Question Suggestions for foundational parts of a longer term vinyl setup

[RTHerringbone]

Thanks guys. I have a loose plan now which will be spread over (at least) several months - more likely a couple of years.

I'm going to demo some speakers at the local Richer Sounds in the coming weeks. I'm setting myself a budget of ~£1,000 per component now as that feels like it should be enough of a jump from my current kit and if that extra spend doesn't produce audible results, then I'll stick with what I have. Taking on board the above, I need to move on from reading about and watching reviews, to plonking myself down in front of stuff and listening to it.

I'm going speakers first largely from a political perspective - my wife won't be as annoyed if I replace kit that she knows is 15+ years old. I've earmarked the KEF LS50 Meta and B&W 707 S3's as my two contenders, having read and watched about a number of options roughly around that price point. My amp should just about have enough grunt to drive them and IF there's an audible improvement then that leaves the door open for me to upgrade to a more powerful amp when the dust settles. I notice that Sevenoaks bundle my amp with these speakers so hopefully that implies they're not a woeful mismatch.

Happy for any suggestions about other speakers to audition, and any feedback as to whether or not the general plan is in the wrong order etc.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks guys. I have a loose plan now which will be spread over (at least) several months - more likely a couple of years.

I'm going to demo some speakers at the local Richer Sounds in the coming weeks. I'm setting myself a budget of ~£1,000 per component now as that feels like it should be enough of a jump from my current kit and if that extra spend doesn't produce audible results, then I'll stick with what I have. Taking on board the above, I need to move on from reading about and watching reviews, to plonking myself down in front of stuff and listening to it.

I'm going speakers first largely from a political perspective - my wife won't be as annoyed if I replace kit that she knows is 15+ years old. I've earmarked the KEF LS50 Meta and B&W 707 S3's as my two contenders, having read and watched about a number of options roughly around that price point. My amp should just about have enough grunt to drive them and IF there's an audible improvement then that leaves the door open for me to upgrade to a more powerful amp when the dust settles. I notice that Sevenoaks bundle my amp with these speakers so hopefully that implies they're not a woeful mismatch.

Happy for any suggestions about other speakers to audition, and any feedback as to whether or not the general plan is in the wrong order etc.

Sounds like a plan. There are other speakers I could suggest but it all depends on whether or not you can actually audition them, and that's the problem for many.

 

[RTHerringbone]

When I audition stuff at Richer Sounds, I have an issue - they don't stock Rega at all and they don't stock the WiiM Mini either. I'm not lugging my stuff there as I'll be going on the train.

I am now intending to audition speakers AND amps because I'm like that. Is it too simplistic to hope / assume that if I audition those components alongside a budget CD player as a source, that I'll be hearing the combined influence of the amp / speakers rather more than any flavour the CD player might add (it seems unlikely to add much influence?), and that those sound characteristics should be retained if / when I buy these components and get them home to my sources?

 

[Al ears]

When I audition stuff at Richer Sounds, I have an issue - they don't stock Rega at all and they don't stock the WiiM Mini either. I'm not lugging my stuff there as I'll be going on the train.

I am now intending to audition speakers AND amps because I'm like that. Is it too simplistic to hope / assume that if I audition those components alongside a budget CD player as a source, that I'll be hearing the combined influence of the amp / speakers rather more than any flavour the CD player might add (it seems unlikely to add much influence?), and that those sound characteristics should be retained if / when I buy these components and get them home to my sources?

Ultimately, when you audition a system, the main components you really need to audition, preferably at home, are the source and the speakers. The amplifier assuming it has sufficient power to drive the speakers, is not critical.