Cheap vinyl set up for my 16yo in her bedroom
Discussion
My daughter has got a thing for vinyl but because of the cost now she's had to compromise on CD's. She still really wants a turntable setup and for her upcoming 16th birthday I want to get her started in the wonderful world of analogue.
I'm a 80's teenager so had kit of the day (Marantz, Wharfedales etc), eventually reaching the heady heights of Ariston, Denon and B&W. For my 50th we got back into some of that and I now have refreshed with a Rega P1, NAD D3020V2 and B&W 606S2's, nothing audiophile but decent enough.
My choice for my daughter is either a Pro-Ject Primary E or Audio Technica LP3 turntable depending on whether swapping a belt for 45's is too much strain for a teenager. On speakers she'll make do with my old B&W DM601's until budget allows a more suitable smaller speaker for her not particularly big bedroom. We can quite easily add a classic cheap used CD player to fire up her more economical album collection.
Amplifier is my biggest challenge. I can get her a classic used phono stage amp like a Denon PMA or NAD 3020 but that won't give her any connectivity for wireless headphones or Spotify. I do appreciate that stuff on the D3020V2 even knowing the sound quality is compromised, it's used as much as my Sonos kit in that respect. I'm out of touch with any possible integration components to add to a classic amp so thinking its got to be a bottom end newbie from Richer Sounds or similar. Any guidance, suggestions appreciated. Cost is important and the bedroom is sonically compromised so just the best cheap mix of analogue performance and digital usability is what I'm after.
I'm a 80's teenager so had kit of the day (Marantz, Wharfedales etc), eventually reaching the heady heights of Ariston, Denon and B&W. For my 50th we got back into some of that and I now have refreshed with a Rega P1, NAD D3020V2 and B&W 606S2's, nothing audiophile but decent enough.
My choice for my daughter is either a Pro-Ject Primary E or Audio Technica LP3 turntable depending on whether swapping a belt for 45's is too much strain for a teenager. On speakers she'll make do with my old B&W DM601's until budget allows a more suitable smaller speaker for her not particularly big bedroom. We can quite easily add a classic cheap used CD player to fire up her more economical album collection.
Amplifier is my biggest challenge. I can get her a classic used phono stage amp like a Denon PMA or NAD 3020 but that won't give her any connectivity for wireless headphones or Spotify. I do appreciate that stuff on the D3020V2 even knowing the sound quality is compromised, it's used as much as my Sonos kit in that respect. I'm out of touch with any possible integration components to add to a classic amp so thinking its got to be a bottom end newbie from Richer Sounds or similar. Any guidance, suggestions appreciated. Cost is important and the bedroom is sonically compromised so just the best cheap mix of analogue performance and digital usability is what I'm after.
Literally just gone through this myself - both me getting back into vinyl at 47 and a new set up for my 12yo daughter.
Ended up with a Rega P1 Plus (but any line out TT would do) connected to a pair of gen 1 Sonos Play 5 which I picked up for £200 on ebay.
This way she gets to play records and spotify etc at the same time in a really simple system.
Ended up with a Rega P1 Plus (but any line out TT would do) connected to a pair of gen 1 Sonos Play 5 which I picked up for £200 on ebay.
This way she gets to play records and spotify etc at the same time in a really simple system.
Great suggestions thanks.
Hadn't occurred to me I could hook a turntable up to Sonos, I have an original ZonePlayer connected to the NAD and our One & Three don't support aux in. That would be a neat solution as it would give also her access to my ripped library on the NAS. Only stress is Sonos planned obsolescence and the difficulty of running the apps on old mixed kit.
The active BT speakers is another great shout, i recall the Wharefedale Active Diamonds doing similar back in the day but again me not being up with the latest tech (despite having various BT speakers) I hadn't twigged the modern capability. Those Ruarks look the dogs but my budget probably won't stretch that far and they're hens teeth second hand.
Whilst it would have been neat to have a vintage amp, the space compromise means either of the above solutions is the way to go (still needing to set up a decent turntable position).
I'm presuming I'll need a pre-amp if we go the Pro-Ject route, the LP3 seems to have a pre-amp built in.
Fun times reliving your own teenage years through your daughter ! She even likes most of my vinyl collection so its going to get some well deserved re-use after all these years plus we can share new vinyl purchases.
Hadn't occurred to me I could hook a turntable up to Sonos, I have an original ZonePlayer connected to the NAD and our One & Three don't support aux in. That would be a neat solution as it would give also her access to my ripped library on the NAS. Only stress is Sonos planned obsolescence and the difficulty of running the apps on old mixed kit.
The active BT speakers is another great shout, i recall the Wharefedale Active Diamonds doing similar back in the day but again me not being up with the latest tech (despite having various BT speakers) I hadn't twigged the modern capability. Those Ruarks look the dogs but my budget probably won't stretch that far and they're hens teeth second hand.
Whilst it would have been neat to have a vintage amp, the space compromise means either of the above solutions is the way to go (still needing to set up a decent turntable position).
I'm presuming I'll need a pre-amp if we go the Pro-Ject route, the LP3 seems to have a pre-amp built in.
Fun times reliving your own teenage years through your daughter ! She even likes most of my vinyl collection so its going to get some well deserved re-use after all these years plus we can share new vinyl purchases.
Speed 3 said:
I'm presuming I'll need a pre-amp if we go the Pro-Ject route, the LP3 seems to have a pre-amp built in.
Several of the Pro-Ject turntables have a phono pre-amp built in. The Pro-Ject E1 Phono is the step-in model at £300. Before pressing the button on the AT-LP3 you might want to have a quick look at the Aiwa APX-680BT. The 33/45 rpm speed change is push button. It includes a phono pre-amp. There are outputs for BT and USB so headphones or BT speakers and ripping to file are both covered. The deck's body is made from brushed aluminium, and the tonearm comes fitted with a decent Audio Technica cartridge which uses a standard headshell fitting so can be changed or upgraded when the time comes. Price: £180
The deck isn't fully automatic like the LP3, but it does have auto-stop.
https://eu-aiwa.com/product/apx-680bt/
I wouldn't be too concerned about the gen 1 sonos app. The only time you get a conflict is when you have mixed Gen 1 & 2 sonos in your system.
As she'll only have the Gen 1 kit In her bedroom there will be no problems.
If/when spotify etc moves on from Gen 1, she'll still have two great sounding active speakers in her bedroom (and a stereo pair of play 5s does sound really good and is plenty loud enough!). She's also 16 so she may not be still there when that eventually happens!
Oh and you may find that the people you buy the Play5's off haven't used the 30% discount code on the speakers which can be worth more than the cost of them in savings should you chose to upgrade to more modern sonos.
The only other thing to consider is the proximity of the turntable to where you want to place one of the speakers as you'll need to run a cable between them. This may or may not be a problem depending on your installation.
Aiwa TT is a great shout as well. That's a cracking and very versatile system for £380.
This is the 'official' sonos system: https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/vinyl-set-five-pr...
As she'll only have the Gen 1 kit In her bedroom there will be no problems.
If/when spotify etc moves on from Gen 1, she'll still have two great sounding active speakers in her bedroom (and a stereo pair of play 5s does sound really good and is plenty loud enough!). She's also 16 so she may not be still there when that eventually happens!
Oh and you may find that the people you buy the Play5's off haven't used the 30% discount code on the speakers which can be worth more than the cost of them in savings should you chose to upgrade to more modern sonos.
The only other thing to consider is the proximity of the turntable to where you want to place one of the speakers as you'll need to run a cable between them. This may or may not be a problem depending on your installation.
Aiwa TT is a great shout as well. That's a cracking and very versatile system for £380.
This is the 'official' sonos system: https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/vinyl-set-five-pr...
Another potential option is the following pair...........
Lenco L-3808 has a built in phono sage / line out so could be to feed directly onto some active speakers. Some very complementary reviews online; I remember Hi-Fi World give it the full 5 stars and saying is compared well to the more established audiophile gear. https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/record-players/lenco-l-...
The Edifier E25HD seems to get great reviews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TGZoubyeWM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-E25-RED-Audio-Spe...
Simple, compact, well made vinyl system with bluetooth included and remote control...........approx £340 for the pair.
Lenco L-3808 has a built in phono sage / line out so could be to feed directly onto some active speakers. Some very complementary reviews online; I remember Hi-Fi World give it the full 5 stars and saying is compared well to the more established audiophile gear. https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/record-players/lenco-l-...
The Edifier E25HD seems to get great reviews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TGZoubyeWM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-E25-RED-Audio-Spe...
Simple, compact, well made vinyl system with bluetooth included and remote control...........approx £340 for the pair.
Had a fun day researching the options and getting a bit nostalgic for electronic boxes.....
I'm not pursuing the Sonos option for a couple of reasons - cost used and the risk of the integration issues with Spotify down the line on the older speakers.
Given the lack of choice of active speakers under £300 I've decided to go for a passive pair of Q Acoustics 3010 or 2010 as they will be perfect for the limited space. I've got my eye on a used Pro-Ject Debut 3 or Rega P1 from 3 or 4 on the market, think I can can get one of them for £120 or less. That leaves the amp and to keep costs down I'm going old school with a Denon PMA-250, Arcam Alpha 3 or NAD3020 which will all do the job nicely and have the phono stage. If it starts with ageing faults I'll get it serviced or chop it in for another. Simple £25 Bluetooth adapter means she can stream Spotify off her phone into Aux and we can probably look at getting a cheap classic CD player for that part of her collection later. All in all I think I can do it for under £300 if my cheeky bids pay off.
I'm not pursuing the Sonos option for a couple of reasons - cost used and the risk of the integration issues with Spotify down the line on the older speakers.
Given the lack of choice of active speakers under £300 I've decided to go for a passive pair of Q Acoustics 3010 or 2010 as they will be perfect for the limited space. I've got my eye on a used Pro-Ject Debut 3 or Rega P1 from 3 or 4 on the market, think I can can get one of them for £120 or less. That leaves the amp and to keep costs down I'm going old school with a Denon PMA-250, Arcam Alpha 3 or NAD3020 which will all do the job nicely and have the phono stage. If it starts with ageing faults I'll get it serviced or chop it in for another. Simple £25 Bluetooth adapter means she can stream Spotify off her phone into Aux and we can probably look at getting a cheap classic CD player for that part of her collection later. All in all I think I can do it for under £300 if my cheeky bids pay off.
Edited by Speed 3 on Wednesday 13th July 21:55
Matt Cup said:
Don’t get one with this mechanism.
Also he has loads of record player videos which are in depth and easy to watch.
Another good channel who reviews new and old decks here.Also he has loads of record player videos which are in depth and easy to watch.
https://m.youtube.com/c/vwestlife/videos
Might be a bit late here, but in case your cheeky bids fail -
I did this for my brother in law who 'wasn't allowed' to buy himself a hi fi set up.
Fosi Audio BT20A + Fosi Box X1 phono pre amp - as someone suggested above. Both from AliExpress
I bagged a Pro Ject Debut on ebay for £70, but needed a stylus. I got an Ortofon e5 for £30 form Richer sounds.
Wharfedale diamond 9 passive speakers for a super bargain of £50 on Richer sounds.
cables also from ali express.
Probably £290 all in.
He, and I guess your daughter, will be going from crappy SQ from a laptop or computer, to hifi. It's a massive leap in quality of sound.
My BiL is chiffed to bits !
I did this for my brother in law who 'wasn't allowed' to buy himself a hi fi set up.
Fosi Audio BT20A + Fosi Box X1 phono pre amp - as someone suggested above. Both from AliExpress
I bagged a Pro Ject Debut on ebay for £70, but needed a stylus. I got an Ortofon e5 for £30 form Richer sounds.
Wharfedale diamond 9 passive speakers for a super bargain of £50 on Richer sounds.
cables also from ali express.
Probably £290 all in.
He, and I guess your daughter, will be going from crappy SQ from a laptop or computer, to hifi. It's a massive leap in quality of sound.
My BiL is chiffed to bits !
Tony1963 said:
911newbie said:
He, and I guess your daughter, will be going from crappy SQ from a laptop or computer, to hifi. It's a massive leap in quality of sound.
My BiL is chiffed to bits !
My BiL is chiffed to bits !
As long as you don't mean that ALL music played from a computer is crappy, as you'd be extremely wrong!
For sure you could hook your laptop up as a source for a high end hi fi, and then there's no difference to any other digital source.
But then, I doubt you really thought that's what I meant ...
Crackie said:
Another potential option is the following pair...........
Lenco L-3808 has a built in phono sage / line out so could be to feed directly onto some active speakers. Some very complementary reviews online; I remember Hi-Fi World give it the full 5 stars and saying is compared well to the more established audiophile gear.
The Lenco is fine but, if you shop around, for very little extra you can get an Audio Technica LP120. Both are Technics SL1200 rip offs in design, but the AT is far better imho. Lenco L-3808 has a built in phono sage / line out so could be to feed directly onto some active speakers. Some very complementary reviews online; I remember Hi-Fi World give it the full 5 stars and saying is compared well to the more established audiophile gear.
How about powered speakers such as the Edifier R1280DB with an Audio Technica LP60X turntable.
Bluetooth streaming, vinyl, plug & play, great quality and cheap.
https://www.kbaudio.co.uk/products/edifier-r1280db...
Bluetooth streaming, vinyl, plug & play, great quality and cheap.
https://www.kbaudio.co.uk/products/edifier-r1280db...
So far managed to bag a Pro-Ject Debut 3 for £90 and a pair of Q Acoustics 2010i's for only £33, all in perfect condition and sounding great hooked up to my NAD. Hopefully I will secure an Arcam Alpha 6 or 5 this weekend. Should all come in under £200 and about £250 with the bluetooth adapter and cabling. Happy days.
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