Thanks, Wiz! That’s a lot to consider but great breadth. Hope others will benefit from this as well.
cheers!
I'm inclined to say -
You can't get what you need until you know what you need.
By that I mean really understanding what you want the system to do will guide you toward products that do those things.
The suggested amps have a wider range of features -
- High-Power/Lower-Power
- Tone Controls/No Tone Controls
- Network Streaming
- Bluetooth
- Phono In (MM)
- Sub Out
- Full Bass Management (Front and Sub)
- Room EQ
- DAC - Optical, Coaxial, USB-Media, and in some USB-PC for a direct connect to a computer.
- FM or AM/FM or in the UK DAB/DAB+
What from this list do you want and/or need?
You can trim back a bit on the turntable, and add more to Amp or Speakers, or you can trim back on the Amp and add the difference to the Turntable or the Speakers.
Really weigh were your priorities are and what you need.
Now, let's say you want all the feature of the Yamaha RN803, but you don't need Room-EQ. Don't not buy the amp simply because it has a feature you don't need. If it otherwise serves your need, then just forget that one feature.
If you have any questions about any of the amps, ask and I assume one one will have opinions and information about it.
The lowest I would go in a turntable is probably the
Audio Technica AT-LP140X ($399)
Manual direct-drive turntable
www.crutchfield.com
However, if you really want to re-assess your priorities then the much lower cost
Audio Techinica LP-120USB ($250) is still a decent turntable. (Black or Silver)
Manual direct-drive turntable with USB output and built-in phono preamp
www.crutchfield.com
More in the Midrange , either the Project Debut Carbon DC w/2M Red ($450) or the Project Debut Carbon Esprit w/2M Red ($599) are very good -
Manual belt-drive turntable with pre-mounted cartridge
www.crutchfield.com
Manual belt-drive turntable with pre-mounted cartridge
www.crutchfield.com
These two above come with a pretty considerable Cartridge upgrade.
I like the general look of th
e Music Hall 2.3 ($499) which does come with a nice Music Hall Cartridge -
The world's largest online retailer of high-end audio, audiophile music, and accessories. We specialize in vinyl records and turntables.
www.musicdirect.com
Manual belt-drive turntable with pre-mounted cartridge
www.crutchfield.com
" ...preinstalled Music Hall Spirit MM cartridge (a $100 value specially built by the experts at Audio Technica)..."
As to Rega, you have to get up to the
Planar 3 to get the quality of tonearm I'm looking for. Though again, Rega hit a pretty high standard all round. That's for you to decide.
As to speakers, in your general budget area, probably the -
Klipsch RP-600M (6.5") - $629/pair -
The world's largest online retailer of high-end audio, audiophile music, and accessories. We specialize in vinyl records and turntables.
www.musicdirect.com
Monitor Audio Bronze 100 (8") - $595/pair -
Bookshelf speakers
www.crutchfield.com
For speakers, I'm somewhat trying to conform to roughly the range you said you wanted to be in.
Again, really think about the feature and quality you want. Think about the things you need the Amp to do. The more you understand what you want and need, the more likely you are to find equipment that delivers that.
If you want to check out any of the
Yamaha Amps/Receiver, you can view them here -
The elegant design of the R-N803 is equally matched with powerful brainy internals – a full suite of modern technological and connectivity features make the receiver even more captivating and result in a receiver worthy to take home to your Wi-Fi® and Hi-Fi.
usa.yamaha.com
I can't fault the
ARCAM SA10, good amp, but seems a bit short on features, though it does have a DAC. But No Tone Controls, for myself, that is something of a deal breaker.
Maximum value would be the
Yamaha AS501 ($550), if you want to scale down on the amp and put money elsewhere, this would be a good consideration
The
Yamaha AS701 ($800) is a high feature high quality amp, and a nice choice if you don't need a USB-PC DAC.
The
Yamaha AS801 ($900), this is the Top of the Yamaha Consumer line of Amp, To jump one model above this one, takes you to about THREE TIMES the money. This has a USB-PC for a direct connect to a computer, if that matters to you. If not, the AS701 has essentially the same 100w/ch Amps.
However, the
Yamaha RN803 Network Receiver ($750) is very different. It is packed to the walls with features -
The elegant design of the R-N803 is equally matched with powerful brainy internals – a full suite of modern technological and connectivity features make the receiver even more captivating and result in a receiver worthy to take home to your Wi-Fi® and Hi-Fi.
usa.yamaha.com
To me the most notable features are
Network Streaming and Full Bass Management. The
Full Bass Management would be necessary if you ever hope to add Subwoofer(s) to the system.
The only thing I haven't addressed is the
CD PLAYER. That is difficult, and a general CD Player is roughly $300. However, you suggested a DVD Player. If you can get one that has a true HiFi DAC, then that would be fine. In fact, I use a
Harmon Kardon Universal DVD Player as my CD Player. Though mine retailed for $450 and I paid about $150 on close-out.
There is a site call -
Accessories4Less - that sells B-Stock, which means you can get some real bargains there. Definitely worth checking out their site.
www.accessories4less.com
www.accessories4less.com
www.accessories4less.com
Yamaha Factory Refurbished
www.accessories4less.com
www.accessories4less.com
Again, just about any DVD Player with a decent DAC will do.
Steve/bluewizard