What deck/amp/speakers? £500

[Blib]

For Christmas our son would like a turntable, amp and speaker set up.

I'm totally out of the loop with these things. (I've a Rega Planar 3 and Meridian 101 amp bought many, many years ago.)

What would be a good set up to get him started with vinyl?

Budget £500.

Thank you.

[RedCarsAnonymous]

Since no-one else bit, I'll have a try. You're really going to struggle with that budget, it sounds like it ought to be, but it just isn't any more, not for new, off the shelf purchases anyway - and some part of the setup is going to be a massive compromise.

Used kit brings it's own problems & is no longer a cheap option.




Richer Sounds used to be the byword for cheap hifi, that might still be the case online, but in my local store at least, they've been focusing on selling massive TVs and expensive gear for 20+ years (and pallet loads of "promotional" purchases, to be fair).


I prefer DJ (or a least DJ-looking ) turntables so I'd suggest the Lenco L-3809 @ 179 GBP, but if you want something more sparse, the Pro-Ject Primary E is the same price.

The Yamaha RS202D would add DAB + Bluetooth to your amplification for 229 GBP.

I wouldn't buy cabling etc from them, but 10m of Van Damme speaker cable would be about 15 GBP from eBay, if you look up Kenable on eBay, some of their more fancy interconnects are less than 3 GBP. Cheap banana plugs will get you started (though the Yamaha RX I suggested doesn't support them) at the speaker end, assuming they'll take them.

That leaves you with 74 GBP for the speakers, which is a hell of an ask ...

I have a sneaking suspicion that their cheap speakers - Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 (49 GBP), Mordaunt Short M10 (59 GBP), Wharfedale Diamond 220 (99 GBP) - won't be in stock in a store, but those starting at 300 GBP will be Mail order I'd hope would be different.

I really like the DALI Spektor 2's, but at 229 GBP they bust the 500 GBP budget wide open - and are still very small.


Decent powered speakers won't be any cheaper than a good amp/passive speaker pairing. They will also limit future upgrades - but they will take up less space.


You don't say how old your son is, or what space he's trying to fill - if it's a bedroom in your house, maybe the thin sound from the sub- 75 GBP xmas cracker prize sized speakers are just the ticket

[Blib]

Thank you so much for your very informative reply. PH at its best.

Our son's at uni. This will be for his room at home. The budget has been set by his mother. I reckon that we can up it a bit.

[bungz]

Diamond 9.1s, Sony STRDH190.CEK Bluetooth receiver and a project primary E deck smidge under 500 on Amazon as a example.

Prices have definitely gone up recently.

Someone else will have to buy the cables!

[Blib]

Thanks for that!

[Crackie]

Good advice from RedCarsAnonymous. In addition to the suggestions made, I'd also consider active speakers paired with the Lenco L-3809 turntable.

Adam Audio have a superb reputation and a pair of their model T7V speakers is likely to outperform any passive setup at the £500 budget point.
Here is a review of the model T7V in the Pro audio Sound on Sound magazine. The reviewer concluded they performed well above their price point ( they were £358 when reviewed ) the reviewer concluded they were very close in performance to another ADAM model, the well respected Adam Audio A7X which are £900 a pair.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/adam-t7v

The Lenco has an adjustable output which can be set to deliver a line level signal...........this would feed directly into each speaker. The speakers have adjustable LF and HF controls on the rear which will allow your son to adjust the sound to the shape / size of the room the system is going to be used in and his choice of sound balance. The only real downside I can think of is that the speakers volume control is also on the rear.

If the brief is to have a TT only system then the active ADAM T7V speakers + Technics 1200 clone turntable ( Lenco L-3809 or Audio Technica AT-LP120X or similar ) is likely to outperform any passive TT + amp + speakers £500 system by a considerable margin.

If the intention is to possibly add other sources in the future then a passive setup with separate amp might make sense...........but if it is for vinyl only and the best sound quality is what you're after then active is the way to go.

Edited by Crackie on Tuesday 23 November 22:23

[toon10]

If you can still get the Onkyo A-9010 amplifier, they review well (5 stars on What Hi-Fi) and come in at £200. It has a moving magnet phono stage so no need for a pre-amp unless you want to upgrade later.

£179 gets you a decent Project record player. I have a debut 3 se but they do cheaper options.

If you can budget £200 for speakers (slightly over your budget) then that opens up a few good options. Q Acoustic 3020i are popular and the Dali Spektors and Wharfedale Diamond options come in around that price too.

I've not heard how all of these sound together but I'd imagine you can build a really nice sounding system around that budget. I have a Yamaha RN-602 in my home office which is a little more (around £350 I think) but with something like that, you get Internet radio, USB slot for stored music files, streaming for Spotify, AirPlay, etc. It just adds an extra dimension for easier source options if records become of a faff!

[Blib]

Thank you both.

[Chrishum]

For the sake of simplicity I’d consider the Project Jukebox E. it’s essentially a full system once you add speakers which saves a ton of space.

Any amp/turntable combo will need more wires, possibly a pre amp too. If it’s an ease of use rather than the most perfect possible sound you’re looking for then less kit is definitely a bonus.

Edited by Chrishum on Tuesday 23 November 11:43

[Blib]

That's interesting!

[pitchfork]

Surely, the first thing to do is find out what sort of sound he likes, which means listening to various set-ups. The easiest one to access is your own, so why not sit him down and ask him to tell you what he likes/dislikes about it.

[Blib]

pitchfork said:

Surely, the first thing to do is find out what sort of sound he likes, which means listening to various set-ups. The easiest one to access is your own, so why not sit him down and ask him to tell you what he likes/dislikes about it.

I'd agree with you if we were thinking if spending serious dosh. But, we're settling for a simple set up.

[Nico Adie]

If it was my money and buying new...

Audio Technica AT-LP3 turntable - £199 at Amazon or Electricshop - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATLP3-AT-L... OR https://www.electricshop.com/audio-technica-at-lp3...

Yamaha A670 amp - £188 here - https://www.electricshop.com/yamaha-a670-stereo-am...

Q Acoustic 3010 speakers - £99 at Richer Sounds - https://www.richersounds.com/q-acoustics-q3010-mat...

£486 total, should be under £500 factoring in postage.

Edited by Nico Adie on Tuesday 23 November 15:55

[Oilchange]

That looks like a good spec, I have Cambridge Audio Minx XL book ends and they're amazing, reduced to £179 now

The Yamaha A670 has Sub out too which not all have so if you are inclined get a subwoofer at some stage too, although that will shake the walls a bit!

[0a]

I would look at second hand kit. £200 over budget, but something like this perhaps? https://hifiwigwam.com/megastore/product/complete-...

The great thing about second hand kit is they bought well, you can sell for more or less what you paid for it.

[Blib]

Thanks for the posts. As it's an Xmas present I'd rather buy new.

[Oilchange]

If space is a premium I read a thread a while back about a chap who bough one of these amps
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Amplifier-Chann...
for his office and for its size was very capable.
Again, got Sub out amongst other useful connectivity

[stevoknevo]

0a said:

I would look at second hand kit. £200 over budget, but something like this perhaps? https://hifiwigwam.com/megastore/product/complete-...

The great thing about second hand kit is they bought well, you can sell for more or less what you paid for it.

I agree with you regards second hand kit personally, but he's specifically after a turntable and there's no TT in that listing...

[miniman]

toon10 said:

If you can still get the Onkyo A-9010 amplifier, they review well (5 stars on What Hi-Fi) and come in at £200. It has a moving magnet phono stage so no need for a pre-amp unless you want to upgrade later.

£179 gets you a decent Project record player. I have a debut 3 se but they do cheaper options.

If you can budget £200 for speakers (slightly over your budget) then that opens up a few good options. Q Acoustic 3020i are popular and the Dali Spektors and Wharfedale Diamond options come in around that price too.

I've not heard how all of these sound together but I'd imagine you can build a really nice sounding system around that budget. I have a Yamaha RN-602 in my home office which is a little more (around £350 I think) but with something like that, you get Internet radio, USB slot for stored music files, streaming for Spotify, AirPlay, etc. It just adds an extra dimension for easier source options if records become of a faff!

This is precisely what I have, albeit the turntable is a couple more rungs up the ProJect ladder. Sounds great. 3020s are fab.