Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

The AT-LP 120 isn’t a bad table, but the onboard preamp does color the sound. I upgraded to the PLX-1000 from one and it is a vastly better sounding table. It doesn’t have 78, but I my thought process is that if you’re going to get into 78s, along with the different cart that’s required for them, it’s best to have a dedicated 78rpm table.

While there is always an exception the rule, I’ve come to the conclusion that 78rpm is usually a feature that’s added as a way to pad the list of features on a turntable. Upgrades to build quality are a lot more expensive to the production costs which is why you see this mostly on lower end, or budget tables. It looks good on a box but doesn’t add real value to the actual product.
I've heard the pre-amp is pretty easy to remove.
 
I've heard the pre-amp is pretty easy to remove.

Also, 78s require different equalization than LPs, so you'd eventually want a different phono preamplifier anyway. The issue with the LP-120 is that even when you turn off the built in phono stage, it isn't fully out of the signal path.
 
just some recs imo some of the best bang for your buck quality products are
ART DJ PRE II phono preamp $50.00 range some times can be found cheaper.not another preamp in this price range compares even gives some of the more expensive preamps competition.
Schiit Mani phono preamp $129.00 affordable audiophile preamp that gives other really expensive audiophile phono preamps competition.
NAGAOKA MP-110 Phono Stereo Cartridge $130-150 gives the really expensive carts serious competition great mid range with great detail overall very balanced cart.won't find a better cart in this price range in my opinion.
 
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Looking to upgrade speakers and add a stereo amplifier. Budget $1k. Current setup, Orbit “custom” w/Grado Black, Vincent Pho 8, Sony STR DH-550 A/V receiver, Dayton Audio two way towers with AMT Tweeters.

Looking for tower speakers, New
Stereo Receiver New.
Both must accept Banana Plugs.
 
Looking to upgrade speakers and add a stereo amplifier. Budget $1k. Current setup, Orbit “custom” w/Grado Black, Vincent Pho 8, Sony STR DH-550 A/V receiver, Dayton Audio two way towers with AMT Tweeters.

Looking for tower speakers, New
Stereo Receiver New.
Both must accept Banana Plugs.

Some of the forum "go to" suggestions

or
 
So as discussed on the other forum, spent most of my bonuses on gear :

- NAD 326BEE + ELAC 2.0 B6.2 arriving next week
- StudioPhono + better cables arriving next month

Hoping to switch cart with a better AT on my ATLP5 before September. Can't wait for all this to be installed !
 
Looking to upgrade speakers and add a stereo amplifier. Budget $1k. Current setup, Orbit “custom” w/Grado Black, Vincent Pho 8, Sony STR DH-550 A/V receiver, Dayton Audio two way towers with AMT Tweeters.

Looking for tower speakers, New
Stereo Receiver New.
Both must accept Banana Plugs.
Some of the forum "go to" suggestions

or
I'm very happy with my NAD and ELAC setup. The PHO8 is excellent as well. You can't go wrong with that setup.

Also, if you can't wait until black Friday I snagged the F6.2 for $400 total for the pair.
 
Looking to upgrade speakers and add a stereo amplifier. Budget $1k. Current setup, Orbit “custom” w/Grado Black, Vincent Pho 8, Sony STR DH-550 A/V receiver, Dayton Audio two way towers with AMT Tweeters.

Looking for tower speakers, New
Stereo Receiver New.
Both must accept Banana Plugs.

Good suggestions from posters above, also want to throw out this as well: https://www.musicdirect.com/biggest-holiday-specials/wharfedale-diamond-107-tower-speakers-pr

I'm a Wharfedale fan and that's a really good price on those speakers. I'm seriously tempted every time I see it and I don't need speakers in that price range at all. Those Wharfedales plus the Marantz PM5005 would be a really solid system for ever-so-slightly above your 1k mark.
 
If I were to buy speakers but not the amp would it likely be worthwhile? Obviously they will perform I’m assuming noticeably better to most with a proper stereo amp. Would my using them with my current avr be futile so to speak?
 
If I were to buy speakers but not the amp would it likely be worthwhile? Obviously they will perform I’m assuming noticeably better to most with a proper stereo amp. Would my using them with my current avr be futile so to speak?
Well, their is no reason they won't function, lol. But your AVR is going to sound different than what a 2 Channel Amp would deliver.
 
If I were to buy speakers but not the amp would it likely be worthwhile? Obviously they will perform I’m assuming noticeably better to most with a proper stereo amp. Would my using them with my current avr be futile so to speak?

A new set of passive speakers will work just fine with your AVR. It’s not the same thing as a stereo amp though and the sound profile is different so the likelihood is that a stereo amp will sound better for music with them.
 
Thanks for everyone that has offered suggestions and knowledge regarding my op. I was already leaning towards the Elac towers and wanted to start a dialogue to confirm I was on the right track. I’ve been fairly satisfied with my Orbit and extremely satisfied with my Pho 8 both were suggested by @Joe Mac @HiFi Guy and @displayname and a few others and our conversations were extremely informative and made me feel confident in my decision of what to purchase.

As long my avr is capable of providing enough in the amp section to adequately power the new speakers then I think I will for now stick with my it. This will make it easier to discern how a new amp changes my experience when I add one in the future.

I know it’s ideal to demo speakers or any equipment for that matter to determine what one prefers but at this price point I’m willing to have faith that if a lot of people enjoy a product it’s likely I will as well.
 
Thanks for everyone that has offered suggestions and knowledge regarding my op. I was already leaning towards the Elac towers and wanted to start a dialogue to confirm I was on the right track. I’ve been fairly satisfied with my Orbit and extremely satisfied with my Pho 8 both were suggested by @Joe Mac @HiFi Guy and @displayname and a few others and our conversations were extremely informative and made me feel confident in my decision of what to purchase.

As long my avr is capable of providing enough in the amp section to adequately power the new speakers then I think I will for now stick with my it. This will make it easier to discern how a new amp changes my experience when I add one in the future.

I know it’s ideal to demo speakers or any equipment for that matter to determine what one prefers but at this price point I’m willing to have faith that if a lot of people enjoy a product it’s likely I will as well.

If the budget is $1000, I'd seriously consider ordering a pair of Zu Dirty Weekends. Zu will have the next production run going on sale July 2. The last production run in April sold out in four hours.

They collect half of the funds when the order is placed, the the remainder when they are ready to ship. You get a 60 day in home trial and free return shipping if you aren't happy.

@Splunders has a pair on order and will have them soon. He should be able to give impressions before July.

As far as amplifiers, I have an idea on an extremely reasonably priced amp ($500 or so with upgrades) that appears to be a perfect match for the Zus.

Zu Dirty Weekend
 
Think I’m going to pull the trigger on the speakers soon in that case and wait on the amp. When I do purchase a stereo amp @Joe Mac I was thinking the easiest way to integrate it into my setup by simply running two sets of speaker cables to the left and right channels so when I am using them for home theater I use my avr and when I’m listening to music I use the stereo amp. This gets me around the switch box we had talked about in the past since my music setup and home theater are one.
 
Can I use my 4 ohm speakers with a receiver that has 8 ohm outputs?

I would caution against it. Four ohm speakers require twice the current of 8 ohm speakers. You could cause blown fuses or at worst, damage to your receiver.

You can use 8 ohm speakers with an amplifier rated below 4 ohms without a problem. When an amplifier is rated to 4 ohms or below, it indicates a superior power supply design as compared to something that's only rated for 8 ohms.

What receiver do you have?
 
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