Advice on system needed

[chn68b]

Hi

I'm new to vinyl, and after visiting a Hi Fi show and being totally blown away by the sound of a few very expensive systems I've decided to make the plunge and by a turntable.

The turntable will be feeding a pair of active speakers from Meridian (M30s), which raises my first question. Whats the best option for me to hook it up as I need something with a volume control but remember that the speakers have their own amps built in with no volume dial? My only source at the moment is a music streamer (logitech squeezebox) which has its own volume.

Secondly, I want to spend no more than £300 on the turntable and whatever phono stage etc you think I'll need. I have no issue with going with a used turntable. I like the look of the Pro-ject Genie, and also the look of the classic Thorens. I know its not a lot of money, but thats the boat I find myself in.

Cheers

[sreten]

Hi,

Your speakers seem like they are very good though I don't know them.

Given you have no pre-amp (or CD Player or Tuner presumably) and
with your single source no source selection adding a vinyl source is
going to be seriously expensive related to your speakers quality.

What exact Logitech model do you have ? Streaming what ?

FWIW budget vinyl is pathetic compared to expensive vinyl.

rgds, sreten.

[chn68b]

Hi Sreten

Is the pro-ject genie kit really not up to feeding the Meridians? What about the classic Thoren's?

I don't mind doing it in phases over the coming months, but want to start with a base of a solid turntable which I can modify with a quality arm and cartridge at a later stage.

The logitech is a Squeezebox Classic 3 which I'm very happy with, but as with all digital formats, I find that there is a lot of "life" missing from the vinyl recordings I've heard.

[Spinnr]

Chn68b, the Genie and a classic Thorens are both fabulous choices. You would be very happy with either, or both.

A classic Thorens can be had for very little money, $100, and you would be happy with it forever. It would fill you life with music, and pride in owning a piece hi fi history. Stunning looking.

A Genie will be a little bit more money for a second hand, but is a current state of the art piece of technology. It would also fill your life with musicality forever, never wanting for anything more. Also stunning looking.

Each would need its own type of pre amp in keeping with its era. For the Thorens, a vintage pre which can be had for little money, $20, remember that many vintage integrated amps have a pre out, $40. For the Genie, a more modern pre which are also going second hand for little money these days, $60. Others here can advise you best on the brands and models within those brands to look for.

The idea of having the speakers first, and then matching a system to them has a lot of supporters here. You are amongst friends. I just did a google on your speakers and they look really cool. They would suit either, or both, turntable in both looks and specifications.

I also have a very modern cd system, and another swapped in for vinyl. Way to go, and best of both worlds.

Do continue to post here for sage advice, and doyen guidance. Not from me, as I am just a neophyte like you. But others here are more than willing to share their wisdom.

Vinyl forever.

[chn68b]

Many thanks for your reply Spinnr, I was beginning to think that this was perhaps out of my reach.

The speakers are fantastic and sound incredible when fed with flac from the Squeezebox and I believe that they'll do justice to the vinyl.

I hope that someone can point me in the right direction of a suitable bargain amp and make some recommendations as I'm really new to this area.

Thanks again

[flavio81]

Hi

I'm new to vinyl, and after visiting a Hi Fi show and being totally blown away by the sound of a few very expensive systems I've decided to make the plunge and by a turntable.

The turntable will be feeding a pair of active speakers from Meridian (M30s), which raises my first question. Whats the best option for me to hook it up as I need something with a volume control but remember that the speakers have their own amps built in with no volume dial? My only source at the moment is a music streamer (logitech squeezebox) which has its own volume.

Secondly, I want to spend no more than £300 on the turntable and whatever phono stage etc you think I'll need. I have no issue with going with a used turntable. I like the look of the Pro-ject Genie, and also the look of the classic Thorens. I know its not a lot of money, but thats the boat I find myself in.

Cheers

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You have very nice speakers, so 70% of your sound quality is already assured. I would recommend you to get a quality used turntable, for example a Thorens TD125 or TD160, or one of the Technics SL-1200/1300/1400/1500/1600/1700, or similar.

Then depending on the arm you'll get cartridge suggestions; a good, moderatedly priced hi-fi cartridge can be the Audio-Technica AT120E, or the Denon DL110, for example.

For volume control you can just buy any integrated amplifier that has a "Pre out" output. Most hi-quality integrated amplifiers of the 70s and 80s had two "pre-out/main-in" connectors. You would simply connect the "pre-out" to your Meridian speakers, and then you have the amplifier's volume control, tone controls, phono preamp, etc.

[Eoin]

Hi, welcome to Vinyl Engine.

A good integrated amplifier with a superb (for the money) phono stage is the Linn Intek. This has a pre out that should be good for your active speakers.

It also has the benefit that it has a switchable moving magnet/moving coil input and also it has a power amp section that can be used if needed.

Also, it's not hugely popular so it can be had cheap, around £100-£150 on ebay.

As a good phono/pre it would be worth a look.

[avole]

The Genie is a budget deck and your speakers will show it up as such. The Thorens, 125, 160 or similar are far far better. The Technics is also a better choice than the Genie if you want something more modern. Other thoughts would be the classic British decks - Linn, Ariston, Systemdek and so on.

[sreten]

Hi,

As your speakers are active you don't need or want an amplifier.

What you need is a good pre-amplifier (used) with a built in
phono stage and also preferably a built in moving coil step up.
(A old Meridian might be an option, but there are lots of choices.)

For your speakers that is going to cost 1/3 to 1/2 your budget.
(Don't forget about decent cables to your speakers, making
them can be a lot cheaper, but there is some good value
stuffon e-bay (intended for HT), a good pre-amp is
definitely needed to drive long cables properly.)

£200 to £300 used should net you a nice turntable, arm and cartridge.
(If your lucky a lot less in the local classifieds.)

IMO the pain of upgrading and modding (if you ever do it) a fairly
cheaply bought Thorens is simply not worth it, you'll be a lot better
off IMO buying something that does not need "doing".

I like Systemdek IIX's with Linn, Logic or Rega arms, also Heybrook TT2s.
They are your best two choices IMO, better value than typical Thorens.
(some decent Aristons, Logics, STDs, Walkers etc around as well.)

rgds, sreten.

[chn68b]

First, thanks for all of your advice so far, I've taken into consideration what has been said and have been searching endlessly. Ebay prices seem to me to be quite high and on top of that a lot of sellers are refusing to post (understandable I suppose but it limits my options).

I purchased an oldish Thorens Restek Pre Amp today, so I'm now looking for a turntable for around the £300 mark.

As I have the Thorens amp, I'd prefer a Thorens to go with it, but I'll consider others too.

I've been looking at ebay for the last 4 days and not yet found anything in my price range that excites me. I'm ruling out the Pro-ject now as I think I'd prefer something a little more vintage.

Can someone advise me what the 100pf, 200pf and 400pf settings are on the pre-amp please?

[cafe latte]

For the 300 pounds you cant go wrong with a used Technics sl1200, or 1210, and you should have some money left for a denon dl160 mc cart.
Dont think of it as a DJ deck, look here what some people do to them in this hifi world review..
http://LINK DELETED/images/Hi%20Fi%20World%20SL-1200.pdf
On the capacitance front the switching you see is to achieve correct capacitance for the cart you choose. Your TT arm wires and rca leads with have a capacitance of about 150pf (this is an approximation it could be much more and it is best to measure the capacitance if it is not stated). If the cart you buy specifies 250pf, then you need to select 100pf on the preamp to get an overall of 250pf. Dont worry about getting the figure exactly correct, close is close enough, but a bit lower is better than higher.

[chn68b]

Cheers for that.

I'll have a look at that link now, but as you seem to have already guessed, I can't quite get passed the DJ thing with the Technics.

[mysticfred]

As suggested any sub 300 pounds TT would not do your amp and speakers justice, decent new cartridges alone can cost 250 pounds - many take several months to find their dream deck, take your time, in six months time you could be the owner of a true hi-end TT.

Lately on ebay have seen some good Pink Triangle and Linn LP12 decks for around 600 pounds with a budget arm or with no arm at all, i made up my Linn from a number of purchases and got my local Hifi shop to assemble everything for a very small fee - my current setup cost around 1000 pounds several years ago and still performs perfectly.




.

[chn68b]

I had a look at the Technics and the one that really appealed to me was the SL-110 but the only one I could locate was in the US and approaching £300 without a cart. mysticfred I understand what you're saying, but this is my first table and if I love it that much I may well decide to get a high end deck at some stage. I'm sure I'll get most of my money back if I decide to upgrade.

I like the Thorens and have read some good things so I've gone ahead and purchased a TD160 Super with a series II SME arm in excellent condition. In time I'll get some money together and purchase a decent cart to replace the Linn already on there.

Looking forward now to getting it up and running and a life long hunt for bargain vinyl.

When it comes to getting the best out of this thing, and probably getting a new cart installed, can anyone recommend a specialist in the Newport/Cardiff area or is this sort of thing easily done?