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Building on a budget....

NathanFromPA

NathanFromPA

New Member
Hey y'all, vinyl newbie here. I recently got an incredible deal on a Thorens TD160c turntable. It's got a Signet TK1EA cart and stylus installed, and it's currently getting a tune up at the local shop. It's honestly far nicer a table than I have any right to own. Now, I'm looking to find the next steps in making a decent system, namely a preamp and powered speakers.

I tend to listen to some jazz, swing, and a bit of pop/singer-songwriter. Nothing terribly bass-heavy or electronic. I suspect I'll end up liking a brighter sound, though I have a very untrained ear. Given that I have somewhat limited space, I'm intrigued reading through the "British Way" forum, but I'm open to pretty much anything.

Ideally, I'd like to keep the cost for the preamp and speakers in the ~$250 range. I know that's not a lot to work with, but I was hoping somebody around here would be able to push me in the right direction to get started, with room to upgrade later. I also live in eastern Pennsylvania, and can look for deals there if it makes sense.

Sorry if this is the wrong forum. I read the rules in a few others, and this topic didn't seem like a good fit. If there's a better place, let me know and I'll try to stick any future similar threads there.

Thanks for the help!
NathanFromPA
 
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Welcome ... Sounds like you are a budding audiophile !

For a starter, you may enjoy this thread on building a budget system.

Buying used may be more time consuming but like your Thorens, there are true deals that appear.

Good luck and have fun..
 
This winter I built several power amps, 3 preamplifiers (1 is passive), a headphone amplifier, VU meters and a power supply for 120vac and 24vdc. Parts Express has lots of boards that really almost anyone can turn into a successful, fairly high quality product for not much money.

IMG_2514.JPG IMG_2515.JPG

Some of the cases are home-made from oak, the amplifier on the table is a wood waste basket from Target (bathroom department). My speakers are also DIY.

'ner
 
NathanFromPA said:
Now, I'm looking to find the next steps in making a decent system, namely a preamp and powered speakers.
Click to expand...
If you want powered speakers you could check out the places that supply equipment for home studios. They usually have a wide selection at reasonable prices.
This is a European supplier, but will ship to USA. I'm sure there are other suppliers in the USA.
https://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html
Beware - I think the prices shown are per speaker, not per pair of speakers.
 
rothwellaudio said:
If you want powered speakers you could check out the places that supply equipment for home studios. They usually have a wide selection at reasonable prices.
This is a European supplier, but will ship to USA. I'm sure there are other suppliers in the USA.
https://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html
Beware - I think the prices shown are per speaker, not per pair of speakers.
Click to expand...

US equivalent:
https://www.sweetwater.com/c405--Active_Monitors

I'd also consider passive speakers and a Class D amp, give you a bit more flexibility and there will be more options on the used market.
 
If looking for powered speakers look at the Klipsch "The Sixes". They have phono preamp built in. New they would be out of your budget but used should be pretty close. They sound pretty good also.
 
It is hard to beat an obsolete AVR (non HDMI or non-4K on the newer end) for cost effectiveness. I'm talking about the beastly ones that retailed for >$1000 and not the low end models.

Good luck!
 
The key to building on a budget like this is constantly checking all the various places one finds deals.
And then being ready to instantly jump on any deals when they pop-up.

I cant tell you to "go here > buy that" as with the stated budget,it's gonna be a tough task to pull-off.
I mean I can tell you I've bought preamps for $100.00 to $150.00 and seen powered monitors for the same.
But to find them at one time ready to grab up is'nt gonna happen very often.

And buying new just makes the job even harder yet.

Bret P.
 
Wow, thanks everyone! Looks like I have some more research to do :idea: I'm not terribly handy, but I'll certainly take a look at some of the build your own, as well as Rockits, JBL, Klipsch, and start learning what's worth looking for on Facebook/Craigslist/etc.. I guess I also have passive speakers and an amp to consider, lol. I had assumed that powered speakers would be a cheaper route given that I didn't have to worry about an amp, but I'll have to see what I can find.

It's really encouraging to hear that I have a lot of good options depending on what exactly I want to put into this endeavor! It's not quite as bleak as I might have expected with my budget. It may be a bit before I find something, but I'll try to follow up when I do :smile:

Oh, and for good measure, here's a picture of the new 'table. Got it for 100 bucks. (Pay no attention to the mess. It's not in its final location yet!)

R9DjyOP.jpg


NathanFromPA
 
I should also add that I had been eyeing up Klipsch's "The One II with Phono," based on the size, the price, and the built in pre-amp, but I suspect I can do better quality with a bit of diligence. I'd also been looking at the Rolls VP29 as a budget pre-amp that would let me focus the rest on speakers. Not sure how much sense either of those options make though. I'm sure I've got a long road of upgrades ahead of me!

NathanFromPA
 
Dump the powered speaker idea. Building on a budget, you will need to be able to grow down the road. Someone mentioned old surround receivers, and I've got a thing for the older Yamaha 1000 series receivers (1000,1200,..., 2000, 2200...3000...) Everything up to the Aventage stuff (too new for deals), especially pre HDMI because they are considered "useless." The only trouble is finding them. There are about 10 years of models. If you live in a bigger city CL would be a possibility, or eBay, although freight can be tough. Recently I've seen some Arcam at really good prices, NAD, and others for integrateds. Trying to keep you out of ancient stuff. You could even find some decent Chinesium integrateds with digital amps.
Speakers are a crapshoot. You need to listen, but it's hard these days. What I love, you could easily hate. Speakers that grab your attention on the showroom floor will be a complete thorn in your side until you get rid of them. You need to train yourself to listen for the little things and avoid what gets in the way. Makes sense once the journey starts
 
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Thanks for the advice. It's helpful to have a few models to keep an eye out for. I had assumed that powered speakers would be more economical, but it would appear I was mistaken. All part of the learning process I guess :) As for the speakers, I guess I'll figure out what I like as I go.
 
hopeless said:
Dump the powered speaker idea.
Click to expand...
I tend to agree with ^^^^ this ^^^^ bit of advice...

IME the cheapest path is likely gonna be a used integrated amp w/a good internal phono section and a decent pair of speakers.

An example I can use here would be something like my Sansui AU-217 integrated and JBL LX-22 / LXE-330 speakers.
The Sansui AU-217 integrated was < $100.00 and either pair of JBL speakers were $50.00.
So $150.00 all in and the combo sounds waaayyy better than it has any right to sound.
No way I can see beating those prices going the powered speaker route.

NAD is also another good brand for these sorta deals too.
Have a 3140 integrated that I got for next to nothing too,and it has a sweet phono section to boot.
And I've bought literally dozens of pairs of nice sounding speakers for < $100.00.

JM2¢ ~ FWIW

Bret P.
 
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xero-D-hero said:
I tend to agree with ^^^^ this ^^^^ bit of advice...

IME the cheapest path is likely gonna be a used integrated amp w/a good internal phono section and a decent pair of speakers.

An example I can use here would be something like my Sansui AU-217 integrated and JBL LX-22 / LXE-330 speakers.
The Sansui AU-217 integrated was < $100.00 and either pair of JBL speakers were $50.00.
So $150.00 all in and the combo sounds waaayyy better than it has any right to sound.
No way I can see beating those prices going the powered speaker route.

JM2¢ ~ FWIW

Bret P.
Click to expand...

Got my GF an hk635 and Energy C1s. Way better than it had a right to be. LX22s are also pretty hard to come by. The C1s are better all around speakers.
 
I'm currently looking at an a bundle that includes a Sansui A-3100 Integrated Amplifier, as well as JBL LX300 bookshelf speakers. Seems to be ~$250 shipped, and would probably fit the bill for my setup. Are those worth further looking into? Sorry, just a bit overwhelming with so many options :)
 
NathanFromPA said:
I'm currently looking at an a bundle that includes a Sansui A-3100 Integrated Amplifier, as well as JBL LX300 bookshelf speakers. Seems to be ~$250 shipped, and would probably fit the bill for my setup. Are those worth further looking into? Sorry, just a bit overwhelming with so many options :)
Click to expand...
Nice speakers, better than the price point would dictate. Good drivers, good box, and a crossover that would be good in a speaker at 2-3x the price.
 
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