you are paying a premium and the technology is at a point where digital music quality can be way better than the actual vinyl music quality therefore its way easier to convert, I think though that most people buy new records (and not used or second hand) in vinyl more for the warmness of the sound than the supperior sound quality... But there are certain labels that scream quality and great mastering (the red decca label is one of them for example) but in most cases its just trial and error especially for newer pressings

I am happy to listen to any type of music although, opera, club and heavy rap are not in my collection.

Currently enjoying jazz, blues and revisiting music from my formative years.

 

[filipplord]

I am happy to listen to any type of music although, opera, club and heavy rap are not in my collection.

Currently enjoying jazz, blues and revisiting music from my formative years.

Columbia is an easy way to go, but because of the nature of Jazz music, most people buy the records for the quality of the performance rather than the mastering, but then again Columbia still has some labels that are not that good... With old Jazz and Blues I heavily recommend buying them in a CD format because the dynamic range and the cleaner sound should really compliment them... Anyways if you are all in for the warmness of the sound of vinyl (as it is analog and therefore easier to listen to) then you porbably shouldnt care about the quality of the sound that much(?) it is proven that CD and Vinyl quality have noticable difference only to the trained (and I mean heavily trained) ear.

 

[insider9]

Only to a trained ear? I feel good about myself now. Feel very well trained 😂

 

[Deleted member 116933]

I started a thread on that subject, I got the impression that it was a bit of a lottery, I still have no idea what a good recording is, how to identify one or where to get them from, I just buy the artists I like and just hope that it is a great pressing of a great recording with nothing taken away (or added).

From what I can see an LP is now in excess of £20, bigger named artists seem to be around the £25 mark and anything resembling a double LP or collection is well over £30 and don’t get me started on ‘Collections’, so not cheap investments.

If anyone has a magic formula as to how to identify these ‘better pressings’ I am happy to learn.

Stick to what you’re doing. Don’t sweat the small details. As long as it hasn’t got scuffs, looks like someone has been at with sand paper and or packing is in good good nic buy away. Let’s face it if you’re after the best you’d be buying digital formats in bit rates as high as you can get them in.

Having said that, many of today’s digital recordings on vinyl are better than there cd counter parts due to the format needing a “lighter touch” . Daft punk RAM for example sounds Better on wax then digital. So does DJ shadows entroducing latest reissue.

If your after that special limited pressing you have to preorder months in advance so there is no research to be done. So the research comments just don’t come in to play for that kind of thing. By the time you’re hearing it those pressings have long since gone.

For some reason people talk about vinyl as though new pressing don’t exist and anything bought today is all rubbish and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

[Oxfordian]

Stick to what you’re doing. Don’t sweat the small details. As long as it hasn’t got scuffs, looks like someone has been at with sand paper and or packing is in good good nic buy away. Let’s face it if you’re after the best you’d be buying digital formats in bit rates as high as you can get them in.

Having said that, many of today’s digital recordings on vinyl are better than there cd counter parts due to the format needing a “lighter touch” . Daft punk RAM for example sounds Better on wax then digital. So does DJ shadows entroducing latest reissue.

If your after that special limited pressing you have to preorder months in advance so there is no research to be done. So the research comments just don’t come in to play for that kind of thing. By the time you’re hearing it those pressings have long since gone.

For some reason people talk about vinyl as though new pressing don’t exist and anything bought today is all rubbish and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

I have some new vinyl and it’s good, the more I look the more I find I like, it doesn’t take away that some pressings are poor but after a bit of research I am picking up some good stuff.

As for CD’s, well I buy them as well, vinyl tends to be those records that I missed from my youth or really want to own a copy whereas CD’s being much much cheaper can be a bit of an impulse buy. The combination of the CDT and Hegel amp makes for a great CD experience.

Limited pressings, order months in advance and pay huge sums of money, no that’s not for me. When I hear that some of these audiophile pressings are in excess of £100 for an LP, single or double disc, then I move on, plus I’m not sure my little RP3 would do it justice.