Here you go Wicked Tex these are some of my favorite original presses in my collection. Most were gifts from the ex wife but some were found just browsing record stores (found OutKast at a store in Gatlinburg for like $10).
So I found out a couple years ago that my dad used to party with Janis back in his navy days with a couple buddies. Like they used to go to her house often and party. He told me “I only had a couple beers”…. Yea to wash down the cocaine lol
Oh and that Merle album is him doing Elvis covers as a tribute to him. Found it hidden at a local store, like in the classical section, for under $10. Yoink, thank you very much that is going home with me.
My family is from Port Arthur. Some have said they were friends of friends and enjoyed a few nights with her. Drugs were involved haha.
Been trying to get one of these in for a minute. Holds our favorite albums and is super close to the player.
Wicked hooked it up for secret Santa. The little flyer that came with it makes it look like the company has some nice stuff.
Amazon my dude. There is a ton to choose from on there but I tried to find one that was a smaller company to support. Had good reviews.
Yeah, dude on Etsy sells them. Like $340 shipped Found these on Etsy, too. Wall-mounted ones with Now Spinning and Up Next that will mount above the new holder.
Also fellas, check out Flipbin. Local guy here makes and has the patent on them. Has made enough that he quit his regular job and opened up a bar/record store in our neighboring town of 1700 people. He hangs out there all day. It'd be a pretty sweet gig if you ask me.
Haven't had a turntable setup in 5+ years but I've continued to buy records anyway. A buddy who is really, really into vintage Hi-Fi systems wants to sell me at cost a McIntosh Mac 1700 (not because of the receiver functions, but because of the preamp and tube amp) and a pair of JBL4321M. I was probably going to add a Pro-Ject Debut to round it out. Anyone who knows more about this stuff than I do have any thoughts?
1 - get the Wiim streamer pro plus no matter that you do. This should be part of nearly every stereo rig that people put together now. 2 - I'm sure the Mac is a beautiful piece of vintage gear. But, typically not great value. Also, have you owned a tube amp before and are you sure that's something you want to do? They can require more care and maintenance, though that McIntosh is probably somewhat more reliable compared to others. 3 - I dont know anything about that JBL model, but I think you can probably do better for the price, reviews are a bit shaky. I'd also plan on a adding a sub if you do plan to go with them. Personally, for a vintage system I'd recommend full range speakers vs monitors. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...l-4312m-ii-3-way-studio-monitor-review.51226/ I'd snag a pioneer pl-12d or technics SL for the turntable vs a lower end modern production unit.
Very helpful - thank you. I have a Sonos system throughout the house, so I'm putting together dedicated vinyl setup. When you say the Mac is not great value, what do you mean by that? As in, I could find a better amp/preamp combo for the ~$1,200 he's asking? This would be my first tube amp, and honestly I'm kind of going along with it out of curiosity. As for the speakers, good point on the sub. I assumed it would have some kind of bass built in, but I have not yet seen/heard them in person yet. It's also worth mentioning that he's going to let me borrow the receiver and speakers to try out before purchasing them. He's a very close friend and really into his hi-fi gear, so I'm trying to go along with it even though it's all over my head.
I'm sure Sonos makes some type of a dongle that would allow you to stream through this as well. I'd strongly consider it. Make this your "critical listening" stereo and give it proper lossless streaming functionality as well. Otherwise, it's just a novelty and I wouldn't invest in that level of gear. Reading more about the Mcintosh, it is actually a hybrid unit with a solid state pre amp, solid state power amp, and a tube tuner (which it sounds like you wouldn't use anyway). You can definitely get better solid state separates for $1,200. If you are tube curious, get some real tube gear. Dynaco ST-70 and PAS-3 are popular starting points, but there are myriad other options from Fisher, Scott, and Eico. If he's offering a no-risk home audition, that's great and you have nothing to lose. But, I would actually recommend buying something to compare them against so you know what you're getting and whether it's worth it to you. See if you can scoop some ADS speakers, Klipsch, KLH fives, AR, Advent, etc., and a Harman Kardon twin power 430 or 730. Buy right so you can easily resell once you're finished. Note - I had a vinyl only stereo for the last 20 years, about 10+ of that with tubes somehow involved. I no longer use tubes and added streaming and I'm happier now.
Mind providing any insight as to why? Are tubes more headache than they are worth? Or is it a constant pursuit of perfection that can never be attained (which is kind the sense I get from him hi-fi shenanigans)? Very helpful. Thank you.
Why did I ditch tubes? Sound. For the music I like, I prefer the more robust and punchy sound of solid state gear. Solid state gave me more bass, more slam, etc. I found this to be true even when I was using highly efficient Klipsch speakers. Tubes are great with jazz, vocals, small ensemble classical stuff, but for my rockist leanings they didn't deliver the music with quite as much force even though I was using a stout 4x6L6 amp. Generally speaking, people like tube gear because it sounds warm, which typically people equate to a fatter sounding mid range. Tube amps also distort in a more pleasant manner when they're pushed hard, some people even like it -- I love that for playing guitar, hate it for reproducing recorded music. For me, for stereo listening I like solid state gear with enough power reserves I never have to worry about pushing the amp into distortion. If all somebody wants is a warmer sound signature, there are other ways of getting that than tubes. I love tubes and own over 10 tube guitar amps. I'm certainly not worried about fuss or maintenance. But to me, solid state has too many advantages over tubes for accurate sound reproduction for me to ignore. Also should note if you're buying a vintage solid state amp, it will also require servicing at some point if it hasn't already received it. The capacitors in tube and solid state gear wear out over time just the same. Something to keep in mind.
I need a Tracy Chapman greatest hits vinyl after the Grammys. Can’t find it on the internet, let me know if you have an online store I should check.
Read up on the Wiim and gonna give it a shot for my headphone setup at my desk. Only thing that came up in some comments was getting the 192/24 to come through dependent on the output cable. Some people commented they were getting closer to Bluetooth quality measurements. I’m connecting it to a schitt multibit gungnir. The recommended input is optical on the gungnir multi. Any experience or concerns? Thx!
I use the optical out with the supplied cable. I haven't measured the output, but haven't run any issues. I do have one unit plugged into an older soundbar with a dac that can't handle the 192/24 so I use 96/24, but that's only turned on at parties. I use a cheaper Schiit dac with the Wiim in my main stereo and think it sounds great. If you're real worried about it, I think the pro plus model has a decent integrated DAC. Do you really need either, though, for a desktop rig? Something to consider.
My sonos speaker stopped connecting with my bluetooth record player. was an issue for all Sonos speakers since mid-December. Finally got fixed.
I don't need the dac, I need a dedicated streamer so I went with the pro. It's my office setup. There's a notable difference in sound/static when I use my display link connected to my work laptop and I don't want to use shared device like my personal laptop or tablet that gets moved around the house. Sounds great. I'm really happy with the wiim. I submitted a ticket on the unison usb input to see if they have a recommended cable for it. I think Schitt recommends using that input for all the devices that have them.
RSD 2024 list is out. I'll have to look in more detail closer to the day, but at first glance, I'm not seeing too much to justify getting up early and waiting in line. https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases
In other news, had a trip to Nashville this weekend and spent a little too much at Third Man Records. That's a great little store with a good mix of artists. The prices aren't bad, either. I'm especially excited about the Live at TMR titles, and the Big Sugar, which I wasn't familiar with, but they had it playing in the store and I liked it.
Rather than going with vintage gear or my buddy’s old gear, I think I’m going to go with modern stuff and would appreciate any thoughts you (or others) may have. I’m a tinkerer so it’s worth noting I plan to upgrade components over time, so this is just a starting point. For speakers, I’m leaning toward KEF LS50 Meta, but trying to find a used pair for ~$800ish. Denon PMA-600NE for the amp. It contains an preamp, but I was thinking I’d go ahead/soon buy a preamp. Considering either Rolls Bellari VP549, Schiit Audi Mani 2, or Project Phono Box DC. Turntable would be Project Debut Carbon EVO. Thoughts on any of the foregoing? IMO amp is the biggest question mark. Any recommendations for marketplaces for used gear? In particular, speakers and amps?
Marketplaces - hifishark.com, eBay, Craigslist, Audiogon, Facebook marketplace, also local stores. Those speakers are excellent bud I'd strongly recommend a subwoofer to go with them. Look at local used listings for the best deal, I'd check out the RSL Speedwoofer 10 if buying new. Otherwise Hsu, rythmik, REL, SVS, monoprice monolith, etc. on the used market. In my opinion this is mandatory with those speakers. I'm sure the turntable is fine. Be careful buying that used in regards to the cartridge. That's a wear part and the most important part of the vinyl playback system. Not familiar with that amp either, but I'd just recommend thinking about what features are important to you and finding something at a price that makes sense. Personally I've found better value buying older gear and adding modern features via a Wiim streaming device but there's more than one path to get there. I think a lot of vintage gear comes equipped with a phono stage that's as good as any you listed there, maybe better. But you can also just as easily do what you're proposing and get a newer amp then add a phono stage. There's a million options so it can be hard to narrow down. Skylabs audio on YouTube covers generally vintage audio. There are a bunch of channels that do newer modern stuff. This guy likes the Yamaha AS line.
CheapAudioMan is great. He's also been a fan of the Schitt stuff as well. About to dive in with Rotel separates myself. This could be an expensive mistake.
My Yamaha rxa4a turned itself off tonight and won’t turn back on. None of the online support options work, as it doesn’t have any buttons. Don’t want to spend money having it fixed. Don’t have the time. Would rather just buy a new one if I can’t troubleshoot myself. I’ve got klipsch speakers. Two floor towers, a central speaker, and sub. uturn turntable What are some good receiver options?
Shit I have that receiver. Downstairs I have a Marantz. Sounds great and I have a similar setup to you with Klipsch speakers.
The troubleshoot videos don’t help bc none of them Show this receiver. There’s not really any buttons, just the wheel to press. Online videos all have buttons.
I had some problems with some of the older Aventage receivers I owned so I went away from Yamaha this last time around. I’ve been pleased with the Marantz.
Curious about speaker setup. I’ve got one center speaker, and two floor speakers. Right now the floor speakers are set up in the back of the room, beside the couch; and set up as surround. The center speaker is under the TV, on the opposite side of the room. The surround isn't always on, bc I don't think everything (tv shows, spotify, etc) is capable i really like when they do work, but wondering if I should just set them up as standard L R so they’re always on? We always have the system on, bc it's hooked up to the TV, PS5, and turn table. maybe I’ll just change the settings when watching a tv show or movie, to surround.
Looking at this turntable recced by ashy larry : https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/at-lp60x What speakers should I get? Budget 500ish for a pair.