Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Phaneronic said:
Oh boy, that slightly bleary and nervous-energy feeling of equipment searching. Still, thanks for the links, I think that site'll be helpful. Already seem to be leaning towards the Wharfdales but I'd be suprised if I spent less than a week on this.



Uhhh maybe basic but could you elaborate on this? So far as I can tell, you and Angsty are telling me to look for used or on-sale versions of speakers in the $200-300 range, or am I being oblivious? And where would be a good place to look for these, just eBay, or is this a common thing for speaker retailers?
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I was suggesting a price range for new speakers based on the stated amplifier price point and the Kenwood incumbent. The field opens up a bit if you consider used speakers. But, I’d be wary of abused, used speakers at low price points.
 
Piggybacking off of the most recent conversation around the Whaferdales.

I’m currently in the market for new speakers and am between the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 and the Wharfedale Diamond 220.

Does anyone have have any experience with both that can speak to the benefits of one over the other? I’m aware that the Elac are on a higher price point and are most likely the “better” option, but wanted to see what people here thought.
 
Santi1392 said:
Piggybacking off of the most recent conversation around the Whaferdales.

I’m currently in the market for new speakers and am between the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 and the Wharfedale Diamond 220.

Does anyone have have any experience with both that can speak to the benefits of one over the other? I’m aware that the Elac are on a higher price point and are most likely the “better” option, but wanted to see what people here thought.
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I’d not buy the 220s at all. I would recommend the Elacs- just a much more satisfying speaker overall.
 
I suppose I might as well duck in and say that after poking around YouTube for a while, I may prefer the JBL A130s but those seem to be somewhat hard to come by. That said, people also seem to talk about the Wharfedale 12s as “neutral,” “musical,”and “slow to break in” which I take as a good sign because that's how the Nagaoka MP-110 was described and I love that*. The ELACs seem good but I'm getting the feeling I wouldn't find them very engrossing, like they might be like my Audio-Technica ATH-M50xs, which are good enough that I don't feel the need to replace but at the same time just don't have quite what I'm looking for. Don't know if I can describe it. I doubt very much I'm anywhere near done with research though. I must really be an audio nut if I can say all this nonsense about speakers I've never heard in person, aye?

*I just wound up getting a replacement stylus for it - between that and adjusting my calibration method my concerns about of thinking I should upgrade have gone and the distortion issues seem reasonably resolved.
 
I came across a Marantz SR6001 receiver for $80 -- honestly, kind of overkill for my setup, but it is very flexible and I can definitely put in a bunch of my video and other non-vinyl sources through it. Any thoughts on it, pro or con? I've read it's not really great for analogue sources, but I don't know why (no phono-specific settings, but it can take an aux in, perhaps that's why?)

I have a perfectly fine receiver right now, but the marantz would be a definite upgrade.
 
yukbon said:
I came across a Marantz SR6001 receiver for $80 -- honestly, kind of overkill for my setup, but it is very flexible and I can definitely put in a bunch of my video and other non-vinyl sources through it. Any thoughts on it, pro or con? I've read it's not really great for analogue sources, but I don't know why (no phono-specific settings, but it can take an aux in, perhaps that's why?)

I have a perfectly fine receiver right now, but the marantz would be a definite upgrade.
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AV reicevers in general aren’t as good as stereo integrated amplifiers for 2 channel music. If you think that at the same price point you’re cutting out from the front two Chanel amplification budget the amplification of all the other channels and the licences for DTX and Dolby. Plus unless it has a “source direct” button you are putting the vinyl signal through all that digital processing.

No phono stage is actually a plus, for a similar reason the phono stages in av amps are usually hot rubbish cheapo afterthoughs to tick a convenience box, a half decent outboard phono stage into the aux is going to be infinitely better.
 
Joe Mac said:
AV reicevers in general aren’t as good as stereo integrated amplifiers for 2 channel music. If you think that at the same price point you’re cutting out from the front two Chanel amplification budget the amplification of all the other channels and the licences for DTX and Dolby. Plus unless it has a “source direct” button you are putting the vinyl signal through all that digital processing.

No phono stage is actually a plus, for a similar reason the phono stages in av amps are usually hot rubbish cheapo afterthoughs to tick a convenience box, a half decent outboard phono stage into the aux is going to be infinitely better.
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Right, the lack of phono stage isn't a huge problem, I have a separate phono amp so nbd.
 
Angsty said:
If it’s anything like cars, that could cause increases in the used market, too.
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That already happened in the U.S. when stimulus money started entering the economy. It may have settled down now though. You could be right for another used peak.
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
That already happened in the U.S. when stimulus money started entering the economy. It may have settled down now though. You could be right for another used peak.
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I’ve seen a tiny window into it from the used resale prices of the Denafrips Aries 2 DAC. Prices have shot up over the past few months because it has a long delivery time ordinarily, which has likely gotten longer due to global pandemic supply chain issues. I don’t even think the US is the largest growth market for new audio gear anymore; I think it’s Asia-Pacific. Virtually all the new gear, regardless of origin or destination, require chips.
 
Angsty said:
I’ve seen a tiny window into it from the used resale prices of the Denafrips Aries 2 DAC. Prices have shot up over the past few months because it has a long delivery time ordinarily, which has likely gotten longer due to global pandemic supply chain issues. I don’t even think the US is the largest growth market for new audio gear anymore; I think it’s Asia-Pacific. Virtually all the new gear, regardless of origin or destination, require chips.
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Even the gear that doesn’t there are shortages and delays on metal and transistors and resistors and capacitors and pretty much everything that goes into audio gear! Covid had Annihilated a lot of supply chains and even when stuff does go through it’s heavily delayed. It’s a similar to what we are seeing with the records themselves too. That’s in a heated landscape where people who have disposable income have had more than normal because they haven’t been able to go out so sales have been surprisingly buoyant. Expect everything new to rise by a minimum of 10% in the next couple of months.
 
Joe Mac said:
Even the gear that doesn’t there are shortages and delays on metal and transistors and resistors and capacitors and pretty much everything that goes into audio gear! Covid had Annihilated a lot of supply chains and even when stuff does go through it’s heavily delayed. It’s a similar to what we are seeing with the records themselves too. That’s in a heated landscape where people who have disposable income have had more than normal because they haven’t been able to go out so sales have been surprisingly buoyant. Expect everything new to rise by a minimum of 10% in the next couple of months.
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Checks emails. Confirms that there are still no shipping notices for the Mahi-Mahi amps due to small parts supply. Sighs. (All while recognizing there are far worse things in life)

I feel bad for the businesses though. Especially the smaller ones.
 
Angsty said:
I’ve seen a tiny window into it from the used resale prices of the Denafrips Aries 2 DAC. Prices have shot up over the past few months because it has a long delivery time ordinarily, which has likely gotten longer due to global pandemic supply chain issues. I don’t even think the US is the largest growth market for new audio gear anymore; I think it’s Asia-Pacific. Virtually all the new gear, regardless of origin or destination, require chips.
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Chip issues are still very real apparently, most are saying end of the year now or later before it's caught back up. Cars, computers, consumer electronics, and appliances have been hit really hard. Need a new fridge ? I heard the waiting list is 6 months at big box. The kids tell me new Xbox? are double the price if you can find one. Lets not even discuss lumber.
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
Chip issues are still very real apparently, most are saying end of the year now or later before it's caught back up. Cars, computers, consumer electronics, and appliances have been hit really hard. Need a new fridge ? I heard the waiting list is 6 months at big box. The kids tell me new Xbox? are double the price if you can find one. Lets not even discuss lumber.
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Man not only that, PS4s are like double the price. My 8 year old mountain bike is worth more now than when I bought it.
 
HiFi Guy said:
You could use a lint roller to remove cat hair.

I plan to buy a Herbie’s Way Excellent II mat when my Technics arrives. No experience with it yet though.

We need pictures! Congrats!
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Looking forward to your thoughts on the WEII mat. Of the three I’ve had on the P10 the Herbie’s mat wins. Solidifies the bottom end while it tidies up the mids and treble compared to the factory felt mat. SQ improvements were subtle but readily noticeable when switching back to the felt after having the WEII on for several days. No static cling issues whatsoever which is big here in dry Colorado. The Herbie’s does hold on to dust but a damp cloth works well for cleaning. I’m a satisfied user of the Herbie’s.
A deerskin leather mat was a distant third in my experience as it seemed to add a thin layer of mud to everything. If anyone wants to give it a go, I’d sell it for $20 including shipping.
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
Chip issues are still very real apparently, most are saying end of the year now or later before it's caught back up. Cars, computers, consumer electronics, and appliances have been hit really hard. Need a new fridge ? I heard the waiting list is 6 months at big box. The kids tell me new Xbox? are double the price if you can find one. Lets not even discuss lumber.
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Just bought a new fridge last week; inventory was back and I was able to get it in two days. But, my new oven was back ordered for 45 days. The new DAC I purchased directly from China 4 weeks ago only had a week long delay in shipping. Things are getting better, slowly.

Building a new deck - won’t discuss lumber 😂
 
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