vinyl setups

  On 11/3/2014 at 8:04 PM, kakapo said:

 

  On 11/3/2014 at 5:54 PM, jules said:

awesome. thanks fellas.

 

I see project now has a newer debut carbon with the speedbox built in. is all that a bunch of fine tuning that I won't really need out of the box?

http://turntablelab.com/pages/the-difference-between-pro-ject-debut-carbon-debut-and-carbon-dc-turntables

 

For 50$ difference, get the one with the speed box built in, there's an improvement in fidelity too.

 

The one with the Speed Box functionality (switch between 33/45 without removing the platter) is $150 more (and also hasn't been released yet AFAIK). The $50 upgrade gets you the SB-style DC motor but not the SB switching function).

This is the review that basically made me write off U-Turn for my needs (though seems like a good start-up, and I'm sure they'll keep improving):

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-turntable/

i can confirm the hum as well but like baph i never notice it for the most part. the only time it's significant is when i'm listening to something really quiet or ambient with headphones on.

  On 11/3/2014 at 8:34 PM, Alcofribas said:

i can confirm the hum as well but like baph i never notice it for the most part. the only time it's significant is when i'm listening to something really quiet or ambient with headphones on.

Yeah, it's basically only apparent when I'm looking for it, and even then sometimes I can't find it. Also, I got a Pro-Ject brass puck stabilizer with a gift certificate (it's super over-priced) and it seems to make the backgrounds blacker (or whatever the appropriate audiophilism is). (Could be placebo, though, haven't tested scientifically or anything. Mostly got the stabilizer because the tone arm looked like it was doing the wave on some of my records, and it definitely helped with that).

Honestly the only thing about the Carbon that is genuinely annoying for me is the stock felt mat -- it's super flimsy and it seems to generate a lot of static (it clings to the bottom of the record frequently) with the dry air in my apartment. Lots of little pops if the air isn't quite right. It's also the most trivial thing to upgrade, so no big deal. If the acrylic platter (which doesn't need a mat) was a little cheaper I'd have sprung for one immediately.

wow fuckin a, thank you so much. all this is incredibly helpful. i have thought about going right to powered speakers like those A5's as well. is there enough bass with those or is a sub needed as well?

i got the impression the u-turn was kind of cutting corners and all the reading i have done has been pointing me to the debut carbon, and a little to a reba because of the carbon hum. but if it isn't that bad, i can't see that turning me off too much considering how upgradable it is.

for the most part, if i am playing vinyl, it will be loud...the hum is much more pronounced then?

  On 11/3/2014 at 8:54 PM, jules said:

wow fuckin a, thank you so much. all this is incredibly helpful. i have thought about going right to powered speakers like those A5's as well. is there enough bass with those or is a sub needed as well?

 

 

i got the impression the u-turn was kind of cutting corners and all the reading i have done has been pointing me to the debut carbon, and a little to a reba because of the carbon hum. but if it isn't that bad, i can't see that turning me off too much considering how upgradable it is.

The bass with the Carbon is nice and punchy and it seems extended well enough. Bass doesn't really sound worse than digital files of the same music played through the same speakers (my listening room isn't ideal, and that seems like the biggest limitation). The A5s are decent enough with bass but would probably clean up a bit with a sub in a good room.

The hum will be noticeable with high volume during more silent passages but I honestly can't hear it when there's much of anything at all playing. The A5s get too loud for my little room at just a tiny nudge over the point where the audio channels sound balanced (about 8:00 on the volume dial), and I keep the phono pre dialed down a bit (the Ortofon 2M doesn't seem to need much help compared to my old turntable), but it's plenty loud for me and the hum isn't very noticeable under those circumstances.

If you were cranking things to PA-levels, I'd imagine the hum would be pretty horrible at least between tracks, and would sound like something was improperly grounded. (You'd probably pick up some genuine ground hum for something in the chain, anyway.) I dunno how much the DC version would improve that, could be perfect, could be the same. You might want to wait for more reviews specifically comparing the DC version to the older Debut Carbon, tbqh.

i won't be at pa levels. i am going to be building an office in my basement and i thought while i was at it, to make it sort of a listening room. I will soundproof as much as i can so i don't rock the upstairs but i'd like it to be a chill room for a few friends and not worry about waking the younguns when having a cocktail and listening to music. i have been having trouble deciding on speakers as well. a buddy of mine put 4 in his ceiling with a sub and it sounds awesome. i do have budgetary concerns though as i didn't want to go over $1000 for everything. at least all at once to start out.

I hate my living room geometry.

baph do you have those a5's hooked to your record player and computer or just record player?

  On 11/4/2014 at 3:37 AM, jules said:

baph do you have those a5's hooked to your record player and computer or just record player?

Hooked up to both (the computer via an apogee duet and the turntable via the ART DJPre II). They're the old model (not the A5+) and I've had them for about 8 years now.

The old A5s have two minijack inputs (one on the rear of the left speaker and one on the top of the same) Not sure about the new ones. Probably all of the cheapo rca to minijack etc interconnects I have running at once are not the most ideal thing.

I would recommend a sl1200. They last forever.

I picked up a third 1200 for $350 this year for our kitchen and built a bugle2 phono amp (http://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/products/bugle2). Sounds great.

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:27 AM, baph said:

 

  On 11/4/2014 at 3:37 AM, jules said:

baph do you have those a5's hooked to your record player and computer or just record player?

Hooked up to both (the computer via an apogee duet and the turntable via the ART DJPre II). They're the old model (not the A5+) and I've had them for about 8 years now.

 

The old A5s have two minijack inputs (one on the rear of the left speaker and one on the top of the same) Not sure about the new ones. Probably all of the cheapo rca to minijack etc interconnects I have running at once are not the most ideal thing.

I've read a lot about them overheating, have you ever experienced that?

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:40 AM, Luka said:

I would recommend a sl1200. They last forever.

 

I picked up a third 1200 for $350 this year for our kitchen and built a bugle2 phono amp (http://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/products/bugle2). Sounds great.

I will sleep better tonight knowing you have a better setup in your kitchen than I will have in my listening room

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:48 AM, jules said:

 

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:27 AM, baph said:

 

  On 11/4/2014 at 3:37 AM, jules said:

baph do you have those a5's hooked to your record player and computer or just record player?

Hooked up to both (the computer via an apogee duet and the turntable via the ART DJPre II). They're the old model (not the A5+) and I've had them for about 8 years now.

 

The old A5s have two minijack inputs (one on the rear of the left speaker and one on the top of the same) Not sure about the new ones. Probably all of the cheapo rca to minijack etc interconnects I have running at once are not the most ideal thing.

I've read a lot about them overheating, have you ever experienced that?

They get warm when in use but no overheating for me.

cool, thanks so much for all the inputs

anyone else have speaker rec's aside from the A5's?

I have a pair of axiom audio m22 and they do the job very well in my living room. they have a crystal clear, bright sound but are not so great for bass. but in tandem with the subwoofer the space fills out really nicely.

if I had to choose one word to describe them it would be "clear." their pretty detailed imo

damn! those are no joke at $640...

When you've got it all set, remember to copy Eno's Amibphonic setup - a speaker on two positives.

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tweaks/messages/17/174950.html

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:24 PM, jules said:

damn! those are no joke at $640...

damn, they were like half that when I bought them. scratch that!

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:54 PM, Echolalia said:

When you've got it all set, remember to copy Eno's Amibphonic setup - a speaker on two positives.

 

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tweaks/messages/17/174950.html

woah

  On 11/4/2014 at 7:54 PM, Echolalia said:

When you've got it all set, remember to copy Eno's Amibphonic setup - a speaker on two positives.

 

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tweaks/messages/17/174950.html

Interesting. Have you tried this? I happen to have a third unused speaker the same make and model to the pair i'm using. Would be ideal to try this.

Any possibility I could fuck my amp?

yea that sounds nuts, I'd like to hear more about that.

  On 11/4/2014 at 11:35 PM, Amen Warrior said:

 

Any possibility I could fuck my amp?

 

Sure, who are we to judge ?

hopefully ae named it for you so you have a name to call out