Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

HiFi Guy said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
bdm105 said:
Appreciate it everyone. I'm going to save $ and revisit this in 6-12 months. Seems like the best bet.
Click to expand...

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!
 
Joe Mac said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I fully expect to see a “fire sale” or two with the economy being in the dumper.
Click to expand...
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

tmraudio.com

Triode Corporation TRV-88SE Stereo Integrated Tube Amplifier; TRV88SE

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
tmraudio.com

Silk Audio MC-13SE Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier; MC13SE

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
tmraudio.com

Croft Acoustics Phono Integrated Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier; MM Phono

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
 
Splunders said:
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

tmraudio.com

Triode Corporation TRV-88SE Stereo Integrated Tube Amplifier; TRV88SE

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
tmraudio.com

Silk Audio MC-13SE Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier; MC13SE

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
tmraudio.com

Croft Acoustics Phono Integrated Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier; MM Phono

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com
Click to expand...

The Triode Corp is a good amp. Older, but in great shape.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I fully expect to see a “fire sale” or two with the economy being in the dumper.
Click to expand...
AnthonyI said:
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.
Click to expand...

Agreed with these.
 
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!!
 
Last edited:
buchaneb said:
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!!
Click to expand...

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.
 
buchaneb said:
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!!
Click to expand...
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.
 
Splunders said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top