The ask Tin about audio thread

yonson said:
What's your budget?

I upgraded a while back and have been kicking around selling my previous stuff... I've got a pair of Dynaudio Focus 340's and a pair of Parasound JC-1 monoblocks to run them... I bought everything brand new last year and have all boxes etc...
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After spending the day out and listening, I am pretty set on magnepans. I think they will run off my receiver, too, until I can afford some beefy power for them. I would be interested in those amps, but they are out of my price range.

-Geoff
 
Busted this 20 year old sub out of the attic today. I never noticed the level dial before today. Still sounds good too!

-Geoff

Spinal Tap.jpg
 
So my next question is: [rant on] What the hell is up with turntables? $12,000 and they don't include the needles anymore? Oh you want an arm with that? That will be an extra $3000. Are you kidding me? I want to play some records, not decide between a record player and a new Harley. And hardly any of them are automatic anymore. So my $20,000 turntable I have to run up and grab the arm when the record is done? [/rant off]

Any suggestions in the under $500 range? I was down at Third Man in Detroit over the weekend and they had a couple, but the wife doesn't like all the yellow. Doesn't need a pre-amp in it, the old Yamaha has one built in. I feel like if I buy a $49 dollar one it will be a piece of crap based on how much they could cost.

-Geoff
 
pro-ject and rega tables get pretty good reviews..

What about buying something older? Buy and old Pioneer and put a nice needle on it.

I have an Audio Technica and it seams to be pretty nice.
 
347convert said:
pro-ject and rega tables get pretty good reviews..

What about buying something older? Buy and old Pioneer and put a nice needle on it.

I have an Audio Technica and it seams to be pretty nice.
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Rumblestrip said:
Under $500 this isn't bad
https://www.musicdirect.com/turntables/pro-ject-debut-carbon-dc-turntable
then get yourself a Grado Green or Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge, you'll be mint.

If you want to think used/vintage then check out Ecotopia. Just north of 15 mile in Haggarty in a strip mall. I've bought a few things there
http://www.ecotopiausa.com/
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That Pro-Ject Carbon looks like it might be the ticket, thank you.

I tried to go to Ecotopia a few weeks ago, but they didn't open until noon and I didn't feel like waiting around. I am not against vintage, I just want something I don't have to mess with.

-Geoff
 
WhiteHawk said:
That Pro-Ject Carbon looks like it might be the ticket, thank you.

I tried to go to Ecotopia a few weeks ago, but they didn't open until noon and I didn't feel like waiting around. I am not against vintage, I just want something I don't have to mess with.

-Geoff
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You jamming over there yet? :)
 
Yea, I ended up going with Magnepan .7 speakers. I listened to about 20 different kinds of Martin Logans, but I though they sounded flat compared to the Magnepans - at least for what was in my price range. The $12,000 ones sounded awesome, but the ESL's that started at $3000 a pair just didn't sound as good as the .7's for half the price. I looked for used ones for both brands but ended up buying new from the guy on Woodward. I am running those with my Klipch sub (set on 11!). They sound awesome together! I almost think I need to cut the bass out from the .7's with a crossover to get even cleaner sound from them. The only other speaker I considered were a pair of Wharfedale Jade 7's that a place in Wisconsin was selling. I just couldn't pull the trigger on something I couldn't listen to first.

That Ecotopia place was pretty awesome with all the vintage stuff, but I was scared to walk through the place, he had so much stuff stacked on top of each other. The wife didn't like the vintage look either since it will be in the living room. Ended up with the Carbon turntable too from that place in Keego (didn't feel like waiting for the internet shipping and the guy cut me a slight deal). It has the acrylic table and Carbon arm - looks sweet and sounds great. Has an Ortofon Red cartridge.

Thank you for your tips though, definitely pointed me in the right direction.

-Geoff
 
Nice Geoff...

I just picked up this like new mint Technics SL-1200 MK2 yesterday. I just ordered an Ortofon 2M Red for it until I can decide what mods I want to do to it down the road. These things are crazy heavy. Makes my Thorens feel like a toy TT.Screenshot_20171221-111531.png
 
That's cool - is that a speed control knob? I like the retro stuff, but it looked too industrial for the living room. That is the same cartridge I have - sounds fine to me but I am not sure I could tell you the difference between that and one that cost $1000.

-Geoff
 
So now that my system is up and running and the Maggies are breaking in - my CD player has taken a crap. It actually just pauses in playback and makes funny noises. It is an old Sony DVD/CD from the 90's. I don't need DVD anymore, and my receiver has a DAC built in with digital coax and audio inputs. Is there any reason to spend a ton of money on one? Looking at stuff on Crutchfield like the Cambridge Topaz for $300. Maybe even go lower than that and see what Best Buy has. Would prefer coax digital because my receiver only has one optical that I want to use for future bluetooth adapter. What is the "Modern Theory" on CD players? Not really looking for a digital music center either. Is there really a benefit to spending big bucks on one? My piece of crap old Sony sounded great until it started dying.

Tx.

-Geoff
 
When I was looking at CD players to replace my bitching 100+1 carousel from highschool. Oppo had really good reviews and we're not crazy expensive. I don't know if they have a stand alone CD player, but worth a looking into.
 
347convert said:
Oppo had really good reviews and we're not crazy expensive. I don't know if they have a stand alone CD player, but worth a looking into.
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Looking at Audiogon you can get an Oppo BDP-95 for about $600. It's about as good as you can get for a CD player it will also play SACD's as well.
 
Rumblestrip said:
Looking at Audiogon you can get an Oppo BDP-95 for about $600. It's about as good as you can get for a CD player it will also play SACD's as well.
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Am I going to notice a difference between that and a $200 player? That is where I am stuck. I hate to buy a used CD player too. Even the high end ones "Age" and get sloppier over time.

Thank you.

-Geoff
 
WhiteHawk said:
Am I going to notice a difference between that and a $200 player? That is where I am stuck. I hate to buy a used CD player too. Even the high end ones "Age" and get sloppier over time.

Thank you.

-Geoff
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For sure you will. The critical components of a CD player are the DAC and output stage (between the DAC and RCA jacks). Some DACs have a higher dynamic range than others, and a poorly designed output stage has the potential to introduce unwanted noise. Personally, I would forgo the CD player and use a digital media player with an outboard SPDIF or USB DAC. Most record labels sell their albums in lossless audio formats, such as FLAC, ALAC, and WMA lossless which is identical to what is on a CD or SACD. This can be accomplished with something like the Daphile software. You can control it from a phone or web browser, super convenient. The only issue, if you are into collecting albums, they will all be digital and you won't have a hard copy. That said, you can always rip, tag, and convert your own CDs with something like EAC (Exact Audio Copy).
 
That guy with the $22,000 system put his Martin Logans back up. I would be divorced if I bought these. Great deal though.

-Geoff

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347convert said:
When I was looking at CD players to replace my bitching 100+1 carousel from highschool. Oppo had really good reviews and we're not crazy expensive. I don't know if they have a stand alone CD player, but worth a looking into.
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Rumblestrip said:
Looking at Audiogon you can get an Oppo BDP-95 for about $600. It's about as good as you can get for a CD player it will also play SACD's as well.
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Ended up ordering an Oppo, too, BTW. It turns out Oppo is the ONLY Player to include decoded pre-outs for 7.1 surround sound, as well as balanced out for 2-channel. Plus it has a crap ton of cool stuff built in. That saves me from putting a separate decoder in the system, and will plug directly into the 6-Channel Rotel amp I bought from salvation army for $20 to run surround speakers. I thought the Oppo was steep when you first suggested it, now I think it is a deal. Thank you for the tip!

-Geoff
 
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