Speaker Help, Please!

[Alec124c41]

The turntable will plug into the phono pre-amp (TC-754), and that will plug into the Audiosource. The Audiosource will drive speakers.
Don't worry about having the best speakers. Just get something reasonably decent that you can afford. If you really get into this, you are going to upgrade sometime, when you know more about this stuff.

Cheers,
Alec

[Whitneyville]

Your Pioneer Mixer will connect to that (or other) power amp, and the power amp will power the speakers. The plot thickens further: If you are planning on purchasing a $1000 pair of "classic" speakers, you'd probably be well served to spend say $500+ on a 80-100 watt per channel integrated amp/receiver. The Yamaha RX-797 100WPC receiver leaps to mind, from http://www.crutchfield.com (it's being replaced by the new "RS" series, which is just a styling exercise). Denon also has several in the same price range, and Harmon-Kardon does too. Any of these receivers have a very good to excellent phono stage built in, and some models will accept either moving magnet [MM] (as your Pioneer does) or low-output moving coil [LOMC or MC] phono cartridges. I think you'll find the sound to be more "musical", but that's always up to you. Don't feel alone. I recently lost my receiver, and am fretting about what to do, how much to spend, and most of the things you are, but on a real "shoestring" budget. When you feel like ripping open your head to let the demons out, you're getting close to a decision!

[Schnooker]

Thanks guys!

Ok. I think I'm now beginning to see some light.
I'm gonna do some research on the Yamaha and see what happens.

The one thing I do absolutely know is that I'm no more going for powered speakers/monitors.

Anyway, time now to get the thinking cap on and see where it takes me.

[moray james]

See if you can find a pair of Klipsch Forte ll (extended Heritage series) or KLF 20 (Legend series) or CF-3 (Epic series). The CF-3 is a three driver two way but the crossover point is about 800 Hz so low enough to get the crossover issues well out of the mid band, it also probably has the best horn of the lot. The advantage to the Forte ll and the KLF 20 is that you can upgrade from the old stock phenolic diaphragms to the new Titanium diaphragms which is a stunning improvement. As good as these speakers sound they can be improved significantly by upgrading the crossover components which is not expensive if you opt for new caps. More serious upgrades can be done which are much more expensive but the results justify the cost. These are fine speakers. I believe they have been seriously under rated by the audio community. Check them out as they represent extremely good value. They are efficient make bass play loud have excellent dynamics and are low in distortion with ESL caliber transient response. I do not think that you will be disappointed. Best regards Moray James.

[Schnooker]

Hi.

Thanks, moray. but I think I'm going to go with the Yamaha and the Polk Audio LSi9's.

Can anyone recommend any good cables and sockets (if required).
I already have a pair of Monster 1/4 cables - do you think this will surfice?

Stephen

[ronzeman]

1/4" cable won't do as your speaker wire. Buy a spool of 14 or 12 guage oxygen free wire ( like Dayton Speaker wire from Parts Express) This is your best bang for the buck.
It should cost you under $0.80 a foot. Some folks spend $hundreds per foot for speaker wire; and $thousands per foot for interconnect cables......then again there's a "butt" for every seat in this world. Have fun.

[Schnooker]

then again there's a "butt" for every seat in this world

...YOU have just made me pee myself!

Thanks!

[Whitneyville]

Check with Parts Express for interconnects too. They have some nice ones with Nuetek phono connectors for about $20 a meter. If you need interconnects from your turntable to your receiver, this is a place it may be reasonable to spend more money on a cable, but I think anything over $100 a meter, you're being "taken" big time, and that better be a silver center conductor cable for that kind of money. Only those with "golden ears" can tell the difference in a $20-25 cable and a $100 cable usually. For your receiver/speaker connections, I'm not a big fan of banana plugs, but that's your call. I just "tin" a 1/2" of the speaker cable on each end, and use the hole in the binding posts, or you can use good "spade" connectors.

[Schnooker]

Hi and thanks again for the input.

So, here we go, and please remember I am a complete novice in all of this.

Speaker cable, as stated previously one can purchase speaker cable on a spindle, and if that is the case, is it insulated - for some very strange reason I'm thinking it's just the wire inside if it's on a spindle.

Also please, what is an interconnect?

EDIT: I see, it has a clear PVC enclosing!

Is it advisable to just tighten the cables into each end and not use connectors?

[Alec124c41]

Interconnect: a pair of small cables, usually co-axial, with RCA plugs at both ends, used to connect pieces of audio equipment.
Home Depot, or any electronics store should have them. 3 to 4 feet is usually plenty. Phillips and RCA brands have nice ones, marketed as "Digital," that you can see the braided shielding through the clear insulation, for about $20 - $30 a pair. Avoid the real cheap ones.

Cheers,
Alec

[Whitneyville]

I just find the fancy ends often just get in the way, and banana plugs really have a small contact area in most cases, and many of them lose their "springiness" with age too. The Speakon connectors PA guys use are great, but home speakers (that I know of) don't come with those stock. They are "overkill", but most of us have horror stories about the old spring-clip speaker terminals too. Tinning the ends of the speaker cables prevents stray strands from causing shorts. Crimped-on solderless spade terminals big enough to go around your binding posts and wrapped with black and red electrical tape of heat shirk tubing (for polarity) works well too as long as you get a good crimp. I got "Monster" brand speaker cable on close-out from Home Despot many years ago and it came with gold-plated "pin connectors" free that crimped-on so I used them thru my binding posts, but I wouldn't pay $40 for 8 of them today.

[Schnooker]

Thanks Gents.

Will get on this for the weekend.

Stephen

[duficity]

Take your pioneer out of the equation. It is a mixer and you dont have any use for that if you are just trying to play music from your turntable to your speakers.

Preamp and amplifier you have suggested will work. You just need some speakers. I would recommend PSB Image speakers. You can pick up some Image 4t or t45 for less than $400, sometimes much less depending on condition. I have the 4t, t65 and Stratus Gold and each is excellent at their price points and completely reliable for the 10 years I have owned them. Others to consider are Paradigm, NHT. Canadian speakers seem to offer a lot for the dollar because the government has set up a state of the art anechoic testing facility that the manufacturers can use. No small manufacturer could ever afford to do that on their own. So they dont have that cost, yet gain that benefit.

Also, while that amp and preamp will work, I suspect you will be trading up soon, or wondering where the vinyl magic is.

[Schnooker]

Also, while that amp and preamp will work, I suspect you will be trading up soon, or wondering where the vinyl magic is

I'm actually thinking of settling with this setup for a good while now.
I think with things like audiophile/antiques - any such 'hobby' in life; must be dealt with in a reasonably sensible manner.
I don't mean to detract from people's enjoyment in such endeavor's, but for me, there comes a point where you must accept you're 'there' in yourself. I don't want to be chasing and seeking 'better & better' for the rest of my life, and when it comes to money, I don't really make an awful lot; therefor, I have to be pretty smart with what I buy - it doesn't always work out like that but God does love a trier - I hope!

Anyway, all I'm looking to say is that I just want an average setup that will get me through the next ten years or so, and by then, if I'm filthy rich, then I'll move to the big guns.

Thanks for your help, regardless.

I really appreciate it!