Advice needed on setup and equipment

[ScottypB]

I am looking for advice regarding my current setup. Since I am Fairly new to listening to vinyls I’ve got most of my components handed down from family. I have tried to research each component for reviews and quality but I’ve found there’s a lot more to it than the information I am getting.
I currently have :
JVC JL-A20 turntable
Luxman L-110 integrated amp
JBL MRV308 speakers

I’ve dropped about $300 into getting the amp working again as it was given to me by my uncle. The turntable was my dads and was also taken in to get checked out, they said the stylus and cartridge are fine and set the tracking/ weight for me. The speakers I bought off craigslist.

A friend also new to vinyls has a hand me down setup of a Realistic turntable with a Sansui AU555a that to my ears sounds much better than my setup. It seems to have much less background noise on albums that I bring over with noticeable noise at home.

A few of my questions include:
Which Would be the first piece I should upgrade/ replace?
Which component is most important to spend the money on for sound quality?
Are these speakers more for a home entertainment use and not meant for listening to vinyl?
Which factors are most important for matching TT to amp, amp to speakers?

I know there’s a lot of questions here but I appreciate any info or help provided.
Thanks!

 

[ScottypB]

<Which Would be the first piece I should upgrade/ replace?>
I'd concentrate on the L-110. there's a lot that can be done with upgrades that will yield great sonics. It would be great to see the Phono EQ section on the schematic.

<Are these speakers more for a home entertainment use and not meant for listening to vinyl?>
You might want to re-phrase your question as speakers meant for home entertainment are geared generally *FOR* listening to vinyl, tap, FM, etc. But then I'm a Klipsch fan, so I'm biased.

<Which factors are most important for matching TT to amp, amp to speakers?>
Matching the TT to amp might depend upon the music genre you listen to. Matching amp to speakers, well, I was amazed at listening to a restored Sansui AU-505 (23W+23W into 8ohm) drive what I thought were $3000 speakers with custom crossovers. On top of the small output power, the AU-505 has a single-ended output. The restoration and upgrade went well. I'm a Sansui fan.

Do you want to record? Do you listen to FM and/or internet podcasts?

This setup is only listening to vinyl. Mostly blues and Classic rock.

 

[ScottypB]

If I owned an L-110 in that configuration and music, I would restore and upgrade it. I think your speakers and TT are more than adequate.

What do you mean by upgrade the amp? I’ve already had it restored.

 

[Markoneswift]

What do you mean by upgrade the amp? I’ve already had it restored.

Restored maybe, but to original spec most likely. I'm not familiar with that model, but I will bet there's a few components in there that can be replaced with modern alternatives to lower the noise floor.

It sounds to me like you are referring to noise floor when you say your system has more background noise - a common characteristic of old silicon parts such as transistors.

When it was restored, did they replace all the electrolytic capacitors, including those in the phono section ?

 

[ScottypB]

Restored maybe, but to original spec most likely. I'm not familiar with that model, but I will bet there's a few components in there that can be replaced with modern alternatives to lower the noise floor.

It sounds to me like you are referring to noise floor when you say your system has more background noise - a common characteristic of old silicon parts such as transistors.

When it was restored, did they replace all the electrolytic capacitors, including those in the phono section ?

I get what you’re saying now.

He did not replace anything that didn’t need to be done. A part of the board was ‘fried’ and had new parts as needed to get it running. I could call the shop and find out exactly what he put in and possibly get the schematic from him. From what I remember it was difficult for him to even find them.