Please help a complete newb in finding turntable / receiver / speakers!

Ringside

Okay first an introduction.....

I'm an Englishman who is now based in Dallas, and all of my life I've used shelf systems...ie all in ones with built in turntable, cassette and CD player.

A few year ago my system broke and I never replaced it as most of my music listening was done via the PC for a good while as my records were stored away due to lack of space.

Last year I moved to Dallas and in transporting my record collection I got the bug again. I purchased a cheap Aiwa PX E860 from eBay just to get me by, and since then I've had that hooked up to my computer (turntable has a built in pre amp) just to allow me to listen to some of my old tunes...I've also started splashing out on new vinyl again too.

So now I'm thinking about building up a cheapo system, and I know the old saying "Cheap ain't good and good ain't cheap" but I will tell you now that I'm not an audiophile, I do love music but not to the point of spending hundreds upon hundreds or thousands of dollars on kit...not that I have the money to spend anyway!

Initially I was looking around and thought about getting a modern receiver with HDMI's and the works that also has a phono input. That way I could set a turntable up AND hook it up to my TV via HDMI, but it seems popular opinion is that if using a turntable, stereo receivers are boss. Would that be agreed upon?

So....with that being in mind I've got a couple of options. New gear or older
gear?

I checked out a couple of yard sales and markets today and this interested me the most: Pioneer SX-650 receiver, the guy said it powered up but he didn't know if everything worked or not. That was $50 though could probably have been knocked down it seemed.

There were no turntables to speak of but a few pairs of speakers. I don't need anything hugely loud (apartment life!) and have been looking at the reviews these get: Sony SS-B3000 - they seem very popular and within my price range even brand new. Any opinions?

I looked at new receivers and old vintage Technics receivers and to be honest I'm undecided. Same goes with the Turntable and speakers.

The kind of music I listen to mostly would be punk, that takes up a good 80% of my collection, but I also like older country etc.

Any feedback, opinions, suggestions would be great!

Thanks!

PS) This is my first post but I've been browsing for a while now.

cfrizz

Welcome to Club Polk Ringside.

HB27

Welcome to the club.
Boy, did you ever come to the wrong place for a cheap system.
Some of us spend more on cables than your complete budget.
Once you get the bug there's no going back. It's a bottomless money pit trying to find a nicer sound and then eventually just a couple of more notes out of your speakers.
Monitor 5 or Monitor 7 Polks are excellent speakers and can be had for less than $100 and even less from Craigslist, Thrift stores, etc.
There's so many options on amplification I'd just recommend trying some nice inexpensive vintage receivers or integrated amps you can find locally.
CD players can be had cheap. $5 up to thousands of $.
It's all up to you how far you end up going with this hobby/obsession and how deep you'll eventually dig into the pockets.

quadzilla

Welcome also. I'm in the Dallas area (just to the north in Richardson), and know a few people around that are into this hobby. When you hit the required number of posts, pm me and maybe you can drop by. I've got a few different things you could listen to as well to maybe help you get an idea of what qualities you're looking for in a system and how different bits and bobs can add up to that desired end result.

I would also suggest starting to get familiar with craigslist if you aren't already. For example, I saw a guy selling RTi12s on there this weekend for 225 ea. So a lot will come down to being patient and knowing what you're looking for, then jumping on deals when they pop up. I would not advise just buying whatever you can afford right now because that's what happens to be available. If it's that bad, we can transfer a few of your album to an ipod or something just so you have something to listen to in the mean time.

And a good system can be had on a fairly strict budget.... I have a Thorens table, Sony ES series AVR and a set of Frazier Concerto Ds that I have a total of $250 in. Well, at least I did until I decided to upgrade the cart to an Ortofon Super OM30. That pushed it up to around 550. My main system though.... whoooo... I don't let myself dwell for long on how much I've spent on that one. And sadly, I've come to realize I'm barely getting started.

thsmith

Welcome to CP ringside.

I live in Plano north of Dallas.

There are a lot of options for not a lot of money but will be used.

Quad's advice on craigslist is a good one also look at CL in Austin. Great deals there and not a far drive.

Jeff_J

I'm going to echo what quadzilla and thsmith have both said. CL Dallas is an excellent resource for used gear. It's got everything from mild to wild on there. I built my two systems buying stuff exclusively from that site. D/FW and Austin have gotta be some of the best CL examples out there imo.

Ringside

Well thanks for the welcome guys, it's appreciated...thanks to the Dallas locals too!

I may have something as of tomorrow...if that's the case I'll post back here with the info. Nothing earth shattering to you guys I'm sure but a good start for me.

I'm sure a lot of people here have spent more on cables than I intend to spend on my entire set up and that's fine, after reading up over the past few months I'm sure I can build up a decent (mostly used) system that will suit my needs and I can have fun swapping and upgrading bits when I get the chance.

Yea craigslist does seem the place to keep an eye on, I tried ebay's local auctions but items ALWAYS seem to shoot up at the last minute. I've been in touch with a couple of people over the last day or two and I'm just waiting to hear back from.

As for speakers, I'm waiting to hear about a couple of vintage sets that I spotted someone selling though I may just buy new as far as they go. I'm not really looking for large floor standing speakers but you never know what's going to come up.

Okay thanks again!

hearingimpared

Welcome to Club Polk Ringside! What's your budjet on the turntable? Just some friendly advice, dont' buy a peice of crap turntable . . . you will not enjoy your vinyl with it. I'm not saying to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars yet but get a good one and that should keep you happy until the upgrade bug kickes in.

If you need any help or have questions about turntable and the associated equipement and accessories, Please don't hesistate to contact me.

quadzilla

hearingimpared wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk Ringside! What's your budjet on the turntable? Just some friendly advice, dont' buy a peice of crap turntable . . . you will not enjoy your vinyl with it. I'm not saying to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars yet but get a good one and that should keep you happy until the upgrade bug kickes in.

This. If it came down to just getting something or waiting a bit, I've got a so-so yamaha table I wouldn't mind loaning out. It's just sitting on my hearth any way.

Ringside

Hello again all.

Okay I now have in my possession a Nikko NR-715 receiver. When I saw it I couldn't really turn it down as it was in EX condition and had recently had the lights redone and now it glows! I paid $30 for it and just recently I've seen em go for $60+ on eBay so when / if I upgrade if I'm lucky I'll get my money back on it.

Anyway I figured it would be a good starter receiver for me to dabble with, it seems to get generally pretty good comments on a couple of forums I've seen, certainly not high end hardware but certainly decent looking.

Now today I was given a Realistic LAB 395 Turntable, it looks to be in good working order but needs a cartridge & stylus. Is this worth pursuing?

Thanks all!

Ringside

By the way thanks for all the replies / offers folks!

quadzilla

Ringside wrote: »

Now today I was given a Realistic LAB 395 Turntable, it looks to be in good working order but needs a cartridge & stylus. Is this worth pursuing?

Thanks all!

Well, it's a table. Some quick google-foo indicates it's nothing to get excited about. On the other hand, you can pick up a cart for < 50. I guess it'd be up to you on whether you want to put that much into a table that sells for under 30 currently.

Offer of the yamaha as a loaner still stands.

Ringside

Thanks a lot for the offer Quadzilla but I couldn't. It is greatly appreciated though, you're very generous!

I guess I'll keep a look out for another few weeks and see what turns up. If I find something better I can always keep it in the closet as a 'spare' to one day realize I'm never doing anything with it and get rid of it! haha.

I have a speaker related question....Is there any reason why old as in 'vintage' speakers would be better than modern new? Obviously aside from old high end compared to modern cheapo's!

I was actually looking at the following Polk's:

TSI100

or slightly better according to reviews:

TSI200

Again any info, comments or opinions would be weclomed and taken on board!

Cheers everyone.

coolsax

well with a budget you might want to also look at the monitor 30's and 40's from newegg.com.. pretty close to the same speaker but the monitor is an older version by a couple of years and cheaper usually.

quadzilla

take a look at http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/ele/1868793362.html or http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ele/1885611975.html

The TSi series isn't bad, nor are the Monitor series. What's your budget for speakers? That would help with the recommendations.

Ringside

Well I don't really have a budget. Of course I'm looking for a bargain seeing as it's for my first set up...and again it doesn't have to be top spec, I can see this being something that I'll fan fun upgrading and swapping around later on.

I can get some TSI100's for just under $100 new, not sure about the other models though.

hearingimpared

hearingimpared wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk Ringside! What's your budjet on the turntable? Just some friendly advice, dont' buy a peice of crap turntable . . . you will not enjoy your vinyl with it. I'm not saying to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars yet but get a good one and that should keep you happy until the upgrade bug kickes in.

If you need any help or have questions about turntable and the associated equipement and accessories, Please don't hesistate to contact me.

You still haven't answered the question on the budget for the TT. Also how many LPs do you have? Are you looking to seriously get into vinyl?

Des Moines

Ringside wrote: »

Well I don't really have a budget. Of course I'm looking for a bargain seeing as it's for my first set up...and again it doesn't have to be top spec, I can see this being something that I'll fan fun upgrading and swapping around later on.

I can get some TSI100's for just under $100 new, not sure about the other models though.

Ringside, I have a set of Infinity Crescendo 3-way monitors cs3006 that I bought new. Great sound and shape for 150. I might be able to yet a free ride for them to Dallas or Austin.

Ringside

hearingimpared....I'm a huge music fan, but as to whether I'm "serious"...probably not compared to a lot of folks on this board! I have around 400 LP's and 250 - 300 7"s. As for budget...to get me off the ground I was hoping to get a reasonable used Technics (albeit entry level I'm sure) deck for around $75 or under.

Des Moines....Thanks for the offer, I'm going to check out the prices on the rest of the Polk range before I make a decision.

camp21178

I have a pair of TSi 100's with a separate subwoofer and they sound great with my vintage Harman Kardon PM650 amplifier. It's a nice two channel system. You will like their sound.

Ringside

Thanks for the input camp21178. These speakers may be entry level Polk's but they do get a lot of positive comments.