Record Player and Speakers - budget setup help?

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FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
Starting to think about putting a turntable in the sitting room for some casual evening listening. It's been so long since I had one I can't really remember how to set it up.

I guess I just need a decent deck and some speakers? Buying new - Had a quick look at some reviews and the Audio Technica come out well under £200 I have no clue as to speakers but would hope to spend under £500 on the whole set up.

Any advice on where to look, how to set up and what to avoid welcome. 
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Comments

  • joetelejoetele Frets: 947
    Without wanting to teach you how to suck eggs....You'll need the amplifier too as the vinyl deck won't connect directly to speakers itself. Is there a chain of Richer Sounds anywhere near you? They often have really reasonable prices on decent gear. Any amplifier made my someone like Cambridge Audio or Rotel is a pretty good budget option. I've had the same set of Wharfedale speakers for about 20 years with no issue. They're always fairly reasonably priced. Audio Technica is an ok brand on a budget too. The beauty of separates is that if one component fails, you only need to replace that one thing instead of the whole lot. 
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  • Cambridge Audio from Richer Sounds with Wharfedale speakers and a Project Debut turntable will be a great entry level set-up. 

    Get down a branch of Richers Sounds, and have a browse through some what-hi "best budget..." articles.
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Amp! I don't think I've ever put together a separation system. 

    There's a Richer Sounds in Southampton, a Hi Fi shop in Winchester and one near me just north of Petersfield. I'm in Winchester on Friday so might pop in. 
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  • £500 should easily be doable. I've just seen the Pro-ject Elemental turntable - an "exposed" type with no cabinet which will look cool and costs around £175 or less. It's been pre-set for the included arm and cartridge - tracking weight already adjusted and such. Makes me want one now, it's ages since I've played any of my vinyl.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    Make sure you get an amp that has a phono setting! Many don’t!

    Obviously if you buy it all from one shop they’ll make sure you get a turntable-compatible amp, but just letting you know. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
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  • viz said:
    Make sure you get an amp that has a phono setting! Many don’t!

    Obviously if you buy it all from one shop they’ll make sure you get a turntable-compatible amp, but just letting you know. 
    Good point! But you can also get cheap-ish phono preamps to go between the turntable and amp. I think Richer do one, aka Cambridge Audio, and looks like Pro-ject do one for £50.
    Some folks like water, some folks like wine.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    viz said:
    Make sure you get an amp that has a phono setting! Many don’t!

    Obviously if you buy it all from one shop they’ll make sure you get a turntable-compatible amp, but just letting you know. 
    Good point! But you can also get cheap-ish phono preamps to go between the turntable and amp. I think Richer do one, aka Cambridge Audio, and looks like Pro-ject do one for £50.
    Yep, also true!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • I got a Rega Planar 1, a Marantz PM5005 amp and some Wharfedale Diamonds for your budget and am more than happy with the performance and sound of this set up.
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  • duotoneduotone Frets: 971
    I got a Rega Planar 1, a Marantz PM5005 amp and some Wharfedale Diamonds for your budget and am more than happy with the performance and sound of this set up.
    I looked into this months ago & found a very thorough reviewer on YouTube, the Rega Planar 1 is what I would go for.

    Skip to 24.10 for his overall conclusion.

    https://youtu.be/MuuOgT0XBK0
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  • For that budget you can get a decent turntable setup
    Or
    a Great Cd/mp3 setup


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  • Second hand can also be a way to go, but you do need to be careful with turntables. I have a decent Linn Axis which came with a decent cartridge and cost me about the same as the entry models at Richer Sounds.
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  • Check out https://www.amptastic.com/ for an audio amplifier. Cheap as chips but damn good. I use one ATM in my tiny little rented room.

    Pro-Ject turntable gear always gets a good writeup. Nowt wrong with their phono stages either but you could also try the Musical Fidelity X-LPS which also works fine with MM cartridges (its a bit noisy with MC).

    Speakers - I'd try s/h KEFs off ebay, but be careful as some KEFs are not that efficient and the amptastic is rated at only 10W per channel. I use mine with a pair of old Leak 2020s, which are quite efficient.

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  • Just chipping in my 2 pennies worth. I agree about Richer Sounds. They’re a great shop. HiFi stuff can get SERIOUSLY expensive. So much so, anything under £1000 is pretty much considered ‘entry level’. I got a Rega Planar 1, Marantz PM6006 and a pair of Dali Zensor 3 speakers for about £750 altogether and I LOVE it. Careful though... it’s an expensive rabbit hole to disappear into! 
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  • Basically go into Richer Sounds and say ‘I want a vinyl set up and my max budget is £500’ They regularly come top of ‘most trusted retailer’ polls and stuff like that. 
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  • Great place for older good used stuff..

    http://www.retrotechaudio.co.uk/currently-for-sale.html

    Really cannot recommend them enough. 
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  • Tone71Tone71 Frets: 619
    I bought a Pioneer p112d for a steal on eBay (probably £30) cleaned it up and it worked a treat, there isnt too much to go wrong with them. Oynko a9010 amp, Wharfedale diamond speakers and a great cheap cd payer on here, the whole set up was less than £500 and sounds great to my ears.

    Good luck and enjoy
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Sorted.

    Picked up a used walnut base Sansui turntable, some eraly 70's Wharfdale Denton speakers and an 80's Toshiba amp from a local contact for the grand total of £150 all in, including cables and speaker stands. Sounds superb.

    Thanks for the advice all.
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  • joetelejoetele Frets: 947
    Fuengi said:
    Sorted.

    Picked up a used walnut base Sansui turntable, some eraly 70's Wharfdale Denton speakers and an 80's Toshiba amp from a local contact for the grand total of £150 all in, including cables and speaker stands. Sounds superb.

    Thanks for the advice all.
    I'm glad it's sorted - it sounds a lot like my Dad's hifi setup that lasted him over 30 years and now lives on in my sister's house. Pics would be very welcome :) 
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    joetele said:
    Fuengi said:
    Sorted.

    Picked up a used walnut base Sansui turntable, some eraly 70's Wharfdale Denton speakers and an 80's Toshiba amp from a local contact for the grand total of £150 all in, including cables and speaker stands. Sounds superb.

    Thanks for the advice all.
    I'm glad it's sorted - it sounds a lot like my Dad's hifi setup that lasted him over 30 years and now lives on in my sister's house. Pics would be very welcome :) 
    I'll take some shots this evening and post.
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
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