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Turntable ~ Speaker question

pledgeagrievancepledgeagrievance Posts: 2,861
in Musicians and Gearheads
I'm looking to upgrade my turntable. I was thinking of going with the AT-LP120 and for speakers I was going to go with Audioengine A5+. Any thoughts? And dumb question, do I need anything else to play the vinyl. I'm assuming with this setup I don't need a receiver or anything. Thanks

Comments

  • mrussel1mrussel1 Posts: 29,668
    That should work. The AT has a built in phono amp and the speakers are powered, so it will work. If space and price are your two constraints, then this works. Just keep in mind that these are considered multimedia speakers and they are good compared to its peers. If you are trying to get the vinyl listening experience that focuses on soundstage, depth, etc., I'm not sure that the setup gets you there. There are better speakers for the price, but you would need the amp.

    My first TT was the AT-LP120 and I used the built in pre amp and it sounded noticeably worse than my FLACs, Cds, and other lossless music. I ended up returning it and didn't go back to vinyl until I got a new receiver with a very nice phono amp, and a different TT.

    I'm not trying to sound like an audio snob, just pointing out what I discovered.

    Matt
  • dankinddankind Posts: 20,839
    edited October 2015
    The AT-LP120 with an external tube preamp sounds killer and adds all the warmth/depth you would need to Audioengine A5+ speakers. I would suggest buying the setup that you plan on buying, and then adding an external tube preamp later if you can't swing it off the bat. Your mind will be blown by how much it adds.
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • 2-feign-reluctance2-feign-reluctance Posts: 23,302
    dankind said:

    The AT-LP120 with an external tube preamp sounds killer and adds all the warmth/depth you would need to Audioengine A5+ speakers. I would suggest buying the setup that you plan on buying, and then adding an external tube preamp later if you can't swing it off the bat. Your mind will be blown by how much it adds.

    Some day....when my kids are in school and we're not paying for daycare.
    www.cluthelee.com
  • mrussel1mrussel1 Posts: 29,668
    2-feign-reluctance said:

    dankind said:

    The AT-LP120 with an external tube preamp sounds killer and adds all the warmth/depth you would need to Audioengine A5+ speakers. I would suggest buying the setup that you plan on buying, and then adding an external tube preamp later if you can't swing it off the bat. Your mind will be blown by how much it adds.

    Some day....when my kids are in school and we're not paying for daycare.
    Ha. Keep believing your costs go down. It might keep you going.

    Agree that a pre-amp or a better internal amp can make a difference on this TT. Maybe people suggest removing the internal hardware all together. I'm not sure if that really makes a difference. The TT is nice in that it has a USB to rip your vinyl. I do miss that feature in my current setup.
  • dankinddankind Posts: 20,839
    mrussel1 said:

    2-feign-reluctance said:

    dankind said:

    The AT-LP120 with an external tube preamp sounds killer and adds all the warmth/depth you would need to Audioengine A5+ speakers. I would suggest buying the setup that you plan on buying, and then adding an external tube preamp later if you can't swing it off the bat. Your mind will be blown by how much it adds.

    Some day....when my kids are in school and we're not paying for daycare.
    Ha. Keep believing your costs go down. It might keep you going.

    Agree that a pre-amp or a better internal amp can make a difference on this TT. Maybe people suggest removing the internal hardware all together. I'm not sure if that really makes a difference. The TT is nice in that it has a USB to rip your vinyl. I do miss that feature in my current setup.
    The Bellari VP530 tube preamp could bridge that gap for you. Honestly, I've never even used the USB feature on the AT-LP120. I'm kind of a Luddite.

    When you use an external preamp or receiver for the AT-LP120, there is a switch on the back of the TT that you can slide to "phono" -- you would have it set to "line" if you're using the built-in preamp -- and after doing that, it shuts down the internal preamp and opens opens a can a whupass.

    And Chris, I got an old tube preamp for pretty cheap on eBay. The tubes are like lightbulbs in terms of years of use they've got in them, but new tubes are only around $15-$20 (for the good ones). There are folks who think that their preamps are shot and sell them for cheap on eBay or Craigslist or flea markets or garage sales when all they need is a new tube.

    The same goes for old receivers. Folks unload those things when all they need is a little tweak here and there.
    I SAW PEARL JAM
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