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  #11  
Old 10-08-2017, 05:42 AM
chaskelljr1963 chaskelljr1963 is offline
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Now, I have a question of my own.

I am getting ready to move into a small one bedroom/one bath condominium I am going to be calling my own, and I do plan to put some love in it, and my own stamp on it in order to make it totally mine in due time.

Now, I am getting ready to assemble an audio system that I can put into it as well.

Right now, what I am considering are the following:

. LSA Group LSA-1 2-Way Monitors (in Rosewood) -- www.thelsagroup.com

. Pangea LS300 Speaker Stands (sand filled)

. Sennheiser HD-650 Headphones

. Cambridge Audio AZUR 851A Dual Mono Integrated Amplifier (120 WPC @ 8 Ohms/200 WPC @ 4 Ohms; XLR Balanced Inputs (x2))

. Cambridge Audio AZUR 851N Network Streamer Music Player/DAC

. PS Audio GCPH Phono Preamplifier (Used)

. Thorens TD-160 Belt-Drive Turntable (Modified With Jelco Arm Plate and Jelco SA-750D Tone Arm) or Technics SL-1200 MkII or Mk V Direct-Drive Turntable

. Ortofon 2M Blue or Sumiko BPS-EVO III

. Interconnects and Speaker Cables To Be Determined

I think that for the price, and the space that it's going to be put in, that's the best I'm going to be able to do.

What do you think? Think I can do better for the price and scope for this system?

Oh.... No Tubes Please.

I'm a Solid-State Guy Only.

Thank You All In Advance and Regards..

--Charles--

Last edited by chaskelljr1963; 10-16-2017 at 12:32 AM. Reason: Grammar
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  #12  
Old 10-08-2017, 03:27 PM
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I know those powered Klipsch speakers. Gail uses them in her art studio where she does oil painting and pastels. They are OK but not what you want on a $1500 budget. Rather than go through all the business with LPs, a better way to go would be to cut her losses and get good powered speakers (the entire $1500 budget) and go with digital sources. At that price point even an iPod/iPhone or whatever will be an excellent source. This will beat the pants off that TT/Klipsch system

Before you dismiss this, just remember that Wilson demo a few years ago where they used an iPod as the secret source on their Alexandrias.
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  #13  
Old 10-14-2017, 10:40 AM
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Charles - what's your budget?
As mentioned by GaryP, you might want to consider powered speakers. The KEF LS50 (rave reviews & sold by Ivan) now offers a powered version. You can get an iPod dock or hook up your computer for digital. There are several excellent phono stages that are small. From the NAD PP 3 (with USB output) to Ray Samuels Nighthawk F117. Would also recommend going with the 2M Black if you can make the stretch ($-wise). Or the AT150MLX (if you can find one) or AT150Sa at about half the $$. The AT150 is just behind the 2M Black to my ears.
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  #14  
Old 10-16-2017, 12:27 AM
chaskelljr1963 chaskelljr1963 is offline
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Hello Glenn:

How are you?

I'm a little further along in life than the young lady whose the subject matter is intended for.

I'm going to say that my budget (also for a small system) is around $10K (-/+).

I'm planning to move into a small one bed/one bath 700 sq. ft. condominium soon. So while I do want a quality system that's going to sound big and massive in scope, it has to be small and minimalist in stature.

I want speakers that are going to be small in stature, but have energy in the bass region while maintaining accuracy in the all critical midrange and top-end without getting subwoofers. That's why my pick are the LSA-1's from a small manufacturer named "The LSA Group".

My Phono Preamplifier is a PS Audio GCPH which is in my current system and is (in my opinion) several steps ahead of the NAD Phono Preamps. And if possible, I plan to keep it and use it in the next system (as well as the turntable... possibly).

Now, my sticking points at this point would be the amplifier (do I go separates again, or do I go for an integrated this time, and unless I end up picking the Powered KEF's, if I decide to go with the LSA-1's, I would be leaning towards an integrated this time around), and maybe, the digital source (I'm open to getting an i-Pod.... then I can unload all of that music off of my i-Phone and put it all on to my new i-Pod instead and free up all of that space on my i-Phone (6S -- 64 GB).

I will look into the KEF LS50 and see what they have on offer. But what I want are an extended bass response (I listen to Jazz, R&B/Soul (including 60's Motown), Rock, Pop, and I know this may be unpopular for most of us, who are intending to put together a system of mid-fi or even high-end intentions -- Rap/Hip-Hop), and maybe a DAC for my digital source(s).

But from looking at the KEF LS50's, if I am to go by their stature only, I'm going to say that they're going to come up rather short in the bass region (but will sound excellent elsewhere), and that I may have to budget for subwoofers down the line. so they'll need to have line outs for subwoofers as well, if I plan to eventually add them.

Adding an Ortofon 2M Black is a possibility (as well as an Audio Technica AT150sa).

Thanks again for your insight, and I will look into those options as well.

--Charles--

Last edited by chaskelljr1963; 10-16-2017 at 01:37 AM. Reason: Grammar
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  #15  
Old 10-17-2017, 08:52 AM
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Charles - with your budget, you may want to give the Joseph Audio Pulsar monitors a listen. The reviews all suggest that the sound is akin to a tower speaker (go deeper than most monitors) while maintaining the imaging of a stand mount speaker. I've been a fan of JA's speakers for some time and have owned everything from their excellent RM7XL thru the RM25XL, and still use a pair of their Cinery5.1XLs. Am "speaker shopping" and their Pulsar and Pearl are on my list. You might say I'm a fan of the JA 'house sound'.
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  #16  
Old 10-18-2017, 07:51 AM
Richard D. George Richard D. George is offline
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I highly recommend Bluesound in general. The Powernode2 is much better, more powerful and musical that you would guess by just looking at one (or at a picture of one). ELAC passive speakers are excellent for the money.

A Node2 would work with active speakers, as would a Vault2 (which can store high def downloads and it can rip CD’s).

Dynaudio makes excellent small active speakers. If you can’t find some used, you could also save money by buying the studio monitor versions (though they do not have the nice cabinet finishes). Sweetwater.com is a good source.

I have Sonos everywhere but I separately have Bluesound in four systems.
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  #17  
Old 10-18-2017, 08:02 AM
Richard D. George Richard D. George is offline
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One more thing:

Reviews of the KEF LS50W (active) are very, very positive. I just checked and they do have RCA output for a sub.
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  #18  
Old 10-18-2017, 11:29 AM
SCAudiophile SCAudiophile is offline
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Legacy Caliber speakers will amaze you,...check them out!
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  #19  
Old 10-18-2017, 11:41 PM
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Default Cambridge Audio AZUR 851A

Charles,

I have the Cambridge Audio AZUR 851A in my system, and am generally pleased so far. It is very solidly built.
I am still growing into the hobby, but will tell you a couple of things I have noticed with mine.

1) This integrated amp can get fairly hot, so make sure you have good ventilation. Not fry-an-egg-on-it hot, but a bit toasty. Mine is in a roomy enough spot that it’s fine.

2) The remote buttons are made of that rubbery material that gets sticky with time - a common complaint I have seen on several reviews (if anyone knows a fix please let me know). I’ve seen enough complaints about this for Cambridge systems I cannot understand why they did not fix this years ago.

3) Also, it has a low volume (but noticeable) hum at rest, from the amp itself, that does not seem to be transmitted to the speakers like a 60Hz hum can be (had that problem with my REL T-zero sub neutrik connector before I found the culprit... great sub for a small system, BTW). I don’t notice it when the music is playing, but it may take away from the darkness of the background in the room for ultra-trained ears. In fact, my CD just finished, and sitting here in the listening position it is not audible to me at all. If I get up close I can hear it. Don’t know if this is normal, but it’s what my amp does.

All in all, I am greatly enjoying it for now, and would recommend it. It is a great int amp for its price range. That said, I suspect I will eventually upgrade, once my other upgrades make this the weakest point in my system.

Best,
Shrinky
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  #20  
Old 12-09-2017, 09:23 PM
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Update: All my power cords have been updated from the original manufacturer cables to Pangea. All plugged into the Furman now (the sub was in a separate receptacle before). The hum on the Cambridge 851A azur integrated amp is gone!
Another plug for power cable upgrades... especially from the original cords.
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((SilenZio 3.5 > Bryston BDA-3) / (VPI Prime Walnut > EAT E Glo Petit)) > (DH Labs & WW ICs) > Bryston BP17 cubed >
((Bryston 4B cubed > Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 & REL Acoustics T-zero) / (Schiit Mjolnir 2 > (Focal Elex / MrSpeakers Ether CX / Fostex TR-X00 Ebony / Sennheiser HD650 / AKG K712 Pro)))
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