re: Audiophile/Vinyl Thread - Post Pics, Advice, Questions, Setups, etc.

Yeah, I think I want to go all white. I really like the look of the Acrylic platter. And really I'm not gonna sit and look at the thing all the time instead of painting I wonder if I can just get a white piece of vinyl, and cover it a throw back to the white Album.

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I think I am set on the Kanto YU6 and now my big debate is if I can live with the Beatles on the Plinth or pay $150 more for a plain white one.

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Just to throw one more thing at you, the Klipsch Reference R-15PM also has a built-in phono stage. They are a little more than the Kantos, but they sound really good. They do have a slight hiss, so they aren't great for near-range listening, but if you want to sit next to the turntable, get some quality headphones.

The white Kantos may look better next to a white plinth.

ETA - I just looked and you can get the R-15PMs for $350 today. They ran $499 not long ago at all.

I can switch to black, is this a decent TT ? It looks like it is branded for Klipsch, which if I am using their speakers I don't mind so much as it brings a little unity. How much quality am I losing over a Espire Carbon ?

ETA: Ironically this is the Setup my wife saw at Macys or something, that gave her the idea to let me get this all for Christmas/birthday


I found this set for $469 on a different site. That's almost like getting a free Turntable at that point. Very Tempting.

The Beatles TT you're looking at has a better tonearm, platter and cartridge, I think it may also have a better speed control, someone else may know for sure on that.

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TigerRob82,

What has you veering toward on a Klipsch speaker?

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He was looking at a set of powered monitors with a phono pre-amp, so I pointed out the Klipsch set as an option. There just aren't many out there with the phono built in.

Jester--you read my mind.

He could get a decent pre amp that would act as an anchor for future upgrades such as a power amp and larger loudspeakers down the road.

My friend here in NOLA just bought, two days ago, a Parasound P5 for $500 off AudioGon. This thing is a killer preamp for the money. It has a MM and MC phono stage, balanced ins and outs, dual balanced sub outs, multiple analog inputs, and an onboard DAC, and was introduced at the end of 2016--so pretty new.

River_man, who posts here, is using one of these Parasound P5 pres with an Odyssey power amp with great results.

If you look on AGon or USAudioMart, one is bound to pop up for $600 or less.

By acquiring this pre amp, he would not need to buy a DAC, a phono stage, and would have a solid piece to build on.

So, let's do some math...

Parasound P5 (used)....$600
Project Debut Carbon...$360
Powered speakers........$500
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Total $1460


A little over the $1k budget, but that is a tall order for an entire system with a decent record player.

Also, remember to ask for 15% off if you are ordering from one of the big places like MusicDirect, ElusiveDisc, JerryRaskinsNeedleDoctor, or AudioAdvisor. Let them know that you are just getting started and will be a loyal record buying/upgrade gear customer for years to come. Talk to your sales person and get to know them (in my case--Roger at MD and Sam at ElusiveDisc). I usually get 20% off and free shipping on most items at MD and Elusive, as I have built a relationship with them over the years.

Also remember that if you want to ever stream from a computer, you can download a hi-Rez streamer like Audirvana, PureMusic, or Amarra (they run around $50 or so). This will allow you to use iTunes as a library or indexing system, but these players "boot out" the crappy apple player and will allow you to play 24 bit/96k music files and send them directly to the DAC in the preamp for hi-rez music playback.

You can even pick up a fairly inexpensive CD player and use its digital out line and run it into the DAC in the preamp as well, thus making the CD player act as a transport only (spins and reads the disc, but does not decode it) and letting the better DAC in the preamp do all the decoding.

TigerRob82,

Just an FYI...

Henry Alterman of Alterman Audio in Metairie has a retail place up and running just across Causeway Blvd. from Lakeside Mall. He displays and stocks a good bit of entry level and mid level audiophile gear. He has Pro-Ject, Rega, Golden Ear, Sony, Poineer Elite audio, Denon, SVS, Quad, AudioQuest, Ortofon, and a few other brands of gear all out on display.

I recently bought the Sony A1E OLED from him. He will make deals as well, as he has been at it for 40 years is well aware of the online big guys and will compete with them.

And if he doesn't carry it, he can get it--his son owns a high end audio store in Denver and carries a good bit of the mega-buck gear.

You may want to give him a visit in the coming weeks--it can't hurt to see what he has.