Building a stereo system

[prisoners]

Everyone will have an opinion so I’ll offer mine: you want an NAD integrated amplifier. The 326BEE is very good and within your budget, but most of them are perfect to build a system around. You’ll need a phono stage to go between your turntable and the integrated amp, but NAD makes a couple of nice ones that can be found for about $100. A late model name brand DVD player can be found very cheap and will serve as a good CD player. People literally donated them to thrift stores when they bought a Blu-ray player. All that can be had for well under $1000 leaving plenty for speakers if you ever want to but there’s nothing wrong with the Polks.

 

[prisoners]

Oh, and I’d skip using an equalizer. NAD amplifiers are known for having a smooth, somewhat laid back sound that just sounds right.

 

[mjw21a]

Well, you're further along than most. My brother is happy with a sound bar.... If I can convince him I'll get him Dayton speakers (652 AIR towers), sub (SUB-1500), amp (APA150) and a Gieseler Klein DAC II to tie it all together. A universal remote and he won't even need to know how to operate it

 

[jsrtheta]

Oh, and I’d skip using an equalizer. NAD amplifiers are known for having a smooth, somewhat laid back sound that just sounds right.

That's not the only use for an equalizer. It's primarily for compensating for room acoustics. And they are quite handy - the room is changing the sound, and NAD didn't build their equipment for your specific room.

 

[yotems]

That's not the only use for an equalizer. It's primarily for compensating for room acoustics. And they are quite handy - the room is changing the sound, and NAD didn't build their equipment for your specific room.

ive messed with equalizers in several different listening environments on several different pieces of gear and in my experiences ive had better results with no equalizer in every instance. the tone controls on the amp produce much better results IF they must be used.. i try to keep it flat and for the most part can.

also, an equalizer can give you too many reasons not to just enjoy the music. what sounds good for some music may sound off for other music and before you know it youve spent more time adjusting your eq than you have spent on whatever task you were supposed to be doing in the garage or whatever..

 

[prisoners]

I choose gear without tone controls not because I’m some sort of snobby purists, but mostly because I know I won’t stop fiddling with them instead of just enjoying the music. If I don’t like what I hear then that piece of equipment isn’t for me and I move on to the next one until I hear what I like.

 

[ScottFan355]

Always start with speakers.

Better speakers with your current system would be a big improvement.

Good luck in your quest.

Sadly the only used Technics turntables GC has listed are in Florida, bit to far of a drive from up here in Washington. I keep seeing those Yamaha setups like you mentioned on here and several other web sights, would it be a good option to keep my eyes open for?

Where in WA are you? Turntable treasures in Tacoma is great, and I know there are places in Seattle that have great used gear. Also if you love your Polks then maybe get everything else first. Polks don't get a lot of love here but I had some 80s Polk towers for years that sounded great.

 

[ScottFan355]

If you happen to be in southern WA there are some great places in Portland as well. If you decide to go the receiver or integrated amp route Sansui is great, Anything 50wpc+ should drive those Polks with ease. However if you think you may end up with different speakers down the road look for something with 80-100wpc+ to increase the range of speakers you can drive comfortably.

 

[ScottFan355]

The benefit of buying used gear from a shop is that it usually has a warranty and has been checked out by a tech.

 

[ScottFan355]

And I agree with another poster that for 2k you can get a stellar system. As much as you may love your Polks for $500-$1000 on the used market you could get 10-20 year old speakers that were 2-5k new. Find a rich old audiophile that bought them new and listened to jazz at moderate levels.

 

[ScottFan355]

Echo hi-fi in Portland (no affiliation) has some Hales System Two Signatures for $995 that were 5k new. The reason the Hales go for relatively little is that replacement parts can be hard to come by. But if they are anything like my Concept Twos they are very, very nice speakers indeed. Hales have a very clear, holgraphic sound with incredible imaging. That would leave $400-500 for amplification, $300-400 for a turntable, and maybe $200 for a cd player/dac. I know that you said you didn't want to spend more than $400 on any one piece but these would be the foundation of a mind-blowing system.

 

[yotems]

I choose gear without tone controls not because I’m some sort of snobby purists, but mostly because I know I won’t stop fiddling with them instead of just enjoying the music. If I don’t like what I hear then that piece of equipment isn’t for me and I move on to the next one until I hear what I like.

ive found that with comparable quality pieces of gear on the same listening setup will benefit from similar eq settings of bass/treble. where all 3 pieces will be too bright running flat due to the listening space, a comparable reduction in treble dB’s will result in the same fatigue reducing characteristic from each amp.

i had a rotel rc-980/rb-980bx combo for a while and just like you i very much enjoyed not having tone controls to fiddle with instead of just listening to the music, especially since i was switching from the mcs 3125 in my avatar to the rotel combo.. the rotel was just hard to listen to for long periods due to the brightness, and the brightness took away from the overall dynamics in the listening spaces it was used in.

this is why ive come to prefer amps with bass and treble controls