Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

I've been thinking about my next upgrade for a while and have a $2000 budget. I think my turntable is probably my weakest link, but I'm really getting tired of the footprint of the floorstanders. I'm thinking either turntable or bookshelves for my $2K. I thought I wanted the Heresy speakers, but not sure I want to give up the floor space now. Opinions?

Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC (acrylic platter upgrade) + Ortofon 2M Blue
Pre-Amp: Musical Fidelity LX-LPS
Speakers: ELAC F6.2
Receiver: NAD C 326BEE
Maintenance: VPI 16.5 and Vinyl Flat
 
Kris said:
I've been thinking about my next upgrade for a while and have a $2000 budget. I think my turntable is probably my weakest link, but I'm really getting tired of the footprint of the floorstanders. I'm thinking either turntable or bookshelves for my $2K. I thought I wanted the Heresy speakers, but not sure I want to give up the floor space now. Opinions?

Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC (acrylic platter upgrade) + Ortofon 2M Blue
Pre-Amp: Musical Fidelity LX-LPS
Speakers: ELAC F6.2
Receiver: NAD C 326BEE
Maintenance: VPI 16.5 and Vinyl Flat
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Were you thinking of the Heresy's within that $2K budget 'cause, correct me if I'm wrong, that's about the price per speaker. I thought about them for a while. Seeing the dimensions on paper is one thing, but I saw an image of a guy picking up a pair at a warehouse - seeing him stand next to one really drove home just how big they are. I ended up deciding on the Forte's.

The Wharfedale Lintons (w/ stands) that @HiFi Guy reviewed recently look like a possible look-see. I'm def thinking of giving them a spin.
 
@Kris (Quote doesn't seem to be working)
Were you planning on putting the bookshelf speakers somewhere else? Just thinking out loud, but unless the location of your speakers is moving, bookshelves, on stands I assume, will take up about the same space as your ELACs. That being said, with $2K you can be looking at some "end game" turntables (my opinion), so I guess I would weigh out what kind of budget for upgrades you'll have in the future and put the money towards the more impactful upgrade now, if that makes sense.
 
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Kris said:
I've been thinking about my next upgrade for a while and have a $2000 budget. I think my turntable is probably my weakest link, but I'm really getting tired of the footprint of the floorstanders. I'm thinking either turntable or bookshelves for my $2K. I thought I wanted the Heresy speakers, but not sure I want to give up the floor space now. Opinions?

Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC (acrylic platter upgrade) + Ortofon 2M Blue
Pre-Amp: Musical Fidelity LX-LPS
Speakers: ELAC F6.2
Receiver: NAD C 326BEE
Maintenance: VPI 16.5 and Vinyl Flat
Click to expand...

I agree with @AnthonyI, unless you have a unit or something that you’re putting the speakers on top of, on stands the bookshelf speaker floor footprint is going to be broadly similar to floor standers. There are some pretty good options out there but you should be able to get a substantial upgrade on what you have for approx $1k a piece. Of course you could go to the “all you’ll ever need” stage for one at $2k now and worry about the rest in the future.

I think the wharfdale Linton, or maybe the Denton if set on bookshelves, sounds like a great starting point for looking at speakers.
 
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Yeah, the Heresy (new) are out of budget. I just like the small height of them which is why I was considering them. I have a long run of Kallax 2x2 that I would be putting bookshelf speakers on. I’m thinking upgrading one thing to end game.

I always thought I wanted a Pro-Ject Classic EVO, but now that the time has come, I want to weigh all my options. I know it’s sacrilege, but if there was a semi-automatic, I would be considering that first. I listen while working mostly.

I’m close to pulling the trigger on an Ultradeck but the thought of bookshelves is what’s holding me back. I listen to my turntable probably only 30-40% of my music listening time.

there’s a b-stock Ultradeck with master tracker on eBay right now from MusicDirect that I’m eying.
 
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Rowan said:
I stuck one of those 95e carts on the rega to sell it so I could keep the Nag 200. Sounds like a car scraping against a wall for the first hour but after that it was great.

I've a geo disk. Want to borrow it?
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Did you have the Nag 200 on a Rega?
What was it like, sound wise? Was it easy to fit?
Looking at the mp200 or 300 to update my exact in the new year.
 
Kris said:
Yeah, the Heresy (new) are out of budget. I just like the small height of them which is why I was considering them. I have a long run of Kallax 2x2 that I would be putting bookshelf speakers on. I’m thinking upgrading one thing to end game.

I always thought I wanted a Pro-Ject Classic EVO, but now that the time has come, I want to weigh all my options. I know it’s sacrilege, but if there was a semi-automatic, I would be considering that first. I listen while working mostly.

I’m close to pulling the trigger on an Ultradeck but the thought of bookshelves is what’s holding me back. I listen to my turntable probably only 30-40% of my music listening time.

there’s a b-stock Ultradeck with master tracker on eBay right now from MusicDirect that I’m eying.
Click to expand...
Valid points, I tend to think that finding a great deal on a higher end turntable is harder than finding a great deal on speakers, people are ALWAYS swapping speakers, so you can usually find something worthwhile at a good price, TT, not so much. But I completely understand the weighted "how much I use XYZ" your putting into your decision.

That being said, I still have to mention what a great bargain the Polk LSiM 703s are now a days and if they're going on furniture with limited space to pull them away from the wall, the power port on them is a god send.
 
AnthonyI said:
Valid points, I tend to think that finding a great deal on a higher end turntable is harder than finding a great deal on speakers, people are ALWAYS swapping speakers, so you can usually find something worthwhile at a good price, TT, not so much. But I completely understand the weighted "how much I use XYZ" your putting into your decision.

That being said, I still have to mention what a great bargain the Polk LSiM 703s are now a days and if they're going on furniture with limited space to pull them away from the wall, the power port on them is a god send.
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I forgot about these. This is a great option because they will be closer to the wall on the Kallax. Very tempting!

I did get the ok from the wife to moving the ELACs to the family room. I think the size of the room is better for them there.
 
Mrjay07 said:
Did you have the Nag 200 on a Rega?
What was it like, sound wise? Was it easy to fit?
Looking at the mp200 or 300 to update my exact in the new year.
Click to expand...
Yeah, on a RP3. It's a nice cart. It tracks really well too. You need to fit a shim though (about 2mm) which means taking the tone arm off but it's not that difficult to do and because the head is a big square block it's easy to align too. I'm not sure it's a do everything cart though as, while its not muddy, it tends to have an almost all enveloping warmth about it. But i used it for about 2 years but now it lives in a drawers somewhere in the house. I'd come of a Orto Bronze that had lasted about a month on my TT but really wasn't for me.
 
Kris said:
I forgot about these. This is a great option because they will be closer to the wall on the Kallax. Very tempting!

I did get the ok from the wife to moving the ELACs to the family room. I think the size of the room is better for them there.
Click to expand...
Pulled the trigger on the 703s. I can waffle on the turntable for a bit longer. I think I’ll end up with the UltraDeck eventually.
 
Kris said:
Pulled the trigger on the 703s. I can waffle on the turntable for a bit longer. I think I’ll end up with the UltraDeck eventually.
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Awesome! Black or Cherry? One little tip, and not an emergency by any means, swap out the crappy little jumpers when you can ;)

Edit: Strike that, thinking of the wrong speakers, I need more coffee, lol
 
Kris said:
Yeah, the Heresy (new) are out of budget. I just like the small height of them which is why I was considering them. I have a long run of Kallax 2x2 that I would be putting bookshelf speakers on. I’m thinking upgrading one thing to end game.

I always thought I wanted a Pro-Ject Classic EVO, but now that the time has come, I want to weigh all my options. I know it’s sacrilege, but if there was a semi-automatic, I would be considering that first. I listen while working mostly.

I’m close to pulling the trigger on an Ultradeck but the thought of bookshelves is what’s holding me back. I listen to my turntable probably only 30-40% of my music listening time.

there’s a b-stock Ultradeck with master tracker on eBay right now from MusicDirect that I’m eying.
Click to expand...
If you've not heard the Heresy's yet, and you're thinking of getting a pair, be sure you can return them if you don't like them. I've heard them paired with a Rogue Sphinx v3 and a CD player in a showroom, and they very much run towards the lively/bright end of the spectrum. Like, VERY bright, and I've had and enjoyed Zu Dirty Weekends, which feel like kissing cousins to the Heresy's. I really like how they look and fit down low on the floor though.

EDIT : Just saw you grabbed some Polk's, so never mind. Let us know what you think when you've had some time with them!
 
Splunders said:
If you've not heard the Heresy's yet, and you're thinking of getting a pair, be sure you can return them if you don't like them. I've heard them paired with a Rogue Sphinx v3 and a CD player in a showroom, and they very much run towards the lively/bright end of the spectrum. Like, VERY bright, and I've had and enjoyed Zu Dirty Weekends, which feel like kissing cousins to the Heresy's. I really like how they look and fit down low on the floor though.
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I’ve often said I’d own a pair of speakers in the Klipsch Heritage line. By that, I mean Fortes or Cornwalls. Not the Heresy at all. At the end of the day though, I’d far more likely buy Tannoys.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I’ve often said I’d own a pair of speakers in the Klipsch Heritage line. By that, I mean Fortes or Cornwalls. Not the Heresy at all. At the end of the day though, I’d far more likely buy Tannoys.
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I've been eyeballing their lineup lately. I didnt realize in getting the Zu Souls that I'd be converted into a coax driver person. The coax imaging is killer, and that's of course Tannoy's bread and butter
 
HiFi Guy said:
The big issue I see in @Kris plan is Heresy’s with solid state. That’ll be harsh. They were designed for tubes. Transistors didn’t exist yet.
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Yeah, I would have to change amps too. I know it’s silly but I’m wary of changing tubes although I’m sure I’d be fine.

I don’t want a “fiddly” setup that requires tinkering.
 
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