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New stereo build

J

Josh_of_CYWG

New Member
Hey everyone, I finally decided I’m done with my current stereo and am ready to move on. I’ve wanted to build a vintage stereo for a while now, yet really don’t know where to start. I know almost nothing about brands or what works good together, so I’m hoping maybe some of you can lend a hand. I’m wanting to try tube but would be okay with solid state if it in theory would sound better.
 
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With out a budget, room size speaker preference.
How can anyone recommend any thing?
And your geographic area also is important
 
That info really helps, figure out what will work for you. That's a nice size room to start. Do you like your music loud?
I mean Concert levels! Don't laugh you would be surprised. Types of music you like?
I Like Vintage Tube Equipment as well, but you need totally rebuilt Vintage, to give you a long trouble free Listening experience.
I would start with IMHO the biggest and most important choice; Speakers. Almost 1/2 of your budget .
Something like a nice used pair of Upgraded Klipschhorns or Cornwalls, they are Big If you have solid walls and 2 Corners that they Horns need.
that sound great with small to medium powered tube gear. they could run 3,000-4500$. A totally restored Fisher 500, or 800 Receiver
around 1,000$ that leaves still a nice amount left for a Source, CD Player, Turntable, Cables ,Streaming devices.
OK lets hear from other AK'ers.
 
There's a lot to consider. 15 x 20 is a good size room, though can be filled with low power, high efficiency designs through high power low efficiency designs. Room height, layout (corners, openings, etc.), furnishings and such are a factor. The types of music you enjoy should also be part of the decision process.

We all have different tastes in music and certain speakers might perform better to your ears for different types of music, such as heavy rock, metal, light jazz, orchestral, detailed male/female vocals, instrumentals, and so on. My approach would be to suggest auditioning different sets of speakers to downselect which type best reproduces your preferred music. Once you have that decided, based on speaker efficiency and design, you can better experiment with what types of amplification would best drive the speakers for optimum music delivery. Then add the sources and room treatments. Others will likely have different approaches.

As you are unsure whether you might ultimately want tube or SS equipment, this thread might be better suited to be in General Audio Discussion forum, so that you get a balanced set of responses. Let me know if you'd like this thread moved there or are content with it remaining here in Tubes forum.
 
Nyjblbob said:
That info really helps, figure out what will work for you. That's a nice size room to start. Do you like your music loud?
I mean Concert levels! Don't laugh you would be surprised. Types of music you like?
I Like Vintage Tube Equipment as well, but you need totally rebuilt Vintage, to give you a long trouble free Listening experience.
I would start with IMHO the biggest and most important choice; Speakers. Almost 1/2 of your budget .
Something like a nice used pair of Upgraded Klipschhorns or Cornwalls, they are Big If you have solid walls and 2 Corners that they Horns need.
that sound great with small to medium powered tube gear. they could run 3,000-4500$. A totally restored Fisher 500, or 800 Receiver
around 1,000$ that leaves still a nice amount left for a Source, CD Player, Turntable, Cables ,Streaming devices.
OK lets hear from other AK'ers.
Click to expand...
Sometimes I like my music loud, but my main gripe with my current setup is that on quieter volumes, it all kind of cancels itself out into a muffled mess, I don't listen quiet but I definitely don't listen concert loud. I mainly listen to classic rock and blues, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Zeppelin, etc.
 
Tinkerbelle said:
There's a lot to consider. 15 x 20 is a good size room, though can be filled with low power, high efficiency designs through high power low efficiency designs. Room height, layout (corners, openings, etc.), furnishings and such are a factor. The types of music you enjoy should also be part of the decision process.

We all have different tastes in music and certain speakers might perform better to your ears for different types of music, such as heavy rock, metal, light jazz, orchestral, detailed male/female vocals, instrumentals, and so on. My approach would be to suggest auditioning different sets of speakers to downselect which type best reproduces your preferred music. Once you have that decided, based on speaker efficiency and design, you can better experiment with what types of amplification would best drive the speakers for optimum music delivery. Then add the sources and room treatments. Others will likely have different approaches.

As you are unsure whether you might ultimately want tube or SS equipment, this thread might be better suited to be in General Audio Discussion forum, so that you get a balanced set of responses. Let me know if you'd like this thread moved there or are content with it remaining here in Tubes forum.
Click to expand...
If you think moving it would be beneficial, I have no problem with that.
 
Nyjblbob said:
That info really helps, figure out what will work for you. That's a nice size room to start. Do you like your music loud?
I mean Concert levels! Don't laugh you would be surprised. Types of music you like?
I Like Vintage Tube Equipment as well, but you need totally rebuilt Vintage, to give you a long trouble free Listening experience.
I would start with IMHO the biggest and most important choice; Speakers. Almost 1/2 of your budget .
Something like a nice used pair of Upgraded Klipschhorns or Cornwalls, they are Big If you have solid walls and 2 Corners that they Horns need.
that sound great with small to medium powered tube gear. they could run 3,000-4500$. A totally restored Fisher 500, or 800 Receiver
around 1,000$ that leaves still a nice amount left for a Source, CD Player, Turntable, Cables ,Streaming devices.
OK lets hear from other AK'ers.
Click to expand...
I should also mention, the 15 x 20 space is really more of a section then its own room, meaning I cant have speakers in the corners
 
There are never answers to this type of question. It's just too subjective - what's good to your ears may not be to mine. Vintage gear (and new for that matter) doesn't always play well together. It really does take an amount of trial and error.

$6 grand U.S. is a fair bit of change. That will buy a lot of vintage toys, or will also buy a very nice new(er) setup. Search around your area - maybe start with some finds you like or might like, then ask about them specifically here. For example, if there's a pair of ADS speakers available locally and an Emotiva amp on another listing - you might be able to get some clue as to whether they'll pair well.

Otherwise, you're heading down the "this is what I have and I like it - so you should buy it" road. Endless suggestions and an endless amount of opinions.
 
You have a nice budget to work with. Take the time to think it all through. There's a lot of stuff the could be considered "vintage stereo". If you want tube that limits your options. SOlid state gear gives you a much bigger selection. With either tube or SS you then have to decide on discrete components, integrated amps or receivers.

For speakers you have an even bigger range of options. The more efficient the speakers, the less power you need to drive them. And of course there's many different types of speakers, each with their own signature sound.
 
Can you tell us what speakers and amp you have now? Also, does your room have high ceilings? A lot of windows? Are there rugs, bookshelves, furniture, or is the room fairly bare of carpets and stuff? An "open-plan" space can be very difficult to work with, in terms of controlling the sound and getting the kind of clarity you're looking for. Various room treatements might be a better investment.
 
There's a Beautiful pair of Klipsch Bells pretty rare, in Upstate NY on US audiomart, No affiliation for 2500$ no corners needed also extremely efficient
will work great with low-mid power tube amps I prefer Horns.
 
Josh_of_CYWG said:
I should also mention, the 15 x 20 space is really more of a section then its own room, meaning I cant have speakers in the corners
Click to expand...

Some people have built false corners for their speakers but I don't have any first hand experience with them. If you run into some good corner speakers for the right price you might take this into consideration.
 
I'd recommend a pair of (used) Klipsch Cornwalls and a good vintage EL-84 integrated (Sherwood, Fisher, Scott, Pilot, Eico), though 7868 or 7591-based would also satisfy. Even after a full rebuild that will total under $3k for speakers and amp, with lots of money to spare. Easiest would be to get an amp that has been already rebuilt.
 
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