byrdiblack
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Entry setup for vinyl + cassette+ streaming (TV surround not needed)
Bill B
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Sure, you can use your existing speakers w/ your new stereo.  No problem, as long as the amp or receiver you pick has "pre outs" (preamp outputs).

If you stick with those Tannoys, or other powered speakers, you won't need a power amp at all (or the power amp section of a receiver or integrated amp), and could put your money into a good quality preamp.

byrdiblack
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Thanks for the response Bill! 

So it looks like the Harman Kardon has the preouts needed to run powered speakers...am I wrong? 

Is there another $200- $400 receiver (that has a bluetooth connect option) with preouts that you can suggest? It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack for me!  

byrdiblack
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Bumping because I'm closing in on my purchase plan. 

Would this work as a budget setup?

Pro-ject Carbon + HK Bluetooth receiver>  Harmon Kardon HK 3490 Receiver> Dayton Audio B652 Bookshelf Speakers

 

I figure I'll buy some good affordable speakers while I wait to figure out how to utilize my powered tannoys which take balanced XLRs into a Harmon Kardon receiver.

Bill B
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Correct, the hk has preouts. 

I think the tannoys accept "regular" (non-XLR) connections too, don't they?

commsysman
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The HK 3490 is remarkable in that it has a phono preamp built in, plus preouts, plus many other features not commonly found in stereo receivers.

It also has very good sound quality for its price, and a lot of power. It can remain the heart of your system for many years, even as you upgrade in other areas.

I suggest that you invest $140 in a pair of Pioneer BS-22 speakers. they are exceptional speakers that will sound way way better than what you have. Read the Stereophile article done recently on them. They are phenomenal for their low price.

The sound quality of casettes is so completely inferior that i wonder why anyone ever considers them. At one time I had a $1000 Nakamichi deck, which had a precision high-quality 3-head transport and was 100 times as good as anything on the market today, and I still abandoned casettes.

Recording music on CDR discs with your computer is a much much better way to go. Just make sure you stick with wav or 320K MP3 files, not the lower-res file types.

Cassettes have high noise level, poor mechanical characteristics, slow track access, and anyway there are no good machines on the market anymore. Any old machine you could buy will be seriously degraded due to head and tape guide wear.The cassette format fundamentally sucks in every way you can name. It was and is a technological dead-end due to its many mechanical flaws.

In addtion to that, many devices (including many car audio systems with USB sockets) will play high-quality audio recorded on USB flash drives, and for $6 you can buy a flash drive that will hold 20 to 50 albums recorded in a high-quality audio format..

I suggest that you forget casettes and stick with CD and vinyl. That's what I do.

byrdiblack
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Thanks everyone. 

Getting closer! I put those BS-22 speakers in my wish list. I hope they go on sale again! Looks like there was a recent 24 hour sale dropping them even more. 

OK:

I'm purchasing the HK 3490 today, I was just wondering if someone can help me with these basic beginner questions.

I want to remove all risk of error even down to the cables. 

 

1.) Which wire/cords should I buy to connect HK 3490 to powered Tannoys:

2.) Which cord does the turntable to phono inputs on the HK 3490 require:

 

Amazon links would help me so much!

I can't wait to report back on the new setup!

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