BudgetAudiophile

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KintsugiUwU@lemmy.world

Starting out (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 months ago by puck@lemmy.world to c/budgetaudiophile@lemmy.world

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I’m looking for some advice starting out with a budget audiophile set up. I have a smallish vinyl collection (100 records) and a large collection of CDs from my childhood that I want to set up in my new place. Until now I’ve always had cheap rubbish players for them because I’ve been listening to most of my music via streaming and headphones (Sony xm4).

I’m planning to listen to my collection in a room in my home again and I was wondering what people would recommend in terms of a turntable, a cd player, and speakers. I’m a total noob so I’m not even sure if I need an amp/ receiver etc. I’m willing to spend around €500 (based in Europe) and would like gear that has a small footprint.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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[–] HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 4 months ago

See what you can find in junk shops.

You can find older AVRs for peanuts, and occasionally a nice vintage part, especially if you can do minor fixes. Speakers may need inspection, as they might have rotted surrounds or be torn.

[–] wingsfortheirsmiles@feddit.uk 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

A bit beyond your budget (this came to £487/€565) but maybe something like:

Turntable - Audio Technica LP60XBT: supports Bluetooth, so will be able to connect to your BT headphones as well possibly(?) to the active speakers, saving on more cabling. Despite the cheap price, this is a solid turntable in its own right and includes a phono stage and serviceable cartridge.
CD Player - Tangent CD II: honestly not that familiar with Tangent but seems to have good reviews, is compact and one of the cheapest out there. Connect to active speakers via SPDIF out or line out
Active Speakers - Edifier R1280DB: being active speakers, you'll save on needing an amplifier and can connect the CD player and turntable (assuming you can't connect the two via BT) directly. You can also connect your phone or laptop to these speakers via BT. Not the smallest but fairly compact.

This is over your budget but it's tough to get under unless you go second hand or score an excellent deal

[–] puck@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thanks so much for your recommendations, I can definitely go a little higher if I do it in stages. Priority is probably turntable and some speakers. I might push the boat out and get a Rega Planar 1, Edifier Speakers seem like the best I’ll do in my budget. Then leave the CD player to next year.

[–] wingsfortheirsmiles@feddit.uk 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Glad I could help, yes stages is a good idea. Funnily enough, I want to upgrade my Planar 1 hah. Recently upgraded my amp and speakers which was hefty hit to the wallet even getting a bit back from my old gear

[–] puck@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sounds fun (and expensive haha). Did you enjoy the Planar 1 for the time you had it?

[–] wingsfortheirsmiles@feddit.uk 1 points 4 months ago

Yes! Damn good for a first turntable, had it for just under 6 years. That was the older RP1 but I've heard that the Planar 1 is just as good, a bit more refined even

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

These are all great suggestions.

If you’ve got a used audio store near you, you might be able to pick up a better record player, but you’ll also need to do a lot of reading first.

Avoid vinyl over Bluetooth if you can. It’s okay if the player has Bluetooth, but use a wired connection if you can.