Got a TT, now need either a phono pre, or a vintage AVR with pre-outs

EndersShadow

So I will keep this short cause I dont have time right now to elaborate.

TNHNDYMAN graciously gave me a Pioneer PL-7 turntable over Thanksgiving when I met up with him and CoolJazz to look at vinyl and Mark (CoolJazz's) setup. I know enough to know I need something to take the signal from the TT and let me connect it to my Integra DTR 5.9 which doesnt have a phono input.

As I see it there are a couple options:

1. Buy a phono pre and be able to connect the TT to just about anything ever

2. Buy a vintage AVR for about the same price with a phono input and pre-outs and use that for now.

3. Same as 2 but with a pre (would prefer something Carverish like a C-1 or C-19 as I heard those are good, but realize I am cheap so not gonna happen)

Eventually the TT will be put in my dedicated 2 channel system so its going to not stay connected to the Integra 24/7, so moving it and another item like a vintage AVR isnt a big deal.

I hit up CL real quick in my area just to see whats out there and I found these:

NAD 7020 (50): http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/ele/3413719194.html
Pioneer sx727 (50): http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/ele/3413717302.html
Yamaha C-60 Preamp - (125): http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/ele/3422646490.html - bit more than I want to spend, but the phono part looks like it might be pretty good.
HK 3390 and Polks (200): http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/ele/3405801070.html - this is more than I want to spend so I am seeing what the HK would cost alone. I like it because I could also connect up my computer via coaxial but thats not a deal breaker.

So looking for idea's/thoughts ect. Say budget is under 100 since I want to keep this on the cheap side. Got suggestions on specific models to look for, got something to sell, ect let me know. Dont want to dump a bunch of cash in here so no crazy idea's .

Gotta run and unpack and pick up the dogs, will be checking back in tomorrow or maybe later tonight on th

EndersShadow

Also I would like to give a BIG Thank you to Travis for the TT. I am super pumped to playing around with it :biggrin:.

rromeo923

I have one of these I use and it works great. Price is right.
http://www.amazon.com/TC-750-BLACK-Audiophile-Phono-Preamplifier/dp/B000A36LQ4/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1353797957&sr=8-10&keywords=phono+preamp

TNHNDYMAN

First off I gave you the Technics SL B3 with a AT cart. I forgot to switch out and give you the Shure97mxe. I think your best bet is to get a nice phono pre. For inexpensive and a good start for you, I'd recommend the ART DJ phono pre you can find on amazon. It is very versatile and does a great job for under $100. Later if you like vinyl you can move up to a nice tube pre or cambridge 640p or maybe something like the zphono pre. It was good getting together yesterday for a brief visit.

TNHNDYMAN

I hope you enjoy it! Consider it a Christmas gift and/or baby shower gift for the dad to be. Congrats and let me know if you run into any issues with it. I wish we'd had time to hook it up to Mark's system and go over how to set the counterweight when changing carts out. No biggie, I can walk you thru it on the phone.

TNHNDYMAN

The phono pre romeo linked to is a good option, but I do prefer the ART that I have due to adjustable gain and the headphone monitoring as well as low pass rumble filter that you can switch on as needed.

EndersShadow

rromeo923 wrote: »

I have one of these I use and it works great. Price is right.
http://www.amazon.com/TC-750-BLACK-Audiophile-Phono-Preamplifier/dp/B000A36LQ4/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1353797957&sr=8-10&keywords=phono+preamp

TNHNDYMAN wrote: »

First off I gave you the Technics SL B3 with a AT cart. I forgot to switch out and give you the Shure97mxe. I think your best bet is to get a nice phono pre. For inexpensive and a good start for you, I'd recommend the ART DJ phono pre you can find on amazon. It is very versatile and does a great job for under $100. Later if you like vinyl you can move up to a nice tube pre or cambridge 640p or maybe something like the zphono pre. It was good getting together yesterday for a brief visit.

I hope you enjoy it! Consider it a Christmas gift and/or baby shower gift for the dad to be. Congrats and let me know if you run into any issues with it. I wish we'd had time to hook it up to Mark's system and go over how to set the counterweight when changing carts out. No biggie, I can walk you thru it on the phone.

The phono pre romeo linked to is a good option, but I do prefer the ART that I have due to adjustable gain and the headphone monitoring as well as low pass rumble filter that you can switch on as needed.

I consider it all of the above and a push to get into Vinyl. Might just be the nudge I needed :biggrin:. I am kinda looking forward to it. I do need to get a brush and some small supplies (suggestions appreciated) to help me clean stuff as I get it. Nothing nearly as expensive as a Spin Clean or whatever for right now.

Thoughts on the Pioneer SX, NAD or Yamaha C-60? The Pio and the NAD are about what those phono pre's are so I was curious. The Yamaha might be more expensive than I want given the Cambridge you linked to is about 25 bucks more and probably does a better job.

Travis is this what your talking about: http://www.amazon.com/ART-II-Preamplifier-Outputs-Switchable/dp/B000AJR482/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp

Drenis

You're better off getting something new and cheap for now buddy rather than some old receiver/stereo amp.

Get the phono pre and spin some tunes.

EndersShadow

Drenis wrote: »

You're better off getting something new and cheap for now buddy rather than some old receiver/stereo amp.

Get the phono pre and spin some tunes.

Sounds like thats the consensus so I will probably do just that. Dont want to get too deep in with my all of 2 LP's :biggrin:. Now time to implement Friday date night which will be dinner in BroadRipple and then some time at a local Vinyl shop with my wife picking out one or two records a trip to listen to.

P.S. will post a wanted just for giggles to see if there is a deal out there to be had :biggrin:

hochpt21

Congrats on the TT. Nice to see good deeds happening on the forum. Those two lp's will multiply in no time. Enjoy the journey.

silvertuner

man that yamaha c60 with that matching yamaha amp he doesnt have listed sure sounded good when i was over there last. just sayin Dan...

EndersShadow

silvertuner wrote: »

man that yamaha c60 with that matching yamaha amp he doesnt have listed sure sounded good when i was over there last. just sayin Dan...

Holy Crap a Ghost emerges from the shadows..... I didnt know you even got on anymore. Jeff and I were just talking about you last week lol....

I dont really need both a pre and a amp. I still have that old 5 channel Carver and a new improved refurbed Carver M1.0t incoming as well. Plus 125 is probably more than I need to spend right now. Kid incoming and all :biggrin:.

P.S. I think I have talked to this guy before and he had a Kenwood champagne colored stereo I was looking at. If so he also had a Carver piece of some sort. If this is the same fella do you remember anything else he might have? Dang you I might just have to contact him now.... grrrr............... spending more money...

TNHNDYMAN

Dan- this is the one I'm using and am happy with.


http://www.amazon.com/ART-USB-Phono-Plus-Interface/dp/B000BBGCCI/ref=pd_cp_MI_2

EndersShadow

TNHNDYMAN wrote: »

Dan- this is the one I'm using and am happy with.


http://www.amazon.com/ART-USB-Phono-Plus-Interface/dp/B000BBGCCI/ref=pd_cp_MI_2

Thanks Travis!

Interestingly enough, its got a optical out..... wonder how that compares to analog out sound wise...

silvertuner

EndersShadow wrote: »

Holy Crap a Ghost emerges from the shadows..... I didnt know you even got on anymore. Jeff and I were just talking about you last week lol....

I dont really need both a pre and a amp. I still have that old 5 channel Carver and a new improved refurbed Carver M1.0t incoming as well. Plus 125 is probably more than I need to spend right now. Kid incoming and all :biggrin:.

P.S. I think I have talked to this guy before and he had a Kenwood champagne colored stereo I was looking at. If so he also had a Carver piece of some sort. If this is the same fella do you remember anything else he might have? Dang you I might just have to contact him now.... grrrr............... spending more money...

His name is Mike, i have bought a few things off of him, nicest guy you will ever meet. his stuff is clean and 100 percent functioning. you name it he has it probably. lots of tube equipment, lots of vintage tube receivers, solid state, speakers, even SDA's lol. i cant name everything he has. he has 2 rooms in his house dedicated to just audio, one is listening with about 6 set-ups to play with at a time, and the other is everything he has collected but isnt currently using, which i swear there are 12 sets of speakers in there at any given time. its absolutely ridiculous. and yes, i do browse still, but i know everyone would dog my current set-up, so i leave it at what it is :cheesygrin:

EndersShadow

silvertuner wrote: »

His name is Mike, i have bought a few things off of him, nicest guy you will ever meet. his stuff is clean and 100 percent functioning. you name it he has it probably. lots of tube equipment, lots of vintage tube receivers, solid state, speakers, even SDA's lol. i cant name everything he has. he has 2 rooms in his house dedicated to just audio, one is listening with about 6 set-ups to play with at a time, and the other is everything he has collected but isnt currently using, which i swear there are 12 sets of speakers in there at any given time. its absolutely ridiculous. and yes, i do browse still, but i know everyone would dog my current set-up, so i leave it at what it is :cheesygrin:

Yup, thats him. I might just need to make a trip down there sometime. Its just a bit of a haul for me now living in Zionsville.

TNHNDYMAN

EndersShadow wrote: »

Thanks Travis!

Interestingly enough, its got a optical out..... wonder how that compares to analog out sound wise...

I like it for it's versatility. I've never tried it thru the optical but do plan on doing some LP conversions to digital thru the computer at some point. The optical out would be a nice feature if you were using a dedicated DAC that would have a significantly better anologue section.

Obsession18

Get the ART DJ Pre II, it can be found online for as little as $39, I have one and am quite happy with it. There are quite a few positive reviews on Amazon, some even preferred the ART over a Cambridge Audio 640P. This little unit has a surprisingly quite background and throws up a decent soundstage. Plus for $39 (with free shipping - Sweatwater.com) there is really nothing to loose, perfect match for a free TT.

EndersShadow

Obsession18 wrote: »

Get the ART DJ Pre II, it can be found online for as little as $39, I have one and am quite happy with it. There are quite a few positive reviews on Amazon, some even preferred the ART over a Cambridge Audio 640P. This little unit has a surprisingly quite background and throws up a decent soundstage. Plus for $39 (with free shipping - Sweatwater.com) there is really nothing to loose, perfect match for a free TT.

I have it tagged on my Amazon wish list for reference . For now I will simply do what mhardy suggests and use the R-300 I have already as the phono pre and see where it goes from there.

cnh

What is an R-300? A Yamaha receiver?

Those old Pioneers are OK with TTs if they're in working order. I run an old Realistic LAB table off a Pioneer SX-838 (slightly newer model). And it's good enough. Not an upscale system for sure.

The Phono section of my Nakamichi pre below is much better. But, you know, I never use that. Probably because I don't have a TT upstairs?

cnh

EndersShadow

cnh wrote: »

What is an R-300? A Yamaha receiver? cnh

Yes, its a Yamaha R-300 from my dad. According to mhardy I can use the TT connected to it, and then use the tape out to my Integra as a ghetto solution for now.

mhardy6647

ahem I wouldn't be surprised if the 'ghetto solution' betters current $300 standalone phono preamps ;-)

EndersShadow

mhardy6647 wrote: »

ahem I wouldn't be surprised if the 'ghetto solution' betters current $300 standalone phono preamps ;-)

When I said it was ghetto, I meant ghetto (effective), not say it was ghetto horrible sounding . Better terminology would have been the mhardy "McGuiver" solution . This is however assuming the Yamaha R-300's static issues are easily fixed and dont translate to additional noise/problems in the system.

mhardy6647

You over-interpreted my remark :-P

All I meant was don't discount the performance that the phono section of that modest little Yamaha might provide.
The static issues should be surmountable fo' shizzle.

As to ghetto solutions, shall we say that I am no stranger!
I'll share a couple of my less proud efforts :-) Interestingly, one of them does involve a (borrowed) home-made phonostage (and it sounded really good).



... and this one you might call horizontal bi-amping! :-) Testing an Altec 511B horn (and a cheap Pyle compression driver!) as a two-way system using a first order :-P XO and the bass section of an AR-2 speaker for LF - the horn is driven by one channel of the little hk 330i receiver; the woofer by the other channel. Feed a mono signal into the amp and use the balance control to balance the HF output to the woofer... :-)

EndersShadow

mhardy6647 wrote: »

You over-interpreted my remark :-P

All I meant was don't discount the performance that the phono section of that modest little Yamaha might provide.
The static issues should be surmountable fo' shizzle.

As to ghetto solutions, shall we say that I am no stranger!
I'll share a couple of my less proud efforts :-) Interestingly, one of them does involve a (borrowed) home-made phonostage (and it sounded really good).

... and this one you might call horizontal bi-amping! :-) Testing an Altec 511B horn (and a cheap Pyle compression driver!) as a two-way system using a first order :-P XO and the bass section of an AR-2 speaker for LF - the horn is driven by one channel of the little hk 330i receiver; the woofer by the other channel. Feed a mono signal into the amp and use the balance control to balance the HF output to the woofer... :-)

All I see is tubes in the pictures and the words get glazed over :biggrin:. And I totally understand my dad told me he spent 500 bucks on his TT, this Yamaha and a set of Boston Acoustic A-400's back in the day so I am sure its pretty good. Going to clean it Friday night and test it Saturday.

PolkieMan

The preamp I recommended would be fine for almost any turntable with a standard MM cartriage. If a receiver is what you need then by all means otherwise this little unit avoids the extra clutter and has a nice headphone jack. $15 and ships free


http://www.shopblt.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?action=thispage&thispage=00000Q724U018_BGB1151P.shtml&order_id=!ORDERID!

mhardy6647

I'd say...

invest the 15 smackers...

and then do a shoot out.

(I am truly an enabler)

schwarcw

Enders, call Tom. I think he has a couple of Marantz receivers that have preouts and sound pretty good. Prices would be rights.

4xoddic

The last 2 Yamaha 5.1 receivers I've bought since 1998, HTR-5960 & R-V1103, have had phono inputs. These units don't have HDMI & the latest 5.1/7.2 type formats. These, & other makes having phono inputs, ought to be plentiful @ flea markets, garage sales & Goodwill.

Hard to tell IF they would hold a candle to the Yamaha CA-600 I started with in 1972, but then, my hearing doesn't either.

EndersShadow

4xoddic wrote: »

The last 2 Yamaha 5.1 receivers I've bought since 1998, HTR-5960 & R-V1103, have had phono inputs. These units don't have HDMI & the latest 5.1/7.2 type formats. These, & other makes having phono inputs, ought to be plentiful @ flea markets, garage sales & Goodwill.

Hard to tell IF they would hold a candle to the Yamaha CA-600 I started with in 1972, but then, my hearing doesn't either.

True, but I have no want to replace my Integra DTR 5.9 downstairs right now which DOESNT have a phono input, but DOES have HDMI and about everything else I need right now. I really dont want a huge AVR in my rack for the sole purpose of its Phono input. A small phono pre is a MUCH better bet. I am already out of rack space as it is.

For my upstairs system I want to keep the vintage look so the Yamaha works just fine for now and I may go separates up there at some point, or just use a vintage AVR entirely (Marantz, HK, Yamaha, ect) and get a USB DAC for my computer and call it a day.

vinyladdict

If you are looking for a good receiver with phono inputs Onkyo still makes a couple of model "stereo" receivers . I have a model that only is rated at 50 watts a channel but I think it pushes a lot more than that, I can peel the paint off the walls at 1/4 volume with my 15 inch speakers . Best receiver I have ever owned and it was maybe $200 max . Check them out on Onkyo's website..