My Budget Set Up

[kramer2020]

On a budget and yes its an Audio Technica ...its not that bad honest 😀

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Looks good, I am not quite sure what you TV is though and do you have a Blu-Ray player and which speakers are those? Thanks

 

[kramer2020]

Looks good, I am not quite sure what you TV is though and do you have a Blu-Ray player and which speakers are those? Thanks

TV: Panasonic TX-55FX700B
4K player: Panasonic DMP-UB400 (on top of CD player)
Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond 230's

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

And Thunderbird 2 - by far and away the coolest of the Thunderbirds!

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Nowt wrong with AT. Nice set-up Kramer 👍

 

[kramer2020]

Nowt wrong with AT. Nice set-up Kramer 👍

Thanks, the AT has had open heart surgery and had its preamp removed together with the useless (to me) vinyl ripping hardware so that it can feed directly in to my Cambridge 551P.

To be honest I never gave the AT's onboard preamp a fair go and I think I was too easily influenced by some online forum's dislike all things AT and it's alleged inferiority.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

The AT is fine for its intended use. However, personally I'd never go for a turntable with an internal pre-amp if I had no need or use for it. A good checklist prior to purchase is to look for things you need from a TT, if a pre-amp and USB connections are not required then why purchase a TT with them.

Not having a go at you Kramer so don't take this post the wrong way. It's meant in a general kinda way.

 

[kramer2020]

No offence taken, I wanted a DD turntable and the AT was in my price range at the time.

Obviously I could have gone for the kudos of a second hand Technics but they can be pricey for a 20 year+ TT.

On my wish list is the new Technics 1500C, which apparently has a very decent built in preamp and while I like my CA 551P it would be nice to have less connector clutter.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

What's the phono like in the Yamaha? The Japanese usually put decent stages in their amps.

 

[kramer2020]

What's the phono like in the Yamaha? The Japanese usually put decent stages in their amps.

Its not bad when I've used it and a lot less noisy (and less gain obviously) when I occasionally fall out of love with my 551P, although touch wood I think its behaving itself at the moment.

One thing I've noticed about the ground lug on the Yamaha is that it causes less hum than the 551P's ground, so at the moment the AT is connected to 551P and grounded to my Yamaha.

Edit: I've just clocked your system line up and its very nice, although your pioneer PLX 1000 piqued my interest and just wondered how it found its way into what I would consider an audiophile setup.

Don't get me wrong I think it's a very nice TT and the pioneer would be my second choice after the Technics 1500C.

 

[jjbomber]

And Thunderbird 2 - by far and away the coolest of the Thunderbirds!

Absolutely. You never quite knew what was going to come out of the pod. A bit like Christmas Day when you have one present that you just can't quite guess.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The folding palm trees etc - just wow!

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Edit: I've just clocked your system line up and its very nice, although your pioneer PLX 1000 piqued my interest and just wondered how it found its way into what I would consider an audiophile setup.

Don't get me wrong I think it's a very nice TT and the pioneer would be my second choice after the Technics 1500C.

Let's get one thing straight, I ain't no audiophile 🙂 I just like music 👍

The Pioneer was part of my upgrade path, I just haven't off-loaded it yet. It replaced and bested a Project DC Carbon and I fancied a DD turntable. As a turntable it's okay but as a Hanpin deck it's full of poor build quality. When I saw the Marantz TT going for a good price it was a no brainer, plus I'm a little anal and like matching kit.

Don't read too much into the signature as the Ruby's are recent purchases. Started on this trek upwards about 8 years ago and I'm almost where I want to be, next stop retirement in about 4 years.