vinyl revisited

sharpcroft

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Many moons ago i had a fairly nice TT set-up built around the budget (but good) NAD 5120, the round armed one fitted with the ortofon OM5E cartridge and stylus.
I've flirted with resurrecting it but after a disastrous time involving a Project PHONO BOX and a Yamaha surround system (it sounded crap with loads of background hum) i've decided that maybe my money would be better focused on buying a budget TT and either amp and bookshelf speakers or active speakers (im limited for space)
I've seen this advertised in RS Teac TN300 & Tibo Plus 3 | Hi-Fi Separates System | Richer Sounds , individually the components get rave reviews, especially the TEAC, question is could i do better for the same money (bearing in mind my limited space as mentioned) or will these 2 make a good pair?


Cheers

Sharpcroft
 
Yes, you can do better ... but not for £400, especially when you consider that most good turntables are £400 on their own, and a good pair of Active speakers are also about £300/pr.

The Tibo Plus 3 does have the advantage of also having Bluetooth, so if you have music on your Smart Phone or other Smart Device, you can stream directly to the speakers.

The speakers also have Optical Inputs as well as the standard Analog in. 5.25" bass drivers with what I consider an optimistic bass rating of 50hz. The TIBO website is unclear about the low end, but Richers indicates 50hz.

The TEAC TN300 is listed at £299 with a cartridge.

The TIBO Plus 3 are listed at £199/pr.

So, the £400 price tag for the combination is a good price with a nice discount.

I would be hard pressed to come up with an alternative for that price.

This is probably as close as I could come -

AMPS -

DENON PMA520AEBlack Stereo Amplifier

DENON PMA720AEBlack Stereo Amplifier

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AZUR 351ASilver Stereo Amplifier

The Cambridge 341A does have a USB Input.

But the other amps are all analog, and without Bluetooth. Though Bluetooth could be added for about £50.

Speakers -

Superfi - Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Speakers (Pair)

Superfi - Monitor Audio MR1 Speakers (Pair)

Superfi - Tannoy Mercury V1i Speakers (Pair)

TANNOY MERCURY V1 Dk-Walnut Speakers Per Pair

The Tannoy Mercury V1 is the older version, the new version is the Mercury V1i.

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO SX60Walnut Speakers Per Pair

Turntable -

PROJECT ESSENTIAL 2Black Turntable

PROJECT DEBUT SE3Black Turntable

TEAC TN300 USB Turntable

Superfi - Reloop RP2000USB Turntable

Superfi - Audio Technica ATLP120USBC USB Turntable

If you are sure you only need the limited inputs of the TIBO Plus 3, then the TEAC TN300 turntable and the TIBO Plus 3 speakers are an excellent deal.

But make sure, it is what you really need.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Many thanks for the comprehensive reply

To be honest the bluetooth part was not on my list it just happened to be a part of the package, its the TT element that is swinging me towards it, its hard to find a negative review about it at this price point.
99% of my music is stored digitally and steamed via my Yamaha surround system so really all i need is a facility for me to indulge myself in my old vinyl collection.

I might take a look at getting a separate amp/speaker combo though if you think it could produce better than audio from the Tibo's.

Would a TT like this be worth a look? Audio Technica LP120USB review | What Hi-Fi?

Need to get over to RS and have a listen

Thanks
 
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Will the Yamaha Surround Sound and the Turntable/Speakers be in the same room?

If so, why not use the Yamaha for the Turntable?

At best all you would need is a PHONO Pre-Amp stage, which can be had for about £50 -

Superfi - Project Phono Box MM Turntable Pre-Amplifier

What model is the Yamaha and what do you have for speakers being driven by the Yamaha AVR?

The Audio Technica LP120 is about as low as I would go on a turntable. These are Direct Drive DJ Turnables, but with a decent Stereo Cartridge they can sound fine.

You can find several YouTube videos on this model if you would like to know more. However, there is nothing wrong with the TEAC TN300 turntable, as long as it has a fair quality cartridge.

At the links I provided both the TEAC TN300 and the Audio Technica LP120 come with the same Audio Technica AT95E cartridge. But that cartridge is worth about £26. That's enough to get you started though.

Superfi - Audio Technica AT95E Moving Magnet Cartridge

If you can forgo the speakers and just get a turntable, then this turntable comes with an £85 cartridge, yet still only costs £325 -

Superfi - Project Debut Carbon Turntable With Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge

So, once again, what is the model of the Yamaha amp and what speakers are you using with it.

If you do want, by chance, to add Bluetooth to your existing system, then that is only about £50 -

Superfi - QED Live uPlay Wireless Bluetooth Audio Receiver

Again, Bluetooth would allow anyone who links to the device to Stream Audio from a Smart Device like a Smart Phone or Tablet/Pad, or from any Bluetooth enabled computer.

Steve/bluewizard
 
The Yamaha is a YSP-2200 system (sound bar and sub), i tried the pre amp (project phono box mm/mc) into a spare input into the YPS but the sound was extremely quiet, sounded muddy and had terrible background hum.
I also tried the project pre-amp / NAD 5120 set up with some active speakers i have and although he sound was much louder the hum was worse than ever. With the NAD unplugged from the mains the hum was still there, only removing the phono cables betwen the NAD and the preamp removed the hum pointing to an internal wiring problem with the TT (its been stored wrapped in bubble wrap in the loft for 15 years).

Apologies, i hadnt spotted that you had listed the audio Technica as one of your TT recommendations, it looks like it got rave reviews when fitted with the original cartridge and even better now it has the 95E.

so my thinking is either the AT with an amp / speaker set up or back to my original choice of the Teac with the Tibo's

Many thanks
 
Would you consider 2nd hand? Something like a rega rp1 should be in budget and they are not difficult to service. the Projects are good too but (personal preference) I prefered the set up and solidity of the Rega arms - felt better to my clumsy hands lol.

The hum will likely be a ground loop. There may be an extra cable coming out of the arm that you should attach to a grounding point. This is usually located on your amp and/or phono stage. If you can do this you may find your current system is worth another go Everything you need to know about hooking up a vintage turntable
 
Hi Martimu

There is a grounding cable coming from the back of the NAD which was attached to the grounding post on the Project preamp, with or without this connected the hum was the same.

Im happy with 2nd hand, as long as i can get a complete set-up

Sharpcroft
 
Hi Martimu

There is a grounding cable coming from the back of the NAD which was attached to the grounding post on the Project preamp, with or without this connected the hum was the same.

Im happy with 2nd hand, as long as i can get a complete set-up

Sharpcroft


If you still have your old gear try touching the end of the grounding to your amp or other bits of metal in the chain.
I had one system where touching to the phono box made it worse and one where it solved the problem. I had one system where I ended up taping the ground cable to one of the metal ends on the RCA plugs. No idea why it worked but the hum disappeared!
 
Hum is nearly always caused by the wires, often just the earth returns forming a loop. The magnetic field linked to the adjacent mains induces a voltage in this and it gets amplified by following stages. You eliminate this by having one and only one earth point what is called a star connection. Paradoxically screened leads, like microphone or cartridge leads often cause hum loops, if they are connected at both ends. The proper connection is to have the signal leads connected in differential mode,inside of a screened cable where only one end of the screen is earthed.
The other less likely cause is where the coil in the pickup is close enough to a transformer or motor winding as to get a voltage induced in it. The only solution here is to preferably reroute or use a mu metal shield.
 

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