Audiophilia Newbie Looking to Expand System

September 17, 2012 - 6:17pm

BaronKatz

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Last seen: 11 years 6 months ago

Joined: Sep 17 2012 - 5:59pm

Audiophilia Newbie Looking to Expand System

September 18, 2012 - 1:48pm

commsysman

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Joined: Apr 4 2006 - 11:33am

Your budget is so small that it is hard to name any one thing that might work.

One thing that comes to mind is a pair of Polk Monitor 40 speakers for your main speakers. You should be able to get them from Amazon for under $200 new.

Almost every HT receiver is made in China; lots of luck finding anything that isn't.

BaronKatz wrote:

Hello Everyone,

I am a newbie to Sterephile equipment and I wanted to get advice on some possible Speakers and maybe an amp or receiver. Here is the equipment I have so far:

Pioneer PL-514 modified with some insulation upgrades and a Shure V-15 3 with Ed Saunders Needle.

Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray player (it has 4 Wolfson DAC's)

Sony STR-DA1E 5.1 Channel Receive running 2 Pansonic bookshelfs in stereo and a center and 2 rear surround Sony's (All horrid speakers).

Polk Audio RM1000W 10" subwoofer (no amp yet).

Cables:

DH Labs Silver BL-1 (Silver over copper)

Zu Audio Oxyfuel

HomeGrown Audio Super Silver (Pure silver)

BlueJeansCable Belden with Canare connectors.

I am debating whether to just leave the 5.1 Channel Receiver and get a good stereo amp for the Turntable that I can also run a SACD transport on. I would love to get a Tube amp but unfortunately all of them seem to be stratospheric in price. My price range is in the $100-$200 range I want something used that's not been outsourced to a developing country (AKA Made in Europe, USA, or Japan).

I have seen many B&K receivers sell in this range and I really like the Onkyo TX-NR5000E although I have yet to see one used anywhere. Another option is a Marantz SR 8000 or 9000. So these might be an option but I don't know how much of a sound difference they would give.

As far as speakers go I have seen many on craigslist for the $100-200 range, especially Polk Audio. Any recommendations as far as speakers? I want them to be aesthetically pleasing as well as for them to sound good.

Any advice you can give this newbie would be great. I have been reading Good Sound by Laura Dearbourne and it has really been an eye opener for me! Thank you all in advance and I am very much looking forward to all your replies.

September 18, 2012 - 4:10pm

BaronKatz

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Last seen: 11 years 6 months ago

Joined: Sep 17 2012 - 5:59pm

commsysman wrote:

Your budget is so small that it is hard to name any one thing that might work.

One thing that comes to mind is a pair of Polk Monitor 40 speakers for your main speakers. You should be able to get them from Amazon for under $200 new.

Almost every HT receiver is made in China; lots of luck finding anything that isn't.

I wasn't thinking of buying anything new at all, more like used gems. Some examples are: I bought a Pioneer BDP-51FD in Mint condition for $80 Including shipping (IE around $50, was $600 new), Super Silver HGA cables for $50 (Were $230 new). You can even buy a receiver that was $2000 new just 10 years ago that was Made in Japan and now costs $200 on eBay or Craigslist. B&K is a great example of this... Just like you can buy a used Loewe TV for $100 that cost $3500 new 10 years ago and still beats out many modern sets in terms of contrast, colour, and definately black levels. I guess I am looking for the audio equivilent of this in terms of a Receiver OR Amplifier and Speakers.

I quite like some 90s A/D/S speakers I have seen but need more recommendations and specific ones. Maybe most Japanese brands now make their receivers in Malaysia, but 5-10 years ago many of them were still made in Japan. Most American and European companies with extremely high end audio still produce in the US with the exception of a few such as Rotel, Cambridge Audio, Arcam, etc... who have outsourced a lot.

September 28, 2012 - 10:11pm

BaronKatz

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Last seen: 11 years 6 months ago

Joined: Sep 17 2012 - 5:59pm

So I've decided to upgrade my speakers first and upgrade my receiver/amp/preamp later. So I am debating between two options: passive speakers directly to receiver or active speakers via a preamp. I want to get The speakers I have been seeing in my price range so far include:

Mirage M-790's

JBL Northridge E90's or 100's

ADS L1290 or L1590 (If I can find them in my price range)

Polk Audio Towers

Paradigm Export Bipolar

B&O Penta (Built in amplifier). For these speakers or Active ones, I would get a pre-amp. Has anyone any experience with the DavidYeeAudio Tube Preamps or Amps? They seem pretty inexpensive but I'm not sure how the sound quality is on them... Supposedly they are handmade by him in Canada.

Please help me narrow down the list to see what the best would be within my budget. I could also get Spica TC-50s or something similar but I prefer Towers... If you have any that should be removed from the list or any other ones I should be searching for to add to the list please let me know. I am looking for the best sound quality possible within my budget but also with a decent design (I prefer Black speakers that look sleek, not old looking brown 70s style ones). I prefer Speakers from the 80s-90s or perhaps the early 00s at the latest. Thank you!

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