This one is for beginners, who don't have enough money to splurge at the start!
I am no "audiophile " or a technical expert/ audio nerd. Cos I dont like the labels. But i am an audio enthusiast who seeks beautiful music output- in "economical budget" where one doesn't has to give a second thought for buying the audio gears worrying about their monthly mortgage or bank loans/debts. Spend such that you don't get yelled by your wife/gf for spending and still doesn't have to try too hard to convince her on the price.
My thinking is that one can start with economical budget at the beginning and as time allows, one can keep splurging to seek beautiful sound outputs; which I believe anyone will suggest. But thats not how people advice typically. I was honestly tired of reading about those high budget audio gears in order to get best sounds. Anyone who would give advice or suggestions except few, mostly will tell you to spend a bit more (typically twice or thrice the price).
Having said that, it hasn't been too long since I got my first job, got married and wanted to build a long awaited digital+analog audio system for casual relaxing listening after work hours or on those lazy weekends.
After some research, I started with boxing week sell in 2013 and bought an entry level but musical sounding AVR Yamaha rx v475 (now replaced in market by 479 with better networking options but same sound quality for almost the same price) and saved further to buy Pioneer BS 22LR. Yes I had to save money in order to buy even those entry level gears. I am a bit nerd when it comes to purchasing sound gears and reads my ass off about the stuff before making my mind. I had read repetitively on various forums and web-sites before even going for good sounding gears for "cheap" which was rather "economical" for me. I was seeking good sound quality for less price.
By now I have realised (after listening to expensive gears) that it is not impossible to have beautiful sound quality in low budget but it will come with its limitations of instrument separations and depths in low frequencies etc. But on the other hand, it still does not stricts one from experiencing a sound output quality that will relax you once the sweet bells echos in the center of your head.
The set up (RX 475 and BS 22 LR) I purchased for my small living room, gave perfect depths for the size and digital sounds. One of the reason I will attribute for a clear, neutral and detailed sound I was able to get out of the setup to the sound card in my computer. Its really a good one. The sound from Blue Rays/DVD/Audio cd and Netflix was also very warm and relaxing. Full of optimum details as needed for casual listening and watching movies in a quiet neighbourhood/apartments.
I was happy. But not quite. I grew up in analog period (cassette deck) and was occasionally satisfied with digital sounds (including audio cds and other loose audio). I had heard the warmths of vinyls on an expensive set-up. So I decided to go for a used TT. Budget? Again, not more than 100 bucks. Luckily found a 6Kg Technics direct drive TT (SL-D2) came with a cheap crap sounding DJ cartridge (Numark). My AVR din't had phono. So I could not play my records on it. I again went online to look for a cheap/economical pre-amp and found that Behringer ultra compact pre-amp had the best reviews amongst the cheap pre-amps (under 50 bucks, costed about 35CAD). I bought it quickly from near by best-buy and hooked it up to my AVR. It was an easy set-up and did produce sound. But the sound was squeaky and lots of needle talk. I tried some settings of tracking force etc. but no success in getting a good sound. A disappointment!
Online forums suggested me to go for a better cartridge. So I decided to online to hunt for good sounding cartridges. The prices took away the earth from my feet- 400 plus. Pheww!!! I read again for cheaper cartridges and Ortofon 2M red was the most praised one. The other one was Shure ex97. The later one was cheaper so I went forth for it. Costed another about 120 with taxes in Canada.
I got a better sound, just enough to listen to music. The sound was not open nor any brighter. It was suppressed, causing a bit of fatigue in ears after couple of songs. Still not enough! Searched online. asked around on the forum... was advised to get a vintage phono amp. Looked for it, again expensive. Nothing less than 500-600 for a good amp. Now I couldn't settle for a low end vintage phono amp. A brand new mid-range priced amp or pre-amp in my opinion is more budget friendly and less troublesome than a vintage audio gear that cost twice as much.
One expert suggested to check the cartridge alignment for better sound. I realised that cartridge alignment was one of the key thing that I was missing for a good sound. I used the online cartridge alignment tool available for free and aligned the cartridge accordingly. The result was sudden opening and warm analog sound. The sound was warmer with the brush down on Shure ex97 and kept the sound more clear (less or no hissing and flutter). Still the sound was in general wasn't bright enough. It had details, but the sound was shy. Not open.
From the beginning, I knew that unless I will get a decent pre-amp of accurate RIAA equalisation, I will not be satisfied with the sound. Another expense! Any hi fi pre-amp will cost handsome amount (typically 700 to 1000 plus). By now (after 3yrs of job and hike in salary), I could increase my budget over 35CAD pre-amp that I had bought a year back. But still not upto 700+. One of the greater reason not going for the separates is of space constraints. So I started my research for a budget phono pre-amp for TT that sounds bright, detailed and beautiful under 300 dollars.
Honestly folks, after doing my research, there aren't too many options out there for a decent budget pre-amp. There are few named ones- Art DJ pre II, Pyle, Project box S, Cambridge Azure 551p/651p, Rega, Rolls VP 29, NAD PP2, Emotiva XPS 1 and may couple more. When you will read the reviews of these gears, one by one and compared testings, you will find with your research, that only Cambridge Azure 551p or 651p (with MC option) and Emotiva XPS 1 have the greatest reviews without the claims by critics saying just in 100 buck more, one can get this or that for better sound. People have said repeatedly, that these two do sound bright and detailed. Bass is optimum, mids are nice, highs are bright and clear. The separations of instruments amongst both have been praised for the budget and price. Cambridge Azure 651p has been said to have mellower highs but good warmth in sound compared to Emotiva XPS 1. Both cost about the same around 250 bucks (give and take of shipping, tax etc.).
Now I am not sure, if reviewers were biased or paid, but they did specified that Emotiva XPS 1 has clear highs, sometimes chalky though. But overall, both the pre-amps are win-win over any other pre-amp for that much budget. Is there any other option? NAD pp2e is another good one that is been praised. But again I have read that Cambridge and Emotiva surpases every other pre-amp under the 300 bucks budget.
So I finally made a decision to go for one of them. I picked Emotiva cos the reviewers said it uses the same quality parts that are in its high end pre-amps and amps. I could still go for cambridge 651p but one of the user in a forum suggested they are comparable in sound but the MC option in XPS 1 and its sound quality is better than 651p, just in case latter if I want to upgrade to MC from MM cartridge. XPS 1 has adjustable impedance for MC which takes over 651p in terms of flexibility to fiddle around for the price. Plus, it was almost 80 CAD cheaper for me than 651p.
I ordered it from a local dealer for emotiva in my city and got in couple of days. Hook up was easy. Suddenly, I could hear the opened sound from the same vinyl that would sound sweet but suppressed sounds and details. The instruments were separate and clear, sweet, no fatigue or need to increase the sound. Lows are decent, not he highest. I personally think thats cos of the limitations of my speakers and their over all placement in my open concept living and kitchen. The warmth of analog was back in the life that I was seeking. I am sure, the results must have been same if I would have gone for 651p for MM.
I am no "audiophile " or a technical expert/ audio nerd. Cos I dont like the labels. But i am an audio enthusiast who seeks beautiful music output- in "economical budget" where one doesn't has to give a second thought for buying the audio gears worrying about their monthly mortgage or bank loans/debts. Spend such that you don't get yelled by your wife/gf for spending and still doesn't have to try too hard to convince her on the price.
My thinking is that one can start with economical budget at the beginning and as time allows, one can keep splurging to seek beautiful sound outputs; which I believe anyone will suggest. But thats not how people advice typically. I was honestly tired of reading about those high budget audio gears in order to get best sounds. Anyone who would give advice or suggestions except few, mostly will tell you to spend a bit more (typically twice or thrice the price).
Having said that, it hasn't been too long since I got my first job, got married and wanted to build a long awaited digital+analog audio system for casual relaxing listening after work hours or on those lazy weekends.
After some research, I started with boxing week sell in 2013 and bought an entry level but musical sounding AVR Yamaha rx v475 (now replaced in market by 479 with better networking options but same sound quality for almost the same price) and saved further to buy Pioneer BS 22LR. Yes I had to save money in order to buy even those entry level gears. I am a bit nerd when it comes to purchasing sound gears and reads my ass off about the stuff before making my mind. I had read repetitively on various forums and web-sites before even going for good sounding gears for "cheap" which was rather "economical" for me. I was seeking good sound quality for less price.
By now I have realised (after listening to expensive gears) that it is not impossible to have beautiful sound quality in low budget but it will come with its limitations of instrument separations and depths in low frequencies etc. But on the other hand, it still does not stricts one from experiencing a sound output quality that will relax you once the sweet bells echos in the center of your head.
The set up (RX 475 and BS 22 LR) I purchased for my small living room, gave perfect depths for the size and digital sounds. One of the reason I will attribute for a clear, neutral and detailed sound I was able to get out of the setup to the sound card in my computer. Its really a good one. The sound from Blue Rays/DVD/Audio cd and Netflix was also very warm and relaxing. Full of optimum details as needed for casual listening and watching movies in a quiet neighbourhood/apartments.
I was happy. But not quite. I grew up in analog period (cassette deck) and was occasionally satisfied with digital sounds (including audio cds and other loose audio). I had heard the warmths of vinyls on an expensive set-up. So I decided to go for a used TT. Budget? Again, not more than 100 bucks. Luckily found a 6Kg Technics direct drive TT (SL-D2) came with a cheap crap sounding DJ cartridge (Numark). My AVR din't had phono. So I could not play my records on it. I again went online to look for a cheap/economical pre-amp and found that Behringer ultra compact pre-amp had the best reviews amongst the cheap pre-amps (under 50 bucks, costed about 35CAD). I bought it quickly from near by best-buy and hooked it up to my AVR. It was an easy set-up and did produce sound. But the sound was squeaky and lots of needle talk. I tried some settings of tracking force etc. but no success in getting a good sound. A disappointment!
Online forums suggested me to go for a better cartridge. So I decided to online to hunt for good sounding cartridges. The prices took away the earth from my feet- 400 plus. Pheww!!! I read again for cheaper cartridges and Ortofon 2M red was the most praised one. The other one was Shure ex97. The later one was cheaper so I went forth for it. Costed another about 120 with taxes in Canada.
I got a better sound, just enough to listen to music. The sound was not open nor any brighter. It was suppressed, causing a bit of fatigue in ears after couple of songs. Still not enough! Searched online. asked around on the forum... was advised to get a vintage phono amp. Looked for it, again expensive. Nothing less than 500-600 for a good amp. Now I couldn't settle for a low end vintage phono amp. A brand new mid-range priced amp or pre-amp in my opinion is more budget friendly and less troublesome than a vintage audio gear that cost twice as much.
One expert suggested to check the cartridge alignment for better sound. I realised that cartridge alignment was one of the key thing that I was missing for a good sound. I used the online cartridge alignment tool available for free and aligned the cartridge accordingly. The result was sudden opening and warm analog sound. The sound was warmer with the brush down on Shure ex97 and kept the sound more clear (less or no hissing and flutter). Still the sound was in general wasn't bright enough. It had details, but the sound was shy. Not open.
From the beginning, I knew that unless I will get a decent pre-amp of accurate RIAA equalisation, I will not be satisfied with the sound. Another expense! Any hi fi pre-amp will cost handsome amount (typically 700 to 1000 plus). By now (after 3yrs of job and hike in salary), I could increase my budget over 35CAD pre-amp that I had bought a year back. But still not upto 700+. One of the greater reason not going for the separates is of space constraints. So I started my research for a budget phono pre-amp for TT that sounds bright, detailed and beautiful under 300 dollars.
Honestly folks, after doing my research, there aren't too many options out there for a decent budget pre-amp. There are few named ones- Art DJ pre II, Pyle, Project box S, Cambridge Azure 551p/651p, Rega, Rolls VP 29, NAD PP2, Emotiva XPS 1 and may couple more. When you will read the reviews of these gears, one by one and compared testings, you will find with your research, that only Cambridge Azure 551p or 651p (with MC option) and Emotiva XPS 1 have the greatest reviews without the claims by critics saying just in 100 buck more, one can get this or that for better sound. People have said repeatedly, that these two do sound bright and detailed. Bass is optimum, mids are nice, highs are bright and clear. The separations of instruments amongst both have been praised for the budget and price. Cambridge Azure 651p has been said to have mellower highs but good warmth in sound compared to Emotiva XPS 1. Both cost about the same around 250 bucks (give and take of shipping, tax etc.).
Now I am not sure, if reviewers were biased or paid, but they did specified that Emotiva XPS 1 has clear highs, sometimes chalky though. But overall, both the pre-amps are win-win over any other pre-amp for that much budget. Is there any other option? NAD pp2e is another good one that is been praised. But again I have read that Cambridge and Emotiva surpases every other pre-amp under the 300 bucks budget.
So I finally made a decision to go for one of them. I picked Emotiva cos the reviewers said it uses the same quality parts that are in its high end pre-amps and amps. I could still go for cambridge 651p but one of the user in a forum suggested they are comparable in sound but the MC option in XPS 1 and its sound quality is better than 651p, just in case latter if I want to upgrade to MC from MM cartridge. XPS 1 has adjustable impedance for MC which takes over 651p in terms of flexibility to fiddle around for the price. Plus, it was almost 80 CAD cheaper for me than 651p.
I ordered it from a local dealer for emotiva in my city and got in couple of days. Hook up was easy. Suddenly, I could hear the opened sound from the same vinyl that would sound sweet but suppressed sounds and details. The instruments were separate and clear, sweet, no fatigue or need to increase the sound. Lows are decent, not he highest. I personally think thats cos of the limitations of my speakers and their over all placement in my open concept living and kitchen. The warmth of analog was back in the life that I was seeking. I am sure, the results must have been same if I would have gone for 651p for MM.
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