Putting together a budget (as in frugally cheap) 2 channel system, help!

[poppachubby]

I really don't think it's fair to say the AT cartridge doesn't have the upgrade capability that the Ortofon has.

Are you talking about me? I didn't say that...

This is in part why I wanted you to get the OMP-10, so you could upgrade easily and affordably.

I didn't realise the AT cart can upgrade, so great! I was just reiterating the value of the OMP series. I'll have to check out the AT.

[hifitommy]

the system picked is fine, all respectable equipage. i didnt read through all of the posts because the sheer number of them seemed daunting.

i have some primus 150s and they are quite a value especially at the close out price i paid. they are a bargain at list price. the m-s spks have always been good, had i heard those, i may have recommended them. the great thing is a good sounding system has been acquired.

[IRG]

the system picked is fine, all respectable equipage. i didnt read through all of the posts because the sheer number of them seemed daunting.

i have some primus 150s and they are quite a value especially at the close out price i paid. they are a bargain at list price. the m-s spks have always been good, had i heard those, i may have recommended them. the great thing is a good sounding system has been acquired.

I may check out that sub you linked before. Not sure I need one really, but it might be nice to really fill in the lower end. Is that Infinity pretty good then for music?

[02audionoob]

Are you talking about me? I didn't say that...

My mistake. I thought that was what you implied.

[poppachubby]

My mistake. I thought that was what you implied.

Yep, no prob.

[Mr Peabody]

Tommy, you're not fashionably late, you missed the party

[IRG]

Tommy, you're not fashionably late, you missed the party

It's true, the system is already here. But I appreciate the effort Tommy. That would be a pretty good rig too.

What I ended up with, and a price on each:

Reciever: Onkyo TX-8555 (100wpc) $199 (new)
Speakers: Mordaunt Short Avant 902i $225 (new)
CD: Yamaha DVD S1800 $79 (new)
Table: Technics SL-Q200 $25 (used)
Cartidge: Audio-Technica AT311EP $49 (new)
Cables: Blue Jeans Cable IC and speaker cables $90

The amp and speakers I funded with a sale of a couple guitar pedals, the turntable and cartridge were paid for with the sale of a homemade pedal board. The cd player was a X mas gift I picked out. So really only the cables and speaker stands were purchased out of pocket, not bad! Sounds great too. I'll post some pics soon, the camera battery is recharging at the moment.

[Mr Peabody]

Just giving him some grief.

[blackraven]

IRG, how do you like the Yammy DVD S-1800. I got mine yesterday and hooked it up to my reference system and SACD was superb sounding with no faults that I could detect, and Cd was good but not great. It was a little grainy. Its sounding a bit better with some break in time. I'll give it 2 weeks before I pass final judgment on Cd play. I have not hooked it up for DVD use and probably never will. I may buy a second one to replace my daughters cheap sony DVDP that she is using for her stereo. For $79 its a steal.

[IRG]

IRG, how do you like the Yammy DVD S-1800. I got mine yesterday and hooked it up to my reference system and SACD was superb sounding with no faults that I could detect, and Cd was good but not great. It was a little grainy. Its sounding a bit better with some break in time. I'll give it 2 weeks before I pass final judgment on Cd play. I have not hooked it up for DVD use and probably never will. I may buy a second one to replace my daughters cheap sony DVDP that she is using for her stereo. For $79 its a steal.

I think it's quite good. I don't have any sacd's yet, hope to change that soon. But as a standalone cd player, no real complaints yet. I haven't had a chance to listen to that many cds yet, spent part of today on vinyl, hopefully will demo more tomorrow. But yeah, for $79 a steal for sure. I think the only way I'll upgrade is if the whole system is stepped up some, otherwise, I doubt I might be able to tell much of a difference.

Here's a couple pics of my humble setup. It's also my guitar room and various other projects. I'm considering moving it to our bedroom. Lower the bed on a platform, and have the stereo in there, with nothing else. The wife didn't oppose the idea too much.

[poppachubby]

Lookin good man!! Love the rack. Overall, everything looks complimentary considering it's been pieced together. You did great man, congrats. I am a bit envious, it's so much fun being in the stage you're in right now. The honeymoon...

edit: BTW, is that peg board made of that special NASA damping material I read about in Popular Mechanics?

[IRG]

Lookin good man!! Love the rack. Overall, everything looks complimentary considering it's been pieced together. You did great man, congrats. I am a bit envious, it's so much fun being in the stage you're in right now. The honeymoon...

edit: BTW, is that peg board made of that special NASA damping material I read about in Popular Mechanics?

No, the pegboard is just regular stuff. Came with the house I believe. I put some pieces of dense foam behind the speakers, just to see if that would do anything. Can't hurt I guess. I'll do more with the room over time. Although the idea of moving this into the bedroom and making that more of a dedicated listening room (with better acoustics) is a little bit appealing, we'll see.

[poppachubby]

No, the pegboard is just regular stuff. Came with the house I believe.

Hahaha, just pullin your leg.

Although the idea of moving this into the bedroom and making that more of a dedicated listening room (with better acoustics) is a little bit appealing, we'll see.

I would do your best to keep it where it is. Currently, it's yours. Why change that? The bedroom belongs to your wife too. Bad idea.

Don't get discouraged about the room. If you're willing to put in a bit of work, it's an easy fix. The DIY bass traps I have work wonders. You wouldn't believe the damping power when they were all close together. Spread around the room, they can help quite a bit. The cost would be minimal.

Anyhow, sorry if I sound like a nag. Speaking of wives huh?!? I'm your audio wife...

"IRG honey? Did you dampen the heat duct yet???"

[IRG]

Hahaha, just pullin your leg.





I would do your best to keep it where it is. Currently, it's yours. Why change that? The bedroom belongs to your wife too. Bad idea.

Don't get discouraged about the room. If you're willing to put in a bit of work, it's an easy fix. The DIY bass traps I have work wonders. You wouldn't believe the damping power when they were all close together. Spread around the room, they can help quite a bit. The cost would be minimal.

Anyhow, sorry if I sound like a nag. Speaking of wives huh?!? I'm your audio wife...

"IRG honey? Did you dampen the heat duct yet???"

Yeah, could be a problem, but not totally. Our bedroom isn't really a room we use much, other than sleeping. It's not what we want in a bedroom - someday we'll move to something better. She has another bedroom that's her office, so she has "her space" already.

The problem with my work room is the furnace is in there, and now with it being so cold, it's on a lot, which is a real in the ass when your trying to listen to music (however, helpful for keeping the house warm.) So that alone, I can't don't anything about. Hence the idea to move to another room. Haven't decided yet, probably won't for a while.

[Mr Peabody]

Yeah, the thread is a good one and good for IRG coming back and keeping us posted along the way. To read it all would have been quite the endeavor.

[IRG]

Yeah, the thread is a good one and good for IRG coming back and keeping us posted along the way. To read it all would have been quite the endeavor.

Thanks, it's been fun, and a lot of credit is due to others here - all I did was follow it!

[frenchmon]

nice looking system you got there bud....how do you like the speakers???

frenchmon

[IRG]

nice looking system you got there bud....how do you like the speakers???

frenchmon

Hey Frenchmon,
I really dig them a lot. Still breaking in I presume, but overall they kill for the price. They sound very full for small 2 way monitors. I sometimes almost think I have a sub on, which has surprised me. But the room is not that large, so that probably helps. I've been playing the classical soundtrack from the movie The Village (wonderful violin) and at a few times where the orchestra kicks in really loudly, the whole house just shakes, very nice.

These speakers seem to have a very nice soundstage to them, they pull you in. Very musical, nice balance. They sound good with vinyl too, a bit more warmth here, a bit less top end, probably the medium.

Overall, no complaints, only praises. Very nice looking too, and well made. And at $225, they seem like a steal to me. I like them more than my Paradigm Monitor 3s. I should bring them down, and do a head to head comparison. Hmmm....

[LeRoy]

I like them more than my Paradigm Monitor 3s. I should bring them down, and do a head to head comparison. Hmmm....

I found that I preferred the musicality of the 902i's over the Nola Mini's @ $695.00/pr and also over the M.S. Aviano 2's @ $595.00/pr. So, I was just curious what the retail price of the PM3's are..

Glad to know you are enjoying your new audio system and nice pics too.

LeRoy

[IRG]

I dont think they make the Monitor 3s now, I think they've been replaced with the Titans, which look a lot snazzier than my 3s, haven't heard them though. I think they 3s were around $500 or $600, I don't recall now. The Atoms are like $329 or $350 now I think, so the Titans would probably be close to twice that I would think.

Makes the 902i's seem like a real value now at $225.

[Mygaffer]

I know others here have said to go used but you can really put together a decent sounding system on the cheap.
I have a pair of CSW Tower II speakers, a Marantz SR7400 receiver, Niles SI 275 amplifier, and several other pieces that go into and out of my system on a whim.
Those core components cost me a grand total of $267. The Marantz was an ebay thing, $67 shipped, the CSW Tower II was also ebay but the seller was local so I saved on shipping and did local pickup. The Niles amp was free from a customer, he was moving and didn't want to take all his audio stuff with him.

If you hit the thrift stores (some are definitely better than others), scan ebay, troll craigslist, you can often put together a very impressive system for less money than you would ever think possible.

[hifitommy]

let us not forget audiogon and the asylum trader. AR and AK also have classifieds.

[wrc65]

after cruising ebay for a few days i jumped on some boston hd5's and couldnt have been any happier great speakers and did i mention they were less than $30

[wrc65]

oh and found a pair of infinity rs8's with onboard subwoofers and ended up paying $60 and turned out to be wonderful

[lovatoj@msn.com]

Craigs list is the best bet. Lots of Luck! `jd