first rig

[sophie]

im only 16 and dont have much money but would like to have a nice sq stereo that can still play plenty loud. i have been looking at building my own speakers from someone elses plans. or if there is a set of polk speakers new or not that would sound good then i would buy those but i think polks would cost more than im looking to spend.

lots of options. witch one would be the best for sq? http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/homeaudio.cfm

was looking at these: http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/eros/index.html
or these http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/mp-3/conclusion.html

how good would this sound?--> http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/magna/index.html

and how loud would these get?-->http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/vd/vd.htm

i have about 1000 for everything.

[Bill Ayotte]

Go pick up a set of monitor 5's.....There was a set in the Flea Market for $100....Nice little bookshelf Polks. They will get plenty loud with the proper amplification....

[Bill Ayotte]

Here is a nice little integrated amp, This thing isn't rated very high, but I can vouch for the fact that it pounds...I work out by little B&Ws quite a bit with it....

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1185548650

Here is a CD player from the same brand...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1185828664

Lets see....that brings us to: $400.00

That leaves $600 for speakers and cables....If you listen to the radio, you will need a tuner as well.....

[danger boy]

$1000 assuming it's US dollars and not Pesos, can buy alot of gear on the used market... there will be some good suggestions in here on this thread. so keep checking back.

good luck.. it's a fun project putting together a system from scratch. :)

[candyliquor35m]

CAREFUL THIS IS FOR ONLY ONE SPEAKER: Polk R20's $50 BIN: http://cgi.ebay.com/Polk-R20-Speakers-Great-Condition_W0QQitemZ290121578359QQihZ019QQcategoryZ 14991QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Pics: http://cgi.ebay.com/polk-audio-R20-bookshelf-loudspeaker-NEW-229-RETAIL_W0QQitemZ180124179264QQihZ008QQcategoryZ149 91QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you're patient and want one of the best, go for a used pair of Polk SDA 2B's but they are floor standing and harder to ship so it's best to buy those locally but you might be waiting a year or two depending on where you live.

[sophie]

well i live in iowa. im about 2 hours from st. paul and des moins so i would drive to eathor to pick some up. ya its u.s. dollars. i got to go study for my final final that starts in 45min.:eek: but will be back a little after 10 cst

[Schwingding]

Here is an INCREDIBLE pair of speakers for $450. They retail for $1500. If you go with the suggested NAD equipment above (good suggestion), you'll have enough money for these.

http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=21511

I have a pair of these and if you don't buy them I might buy another pair.

You probably won't ever want to get rid of these things, so its not like you're getting an entry level system. These are highly regarded, highly reviewed monitors.

[Ricardo]

Get a pair of Polk vintage monitors (M7, M10); you can grab a pair in good condition for less than $200.

[heiney9]

Get a pair of Polk vintage monitors (M7, M10); you can grab a pair in good condition for less than $200.

dkg999 has a farm in Iowa he's at at least a few times a month and I know he's looking to move his Monitor 10B's with the upgraded tweeter. They are flawless; both HTRookie and myself saw/heard them at PF Chicago. My point is he won't ship them but since the poster is from Iowa and dkg999 gets there often perhaps they could work something out. He has the stands and he may even ahve the boxes.

Sophie, PM him if you are interested

H9

[Ricardo]

Doug's M10's are literally better than new; they sound great and will get LOUD.

[ohskigod]

I would add the Polk RTA-12 to the list of possible used speakers. great floorstander with great sound, and not too much cheddar (shouldnt be too much more than 200, and that is if they are in good shape.

that was my first major step into mid fi, and they served me well for years. They still serve well in Fireman32's system as well.

for a thou, you can do very well on the used market.

speaks - 300 tops
amp - 300
source - 200
pre - 150
cables 50.00 + whatever you spend less on the other stuff.

there are huge bang for buck items out there on the used market. take the California Audio Lab DX-1 cd player I bought from Russ. 100.00 shipped, and it performs surprisingly close to my 800.00 Jolida. thats the kind of stuff to look for to maximize what you get for the money.

[ohskigod]

look for bang for buck companies, like Rotel, parasound, Carver in terms of amplification and preamps

the Parasound php-850 pre can be had for a little over 100.00 and sounds damn good. cant go wrong with used Rotel amplification, Carvers are a little pricey, but you get alot of power for the $ (avoid the one that looks like a cube)

have fun shopping, thats half the fun

[MikeC78]

I'll vouch for condition of Doug's M10's also!

I couldn't believe my eyes at what the speakers looked like when they were here at the CPF, they looked like Doug just pulled them out the box brand new. I even looked them over pretty carefully, I couldn't find one thing wrong with them!

[Yashu]

If you want to build your own speakers, consider starting out by building a single driver speaker... with a lowther or fostex driver. You don't have to worry about a crossover or anything. There are plenty of topics about them on Audiocircle.com

A good first amp would be a NAD. You can get a good used NAD integrated on audiogon.com or ebay for cheap, and they sound awsome compared to anything you can get at best buy or tweeter.

[sophie]

i kinda want to build my own speakers, i think it would be loots of fun. i also think i would be ok building a x over from plans. would it be better to build a set or buy them from the bang for buck point of view. i have also seen some homebuilt amps and wondered how these compared with a store bought one.

[heiney9]

i kinda want to build my own speakers, i think it would be loots of fun. i also think i would be ok building a x over from plans. would it be better to build a set or buy them from the bang for buck point of view. i have also seen some homebuilt amps and wondered how these compared with a store bought one.

FYI, the DIY aspect of a speaker project would be fun and give you a sense of accomplishment, but you couldn't build a pair of speakers as good as the 10B's for the money you could buy them used for; not really even close IMO. Just something to think about.

H9

[sophie]

ok i think im going to try and get the 10b's from Doug then. what are they worth? i see he got them for $200.

[heiney9]

ok i think im going to try and get the 10b's from Doug then. what are they worth? i see he got them for $200.

I thinks that's what he was asking at PF, but you'd need to get with him. Like I say they look brand new, not a scratch or ding or snag. They also have $100 worth of the updraded silk dome tweeters we all talk about on here as replacements for the old & original sl2000. So I think total he has $300 in them. I've bought a few thing locally from him and he is a great guy and has very fair prices.

If I was in the market for speakers (I have 4 pairs right now :) ) I would have bought them w/o hesitation.


H9

[JimBRICK]

look for a nice pair of monitor 10's they pound and I've seen them all over for under 150 bucks

[dkg999]

Sophie - the FS post on my Monitor 10's is:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51755

I will be back in the Ames IA area the weekend of June 9th through June 12th if you are interested.

I would tell you that building your own speakers is one of the best and most fun educational projects in this hobby. I built my first few sets of speakers when I was a kid, and although they weren't always very good, it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.

[Bill Ayotte]

Sophie - the FS post on my Monitor 10's is:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51755

I will be back in the Ames IA area the weekend of June 9th through June 12th if you are interested.

I would tell you that building your own speakers is one of the best and most fun educational projects in this hobby. I built my first few sets of speakers when I was a kid, and although they weren't always very good, it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.

These and that Nad integrated I suggested above would be one hell of a little system for very little $$....God I wish I had more cash laying around...I would pick those 10b's up in a heartbeat.

[sucks2beme]

Sophie, Its a little off topic, but you live in the Mason City/Clear lake area
of Iowa? I am originally from a little town called Rockford.

[sophie]

yes i do. im about 4 blocks from the surf. and 4-5 from the sea wall.
i know where Rockford is, haven't been there for a long time but from what i rememberer it was a really nice small town.

[sophie]

will i notice a difference between a sacd and a normal cd? and would a $250 sacd player play normal cd's as good as a $250 cdp?

[Bill Ayotte]

SACD is just a different format...Most players are universal now...Which player are you looking at?

[amulford]

will i notice a difference between a sacd and a normal cd? and would a $250 sacd player play normal cd's as good as a $250 cdp?

Yes. If I were you (and I once was), I would try to get it together this way:

1- Get a decent pair of speakers. For you they will have the biggest impact on what you hear. Try for a small set of SDA CRS. Big sound, small package.

2- Get a reasonable integrated amplifier. This will take care of amplification and control in one package. I would go for something around 30 -50 watts per channel.(this IS for your room, right?)

3- Get a good CD/SACD (universal) player. They can be had and trash in WILL mean trash out.

4- Wire it up with decent wires. You don't have to go crazy, but you WILL benefit from stepping up.

You will amaze yourself with what you can do for $1k

[sophie]

yes this is going into my room. but it is a big room, i think it is about 20'*10' with a slanted celling going from 10' to 18'. 18' is just a guess. and i want to buy something that i will not have to upgrade later. will i be able to tell the difference between separates and integrated? if i do decide to go with separates will i need to match brands?(i have seen some say yes and some say no.)

i am buying dugs 10b's next weekend. they have a 89db Efficiency, so what would it take for them to play loud? most of the time i wont be listing loud but when i have some friends over the volume will just keep getting bumped up until it hurts to turn it up anymore. they can take 250W RMS so i was thinking 150-200 for the amp.

[engtaz]

200 watt a channel amp and you won't regret it. Adcom 555, Outlaw Audio are a couple.

[sophie]

200 watt a channel amp and you won't regret it. Adcom 555, Outlaw Audio are a couple.

i cant find any outlaw amps that will do more than 100wpc i would love to have something like this tho. http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/rr2150.html with just a bit more power.

[dkg999]

That Outlaw receiver would drive the Monitor 10's just fine! I've used a lot of 50 wpc to 120 wpc amps and receivers with them, and if you take care not to run the amp/receiver into clipping, they will go plenty loud!

[AndyGwis]

I would also go with an integrated if I had a $1K budget. Also, for source, I think a Sony ES SCD player would be hard to beat at used prices. Get a good intergrated amplifier for $300 - $400, a Sony ES SCD (222, 333, 2000, etc) for $150 - $200, some decent speakers, and you're set.

[engtaz]

M200 mono 200 watts single channel need 2.

[sophie]

i found this post by h9 and was wondering if i should use the outlaw receiver or not. if i started with that and then got a separate amp would it make a good pre/tuner? i have seen some posts that a tube pre will sound better than a ss in the 200-400 price range. im just lost and have no clue what to do can someone tell me what to do i don't know if i want separates or not and then if i do i have to figure out ss or tube for the pre and im guessing i would have to go ss on the amp in my price range. well here is h9's post from a thred about the outlaw receiver.


Well I can agree to disagree :) ..........I'm not so much of an analytical listener as I am very tuned into what I like. I've never heard the ultimate listening characteristics I like in a reciever. Detail, soundstage, open and effortless and a completely natural vocals. Proper decay on instruments, with proper attack, tone, scale and dynamics.

Of course I also realize I'm at the mercy of the source. I can enjoy many things audio, but when I sit down to lose myself in a listening session I have certain criteria, and recievers have never provided me with those characteristics in spades like seperates can.

Of course the whole discussion is a matter of ones opinion/preferences.

H9

[sophie]

andy (or anyone) is the SCD-CE595 a good cd/sacd player? and what would a fair used price be?

[AndyGwis]

well, new will probably run you $100 give or take. But, I think you could get a nice used Sony SCD ES for that much or a little more. Same product, more or less, but with better build quality and internal components.

My current 2000ES is nice, but the 222ES, 333ES, are better.

[Loud & Clear]

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1185394981

[heiney9]

i found this post by h9 and was wondering if i should use the outlaw receiver or not. if i started with that and then got a separate amp would it make a good pre/tuner? i have seen some posts that a tube pre will sound better than a ss in the 200-400 price range. im just lost and have no clue what to do can someone tell me what to do i don't know if i want separates or not and then if i do i have to figure out ss or tube for the pre and im guessing i would have to go ss on the amp in my price range. well here is h9's post from a thred about the outlaw receiver.

The thing is I have been in this hobby for over 25 years and I have the experience to make such statements (as the one you quoted above in post #33). I know they can be confusing for someone who is just getting into this hobby, but the only way to know is to experiment and get some experience under your belt. Any of the suggestiona you have gotten so far are very good. If this is your first system I'd stay away from tubes because those, IMO, are a whole other issue. The Outlaw will be a very good starting point. The only draw back I can see is they don't come up used too often so you are going to pay the going price. You will be able to get as nice a set-up, used, for less than a new Outlaw receiver...........just something to think about.

H9

[sophie]

i think i have this narrowed down to this
preamps:
http://www.parasound.com/vintage/php850.php
http://www.adcom.com/prod/shopdisplayproducts.asp?hid=0&cid=0&sid=0&prodid=1222

amps:
http://www.xlfidelity.se/brux/rb981_4.pdf

cdp
can't find much for sacd players. how much of a difference would it be to just get a good cdp?

what would be best? is there anything listed that i should stay away from?

if you have something to sell or know if anybody that is please post.

[sophie]

i need some help with this!
1. is that amp going to be ok with the 10b's?
2. what pre amp is better/ better with that amp and the 10b's.
3. if i have extra money after the amp and pre amp where should i put it?...cables...cdp...anything els i can't think of.


i want to get this figured out so i can get the parts shortly after i get the speakers next weekend.

[cfrizz]

All the equipment you listed will do very well. You will need something to play music with so I would get a CDP. Then you can check out cables.

[sophie]

how about a Soundstream C1 mk II preamp? will this sound better than the parasound?