Vinyl setup for ~£600?

[TMortin]

Does anyone think that the OP is regretting asking the question yet?

I must admit that its overwhelming and somewhat confusing to somebody new to the whole thing when everybody has a different opinion. I suppose that is the nature of forums though.

An issue I'm having is that some of these products are only available in certain stores, none of which are any where near where I live (Newcastle) so I might not be able to demo many of these suggestions. This wouldn't be such a problem but Richer Sounds seems to be a hell of a lot cheaper than most, so unless I can order over the phone and have them delivered, I'm not sure what to do really..

The Marantz PM6004 seems like a great deal from Richer Sounds at 169 but it appears to be only available from certain stores. A shame becasue its well over £200 from everywhere else. Other comparable amps at this price point?

 

[DIB]

A quick glance at the Lintone Audio website would suggest that you could put together a nice system there. Have you been in therefor a look?

.

 

[stevebrock]

A quick glance at the Lintone Audio website would suggest that you could put together a nice system there. Have you been in therefor a look?

.

Bang on!!

 

[TMortin]

A quick glance at the Lintone Audio website would suggest that you could put together a nice system there. Have you been in therefor a look?

.

Life saver Cheers, I'm having a look now.

 

[CnoEvil]

Sarcasm noted, thank you.

I was offering an alternative opinion for the OP to consider. That's allowed I take it? As for me putting together an alternative system - I don't think so since I haven't had a turntable or vinyl for 25 years and wouldn't consider ever going back to such outdated technology when digital is so much better technically. But that's another current hot thread.

The sarcasm was in response to your comment dismissively referring to my suggestion as "madness"....and which in all likelihood, was made with little or no knowledge as to how it would have sounded.

It is possible to put your point of view, without disparaging that of others......FWIW. I'm all for people giving relevant suggestions.

 

[stevebrock]

A quick glance at the Lintone Audio website would suggest that you could put together a nice system there. Have you been in therefor a look?

.

Life saver Cheers, I'm having a look now.

Get yourself in there physically and listen to some systems

They are a Rega dealer, get him to demo Brio R and RP1 and try loads of speakers

 

[DIB]

I've bought a few items online from Lintone over the years including my Creek amp, and they have been an excellent company to deal with.

.

 

[alienmango]

Personally I think spending £4-500 / £600 is madness for the amp (assuming you can't stretch).

Get an arcam alpha 9/10 +nad c370/c350/352/372 - will be similar to the brio in quality (some a bit better, some worse, all subjective).

Alternately get hte recommended new yamaha amp recommeded earlier.

Turntable I have no idea, not my thing.

Forget the 9.0's, get 9.1's (new £100) at the least, great value, or whatever you can stretch to. (9.0's are great value but 9.1 are worth the extra, for a £600 system 9.0's won't do justice).

The way I see it £200 for amp (ish) - alpha 10 may be a bit more, same for nad c372 and the yamaha.

£200 for a turntable?

£150-£250 for speakers. Diamond 9.1's will be under budget then.

Rega brio is fine if you stretch to £7-800 or so.

 

[PAULCHRISTOPHER]

I am a firm believer in that if you want three things you spend a third of your money on each item. So I would suggest Project Essential 2 turntable. Marantz PM6004 amplifier and Q Acoustics 2020i speakers. With a bit of shopping around they they should be about budget. The PM6004 has a good phono stage and works well with QA speakers. If you had any money over you could put it to a cartridge update.

 

[CnoEvil]

Personally I think spending £4-500 / £600 is madness for the amp (assuming you can't stretch).

Turntable I have no idea, not my thing.

Forget the 9.0's, get 9.1's (new £100) at the least, great value, or whatever you can stretch to. (9.0's are great value but 9.1 are worth the extra, for a £600 system 9.0's won't do justice).

The way I see it £200 for amp (ish) - alpha 10 may be a bit more, same for nad c372 and the yamaha.

£200 for a turntable?

£150-£250 for speakers. Diamond 9.1's will be under budget then.

Rega brio is fine if you stretch to £7-800 or so.

It's not madness, but a (reasonable) difference of opinion....ie. where £100 (now £40) speakers sound better being driven by a more capable amp, than £180 (now £100) speakers, being driven by an amp at half the value.

The fact that there is a TT involved, means a good built-in phono stage will make a big difference.

If the budget wasn't so tight, the 9.1s are worth the extra, just not at the expense of the amp / phono stage (IMO).

 

[pauln]

Sarcasm noted, thank you.

I was offering an alternative opinion for the OP to consider. That's allowed I take it? As for me putting together an alternative system - I don't think so since I haven't had a turntable or vinyl for 25 years and wouldn't consider ever going back to such outdated technology when digital is so much better technically. But that's another current hot thread.

The sarcasm was in response to your comment dismissively referring to my suggestion as "madness"....and which in all likelihood, was made with little or no knowledge as to how it would have sounded.

It is possible to put your point of view, without disparaging that of others......FWIW. I'm all for people giving relevant suggestions.

Personally I think spending £4-500 / £600 is madness for the amp

Sorry, can't help laughing.

 

[CnoEvil]

Sorry, can't help laughing.

Why?

Some people on the first page agree with me, and a couple agreed with you after that.

The funny side of this thread, is the helping of the OP by not giving any suggestions, due to vinyl being so outdated. It kind of begs the question..... :?

 

[Al ears]

Personally I think spending £4-500 / £600 is madness for the amp (assuming you can't stretch).

Turntable I have no idea, not my thing.

Forget the 9.0's, get 9.1's (new £100) at the least, great value, or whatever you can stretch to. (9.0's are great value but 9.1 are worth the extra, for a £600 system 9.0's won't do justice).

The way I see it £200 for amp (ish) - alpha 10 may be a bit more, same for nad c372 and the yamaha.

£200 for a turntable?

£150-£250 for speakers. Diamond 9.1's will be under budget then.

Rega brio is fine if you stretch to £7-800 or so.

It's not madness, but a (reasonable) difference of opinion....ie. where £100 (now £40) speakers sound better being driven by a more capable amp, than £180 (now £100) speakers, being driven by an amp at half the value.

The fact that there is a TT involved, means a good built-in phono stage will make a big difference.

If the budget wasn't so tight, the 9.1s are worth the extra, just not at the expense of the amp / phono stage (IMO).

Although it goes against my normal format (source first, speakers next) with the OP's limited budget I can only agree that an amp with a half-decent phono stage is a prerequisite here, and I can think of none better than the Rega if buying new / ex-demo. Ultimately the difference between 9.0 and 9.1 speakers is not going to be that great allowing more funds to be channelled into the amp. Once the amp and front end are sorted the OP should have the ability to find speakersthat are better and possibly more suited to room layout at a later date when funds allow.

 

[alienmango]

If it were my money I'd source a second hand pair of monitor audio rs6's £(300 ish) with an arcam alpha 9/nad c370 (£200).

Then get a cheap turntable. For £100 or less.

But then everyone would disagree with that.....

Personally if I spent £600 on a new hifi and came back with some £40 small bookshelves I'd be massively dissapointed.

 

[pauln]

Sorry, can't help laughing.

Why?

Some people on the first page agree with me, and a couple agreed with you after that.

The funny side of this thread, is the helping of the OP by not giving any suggestions, due to vinyl being so outdated. It kind of begs the question..... :?

Well, it's because you had such a prickley reaction to my use of the word "madness". The word was used for emphasis more than anything else. I was going to use "ludicrous" but thought that was maybe too much.

The real madness is of course the resurgence of interest in vinyl. I like this paragraph from Alan Shaw:

If we make a recording using impeccable equipment, whether digital or analogue (although all first division recording engineers would obviously choose digital for its demonstrable lack of hiss, harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion and 1000 times wider dynamic range) and we cut a vinyl record and also a CD from that same, unaltered master; and we played them side by side on the world's finest replay equipment - cost no object - we would notice a couple of things just by listening with average ears ...

1. Vinyl sounded 'warmer' at the bottom and less 'toppy'

2. Digital sounded 'brighter'

But see the problem? One of those two mediums has, without our consent, modified the replay experience. It has reinterpreted what was on the digital master tape. Now, it's entirely legitimate, in the interests of art, to paint a picture or take a photograph of the same scene. One is an interpretation, the other is an objective fact. Both can co-exist, happily. But in a court of law, under objective scrutiny, only one is a universal truth.

Please can we always keep in mind when comparing (any) analogue with digital, that like it or not, one is a painting and one a photograph.

But hey, most people hang paintings on their walls - fewer hang photographs. Probably a lot of people prefer the artists impression to the unvarnished truth. Same would apply to hifi?

 

[CnoEvil]

Personally if I spent £600 on a new hifi and came back with some £40 small bookshelves I'd be massively dissapointed.

I'll say it again......they are £100 speakers that have been discounted......and you'd only be disappointed due expectation bias. :shifty:

If going second hand, the game changes, and I agree with your choice.

 

[chebby]

Sorry, can't help laughing.

Why?

Some people on the first page agree with me, and a couple agreed with you after that.

The funny side of this thread, is the helping of the OP by not giving any suggestions, due to vinyl being so outdated. It kind of begs the question..... :?

Well, it's because you had such a prickley reaction to my use of the word "madness". The word was used for emphasis more than anything else. I was going to use "ludicrous" but thought that was maybe too much.

The real madness is of course the resurgence of interest in vinyl. I like this paragraph from Alan Shaw:

If we make a recording using impeccable equipment, whether digital or analogue (although all first division recording engineers would obviously choose digital for its demonstrable lack of hiss, harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion and 1000 times wider dynamic range) and we cut a vinyl record and also a CD from that same, unaltered master; and we played them side by side on the world's finest replay equipment - cost no object - we would notice a couple of things just by listening with average ears ...

1. Vinyl sounded 'warmer' at the bottom and less 'toppy'

2. Digital sounded 'brighter'

But see the problem? One of those two mediums has, without our consent, modified the replay experience. It has reinterpreted what was on the digital master tape. Now, it's entirely legitimate, in the interests of art, to paint a picture or take a photograph of the same scene. One is an interpretation, the other is an objective fact. Both can co-exist, happily. But in a court of law, under objective scrutiny, only one is a universal truth.

Please can we always keep in mind when comparing (any) analogue with digital, that like it or not, one is a painting and one a photograph.

But hey, most people hang paintings on their walls - fewer hang photographs. Probably a lot of people prefer the artists impression to the unvarnished truth. Same would apply to hifi?

I respect a lot of what Alan Shaw says, but on this occasion the only point he proves is that he knows little about photography and less about art.

 

[alienmango]

Personally if I spent £600 on a new hifi and came back with some £40 small bookshelves I'd be massively dissapointed.

I'll say it again......they are £100 speakers that have been discounted......and you'd only be disappointed due expectation bias. :shifty:

If going second hand, the game changes, and I agree with your choice.

I'd happily use diamond 9.0's as rears in a much more expensive 5.1 system....As stereo I don't think they offer onough bass/reach their limits too quickly. Depends on what the OP is going for.

Crossed over at 80 hz or used at low-moderate levels I think they are the new hifi bargin of the centuary at £40. I'd still recommend 9.1's though.

 

[CnoEvil]

Well, it's because you had such a prickley reaction to my use of the word "madness". The word was used for emphasis more than anything else. I was going to use "ludicrous" but thought that was maybe too much.

Your comment came across as disingenuous, so I reacted accordingly. ....such is the joy of forums, that intentions don't fully come across.

:cheers:

 

[alienmango]

ignore...tried to edit my miss-spell of century.....technology confuses me

 

[pauln]

I respect a lot of what Alan Shaw says, but on this occasion the only point he proves is that he knows little about photography and less about art.

Can you tell us why?

 

[CnoEvil]

I'd happily use diamond 9.0's as rears in a much more expensive 5.1 system....As stereo I don't think they offer onough bass/reach their limits too quickly. Depends on what the OP is going for.

Crossed over at 80 hz or used at low-moderate levels I think they are the new hifi bargin of the centuary at £40. I'd still recommend 9.1's though.

The £600 budget looms small, and if buying new, something has to give......if there was a little more in the kitty, I think we would be much more in agreement.

 

[CnoEvil]

ignore...tried to edit my miss-spell of century.....technology confuses me

:rofl:

....Done!

Was that the miss-spelling of the Centuary? :shifty:

Edit. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

[chebby]

I respect a lot of what Alan Shaw says, but on this occasion the only point he proves is that he knows little about photography and less about art.

Can you tell us why?

Only with a camera and imagination and the right light and a subject that inspires the desire to try in the first place. I would have to try and explain why I have been known to stand in a field for hours, in the cold (and sometimes rain) just to see if the right light / clouds / shadows might happen and I can go home with something I might like.

"Factual", "objective", or something that can be presented in a court of law as a "universal truth" are the furthest things from my mind when I take a photograph. I think Alan Shaw is thinking of forensic photography or reportage or sports photography.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Does anyone think that the OP is regretting asking the question yet?

I must admit that its overwhelming and somewhat confusing to somebody new to the whole thing when everybody has a different opinion. I suppose that is the nature of forums though.

An issue I'm having is that some of these products are only available in certain stores, none of which are any where near where I live (Newcastle) so I might not be able to demo many of these suggestions. This wouldn't be such a problem but Richer Sounds seems to be a hell of a lot cheaper than most, so unless I can order over the phone and have them delivered, I'm not sure what to do really..

The Marantz PM6004 seems like a great deal from Richer Sounds at 169 but it appears to be only available from certain stores. A shame becasue its well over £200 from everywhere else. Other comparable amps at this price point?

Just thought I'd remind everyone of the OP and his thoughts and requirements, and I don't think he's looking for a new camera or painting to hang on his wall.