Question Amp recommendation required!!

WhiteStripe

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I’m new to this so I’m learning lots pretty quickly. I’m after buying my first record player. So I don’t want to go all on with the most expensive etc but also don’t want to buy something that’s just not worth the time or day etc. I’m looking at buying the Audio Technical LP3 turntable but can anyone recommend an amp that I would need and speakers (preferably small rather than floor standing). Appreciate any help whatsoever!!
 
Budget is king and you need to provide a ball park figure.
 
So I’m thinking turntable, amp and speakers at around £500 - is this even near enough?!
 
I don't know how new and what you know so I am going to paint broadly here:

There is a VAST ARRAY of all audio components available second hand:
Paradigm, energy, PSB are some good bang for the buck speakers that have been around for a while. All are/were made in canada and have benefited from the National research facility there where they have a cavernous anechoic chamber to do reaearch and measurements. Paradigm made a sweet line of powered speakers (their passives are nice too) that would be a good idea as they have an amp onboard and sound really nice You could definitely do worse than those on a decent pair of stands. A 2-way (how many speakers in the box that are doing a separate workload) is a simple speaker design that can be done well for pretty reasonable price, especially used. So, along with the canadian ones I mentioned and the plethora of brittish 2-ways you can find something really nice.

Integrated amps by NAIM, NAD, etc... sound good and might save you some money over a separate amp and pre-amp if you do not choose a powered pair of speakers.

some people swear by the Technics tuntable , SL-1200 as a good starter turntable. It is UBIQUITOUS as DJs love(d) them. In general, buy decent inteconnects and decent speaker cables. Forums here and look at stereophile.com (don't need to go crazy on cables, just don't let them be a weak link in your gear) are good sources of advice.

Try to get your speakers away from walls as much as you can. Ideally do not have them on a bookshelf or table (I know... they are called bookshelf speakers, but don't do it). They will sound a LOT better out in the room. I have a 13x18 foot room. I have to have the speakers along the long wall which is supposedly not ideal but I am getting good results. I have them almost 3 feet out into the room (almost three feet from the back wall) You will benefit from doing similarly if you can do so. If you are in a small space and do not have a lot of options thus needing to put small speakers on a table or a shelf, put them on the front edge of the table or shelf so that there is no early reflection from the shelf or table they are sitting on. If that is not possible put something that looks kind of cool under them extending out to the edge of the shelf or table to reduce early reflections. If it can be helped and if imaging is important, don't have anything in the area between you and the speakers. If you have to have a coffee table or the like between you and the speakers throw a towel or a blanket over it when you nerd-out listen. If you idea is more to workout or cruise around the place while listening some of these points are moot. for me imaging is pretty key so that is why I threw those ideas in there.

Enjoy !
 
... I live in the States. Here, Adcom and B&K separates from years back are available CHEAP. They sound good too. B&K st 140 is a good sounding amp as are the adcom 60 and 100 what amps. Those are separates, of course. solid choices and especially if money is tight. If you have a little more money you can stretch your legs quite a bit, so to speak. I think a tube pre-amp is a good overall move, should you end up buying separates. There are many second hand tube pre-amps out there if you can swing the price. Older Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, Audible illusion, counterpoint. VTL, etc.... are thumbs up. Google is, of course, your friend to look up reviews, forums, etc... for any piece of gear you are looking into purchasing.
If you are really into all of this you might want to do what I did when I was in college: buy and sell second hand stereo gear. It gives you a chance to feed your own addiction for essentially free, as you profit a little bit from each purchase. You get to try out a lot of stuff. You get to see first hand what you think about the debates: mp3 vs lossles, digital vs analog, cables as snake-oil, How much do two amps or pre-amps differ, etc... etc... I enjoyed it and came out with a nice enough setup for free and made some money.
 
So I’m thinking turntable, amp and speakers at around £500 - is this even near enough?!
You would need to look at the classifieds for that budget. There are members on here who will no doubt help and are very good at ferreting out a bargain.

@Ugg10
 
I don't class myself as an audio expert by any means but I have tried a number of different amps from Yamaha, Marantz, Cambridge Audio and Onkyo as well as bookshelf speakers from Monitor Audio, Wharfedale and Q Acoustics and to my ears Yamaha and Q Acoustics match really well together.

Would fit your budget too. Both Yamaha and Q Acoustics offer high value for what performance they offer IMO.

If you can get hold of a Yamaha AS-501 amp it also has a phono stage for a turntable.

I run Q Acoustics Concept 20 speakers through the Yammy and they sound wonderful. The 3020/3020i's would also sound very good (I loved my 3020's before upgrading to the Concept 20's).

All subjective though I guess. Would help if you could audition somewhere like Richer Sounds.
 
With that budget it is going to be very tight buying new. For second had have a look at -

Amp, Arcam A75 plus £150, may be a bit less with an offer


and as @AudioJosh says the Yamaha AS500 or better AS501 is a good alternative.

Speakers, a nice pair of book case speakers would do well,

Kef Q300 tend to go around £150-200. These look nice but worth a haggle.


or keep an eye on the Dali Zensor 3’s, May go cheap.


As for turntable there is an a obvious choice, my Project RPM 1.3 GpGenie in the classifieds with a 2M blue/silver cartridge ;)

 
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Wow!! Thank you everyone for your help! It looks like I have lots to read up on and look in to!! Your help is reallly appreciated! 👍
 
Goodwill/charity shops.

Some guy on Reddit got himself a Technics SL1200 mk2 for $20. It's seen better days, but it works...
 
With that budget it is going to be very tight buying new. For second had have a look at -

Amp, Arcam A75 plus £150, may be a bit less with an offer


and as @AudioJosh says the Yamaha AS500 or better AS501 is a good alternative.

Speakers, a nice pair of book case speakers would do well,

Kef Q300 tend to go around £150-200. These look nice but worth a haggle.


or keep an eye on the Dali Zensor 3’s, May go cheap.


As for turntable there is an a obvious choice, my Project RPM 1.3 GpGenie in the classifieds with a 2M blue/silver cartridge ;)


As the ever reliable ugg suggests, buying new on your budget would be quite limiting.

Used, you could use your budget to get a set up in a different league.
 
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Just to add a couple more suggestions to the used idea.

Hard to believe this would be anything but very enjoyable indeed.



 
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Those Zensor 3’s went for £123, someone got a good deal! That’s three pair around that price in the last couple of weeks.
 

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