Will this Work? (Turntable, amp & Speakers)

[DerekAJ]

 

[DerekAJ]

My above post is blank? Lets try again.

5 week lurker, 1st post...well, 2nd now, hello.

I've bought a set up that is mainly for Vinyl, although, I will be buying a CD Seperate for Live and other stuff e.t.c

In the last 5 weeks, I've bought, the Project Essential II Turntable Brand New. Q Acosutics 2020i Brand New.
The end of last week, I bought the Rotel RA01 (2nd hand) as i save for the Marantz PM6004.

Parcelforce 48 again isnt 48 hours, but my amp should be here tomorrow.

Think I'm good to go may I ask? Know you guys know your stuff as I've read Loads here!

🙂

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes your system should be just fine, with some speaker cable of course. 🙂

Have you got some sort of stands for your speakers?

 

[BigH]

It should do, I presume you have some cables to connect it together.

 

[DerekAJ]

I don't have room for speaker stands. I've set them up ready on a large TV Unit. about 1m and a half distance between (same level) as close to walls. I've out the padding in the back of the Q's to do with the bass, but I'll know more once its all powered up 🙂

I have Strand79 Cable, which is all cut and measured for the two speakers and amp

 

[BigH]

Well it should work but speakers may need some isolation from the unit, but see how it goes first.

Something like this: Auralex MoPADs

Will you have the Turntable on the same unit?

 

[DerekAJ]

Turntable & Amp will be on my chest of draws. and the speakers are on the TV Unit...

What I meant was, will it sound good?

I've spent the best part of £500 on this 🙂

 

[BigH]

Turntable & Amp will be on my chest of draws. and the speakers are on the TV Unit... What I meant was, will it sound good? I've spent the best part of £500 on this 🙂

Only you can answer that.

Think it will sound better with proper stands or if not then some isolation foam. To be honest £500 is not a lot on hifi these days, I even spend £800 20 years ago on a fairly budget system.

 

[davedotco]

Turntable & Amp will be on my chest of draws. and the speakers are on the TV Unit... What I meant was, will it sound good? I've spent the best part of £500 on this 🙂

Only you can answer that.

Think it will sound better with proper stands or if not then some isolation foam. To be honest £500 is not a lot on hifi these days, I even spend £800 20 years ago on a fairly budget system.

Honestly, no not really........... :silenced:

Horribly compromised in terms of speaker placement and putting a turntable with no suspension on what is likely to be a fairly heavy chest of draws will cause yet more problems.

If you are lucky you will be able to get reasonable sound at modest levels but even that will depend on your definition of 'resonable'.

Did you consult a dealer befor parting with your money?

Edit. Or even the spelling of 'reasonable'.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

ddc, on a concrete floor that may work, especially if it's an old fashioned, solidly constructed sideboard.

A wall shelf is always a better idea for solid plinth turntables, however

 

[audioaddict]

dont be too disheartened .yeah if you had space for stands etc and a hifi rack but if not then your system should still sound ok .....try and isolate the speakers a bit though

 

[Joshuamessenger]

I would say that Davids words are a little harsh, but better speaker placement would help being further apart from one another and further away from wall.

I'm sure you will love that little bit of quality equipment you have brought and get the hi-fi bug of spending more on better stuff

Good luck with your kit

 

[BigH]

Well speakers 5 feet apart is not too bad but depends how far away you will be in the listening position.

 

[davedotco]

ddc, on a concrete floor that may work, especially if it's an old fashioned, solidly constructed sideboard.

A wall shelf is always a better idea for solid plinth turntables, however

Evening Al, perhaps it is my turn to ask if you take any account of sound quality........ :?

It may work after a fashion but in my experience probably not very well. There are plenty of variables here but many years of experience with Project and (similar construction) Rega players suggest that there is no reasonable expectation of good sound quality in such a set up.

It will be very susceptible to bass feedback, made even worse by the poor position of the speakers so for me simply is not a viable setup.

 

[davedotco]

I would say that Davids words are a little harsh, but better speaker placement would help being further apart from one another and further away from wall. I'm sure you will love that little bit of quality equipment you have brought and get the hi-fi bug of spending more on better stuff Good luck with your kit

Actually I moderated my views somewhat in an attempt to be polite. There is nothing wrong with the equipment, it is fine for what it is, but setting up a record playing system in that way is largely a waste of money in my view.

Of course it depends on expectations and that is very personal but for that system to perform anything remotely close to its capabilities the OP would have to completely rethink his setup choice.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

For christ's sake, ddc, some of us have no choice! Your high falutin theories are fine, but some of us live in the real world, which is all about compromise. My system isn't ideally placed, but, frankly, I have no f**kin' choice. I still enjoy it, which is, after all, the point.

 

[DerekAJ]

I've written a post, but it disappeared! Yet again!

The post was something like..

I bought the speakers and turntable on recommendations and for what I have the Rotel will power everything quite nice.

The problems is guys, I live in a box room, which is tiny.

The main wall is 8 foot maximum, and its by around 4ft width and there is a bed in here too.

Between my bed and tv unit, there is less than a foot to walk in.

I do have limitations here...I'm sorry.

I appreciate the good intentions.

This is my 1st system too, and I can grow into this as my financial issues get better e.t.c

 

[BigH]

I've written a post, but it disappeared! Yet again! The post was something like.. I bought the speakers and turntable on recommendations and for what I have the Rotel will power everything quite nice. The problems is guys, I live in a box room, which is tiny. The main wall is 8 foot maximum, and its by around 3ft width and there is a bed in here too. Between my bed and tv unit, there is less than a foot to walk in. I do have limitations here...I'm sorry. I appreciate the good intentions. This is my 1st system too, and I can grow into this as my financial issues get better e.t.c

So your room is 8 x 3?

Could you wall mount the speakers?

Rooms are a major factor on systems something that is not mentioned enough, far more effect than cables which seem to take about 50% of this forum.

 

[DerekAJ]

Its more like 4ft..I edited.

Yes, there is space on the TV side wall. Height would be around 6ft off the ground maximum as above that, there are cupboards.

But, from floor to max height is 6ft high, also, 8 ft of width to use...

 

[Al ears]

I feel I must concur with davedotco on this one.
The OP has obviously spent what, to him, is a reasonable amount of money on a system and then asked if it was OK.
A bit late for that I feel.
However it is obvious his set-up in the way of 'support' is not ideal and could be bettered.
I am wondering where he is trying to set it up if he does not have room for speaker stands.
I am sure it will be down to the OP as to whether or not the sound is acceptable. He will just have to suck it and see. Just as long as he is aware that it could sound 'better' if it were better placed / supported.
(this was posted before the two posts above were seen)

 

[davedotco]

For christ's sake, ddc, some of us have no choice! Your high falutin theories are fine, but some of us live in the real world, which is all about compromise. My system isn't ideally placed, but, frankly, I have no f**kin' choice. I still enjoy it, which is, after all, the point.

The question was, will that system, set up as described sound good? The answer, by any objective standards, is NO.

If the question had been about getting a reasonable sound for vinyl playback in a very small room then that would be very different.

Getting a record player to work in difficult circumstances is a real challenge, wall mounting the player might be help a lot but it is not a cure all. Speaker separation is not a big issue but mounting them on furniture is, especially in a small room.

Given the space available there really is no easy solution here, it is largely a case of damage limitation, the interaction (acoustic feedback) between player, speakers and room is the issue and it is hard to see what can be done. Not using vinyl would make a big difference but I guess this is not an option.

Assuming you are going ahead, try and get the player wall mounted and try whatever you can to 'decouple' the speakers from the unit they are sitting on and you might well get something you find listenable, but be under no illusion, your system will be delivering well below it's capabilities.

 

[DerekAJ]

Thank You, I understand what You are saying and I am grateful...

Please may I ask a basic question (which I think I have right) but being as I'm here, it can't cause no harm.

The Rotel Ra01 (which I've seen from pics) has a speaker a bank and speaker b bank for bi wiring.

Do I just use Speaker A bank? (as I'm not bi-wiring)

Thank You.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

You are wrong, ddc. Despite the compromises you can get excellent, if not optimal, sound, though I doubt many of us approach optimal sound, including yourself. what you say seems a bit close to hifi snobbism to me. We all have to compromise, so let's make the best of it rather than decrying (if that's the word) our attempts.

 

[oiche]

The comments about placement are well advised. I also have tight space issues and an even tighter budget. I have a project genie mk3 deck, marantz 6002 amp, dali lektors (on stands) with decent connectors and it sounds bright and clear. If you make the best of what you have with some practical arrangement you can achieve decent enough results.

 

[davedotco]

The comments about placement are well advised. I also have tight space issues and an even tighter budget. I have a project genie mk3 deck, marantz 6002 amp, dali lektors (on stands) with decent connectors and it sounds bright and clear. If you make the best of what you have with some practical arrangement you can achieve decent enough results.

The 'arrangements' are very much the key here. Dali Lectors on stands will be pretty tight and a hugely prefereable to the OP's proposed setup and this in itself will make a big difference. The issue with the OP's system is the transmission of low frequency enargy through the furniture and structure of the room and this will muddy up the sound.

To solve this you need to isolate the source of the energy, the speakers, from the player. Proper speaker stands are the way to do this but if they are not possible then you need to find a way of 'de-coupling' the speakers from the room. Remember, the frequencies you need to worry about are low frequencies so soft or resilient feet on the speakers are unlikely to do the job, best bet would be spikes or cones, downward facing onto the furniture.

Ideally the record player should be wall mounted, a purpose built stand is best, the Apollo being the cheapest effective one I know but there are others, some rather better, some not. If that is out of the question, then see if you can get an isolation platform, again spiked to the chest of drawers,

This might sound excessive but in my experience makes a big difference, it is up to you of course, advice is free, make of it what you will.