IME, adding a stand-alone preamp for your turntable might improve on your listening experience.
Adding a subwoofer or upgrading your speakers will nearly certainly improve your listening experience.
Audio is difficult in that one can spend tons of money to gain marginal changes. Speakers and source will yield the most dramatic, appreciable differences.
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
I've got my eye on some really good speakers but I need the $1800 first, lol. I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
Post edited by PJ_Soul on
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
I use a Klipsch system for my surround sound, tv setup and they sound excellent. It's reference series all around with center channel and with these speakers the SP12 inch subwoofer(BTW these powered subs sound huge for the money, do not buy anything more unless you have a huge theatre room, I can barely turn it up before my house is shaking, great for $200-300) is really needed if you want to feel and hear everything (meaning frequencies) from low to high. With the sub off it's very clear, but there is a substantial difference. I used to listen to audio/music thru this system, which cost around $2000 total. I got into vinyl and after a lot of research I saved a ton of money and have a much better listening experience going all vintage. I got a Pioneer PL530 70's turntable (cost me $400 on Craigslist serviced/with warranty and puts the newer toy feeling (no offense because they sound great too to be honest) Orbit, etc for the same price or more to shame) and after listening/using with a Grado elite cartridge setup running into a Cambridge preamp ($150) (and not needed after I switched to all vintage which is my next point.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems. Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience. "If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
I've got my eye on some really good speakers but I need the $1800 first, lol. I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
I can empathize.... do you hold out on the sub and eventually pull the trigger on the 1800 speakers and get the full range you want, or do you get something incremental like the sub? If you want my opinion (or stop reading now!)...
I think it depends on your listening space and whether you watch movies. If your listening space is appropriate for the bookshelves you have, then I would get the sub and not worry about the expensive towers. Improve the rest of the chain (pre amp/amp, etc.) if you like buying equipment, like me. Bookshelves are near field optimized and replacing them with towers could actually be worse than what you have. If you are in a larger room, then absolutely hold out for the big speakers. Or... do both..but only if you're watching movies. If you have good towers and listen to music only, I don't think you need a sub (unless rap is your thing). Music (the type mostly listened to here on the 10C) should not go below 50 hz often if ever, and a good tower should handle that. If you listen to modern pop, R&B, etc., then you will go down below 50 hz. And if you want a movie experience, then you'll want something that can handle down to 22 or so.
I use a Klipsch system for my surround sound, tv setup and they sound excellent. It's reference series all around with center channel and with these speakers the SP12 inch subwoofer(BTW these powered subs sound huge for the money, do not buy anything more unless you have a huge theatre room, I can barely turn it up before my house is shaking, great for $200-300) is really needed if you want to feel and hear everything (meaning frequencies) from low to high. With the sub off it's very clear, but there is a substantial difference. I used to listen to audio/music thru this system, which cost around $2000 total. I got into vinyl and after a lot of research I saved a ton of money and have a much better listening experience going all vintage. I got a Pioneer PL530 70's turntable (cost me $400 on Craigslist serviced/with warranty and puts the newer toy feeling (no offense because they sound great too to be honest) Orbit, etc for the same price or more to shame) and after listening/using with a Grado elite cartridge setup running into a Cambridge preamp ($150) (and not needed after I switched to all vintage which is my next point.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems. Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience. "If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
PM me if anyone has questions...
There are lots of good deals to be had on quality vintage gear but it's getting tougher. Word has spread and a lot more people seem to be competing for the great deals. Costs are going up.
Still, hi-fi gear from the late sixties to early eighties is available and, dollar for dollar, sounds incredible.
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
I've got my eye on some really good speakers but I need the $1800 first, lol. I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
I can empathize.... do you hold out on the sub and eventually pull the trigger on the 1800 speakers and get the full range you want, or do you get something incremental like the sub? If you want my opinion (or stop reading now!)...
I think it depends on your listening space and whether you watch movies. If your listening space is appropriate for the bookshelves you have, then I would get the sub and not worry about the expensive towers. Improve the rest of the chain (pre amp/amp, etc.) if you like buying equipment, like me. Bookshelves are near field optimized and replacing them with towers could actually be worse than what you have. If you are in a larger room, then absolutely hold out for the big speakers. Or... do both..but only if you're watching movies. If you have good towers and listen to music only, I don't think you need a sub (unless rap is your thing). Music (the type mostly listened to here on the 10C) should not go below 50 hz often if ever, and a good tower should handle that. If you listen to modern pop, R&B, etc., then you will go down below 50 hz. And if you want a movie experience, then you'll want something that can handle down to 22 or so.
Solid advice here.
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
Does anyone know much about these Klipsch speakers? I know they're an American brand and I've read good reviews online, just wondering if anyone on here has heard them and if they have any thoughts...?
I have a lot of thoughts on Klipsch, although not necessarily those. I think they will be very good for TV although you should probably have a center channel. The Monitors are much better musical speakers than those Klipsch, even if they were the same size.
Yeah thats what I though too mrussel1, keep the Monitor's for music only as I'm very pleased with them and the Klipsch for TV. The Monitors are floorstanding size so quite a bit bigger than the new Klipsch's, though these are very large for "bookshelf" speakers..
Yeah.. Klipsch use a horn design which amplifies the highs. I find them a little bright for music, but that's a pet peeve of mine. Bright speakers give me listening fatigue for music. On the flip side, it makes it easier to understand words on movies, tv shows, etc. That's why I find Klipsch and Def Tech better suited for home theater or all purpose listening, rather than audiophile.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Great comments above.
I guess so. I sure hope that they don't make them sound even brighter.
I have the KG 2.5s and they don't seem to be harsh in the upper mids and highs like a lot of Klipsch speakers. Still, they totally benefit from taking some of the demand for low-end extension off of them by running them with a subwoofer.
To be honest, I'm not really a Klipsch fan boy but mine sound pretty damn good.
As a companion to my kickass Cerwin Vegas, they do pretty well.
The CV's are total rock speakers but they're not as revealing to detail as my Klipsch setup.
Nice to have both as they're different tools for different jobs.
Post edited by dudeman on
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
I've got my eye on some really good speakers but I need the $1800 first, lol. I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
I can empathize.... do you hold out on the sub and eventually pull the trigger on the 1800 speakers and get the full range you want, or do you get something incremental like the sub? If you want my opinion (or stop reading now!)...
I think it depends on your listening space and whether you watch movies. If your listening space is appropriate for the bookshelves you have, then I would get the sub and not worry about the expensive towers. Improve the rest of the chain (pre amp/amp, etc.) if you like buying equipment, like me. Bookshelves are near field optimized and replacing them with towers could actually be worse than what you have. If you are in a larger room, then absolutely hold out for the big speakers. Or... do both..but only if you're watching movies. If you have good towers and listen to music only, I don't think you need a sub (unless rap is your thing). Music (the type mostly listened to here on the 10C) should not go below 50 hz often if ever, and a good tower should handle that. If you listen to modern pop, R&B, etc., then you will go down below 50 hz. And if you want a movie experience, then you'll want something that can handle down to 22 or so.
Thanks for the advice! i live in a wood frame apartment building, lol.... I guess a subwoof would be pretty inconsiderate now that I think about it. And my stereo system isn't hooked up to my home theatre at all. I couldn't less about the sound of my movies, as long as I can hear them, lol. I guess I'll just get a pre-amp and further upgrade my cartridge for now.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
I've got my eye on some really good speakers but I need the $1800 first, lol. I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
I can empathize.... do you hold out on the sub and eventually pull the trigger on the 1800 speakers and get the full range you want, or do you get something incremental like the sub? If you want my opinion (or stop reading now!)...
I think it depends on your listening space and whether you watch movies. If your listening space is appropriate for the bookshelves you have, then I would get the sub and not worry about the expensive towers. Improve the rest of the chain (pre amp/amp, etc.) if you like buying equipment, like me. Bookshelves are near field optimized and replacing them with towers could actually be worse than what you have. If you are in a larger room, then absolutely hold out for the big speakers. Or... do both..but only if you're watching movies. If you have good towers and listen to music only, I don't think you need a sub (unless rap is your thing). Music (the type mostly listened to here on the 10C) should not go below 50 hz often if ever, and a good tower should handle that. If you listen to modern pop, R&B, etc., then you will go down below 50 hz. And if you want a movie experience, then you'll want something that can handle down to 22 or so.
Thanks for the advice! i live in a wood frame apartment building, lol.... I guess a subwoof would be pretty inconsiderate now that I think about it. And my stereo system isn't hooked up to my home theatre at all. I couldn't less about the sound of my movies, as long as I can hear them, lol. I guess I'll just get a pre-amp and further upgrade my cartridge for now.
2000- Atlanta, GA: New Orleans, LA: Memphis, TN: Nashville, TN
2003- Raleigh, NC: Charlotte, NC: Atlanta, GA
2004- Asheville, NC (hometown show)
2006- Cincinnati, OH
2008- Columbia, SC
2009- Chicago, IL x 2 / Ed Vedder- Atlanta, GA x 2
2010- Bristow, VA
2011- Alpine Valley, WI (PJ20) x 2 / Ed Vedder- Chicago, IL
2012- Atlanta, GA
2013- Charlotte, NC
2014- Cincinnati, OH
2015- New York, NY
2016- Greenville, SC: Hampton, VA:: Columbia, SC: Raleigh, NC : Lexington, KY: Philly, PA 2: (Wrigley) Chicago, IL x 2 (holy shit): Temple of the Dog- Philly, PA
I've got my eye on some really good speakers but I need the $1800 first, lol. I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
I can empathize.... do you hold out on the sub and eventually pull the trigger on the 1800 speakers and get the full range you want, or do you get something incremental like the sub? If you want my opinion (or stop reading now!)...
I think it depends on your listening space and whether you watch movies. If your listening space is appropriate for the bookshelves you have, then I would get the sub and not worry about the expensive towers. Improve the rest of the chain (pre amp/amp, etc.) if you like buying equipment, like me. Bookshelves are near field optimized and replacing them with towers could actually be worse than what you have. If you are in a larger room, then absolutely hold out for the big speakers. Or... do both..but only if you're watching movies. If you have good towers and listen to music only, I don't think you need a sub (unless rap is your thing). Music (the type mostly listened to here on the 10C) should not go below 50 hz often if ever, and a good tower should handle that. If you listen to modern pop, R&B, etc., then you will go down below 50 hz. And if you want a movie experience, then you'll want something that can handle down to 22 or so.
Thanks for the advice! i live in a wood frame apartment building, lol.... I guess a subwoof would be pretty inconsiderate now that I think about it. And my stereo system isn't hooked up to my home theatre at all. I couldn't less about the sound of my movies, as long as I can hear them, lol. I guess I'll just get a pre-amp and further upgrade my cartridge for now.
I'd be interested to know how the new cart and pre work out for you. Good luck!
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
I use a Klipsch system for my surround sound, tv setup and they sound excellent. It's reference series all around with center channel and with these speakers the SP12 inch subwoofer(BTW these powered subs sound huge for the money, do not buy anything more unless you have a huge theatre room, I can barely turn it up before my house is shaking, great for $200-300) is really needed if you want to feel and hear everything (meaning frequencies) from low to high. With the sub off it's very clear, but there is a substantial difference. I used to listen to audio/music thru this system, which cost around $2000 total. I got into vinyl and after a lot of research I saved a ton of money and have a much better listening experience going all vintage. I got a Pioneer PL530 70's turntable (cost me $400 on Craigslist serviced/with warranty and puts the newer toy feeling (no offense because they sound great too to be honest) Orbit, etc for the same price or more to shame) and after listening/using with a Grado elite cartridge setup running into a Cambridge preamp ($150) (and not needed after I switched to all vintage which is my next point.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems. Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience. "If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
I use a Klipsch system for my surround sound, tv setup and they sound excellent. It's reference series all around with center channel and with these speakers the SP12 inch subwoofer(BTW these powered subs sound huge for the money, do not buy anything more unless you have a huge theatre room, I can barely turn it up before my house is shaking, great for $200-300) is really needed if you want to feel and hear everything (meaning frequencies) from low to high. With the sub off it's very clear, but there is a substantial difference. I used to listen to audio/music thru this system, which cost around $2000 total. I got into vinyl and after a lot of research I saved a ton of money and have a much better listening experience going all vintage. I got a Pioneer PL530 70's turntable (cost me $400 on Craigslist serviced/with warranty and puts the newer toy feeling (no offense because they sound great too to be honest) Orbit, etc for the same price or more to shame) and after listening/using with a Grado elite cartridge setup running into a Cambridge preamp ($150) (and not needed after I switched to all vintage which is my next point.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems. Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience. "If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
Right on my friend, the all Pioneer setup from the late 70's sounds so amazing. The only thing I would/may ever look at is a tube pre, but it's surely not needed and the HPM's sound sooooo good. I love mine and for the price the vintage all pioneer setup is cheaper, built like a tank, and sounds better then anything I've heard in the price range. You just have to be patient and do some looking, but it is out there to find.
I can't figure out how to put pics up of my gear. Any advice/suggestions? I use a mac that is updated so I'm not sure, hmmm.
You can now use your phone, click the little image button above, and it should take you right to your camera. It's very easy now. You can also now drag and drop from your desktop.
When you say "mac", are you talking about a McIntosh? I'm in the market for one and I'm not sure if I want to get a vintage or a new one. I've been wanting one for years.
I use a Klipsch system for my surround sound, tv setup and they sound excellent. It's reference series all around with center channel and with these speakers the SP12 inch subwoofer(BTW these powered subs sound huge for the money, do not buy anything more unless you have a huge theatre room, I can barely turn it up before my house is shaking, great for $200-300) is really needed if you want to feel and hear everything (meaning frequencies) from low to high. With the sub off it's very clear, but there is a substantial difference. I used to listen to audio/music thru this system, which cost around $2000 total. I got into vinyl and after a lot of research I saved a ton of money and have a much better listening experience going all vintage. I got a Pioneer PL530 70's turntable (cost me $400 on Craigslist serviced/with warranty and puts the newer toy feeling (no offense because they sound great too to be honest) Orbit, etc for the same price or more to shame) and after listening/using with a Grado elite cartridge setup running into a Cambridge preamp ($150) (and not needed after I switched to all vintage which is my next point.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems. Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience. "If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
Right on my friend, the all Pioneer setup from the late 70's sounds so amazing. The only thing I would/may ever look at is a tube pre, but it's surely not needed and the HPM's sound sooooo good. I love mine and for the price the vintage all pioneer setup is cheaper, built like a tank, and sounds better then anything I've heard in the price range. You just have to be patient and do some looking, but it is out there to find.
I used to have a vintage system, and it was great, BUT... once I wanted to upgrade anything at all it all stopped working properly. Also, I needed a repair on my beloved vintage TT, and that wasn't happening for anything close to a reasonable price. So those who go vintage should be duly warned about such issues. Vintage can be cheaper and sound great, but it poses problems too, and those problems will only become more pronounced as time marches on.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
I use a Klipsch system for my surround sound, tv setup and they sound excellent. It's reference series all around with center channel and with these speakers the SP12 inch subwoofer(BTW these powered subs sound huge for the money, do not buy anything more unless you have a huge theatre room, I can barely turn it up before my house is shaking, great for $200-300) is really needed if you want to feel and hear everything (meaning frequencies) from low to high. With the sub off it's very clear, but there is a substantial difference. I used to listen to audio/music thru this system, which cost around $2000 total. I got into vinyl and after a lot of research I saved a ton of money and have a much better listening experience going all vintage. I got a Pioneer PL530 70's turntable (cost me $400 on Craigslist serviced/with warranty and puts the newer toy feeling (no offense because they sound great too to be honest) Orbit, etc for the same price or more to shame) and after listening/using with a Grado elite cartridge setup running into a Cambridge preamp ($150) (and not needed after I switched to all vintage which is my next point.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems. Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience. "If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
Right on my friend, the all Pioneer setup from the late 70's sounds so amazing. The only thing I would/may ever look at is a tube pre, but it's surely not needed and the HPM's sound sooooo good. I love mine and for the price the vintage all pioneer setup is cheaper, built like a tank, and sounds better then anything I've heard in the price range. You just have to be patient and do some looking, but it is out there to find.
I used to have a vintage system, and it was great, BUT... once I wanted to upgrade anything at all it all stopped working properly. Also, I needed a repair on my beloved vintage TT, and that wasn't happening for anything close to a reasonable price. So those who go vintage should be duly warned about such issues. Vintage can be cheaper and sound great, but it poses problems too, and those problems will only become more pronounced as time marches on.
Completely agree.. I think Vintage looks better (modern Mac's aside...because they look the same as always which is gorgeous), but I too would worry about repair costs with transistors, capacitors and the like. I would think they would be hard to get, but maybe not. I'm not sure I buy that they sound better. When you are talking about solid state amps, good quality ones, I'm not sure I can really hear a difference. Several months ago I bought an Outlaw 5 channel amp which is very powerful and turned my Yamaha into a pre/pro. Although it drives better sound at reference volumes, since it's stronger on a bench, I really can't hear the difference at a moderate/low level. They are both clean and detailed.
Caps and transistors are so easy to test and replace. All of my gear has run like a tank and I've actually had more problems with modern hifi gear and it's overly massed production, you definitely have to pay for quality now. But if you knowhow to use a screwdriver, a voltmeter, and a soldering iron that is what they charge you the most for when it's usually a wire that jostled off a soldering point when it get rattled at some point. As long as you check to make sure it sounds as though it should and parts are original just have fun with the journey and learning about how speakers really work.
The problem with new consumer grade electronics is that just about everything is built using printed circuit boards with surface mount components. Generally speaking, the only way to service them is to replace entire boards and assemblies. That gets expensive quickly and we find ourselves replacing instead of repairing.
A lot of vintage gear is point to point wired and was built to a high quality standard as opposed to being built for ease of manufacture and sale at a specific price point.
Component failures happen with vintage gear but parts are readily available for reasonable prices.
If one was looking at point to point, discrete component amps, just about any newly manufactured amp will cost way more than a vintage equal.
For full disclosure, I repaired, serviced and maintained high end electronics professionally for a number of years.
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
The problem with new consumer grade electronics is that just about everything is built using printed circuit boards with surface mount components. Generally speaking, the only way to service them is to replace entire boards and assemblies. That gets expensive quickly and we find ourselves replacing instead of repairing.
A lot of vintage gear is point to point wired and was built to a high quality standard as opposed to being built for ease of manufacture and sale at a specific price point.
Component failures happen with vintage gear but parts are readily available for reasonable prices.
If one was looking at point to point, discrete component amps, just about any newly manufactured amp will cost way more than a vintage equal.
For full disclosure, I repaired, serviced and maintained high end electronics professionally for a number of years.
Ditto, and it's not hard to learn the basics which you'll rarely use but be happy you save a cpl thousand dollars. Go Vintage!!!!
I have several mono albums. I thought I wouldn't liek them as much, but I find I like them but no more than stereo and no less. If something is mono, I definitely wouldn't avoid it. But for example Axis: Bold as Love is available as both, and I got the mono becuase it was Orange.. and I'm a sucker for colored vinyl..
Which brings up the fact that newbury has Singles soundtrack in marbled blue available. It's more expensive, but I got it anyway.. I'm a sucker for it.
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Adding a subwoofer or upgrading your speakers will nearly certainly improve your listening experience.
Audio is difficult in that one can spend tons of money to gain marginal changes. Speakers and source will yield the most dramatic, appreciable differences.
I'm pretty happy with my sound given my good klipsch bookshelves, but yes, I guess I do care enough about it to think about it in audiophile terms. One of these days I'll suck it up and spend that money. I also want to upgrade from a red Ortofon to a blue or bronze, or even a black.
GO ALL VINTAGE!!! So far I put in $400 on the TT, the I got a Pioneer SA8500II serviced/with warranty for $350 which was a steal because holy God does that thing sound awesome and the phono preamp is excellent too. I got a few pairs of speakers after this, which at first I ran a pair of KLH Model 6's on top of Advent Large speakers and the fidelity was amazing. Each pair of speakers cost $150. I found a pair of Pioneer HPM100 for $300 and that did it. I'm working on recapping my Model 6's now and run the HPM100's on top of the Advents and the fidelity, bass, and entire listening experience went to a whole other level. This was how music was meant to be heard, especially vinyl. I hear things on albums (and I'm a musician and consider myself to have a good/great ear for listening, tuning, and building systems.
Long story short is that the Klipsch are great for surround and general listening, but if you are going to truly want to listen to vinyl then save a ton of money and get way more bang for your buck by hitting Craigslist and yardsales. It's amazing what people are getting rid of from right now from the golden age of listening pleasure. Do yourself a favor and you could probably spend around $1000-1200 total and have an excellent listening experience.
"If I would have known now, what I'd known then...."
Oh and don't be scared of good quality vintage gear, this stuff is built like tanks. And get a buckskin slipmat, all static gone and even better tone for bout $40.
PM me if anyone has questions...
I think it depends on your listening space and whether you watch movies. If your listening space is appropriate for the bookshelves you have, then I would get the sub and not worry about the expensive towers. Improve the rest of the chain (pre amp/amp, etc.) if you like buying equipment, like me. Bookshelves are near field optimized and replacing them with towers could actually be worse than what you have. If you are in a larger room, then absolutely hold out for the big speakers. Or... do both..but only if you're watching movies. If you have good towers and listen to music only, I don't think you need a sub (unless rap is your thing). Music (the type mostly listened to here on the 10C) should not go below 50 hz often if ever, and a good tower should handle that. If you listen to modern pop, R&B, etc., then you will go down below 50 hz. And if you want a movie experience, then you'll want something that can handle down to 22 or so.
Still, hi-fi gear from the late sixties to early eighties is available and, dollar for dollar, sounds incredible.
I have the KG 2.5s and they don't seem to be harsh in the upper mids and highs like a lot of Klipsch speakers. Still, they totally benefit from taking some of the demand for low-end extension off of them by running them with a subwoofer.
To be honest, I'm not really a Klipsch fan boy but mine sound pretty damn good.
As a companion to my kickass Cerwin Vegas, they do pretty well.
The CV's are total rock speakers but they're not as revealing to detail as my Klipsch setup.
Nice to have both as they're different tools for different jobs.
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1995- New Orleans, LA : New Orleans, LA
1996- Charleston, SC
1998- Atlanta, GA: Birmingham, AL: Greenville, SC: Knoxville, TN
2000- Atlanta, GA: New Orleans, LA: Memphis, TN: Nashville, TN
2003- Raleigh, NC: Charlotte, NC: Atlanta, GA
2004- Asheville, NC (hometown show)
2006- Cincinnati, OH
2008- Columbia, SC
2009- Chicago, IL x 2 / Ed Vedder- Atlanta, GA x 2
2010- Bristow, VA
2011- Alpine Valley, WI (PJ20) x 2 / Ed Vedder- Chicago, IL
2012- Atlanta, GA
2013- Charlotte, NC
2014- Cincinnati, OH
2015- New York, NY
2016- Greenville, SC: Hampton, VA:: Columbia, SC: Raleigh, NC : Lexington, KY: Philly, PA 2: (Wrigley) Chicago, IL x 2 (holy shit): Temple of the Dog- Philly, PA
2017- ED VED- Louisville, KY
2018- Chicago, IL x2, Boston, MA x2
2020- Nashville, TN
2022- Smashville
2023- Austin, TX x2
2024- Baltimore
This is EXACTLY how I've been listening @earthquakes making waves !!!
You have great equipment that could be made to sound better by rearranging your listening space.
Love that vintage Pioneer gear!
When you say "mac", are you talking about a McIntosh? I'm in the market for one and I'm not sure if I want to get a vintage or a new one. I've been wanting one for years.
A lot of vintage gear is point to point wired and was built to a high quality standard as opposed to being built for ease of manufacture and sale at a specific price point.
Component failures happen with vintage gear but parts are readily available for reasonable prices.
If one was looking at point to point, discrete component amps, just about any newly manufactured amp will cost way more than a vintage equal.
For full disclosure, I repaired, serviced and maintained high end electronics professionally for a number of years.
I'm not sure what all the fuss is about Mono.
I am curious about the mono thing though.
Which brings up the fact that newbury has Singles soundtrack in marbled blue available. It's more expensive, but I got it anyway.. I'm a sucker for it.