Hello

Having always invested in vinyl rather than Hi Fi, I'm still using cheap record decks (but with a good stylus to preserve those records!), amp and speakers. But I now feel I'd like something better, something to do all those amazing soul records more justice. So, over the next year or two, I'd like to invest in a new record deck (or two), a new amp and new speakers.

I know nothing, zero, zilch about Hi Fi and I wonder if anyone can advise me on what would make a good system. Happy to spend up to a 1000 quid in total, and to buy second hand. Is this enough to get a decent-ish system?

Would much appreciate any suggestions on record decks, amps and speakers that would work together. Also, where is the best place to buy this stuff second hand? Is Ebay any good.

Thanks in advance!

Mark

PS If this has been discussed before would someone be kind enough to point me towards the thread? Cheers.

These are nice and red...

Godz

Bit of an unfortunate thread title mate

Been doing the odd bit of upgrading myself lately.

Came across this site:

https://www.tnt-audio.com/guide/sources_e.html

Very out of date, but it's a good read and gives you some ideas on what to look out for if buying second hand.

Tony

Hello

Having always invested in vinyl rather than Hi Fi, I'm still using cheap record decks (but with a good stylus to preserve those records!), amp and speakers. But I now feel I'd like something better, something to do all those amazing soul records more justice. So, over the next year or two, I'd like to invest in a new record deck (or two), a new amp and new speakers.

I know nothing, zero, zilch about Hi Fi and I wonder if anyone can advise me on what would make a good system. Happy to spend up to a 1000 quid in total, and to buy second hand. Is this enough to get a decent-ish system?

Would much appreciate any suggestions on record decks, amps and speakers that would work together. Also, where is the best place to buy this stuff second hand? Is Ebay any good.

Thanks in advance!

Mark

PS If this has been discussed before would someone be kind enough to point me towards the thread? Cheers.

ma mate sells briliant gear, and all your records sound excellent in the house

Hello

Having always invested in vinyl rather than Hi Fi, I'm still using cheap record decks (but with a good stylus to preserve those records!), amp and speakers. But I now feel I'd like something better, something to do all those amazing soul records more justice. So, over the next year or two, I'd like to invest in a new record deck (or two), a new amp and new speakers.

I know nothing, zero, zilch about Hi Fi and I wonder if anyone can advise me on what would make a good system. Happy to spend up to a 1000 quid in total, and to buy second hand. Is this enough to get a decent-ish system?

Would much appreciate any suggestions on record decks, amps and speakers that would work together. Also, where is the best place to buy this stuff second hand? Is Ebay any good.

Thanks in advance!

Mark

PS If this has been discussed before would someone be kind enough to point me towards the thread? Cheers.

Go for the best turntable and stylus you can afford as your source is very important

project make a good range of turnatbles from just over a £100 to around a £1000 check out richer sounds for amps and speakers for £1000 you should be able to get a pretty good system to listen too

check out what hi fi's online site or buy a couple of mags what hi-fi is about the best for budget wise stuff the others hi-fi choice and cant remember other one are a bit highbrow.

the magazines have buyers guides and price guides so you can work out what you want.

dont know where you live but as said richer sounds, super-fi and practical hi-fi are all pretty good shops

mark

Happy to spend up to a 1000 quid in total, and to buy second hand. Is this enough to get a decent-is system?

I can never under stand collectors of vinyl (especially rare soul) spending vast amounts of hard earned cash on records then playing it on cheep audio equipment

Mates have often told me i'm not paying out on Hi Fi what i can spend on vinyl

The best deck to buy in my opinion is the Technics 1210 I run one of these at home with a Citronic SM 550 mixing desk and Technics SA 150 amp, speaker are Mission 760i, I find the sound is fine with the added bones of the Mono switch on the mixer which I prefer when listening to 60t soul on vinyl . All is available second hand for well under £1000. The best thing about running the mixing desk is you can plug in you're PC and CDplayer that makes playing all you're media better, if you like listening to posted sound files like I do you have the ability to alter the top, bottom and mid range of the file wich drastically improves the sound on some files. When you feel like partying thers two Mic inputs two CD and two Phono inputs

Whatever you buy if it's second hand I hope all goes well.

Steve J

Darren Harden (Awake 502) is a hi-fi EXPERT!

Are you there Darren?

He'll put you right.

Not only for advice but also for supply.

Sean

Happy to spend up to a 1000 quid in total, and to buy second hand. Is this enough to get a decent-is system?

The best deck to buy in my opinion is the Technics 1210 I run one of these at home with a Citronic SM 550 mixing desk and Technics SA 150 amp, speaker are Mission 760i, I find the sound is fine with the added bones of the Mono switch on the mixer which I prefer when listening to 60t soul on vinyl . All is available second hand for well under £1000. The best thing about running the mixing desk is you can plug in you're PC and CDplayer that makes playing all you're media better, if you like listening to posted sound files like I do you have the ability to alter the top, bottom and mid range of the file wich drastically improves the sound on some files. When you feel like partying thers two Mic inputs two CD and two Phono inputs

Steve J

1210s are great for DJing but for a home Hi-Fi you wanna be looking at a decent belt drive turntable. Agree with you about having a mixer to tweak recordings though, Steve. And the diddy missions are great entry level speakers. I have some in the dining room that must be nearly 20 years old and still sound nice.

Godz

forget techics decks for home use.

get the best system you can afford, dont just buy the "hifi mags best buys" go to a good hifi shop and tell them what youre after, and then use your ears and listen.

i use the following

nottingham annalogue mentor turntable

sme 5

music maker cartridge

audio innovations p2 phono pre amp

border patrol we300bse power amp

hedlund horns

all cables from living voice

it sounds f***kin brilliant imo

AND BEFORE ANYBODY SAYS IT I'M A SAD B******

1210s are great for DJing but for a home Hi-Fi you wanna be looking at a decent belt drive turntable. Agree with you about having a mixer to tweak recordings though, Steve. And the diddy missions are great entry level speakers. I have some in the dining room that must be nearly 20 years old and still sound nice.

Hi Godz

I play vinyl on my 1210 because I often dance round the room to up tempo soul I find that the arm doesn't jump unlike my belt drive, It's probable down to the ridged build of the Technics plus the sound from a not mint record sounds a lot better on the 1210 with a Stanton 500 on the end of the arm I find the Goldring GR2 much to sensitive for old vinyl that's not in the best of condition.

like you say the Missions have a nice sound to them.

Steve J

I don't think you'd have to spend a grand for a home system. I reckon it depends on the size of your room too.

I recently bought:

Marantz TT42 Turntable

Cambridge Azur 340A Amplifier

Gale 3010S Speakers

All came to around £350, perfect for the 7'x7' room i play my records in

All from Richer sounds Leicester. I didn't have a clue either and they showed me around and talked me through my needs and requirements. Brilliant.

Matt

1210s are great for DJing but for a home Hi-Fi you wanna be looking at a decent belt drive turntable. Agree with you about having a mixer to tweak recordings though, Steve. And the diddy missions are great entry level speakers. I have some in the dining room that must be nearly 20 years old and still sound nice.

Hi Godz

I play vinyl on my 1210 because I often dance round the room to up tempo soul I find that the arm doesn't jump unlike my belt drive, It's probable down to the ridged build of the Technics plus the sound from a not mint record sounds a lot better on the 1210 with a Stanton 500 on the end of the arm I find the Goldring GR2 much to sensitive for old vinyl that's not in the best of condition.

like you say the Missions have a nice sound to them.

Steve J

Sounds like you should invest in some decent carpet mate

Godz

Sounds like you should invest in some decent carpet mate

I'm not spending on carpet wat i can spend on VINYL

Edited October 1, 200618 yr by STEVE JOHNSTON

Some good advice posted up already Mark, but don't think anyone has said the most important piece of advice, "use your ears" !!

The HiFi mag guides are a good starting point but everyones hearing is different, what sounds good to you may sound only average to someone else e.t.c.

Most decent HiFi retalers will bring round a few different items for you to try in your own home if you ask, & that is the best way to choose.

Got to agree with Godz on the 1210's, thier popularity is based more on thier allround abillity in the DJ arena as opposed to just their sonic capability.You will get something much more refined for your money for home use as it's not likely to come in for much of a battering.

Also what someone said about the Goldring cartridges is probably true, but if you play a record in perfect condition they really do excell !!

Couple of other personal additions, the Amp is where you should be prepared to spend a good chunk, it is the heart of any system & mega bucks speakers or decks will still sound ordinary if coupled with a cheap amp !

That said, my choice of speakers would be the Bose acoustimass systems. Have been using these for about 15 yrs now & they still sound terrific !!

The HiFi mags used to be,at the best, indifferent to these at the time, but that was based more on the fact that they would not discount, no matter who the suppliers. Now these same mags champion them too.

A mate of mine replaced his with some Dynaudio's which were about 3 times the price, but he grudgeingly admitted later that they sounded no better when we compared them.

On top of thier fantastic sound, the tiny size is a major plus ! Just 2 sets of 3" square cubes per channel, + of course the Acoustimass subwoofer, which you can stick behind the settee or somewhere else out of the way.

Well worth the money if you can stretch to it

Good luck Mark, hope this helps.

I have a very expensive and beautiful system for playing back recordings both on vinyl and compact disc. However I would say:

IT'S WHAT'S IN THE GROOVES THAT COUNTS!

Berry Gordy was right.

I have a very expensive and beautiful system for playing back recordings both on vinyl and compact disc. However I would say:

IT'S WHAT'S IN THE GROOVES THAT COUNTS!

Berry Gordy was right.

Know what you mean, but i bet Berry wasn't using an Amstrad music center when he said it

I play vinyl on my 1210 because I often dance round the room to up tempo soul I find that the arm doesn't jump unlike my belt drive,

I solved that problem ten years ago by placing the decks on a 5,5cm thick slab of concrete. The needle hasn't skipped since

That said, my choice of speakers would be the Bose acoustimass systems. Have been using these for about 15 yrs now & they still sound terrific !!

The HiFi mags used to be,at the best, indifferent to these at the time, but that was based more on the fact that they would not discount, no matter who the suppliers. Now these same mags champion them too.

was just reading this the other day: https://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

must admit, all the Bose systems i've heard have sounded terrible IMO, but if it works for you then that's what matters... (goes for all hifi, only exception is buying new needles regularly and setting up the turntable right, otherwise you're ruining your records whatever they sound like...)

re: turntables - the problem with a lot of the good, cheap ones available these days (Pro-Ject, Rega, etc) is the difficulty in switching between 33 and 45 (have to remove the platter and change the belt - you can get a voltage switching box to do it though) . i'm thinking of upgrading from a Technics clone at some point, and will probably be looking out for a vintage one, fully manual, usually quite a few on Ebay from decent brands, only potential problem is getting it in one piece through the post...

was just reading this the other day: https://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

must admit, all the Bose systems i've heard have sounded terrible IMO, but if it works for you then that's what matters... (goes for all hifi, only exception is buying new needles regularly and setting up the turntable right, otherwise you're ruining your records whatever they sound like...)

re: turntables - the problem with a lot of the good, cheap ones available these days (Pro-Ject, Rega, etc) is the difficulty in switching between 33 and 45 (have to remove the platter and change the belt - you can get a voltage switching box to do it though) . i'm thinking of upgrading from a Technics clone at some point, and will probably be looking out for a vintage one, fully manual, usually quite a few on Ebay from decent brands, only potential problem is getting it in one piece through the post...

Interesting read that Bongolia But i do wonder if the writer has a bit of a bee in his bonet with Bose, perhaps it's because they wouldn't discount ?

Bit of a strange site ,i think that goes into such depth over a car headlight bulb

There are some links on this site so i had a look at one, which is a review site (see posted address), if you ignore the first post (& i do wonder if it is the same guy who done the hatchet job on the first site ?) the Bose Acoustimas get some reasonable reviews which back up what my ears tell me.

Think we both agree that's the only way to choose HiFi gear

I rember reading once, in What HiFi, that the experts reckon that choosing speakers is in fact the least important part of getting a good HiFi system. Thier opinion was that after the £200/300 range you really have to start to question wether the extra that you spend is worth the difference in the sound.

Review site below

https://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/fl...92_1594crx.aspx

P.S.

Check out review 6, wonder if they are talking about the guy who wrote the other article ?

Edited October 3, 200618 yr by Bogue