Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Finding a PL integrated under $1k will be a tall order. They hold their value extremely well. A preowned JoLida is pretty easy to find in that price range and is a very solid choice.

Oh yeah I know that. Is more that it was the limit for the amp in the original post and so I’d discounted PL as an option because adding a decent preamp is gonna be 30-40% total overspend without counting for the need to add a phono stage to the current system too. I’ll be honest and say I was surprised to see even a PL power amp at that price.
 
Appreciate it everyone. I'm going to save $ and revisit this in 6-12 months. Seems like the best bet.

If you want tubes that’s definitely a wise call. Nothing wrong with googling all the speaker, amp and phono options people have mentioned and reading up on them to see what you think will be the best option for you in the meantime. I often find that planning stage to be the most enjoyable bit!
 
I think if you want to go tube you might want to be looking at both it and speakers as a package. To get a more affordable tube amp in/around what you were talking about an idea might be to go for a low power tube amp, like one of the decware ones, and pair it with a higher sensitivity speaker than the one you have, be that going up the klipsch line or looking at a zu. You would need a phono stage too because as previously mentioned they aren’t built into most tube amps.
This is why I grouped speakers/amp. I think they should be purchased to complement one another. I'd think what speakers I want and match the amp.
 
I fully expect to see a “fire sale” or two with the economy being in the dumper.
Agreed, while why they're having sales is sad, it can be a good time to pick up gear. Again, bookmark some stuff, keep an eye out, get on some mailing lists and I'm sure something will come along. The only "downside" is that if a deal comes along you gotta be ready to jump on it.
 
I don't know anything about these used tube integrateds, merely sharing them as a small example of what's out there in the used $1k range. Totally agree that speaker choice needs to be made before you get an amp, so the amp is sufficiently powerful enough for the speakers

 
I don't know anything about these used tube integrateds, merely sharing them as a small example of what's out there in the used $1k range. Totally agree that speaker choice needs to be made before you get an amp, so the amp is sufficiently powerful enough for the speakers


The Triode Corp is a good amp. Older, but in great shape.
 
I fully expect to see a “fire sale” or two with the economy being in the dumper.
Agreed, while why they're having sales is sad, it can be a good time to pick up gear. Again, bookmark some stuff, keep an eye out, get on some mailing lists and I'm sure something will come along. The only "downside" is that if a deal comes along you gotta be ready to jump on it.

Agreed with these.
 
For anyone buying any gear, this is a really really well done video on the importance of synergy... all done without ever using the word synergy.



Before you go hunting for the next "perfect" piece of gear, make sure you consider what you are looking for and what it will be pairing with in your system.

Just watched this morning while having my coffee :)
 
Happy Quarantine to everyone!

So I have done a foolish thing and bought a house...I am thinking of using that as an excuse for some audio upgrades!!

I will have one stereo zone in the living room / kitchen open area, and another outside on the deck.

What would you fine people suggest?

Current set-up:

Amp: Decade old Pioneer AVR receiver (leaning toward replacing - max budget = $1,000 - does this even make much of a difference?!)
TT: Late 70's retro Mitsubishi DP-EC1 (love this thing!) w/ a Shure M97xE Cart
Phono pre-amp: U-turn Pluto
Inside Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2
Outdoor Speakers: Old pair of weatherproof Infinity (Outrigger Jr.) I plan on dusting off

I am thinking it is time to finally replace the AVR amp with a dedicated integrated amp. I would also like to upgrade my streaming ability (currently just streaming from TV Spotify app into AVR). Leaning toward some sort of Rasberry Pi to Schitt DAC set-up over a dedicated streamer. But maybe a Bluesound Node would be a better option? Thanks for any advice!!
 
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Happy Quarantine to everyone!

So I have done a foolish thing and bought a house...I am thinking of using that as an excuse for some audio upgrades!!

I will have one stereo zone in the living room / kitchen open area, and another outside on the deck.

What would you fine people suggest?

Current set-up:

Amp: Decade old Pioneer AVR receiver (leaning toward replacing - max budget = $1,000 - does this even make much of a difference?!)
TT: Late 70's retro Mitsubishi DP-EC1 (love this thing!) w/ a Shure M97xE Cart
Phono pre-amp: U-turn Pluto
Inside Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2
Outdoor Speakers: Old pair of weatherproof Infinity (Outrigger Jr.) I plan on dusting off

I am thinking it is time to finally replace the AVR amp with a dedicated integrated amp. I would also like to upgrade my streaming ability (currently just streaming from TV Spotify app into AVR). Leaning toward some sort of Rasberry Pi to Schitt DAC set-up over a dedicated streamer. But maybe a Bluesound Node would be a better option? Thanks for any advice!!

I think the Pluto is a definite weak point that can be improved on hugely. I’d be looking at that as well as the amp. As for the streamer I’m a big advocate of the raspberry pi methods, but I wouldn’t plug it into a seperate DAC because the USB and audio outs on it are pretty crap. The way I’ve gone is to get a DAC hat and go through the GPIO. I’m a big fan of HiFiBerry and have used, and would recommend thier DAC + Pro.
 
Happy Quarantine to everyone!

So I have done a foolish thing and bought a house...I am thinking of using that as an excuse for some audio upgrades!!

I will have one stereo zone in the living room / kitchen open area, and another outside on the deck.

What would you fine people suggest?

Current set-up:

Amp: Decade old Pioneer AVR receiver (leaning toward replacing - max budget = $1,000 - does this even make much of a difference?!)
TT: Late 70's retro Mitsubishi DP-EC1 (love this thing!) w/ a Shure M97xE Cart
Phono pre-amp: U-turn Pluto
Inside Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2
Outdoor Speakers: Old pair of weatherproof Infinity (Outrigger Jr.) I plan on dusting off

I am thinking it is time to finally replace the AVR amp with a dedicated integrated amp. I would also like to upgrade my streaming ability. Leaning toward some sort of Rasberry Pi to Schitt DAC set-up over a dedicated streamer. But maybe a Bluesound Node would be a better option? Thanks for any advice!!
Are you open to used? If so, for about 1k, $1,200 tops, you could get the widely well regarded Rogue Sphinx v2. It has an on board phono preamp that I would imagine bests the Pluto. It also has 100 watts that would sufficiently drive the power hungry Elacs.

I have a Bluesound Node 2i and am very happy with it. The app has been nothing but stable and easy to use. I've got nothing to compare it against though. Lots of cheaper diy options out there too of course.
 
Are you open to used? If so, for about 1k, $1,200 tops, you could get the widely well regarded Rogue Sphinx v2. It has an on board phono preamp that I would imagine bests the Pluto. It also has 100 watts that would sufficiently drive the power hungry Elacs.

I have a Bluesound Node 2i and am very happy with it. The app has been nothing but stable and easy to use. I've got nothing to compare it against though. Lots of cheaper diy options out there too of course.

Potentially, yes. Only problem is a quick peek and it looks like the Rogue only has a single zone?
 
Just passive - but potentially could make sense to add some sort of volume knob on the deck. What all would I need?

With pre outs the rogue would still be controlling the gain, and thus volume. You could put a power amp between it and the outdoor speakers but that seems like a bit of overkill just to keep the rogue in the picture.
 
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