Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Hi all,

I am doing research on upgrading my entire set-up (new speakers, receiver, turntable, cables, everything). I would like to buy the B&W 606 speakers with the STAV24 stands, but basically I have no idea what kind of equipment is recommended with these speakers. My listening chair is pretty close to my set-up (about 2 meters), I have a budget of up to 5000 USD and I will only use it to play vinyl. I’m pretty much a beginner in this field (i.e. I couldn’t even tell you if I need a receiver, an amplifier or both lol) so bear with me :ROFLMAO: All help is appreciated!
 
I’m not sure on how these price up for USA market, but I recon something like this would be good...

- Mofi studio deck or ultra deck
- Naim 5si amp or ex-demo XS2
- Naim stageline ’N’ mm phono stage
- B&W 606 with stands

Don’t be afraid to look at ex-demo gear, especially if you’ve got a local dealer you trust. It means you can spec up for the same spend as new.

I’d heavily weight my spend towards the turntable, source first is the best motto. Shit in shit out after all!
 
I got the 606 with Marantz PM8006 and really like the combo. I highly suggest it if you like the 606. If you see B&W show off the speakers on YouTube they actually use the PM8006 in most videos I have seen.
I got my Marantz Safe & Sound open box and would do it again.
www.ebay.com

Marantz PM8006 2-Channel Integrated Amplifier for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Marantz PM8006 2-Channel Integrated Amplifier at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Chances are if you heard the speakers at Best Buy they used a Marantz AV Receiver too. My system plays well low and loud. It can get obnoxiously loud without distorting at all. I'm convinced you cant blow those speakers with that integrated amp. I've pushed it hard, so no worries there either.
 
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Chucktshoes said:
@SpaceMees profile says s/he is in the Netherlands. So y’all might want to focus on EU options.
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Thanks for the heads up re. the location!

In that case - as I don't know about dealers in the Netherlands, and if you're not afraid to buy online - check UK deals. I'm always impressed by the number of open box / ex demos / graded items. If you're happy to wait until a deal is available, you can get around 20% of the standard price. That's how I buy all my gear, and it's definitely worth it. Popular items like the Naim suggested by @Bsdmr2 are often available this way. Not so much for the MoFi deck but Pro-ject, Technics, etc. are easy to find.

For instance from SSV:
- TTs Sevenoaks Sound and Vision
- 5si Naim NAIT 5si Integrated Amplifier
- XS2 Naim NAIT XS 2 Integrated Amplifier
- Stage line (MC) Naim StageLine-S (Black) Moving Coil Phono Stage
- BW 606 B&W 606 (Black) Speakers (Pair)

Other good dealers include Peter Tyson or Lintone Audio. eBay alerts are also great to find those and I'd regularly check Hifi Shark - Used, Second Hand & Pre-Owned Hifi from 400+ Sources

Note that some (like SSV) only ship to UK so you'll need someone that can get them and reship to you, or use a reshipping service. If stock comes from a shop and not their online warehouse, you may contact the shop and see if they can post to the Netherlands though (never had to do this as there are good and cheap reshipping from UK to Ireland).

So far my only issue with buying like this was a faulty open box amp that I had to return to UK, but it was replaced in 24h buy a brand new one at no costs. I even got a shop offering me 20% for brand new KEF LSX as they didn't have the colour I wanted in open box.

Good luck anyway, but if you're patient enough, I bet you can get a 6000€+ set within your budget. Who doesn't like the equivalent of a free turntable?
 
Also in Europe don’t rule out

www.analogueseduction.net

I’ve bought quite a bit off them and they’ve always been great to deal with, have done me some good deals and haven’t gouged with the shipping (and will do worldwide where they can). With a healthy budget I’d advise not to scrimp on the phono stage, it can make a remarkable difference. I’d highly recommend this one that I’ve been running for nearly 2 years now, it’s great!

www.analogueseduction.net

Musical Fidelity MX-VYNL Phono Stage

The MX-VYNL is a fully balanced, very high performance phono stage, able to operate with virtually any moving coil or moving magnet cartridge. With both traditional RCA inputs and our unique XLR fully balanced connection the MX-VYNL can be connected to 2 turntables simultaneously.
www.analogueseduction.net
 
Hi everyone

Ive been wondering if replacing my existing turntable with a Fluance rt85 would be worthwhile. I currently have an old Rega Planar 2 with the S shaped tonearm fitted with a bias 2. The problem is that I’m a little lazy and having to take off the glass platter to change speeds is a hassle. Would an rt85 offer advantages over my current turntable besides ease of speed change? Is this a sideways move or a bit of an upgrade all around?
Thanks
 
dirty hands said:
Hi everyone

Ive been wondering if replacing my existing turntable with a Fluance rt85 would be worthwhile. I currently have an old Rega Planar 2 with the S shaped tonearm fitted with a bias 2. The problem is that I’m a little lazy and having to take off the glass platter to change speeds is a hassle. Would an rt85 offer advantages over my current turntable besides ease of speed change? Is this a sideways move or a bit of an upgrade all around?
Thanks
Click to expand...

You don’t just have an “old” Planar 2, you have an original, before Rega started manufacturing their own arms. Your arm is a Japanese built Acos R200.

I see improvements in 3 areas with the Fluance:

Speed stability will be better with the Fluance due to the servo controlled motor.

You can put whatever cartridge you want on it without fear of hum because the motor is outboard of the platter on the Fluance.

You’ll get a much better arm/cartridge match with the Fluance/Ortofon 2m Blue than you currently have. The Rega RB-250 is a good match for the Bias. The Acos R200 would perform better with an Ortofon OM series cartridge.

In any event, the Ortofon 2M Blue sounds better than the Bias.
 
HiFi Guy said:
You don’t just have an “old” Planar 2, you have an original, before Rega started manufacturing their own arms. Your arm is a Japanese built Acos R200.

I see improvements in 3 areas with the Fluance:

Speed stability will be better with the Fluance due to the servo controlled motor.

You can put whatever cartridge you want on it without fear of hum because the motor is outboard of the platter on the Fluance.

You’ll get a much better arm/cartridge match with the Fluance/Ortofon 2m Blue than you currently have. The Rega RB-250 is a good match for the Bias. The Acos R200 would perform better with an Ortofon OM series cartridge.

In any event, the Ortofon 2M Blue sounds better than the Bias.
Click to expand...

this is useful information and I appreciate your response 👍
 
SpaceMees said:
Hi all,

I am doing research on upgrading my entire set-up (new speakers, receiver, turntable, cables, everything). I would like to buy the B&W 606 speakers with the STAV24 stands, but basically I have no idea what kind of equipment is recommended with these speakers. My listening chair is pretty close to my set-up (about 2 meters), I have a budget of up to 5000 USD and I will only use it to play vinyl. I’m pretty much a beginner in this field (i.e. I couldn’t even tell you if I need a receiver, an amplifier or both lol) so bear with me :ROFLMAO: All help is appreciated!
Click to expand...
If you can still get your hands on an outgoing Rega RP8, I would consider that. The price drops we see here when Rega puts out a new model are killer (currently $2,800 with MC cart). Assuming you have access to the same price break, I don't think you'd be able to find another table in that same league.
 
Is there a particular cartridge that does well with older pressings? I'm finding that some of my 60s pressings, while clean on the surface, are still producing distortion, particularly when vocals are introduced.

I'm willing to chalk this up to old pressings being old and not the highest of fidelities, but wanted to check before I pull my hair out in thinking it's a system issue.
 
Melt Face Molly Drop said:
Is there a particular cartridge that does well with older pressings? I'm finding that some of my 60s pressings, while clean on the surface, are still producing distortion, particularly when vocals are introduced.

I'm willing to chalk this up to old pressings being old and not the highest of fidelities, but wanted to check before I pull my hair out in thinking it's a system issue.
Click to expand...

It’s probably damage due to whatever turntable the record was played on. What I’d do is look at a cartridge with a Microline stylus- like the AT VM95ML. There is a possibility that the stylus will track the groove in a different place- a place untouched by the previous styli.
 
Melt Face Molly Drop said:
Is there a particular cartridge that does well with older pressings? I'm finding that some of my 60s pressings, while clean on the surface, are still producing distortion, particularly when vocals are introduced.

I'm willing to chalk this up to old pressings being old and not the highest of fidelities, but wanted to check before I pull my hair out in thinking it's a system issue.
Click to expand...
I have the VM95ML on my PLX and it's really helped quite a few of my "crate" finds ;)
 
I'm thinking of doing a Mani on top of another similar size headphone amp but also keep my powered speakers and just switch the cables from amp to speakers
 
duke86fan said:
I'm thinking of doing a Mani on top of another similar size headphone amp but also keep my powered speakers and just switch the cables from amp to speakers
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Look into those Audeze headphones I mentioned - they don't require a headphone amp.
 
kvetcha said:
Look into those Audeze headphones I mentioned - they don't require a headphone amp.
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planars that dont require a headphone amp da fuq (actually looking it its actually wireless so i feel very unsure about the quality of it on a turntable)

mostly was going to need the amp because i was thinking of getting the sennheiser 58x
 
duke86fan said:
planars that dont require a headphone amp da fuq
Click to expand...

They're powered. They have a 1W amp built-in that lasts for 10 hours or so on a charge. You can plug it into your PC via USB to keep it charged and use it as a USB audio device, or plug it in via line-level input, or use it via Bluetooth.

It also supports convincing virtual surround with head-tracking, if you wanna watch movies with it.
 
HiFi Guy said:
It’s probably damage due to whatever turntable the record was played on. What I’d do is look at a cartridge with a Microline stylus- like the AT VM95ML. There is a possibility that the stylus will track the groove in a different place- a place untouched by the previous styli.
Click to expand...

Seconded, the MicroLine stylus has really resurrected a few pressings damaged by elliptical or conical styli in my collection. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I also recently added a dirt cheap VM95C to the collection, which obviously tracks poorly in comparison but can be beneficial to reducing noise and avoiding bottom groove damage on some of my older 45s. With my current cart collection I'm just playing the profile game whenever I get a really problematic crate-digging buy. 99% of the time the ML stylus does the trick.

Of course lots of 60s pressings are going to worn beyond where a profile switch can help, and we're assuming the record was properly de-essed from the get-go.
 
kvetcha said:
They're powered. They have a 1W amp built-in that lasts for 10 hours or so on a charge. You can plug it into your PC via USB to keep it charged and use it as a USB audio device, or plug it in via line-level input, or use it via Bluetooth.

It also supports convincing virtual surround with head-tracking, if you wanna watch movies with it.
Click to expand...
nah.. im not really sure.. 400 is a LOT of money, i dont watch movies, i dont need gaming headphones really
 
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