Newbie needs advice on amp and loudspeakers

[RustBucket]

Hi all,

I need advice on what kind of amplifier and loudspeakers to buy.

I have a strange variety of players; almost all of them are ancient but still in pretty good shape. I have separate players for Vinyls, Cassettes, CDs, MP3s, etc all purchased at different times, and I'd like to continue using them.

What I do now is to connect them to an ancient Philips DR528 boombox and play through that. I've made a simple (crappy) selector which lets me pick between one of the devices and play the output of that.

I'm looking for some help on upgrading that system. I want to buy a higher quality (and louder) amplifier and a good set of loudspeakers. Can you please give me some tips on what to look for?

Also, as you would have guessed, I'm a complete newbie and I don't even know how to describe my requirements properly. If I've left out any information please tell me and I'll post it (if I can ).

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hi all,

I need advice on what kind of amplifier and loudspeakers to buy.

I have a strange variety of players; almost all of them are ancient but still in pretty good shape. I have separate players for Vinyls, Cassettes, CDs, MP3s, etc all purchased at different times, and I'd like to continue using them.

What I do now is to connect them to an ancient Philips DR528 boombox and play through that. I've made a simple (crappy) selector which lets me pick between one of the devices and play the output of that.

I'm looking for some help on upgrading that system. I want to buy a higher quality (and louder) amplifier and a good set of loudspeakers. Can you please give me some tips on what to look for?

Also, as you would have guessed, I'm a complete newbie and I don't even know how to describe my requirements properly. If I've left out any information please tell me and I'll post it (if I can ).

You may have difficulty in connecting a turn table to newer audio components in the range you may be looking in. Vinyl is not common today so component makes dropped that hook up, mostly.

I'd recommend selecting speakers first that you can afford with room left for a receiver. If you want multichannel performance for modern sound on movies, then you will need more speakers, more $$. Try to find speakers that are not difficult to drive with an amp. Then, select a receiver that will accommodate all your needs. We'll be here to help further.

 

[t3031999]

What's your budget?
Pick a budget first and stick to it, it'll be tough But try to stick to it.

You don't need a receiver with a phono input because you can always buy a phono preamp from $15 and up. so that's not a major problem.

 

[RustBucket]

You may have difficulty in connecting a turn table to newer audio components in the range you may be looking in. Vinyl is not common today so component makes dropped that hook up, mostly.

All my players output through RCA cables, is that fine or will I need to purchase some other equipment? My cables are like this:

I'd recommend selecting speakers first that you can afford with room left for a receiver. If you want multichannel performance for modern sound on movies, then you will need more speakers, more $$. Try to find speakers that are not difficult to drive with an amp. Then, select a receiver that will accommodate all your needs. We'll be here to help further.

No, I'm not looking for multichannel, just something in stereo that's of fairly good quality. What kind of speakers should I look at? Any specs you can suggest?

You don't need a receiver with a phono input because you can always buy a phono preamp from $15 and up. so that's not a major problem.

Okay, I see a lot of circuits for phono preamps. Should I buy one, or attempt to construct my own?

Thanks for the replies

 

[t3031999]

To recommend speakers, we're going to need your budget. There are 2 main options for stereo 2.0 and 2.1, If you got 2 floorstanders that extend into the mid 40 Hz range or below you shouldn't need a sub for most music, but if you get bookshelves you'll need a sub to cover the whole range.
Axiom makes some great speakers and Hsu makes great subs, but they may be above (or below) your budget.

RCA inputs are the standard for audio inputs so you will have no problem finding a receiver with enough connectors for you, with the exception of your record player because record players send a far weaker signal it will require a special connection (or phono preamp) to boost it to the signal to a level that is usable by the receiver.

as far as a phono preamp, if you're handy with things like that by all means build it yourself. Even if it's not that much cheaper than one you could buy, I always try to build anything I can just because it feels good to have accomplished something like that.

 

[RustBucket]

My budget (as in uber-upper-limit-beyond-which-i'm-broke) is $200. Ideally I'd like it at about $100, so from what I can find Axiom seems to be out of the question (although I'm still drooling over the specs ).

I searched a bit and found some floor standing speakers which seem to be popular. I'm guessing that they're not too good in terms of quality, but the price is right for me. Anything else you can suggest?

 

[t3031999]

With a budget that low, it's going to be tough to find speakers and a receiver.
But I will vouch for the sony ss-mf550h speakers, IMO they are amazing speakers for the price (i own a pair) i mean they don't match up to my higher end speakers but they do hold their ground.

I would check ebay (or other sites) for some used vintage stuff. I have an old Pioneer reciever and EPI time/energy 100s and they still sound great. Although you will probably have to replace the foam surround.

 

[jcPanny]

Low budget speakers

In your budget, I would look at a set of bookshelf speakers from the Bic Venturi or Athena Audition series. I have a pair of Athena AS-B1.1s and they are great little speakers.

I would also suggest that you invest in a lower end HT receiver like the Yamaha HTR-5840 or Onkyo 502. These models deliver similar power into two channels is low end stereo receivers and provide a lot of extra features. The LFE output and bass management, for example, would make it a lot easier to connect a sub.

 

[Mudcat]

You'll want these puppies.



http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudioPro3-main.html

 

[MacManNM]

A Marantz 2235, or 2245 receiver will work great for what you want, you can pick one up on Ebay for under $75 shipped. As for speakers BIC DV62si's are the way to go, you can find them for $110/pr. This combo will sound really great and is cheap. It will also let you use all of your stuff.