First Phono/Stero System

[jpcrow]

Hello,

Firstly, lets begin with my questions:

1) Will I need any more equipment besides what I list below in order to have a functioning stereo system?

2) What are your opinions on the system I have built?

3) What are some great albums you guys have been listening to lately, I like all types of music, so just the latest thing you've purchased or gotten hooked on.

Next, some basic info on me:

I have never owned an actual home stereo. I have owned all in one units which house a tuner, 3 disc changer and tape deck all in one box and two speakers, one on either side.

I recently bought a Turntable and amp with 2 speakers from a garage sale for $30 and have been picking up vinyl records and listening to them for the last moth or so. The turntable is broken now and didn't work too well when I got it, I'm sure it was 20 years old if it was a day.

After some budgeting I've put aside $1,000.00 for a new system, because I've been really enjoying listening and collecting old and new records.

This is the setup I'm thinking of getting:

Component------------Item--------------------------------Price
Speakers---------------KEF Q300--------------------------$397.00
Amp--------------------Marantz PM5004-------------------$355.00
Turntable--------------Pro-ject Debut III Turntable-------$355.00
Cables-----------------2x50ft 12AWG CL2 Rated----------$32.84
-------------------------------------------Total--------------$1,139.84

References:
(you will have to google these references because I can't post links with a zero post count.)

"Stereophile Marantz PM5003 integrated amplifier" (Review by Robert J. Reina)

"Stereophile Pro-Ject debut III" (Review by Robert J. Reina)

"what hifi kef q300" (Review by site staff)

"coat hanger sounds as good as monster" (Argument against expensive cables on installations with 50 foot of cable or less)

Thanks in advance for your thoughts,

-Josh

 

[GranteedEV]

I would not get the PM5004. It's not only severely underpowered for such insensitive speakers, but it seems to have some limitations into a 4 ohm load based on the specs.

THis:
http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-HK-3490-Radio-ready/dp/B00198F89A

Should outperform it and cost less. here is Gene's review:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/hk-3490

And honestly, I would spend a good bit more on speakers. I'm sure the Q300s are nice but they'll have some definite dynamic limitations that'll manifest. The biggest problem is that it's a coaxial that you're expecting to run full range. The consequence could be modulation of the treble response by cone movement. You really want at least a 2.5 way at least, like the Q500/700/900 for such a coaxial speaker, and even then that'd be best crossed over to a subwoofer, not run full range.

I'm not too well versed with turntables but I'd avoid stereophile reviews beyond measurements. They know how to wax poetic about things they're not sure about. Honestly my advice is to focus budget on the speakers more than anything else. If the speakers are only a 3rd of the total budget, I see something wrong with that.

 

[Kenal0]

I am not sure where you live but if you have a reputable dealer in your area for used gear, you can usually find some very solid 2 channel stereo gear and get more bang for your buck. I live in Chicago area and have purchased very good used gear from Soundsclassic.com, Saturdayaudio.com and Audio Consultants. All three check the gear of thoroughly and will warranty. For example, Soundsclassic has a Pioneer PL-516 turntable with a decent entry cartridge for $185.
You could also look into separate preamp and power amp giving you flexibility if you want to upgrade in the future.
I would also suggest a record cleaner. Something like the Spin Clean Record Cleaner will do the job fine. Use it on every used record you purchase and your needle and ears will be a lot happier.
Eric Clapton- Unplugged
Muddy Waters- Folk Singer
Close your eyes and you will think they are playing right in front of you.

Just throwing out some options.


Kenal0

 

[bikemig]

accessories4less sells refurbished gear from Marantz, KEF, and others. That will allow you to save some money on your gear as well, http://accessories4less.com/. The HK 3490 is hard to beat for $300 new from Amazon. Monoprice has the best price on cables, http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp. You may want to think about putting more of your budget at work on buying speakers.

 

[bikemig]

One last thought. Since you haven't yet invested any money in your stereo system, you may want to think about whether you want to go with vinyl or a computer based playback system. This is no knock on vinyl. I have great memories of my old system and sometimes (just sometimes) I think about turning back the clock. But a computer makes a great source for any stereo and opens the door to a variety of internet streaming services for music such as Pandora, Spotify, and Mog. Buying a turntable doesn't mean that you can't add internet streaming (or music streaming) but it might save you some money given your budget. Something like this, for example, http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-930-000090-Squeezebox-Touch/dp/B002LARRDA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315751452&sr=8-1, runs around $260 and will allow you to stream music from your computer to your stereo. It also sounds great.

 

[jpcrow]

Thanks for the replies everyone,

I am very interested in also connecting my Wii to my amp becuase I play alot of my digital music through my wii via a USB drive I have connected to it, I could even pipe my cable and dvd through it, but for now I'm leaning toward vinyl because I'm a collector at heart and though I have a large digital collection (I ripped my entire CD collection add to that a large collection of downloaded music) I like the physicality vinyl brings to the table. After many years of a collecting mp3s I miss the feel of something like a record I can read and hold and organize.

A few things I didn't mention earlier are that portability is important, my job has me move every year or so, and I'd rather not lug around a full on pair of speaker towers, I'm willing to give up sound quality for portability; and I live in apartments because its easier for my employer to pay that, so my space is small to medium and I probably won't be able to "crank it up" any way so huge power isn't necessary.

@GranteedEV: Thanks for pointing out the power requirement on the KEF speakers. Now I'm looking at some Paradigm Bookshelf speakers that have smaller power requirements.

@Kenal0: Clapton! I think I wore that tape out back when I had a tape deck in my car.

 

[GranteedEV]

I would rather own the KEFs than the Paradigms, no questions asked.

If you want speakers that represent a good balance dollar for dollar, I recommend checkout out the EMP e55ti Tall Tower speaker from EMPTek's Clearance Section:

http://www.emptek.com/clearance.php

THe KEFs are a good choice, but I seriously think the step up to the Q700 will be WELL worth it, and you can cut corners on the cost of the electronics here and there. I wold budget, give or take, at LEAST 70-80% of my budget on the speakers.

http://www.accessories4less.com/index.php?page=search&search_query=Q700&x=0&y=0

Another nice choice is PSB T65 B-Stocks:

https://dmc-electronics.com/Default.htm

 

[3db]

Although the ProJect isn't a bad TT, I would go to the next model up if you can so that you can get a fully adjustable tonearm. Maybe they fixed this with the new Debuts but I remember that the VTA could not be adjusted on them.