Minimal Hifi from scratch - based around Rega RP3

[rorycartmell]

Hi,

I'm a complete novice with HIFI equipment. Am interested in building a fairly minimal system around the Rega RP3. At the moment, I am considering the Rega Elicit-R with ATC SCM11's (new version). Hopefully keeping my budget under £2500 (excluding cables/stands etc). Looking to buy secondhand where possible.

I wondered if anybody has any suggesting of what setup could be better for this sort of price? Would be using the system to play a complete mixed bag of music, as I am a classical musician by profession, but listen to a wide variety of other material.

Thank you

 

[CnoEvil]

Welcome to the forum.

You should also listen to the Kef LS50s, which along with the SCM 11s, are probably (imo) the best 2 Standmounts around at the minute.

On the amp front, you should try to hear Croft, Sugden Mystro, Electro PI-1, Abrahamsen, Hegel H80 and Peachtree Nova 125. If you like the LS50s, it gives an extra £400 to go towards the amp.

The best advice I can give, is to keep an open mind and listen to as many brands as you can, before committing. Sometimes this hobby takes you in directions that you don't expect.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Welcome to the forum.

You should also listen to the Kef LS50s, which along with the SCM 11s, are probably (imo) the best 2 Standmounts around at the minute.

On the amp front, you should try to hear Croft, Sugden Mystro, Electro PI-1, Abrahamsen, Hegel H80 and Peachtree Nova 125. If you like the LS50s, it gives an extra £400 to go towards the amp.

The best advice I can give, is to keep an open mind and listen to as many brands as you can, before committing. Sometimes this hobby takes you in directions that you don't expect.

Apologies to the OP, but talking about best-sounding standmounters, have you heard the KEF reference 1's Cno?

I'm getting an itch.....

 

[CnoEvil]

Apologies to the OP, but talking about best-sounding standmounters, have you heard the KEF reference 1's Cno?

I'm getting an itch.....

No, but I would expect them to be a lot like the Ref 3s, that I described here: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/if-i-was-starting-again

From what I've gathered, they have great scale for a Standmount and are very impressive.

Review: http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/807-kef-reference-1-loudspeakers

If you get to here them, report back. I think they would work well with Devialet.

 

[rainsoothe]

Welcome to the forum.

You should also listen to the Kef LS50s, which along with the SCM 11s, are probably (imo) the best 2 Standmounts around at the minute.

On the amp front, you should try to hear Croft, Sugden Mystro, Electro PI-1, Abrahamsen, Hegel H80 and Peachtree Nova 125. If you like the LS50s, it gives an extra £400 to go towards the amp.

The best advice I can give, is to keep an open mind and listen to as many brands as you can, before committing. Sometimes this hobby takes you in directions that you don't expect.

+1 to everything he said. Also, OP, your Rega + ATC idea is a very good one, so audition that as well.

 

[matthewpiano]

Like you, I am a classical musician with a wide taste in music, so hopefully I can give some useful input.

The first thing I would say is, no matter what amplifier and speakers you go for, make sure you get the TT PSU and white belt uprgade for your RP3. These make a big difference to the performance of the RP3, particularly in terms of pitch stability and also in the solidity of the sound. I couldn't do without them now.

The Elicit-R is a wonderful amp, but is it slightly overkill for the RP3? In your position I could be tempted to try the Elicit-R with the RP3/TT-PSU/white belt and compare it against an Elex-R with the same turntable set-up.

As for speakers, ATC are always worth a listen. I would also recommend trying some Dynaudios. The DM2/6 and DM2/7 are both tremendous and perform well above their price-point, but you should also go up a level and try to hear something from the Excite range. Dyns work beautifully with Rega amplification. Dali would also be worth a listen - either the Mentor Menuet, or perhaps wait for something from the forthcoming Opticon range (replacing the Ikon Mk2s). These 3 brands are all different but one common thread joins them - musicality and involvement. Also, all 3 brands major on refinement across the frequency range.

 

[CnoEvil]

I somehow got into my head that you were looking at the Elex R, but with the Elicit R, that brings into play amps like Arcam A39, Pathos Classic One Mk 111, Creek Evo 100A and Electro ECI-3.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Apologies to the OP, but talking about best-sounding standmounters, have you heard the KEF reference 1's Cno?

I'm getting an itch.....

No, but I would expect them to be a lot like the Ref 3s, that I described here: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/if-i-was-starting-again

From what I've gathered, they have great scale for a Standmount and are very impressive.

Review: http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/807-kef-reference-1-loudspeakers

If you get to here them, report back. I think they would work well with Devialet.

I'm planning to have a listen next weekend and I'll be taking my 'SAM'd for KEF REF1's Devialet 200' with me. - I want to auditon some TT's too. (LP12 'Akurate spec' and an SME 20/3a).

 

[lindsayt]

Rory, £2500 seems like a crazily high amount to spend on a 2nd hand system with solid state amplification and small speakers.

Get something like Gromit's system from the Scalford hi-fi show for a total of around £1000. Sony PSX6750 turntable with a decent Moving Coil cartridge, Sony 770ES integrated amp, Royd speakers. There are hundreds of variations on this theme. It's all down to what you come across at what price and in what condition.

If you're happy to have huge speakers there are a few I could point you towards. If you want small speakers, Royds are about as good as any for your budget.

 

[rorycartmell]

Hi all,

Really appreciate all of your responses.

Lindsayt, I know it seems like a lot for a secondhand system, but I will be getting a lot more for my money than buying new.

Cnoevil, thank you for all of the amplifier options. Appreciate the Elicit-r seems like a bit overkill for the turntable, but from what I have read in several locations the ATC speakers want the extra watts!

Will look into those upgrades, Matthewpiano, but I might go with the standard turntable to start with and then upgrade later on so I can appreciate the difference!

Right....looks like I have my research cut out! Thank you very much everybody!

 

[rainsoothe]

oh, also - Roksan K3 - has them watts for the ATCs. Make sure you put Roksan K3 on your list as well.

 

[rorycartmell]

Matthewpiano, just had a look at your upgrade options. £220 for both, or an extra few hundred for the RP6 instead, which includes the power supply. Not sure which is a better option now. Anyone have any experience of how often these come up secondhand? The rp6 that is.

Also, at what point would the ATC speakers start to become the weak point? Obviously spending a lot on turntable and amp to put through speakers that aren't up to it is a waste. From what I have read though, I suspect they are still good speakers for the job.

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.

You should also listen to the Kef LS50s, which along with the SCM 11s, are probably (imo) the best 2 Standmounts around at the minute.

On the amp front, you should try to hear Croft, Sugden Mystro, Electro PI-1, Abrahamsen, Hegel H80 and Peachtree Nova 125. If you like the LS50s, it gives an extra £400 to go towards the amp.

The best advice I can give, is to keep an open mind and listen to as many brands as you can, before committing. Sometimes this hobby takes you in directions that you don't expect.

+1 to everything he said. Also, OP, your Rega + ATC idea is a very good one, so audition that as well.

+1 again but I think the OP mentioned second hand if possible and is unlikely to find the new ATC speakers that way. Ex demo maybe. He would need an amp with a phono stage inbuilt to save money on buying another box so that excludes the Hegel and others mentioned.

I'd add Creek to that list.

 

[rorycartmell]

Welcome to the forum.

You should also listen to the Kef LS50s, which along with the SCM 11s, are probably (imo) the best 2 Standmounts around at the minute.

On the amp front, you should try to hear Croft, Sugden Mystro, Electro PI-1, Abrahamsen, Hegel H80 and Peachtree Nova 125. If you like the LS50s, it gives an extra £400 to go towards the amp.

The best advice I can give, is to keep an open mind and listen to as many brands as you can, before committing. Sometimes this hobby takes you in directions that you don't expect.

+1 to everything he said. Also, OP, your Rega + ATC idea is a very good one, so audition that as well.

+1 again but I think the OP mentioned second hand if possible and is unlikely to find the new ATC speakers that way. Ex demo maybe. He would need an amp with a phono stage inbuilt to save money on buying another box so that excludes the Hegel and others mentioned.

I'd add Creek to that list.

I THINK, i have the speakers secondhand. They date to 2013 which make them the latest version of the SCM11 I believe? I'm going to jump on them I think!

Thanks for mentioning the phonostage, I shall keep an eye out to make sure any amps I consider include that! I hear the Rega amps have particularly good phono stages but I won't rule out the others before hearing them.

 

[lindsayt]

If we're looking at 2nd hand, solid state, small speakers, there's a reasonable chance that someone like Gromit can put together a better sounding system for £1000 than a hi-fi newbie can for £2500 or £5000 2nd hand. Simply because he's had a lot of practise at it and his system has gone through a lot of survival of the fittest iterations.

So, why reinvent the wheel? Why not copy what someone else has done very successfully?

Also, spending more than £1000 on a 2nd hand hi-fi system might make sense if you prefer valves or huge speakers. If you prefer 2nd hand solid state and small speakers, diminishing returns cut in big time at £1000 (if you know what you're doing or know someone that knows what they're doing).

 

[Covenanter]

What I find odd is that a classical musician would think that a system based on a TT is a sensible idea! Classical CDs are generally excellent and all you get from vinyl is distortion.

Chris

 

[lpv]

I find odd people buy and listen CD's let alone vinyl

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.

You should also listen to the Kef LS50s, which along with the SCM 11s, are probably (imo) the best 2 Standmounts around at the minute.

On the amp front, you should try to hear Croft, Sugden Mystro, Electro PI-1, Abrahamsen, Hegel H80 and Peachtree Nova 125. If you like the LS50s, it gives an extra £400 to go towards the amp.

The best advice I can give, is to keep an open mind and listen to as many brands as you can, before committing. Sometimes this hobby takes you in directions that you don't expect.

+1 to everything he said. Also, OP, your Rega + ATC idea is a very good one, so audition that as well.

+1 again but I think the OP mentioned second hand if possible and is unlikely to find the new ATC speakers that way. Ex demo maybe. He would need an amp with a phono stage inbuilt to save money on buying another box so that excludes the Hegel and others mentioned.

I'd add Creek to that list.

I THINK, i have the speakers secondhand. They date to 2013 which make them the latest version of the SCM11 I believe? I'm going to jump on them I think!

Thanks for mentioning the phonostage, I shall keep an eye out to make sure any amps I consider include that! I hear the Rega amps have particularly good phono stages but I won't rule out the others before hearing them.

The new SCM11 are curved and have a metal honeycomb grille. The old ones were rectangular with cloth grille. I think in 2013 both were still available.

 

[chebby]

I find odd people buy and listen CD's let alone vinyl

That's not important to someone asking for a turntable based system.

 

[Al ears]

I find odd people buy and listen CD's let alone vinyl

That's not important to someone asking for a turntable based system.

Agreed. Totally irrelevant to this thread as is a previous post (Covenanter). It's amazing the number of people on this forum now who use it as their personal soapbox instead of trying to assist others by answering their questions.

 

[rich51080]

I would go for a complete Rega system with Rega RS1 or RS5 speakers with the Elicit-R

Would be awesome and they would complement each component well.

And it gives you an option of getting an Apollo or Saturn cd player down the line.

regards

Rich

 

[Covenanter]

I find odd people buy and listen CD's let alone vinyl

That's not important to someone asking for a turntable based system.

Agreed. Totally irrelevant to this thread as is a previous post (Covenanter). It's amazing the number of people on this forum now who use it as their personal soapbox instead of trying to assist others by answering their questions.

The OP was looking for advice on setting up a system from scratch. He has apparently decided that the source should be a TT. I suggested that he might be wrong. What is bad about that? I don't have an axe to grind. His actions won't affect me. However, I think it is constructive advice from one classical music lover to another to suggest that a digital source would be better. If he were a "pop" music lover, given what others have posted here about the quality of "pop" CDs, I might not make the suggestion.

Chris

 

[matthewpiano]

Matthewpiano, just had a look at your upgrade options. £220 for both, or an extra few hundred for the RP6 instead, which includes the power supply. Not sure which is a better option now. Anyone have any experience of how often these come up secondhand? The rp6 that is.

Also, at what point would the ATC speakers start to become the weak point? Obviously spending a lot on turntable and amp to put through speakers that aren't up to it is a waste. From what I have read though, I suspect they are still good speakers for the job.

I was under the impression you already had the RP3. If you haven't, go for the RP6 instead. The upgrades are a great buy and improvement if you already have an RP3, but as you clearly haven't bought on yet, I'd recommend you go for the RP6 instead.

 

[richardw42]

I mostly frequent the AVI forum and there are some turntable users there. The Technics SL12xx seems to be the TT of choice, over the Regas. Obviously they are older, but invest in a good refurbished one. Have a look at the Nostalgia section of the forum. When it comes to pre amps and the like, NJC always gets a good mention.

A pre amp like this May open up active speakers to add to your list.

 

[radiorog]

oh, also - Roksan K3 - has them watts for the ATCs. Make sure you put Roksan K3 on your list as well.

+1 , as well as the rega amps.