Stereo for my daughter

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by rpd, Apr 16, 2018.

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  1. rpd

    rpd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nashville
    Might get my daughter a stereo for college graduation. An old fashioned idea, but she likes the idea of a “record player”.

    I have always has a soft spot for NAD, going back to my earliest setups. Love the minimalist design.

    Anyone heard the NAD C328 amp? It’s a Bluetooth enabled machine that also has a phono preamp. She can play songs from her mobile device or from a turntable. This might be an ideal piece for someone her age. Comments?

    And what affordable bookshelf speakers would be good for this setup?

    I’m all ears...
     
  2. draden1

    draden1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Des Moines, IA
    I've recommended these to others and they are (in my opinion) impossible to beat at this price range. Smooth highs and way more bass than you'd expect at this price.

    Elac Debut B6 - $199.99/pair at Crutchfield.com right now. There's been an update to the Debut line from Elac so these "gen 1" speakers are on sale ($280 normally). The price for the newer Debut 2.0 line is $300 for the B6.

    You're going to get a lot of price range on gear unless you specify a budget, that would help tremendously, good luck!
     
  3. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    A budget would be necessary to properly advise you. Affordable for one person is expensive for another.
     
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  4. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Was thinking fondly of the Proton 300/301 combo. That has an AUX input.
     
  5. Gasman1003

    Gasman1003 Forum Diplomat.

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    I bought my younger son a starter turntable system, for his 21st Birthday, a couple of years ago.

    It came as a bundle of Project Debut Carbon TT, Marantz PM5005 amplifier and Dali Zensor 3 speakers.

    I was very impressed with the system, especially the speakers, which are described well in the review below.

    Two years on my boy is still delighted with his set up.

    Dali Zensor 3 review

    Good luck with the search.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
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  6. rpd

    rpd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nashville
    Budget

    $300-400 speakers
    $400 ish on the amp
     
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  7. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    Klipsch RP-150M in walnut. Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-150M (Walnut)

    Very nice sounding speaker for the price, I just bought a pair about 2 months ago for a secondary vintage system. As far as amps go, I'm an old school vintage guy so probably not much help.
     
  8. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    I'd have a little chat about what she thinks the physical aspects of a "record player" are.
     
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  9. Jwest97

    Jwest97 Bass Player for Luxury Furniture Store

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV
    What kind of turntable are you thinking about?
     
  10. rpd

    rpd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nashville
    She send a photo of those current “close n plays”, but I think I straightened her out
     
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  11. rpd

    rpd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nashville
    Planar 1
     
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  12. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Just don't wanna see you hurt when she says, "What is all this stuff? I just want a record player."
     
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  13. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
  14. Apesbrain

    Apesbrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Coast, USA
    The NAD D 3020 V2 is small, right on budget, and includes phono section, onboard DAC, and BT. PSB Speakers is a sister company to NAD and their Alpha bookshelf line starts around $300/pair at Crutchfield.
     
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  15. JohnO

    JohnO Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
  16. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    black sheriff, Ham Sandwich and JohnO like this.
  17. Jwest97

    Jwest97 Bass Player for Luxury Furniture Store

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV
    Well, if aesthetics are important, have you thought about PS audio's Sprout? I know it's a little over budget, but it's simple, attractive, has a phono stage and bluetooth.
     
    mr clean, Helom, ls35a and 1 other person like this.
  18. Allyngr

    Allyngr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bath
    MC-D800 | TEAC

    I reckon this looks like an excellent choice, although haven’t heard one.Does everything, even has a bit of a Nad vibe to it, definitely looks pretty cool:

    • Bluetooth® Wireless Audio Streaming with Instant Paring (Conventional Pairing also supported)
    • Auto-return 3 speed Turntable with Sapphire stylus
    • CD Player supporting MP3/WMA files
    • USB Port for MP3/WMA Playback
    • Up to 32 tracks Program Play (CD/USB)
    • Repeat and Shuffle Play (CD/USB)
    • PLL Synthesized AM/FM Tuner
    • 20AM + 20 FM Preset Memory
    • Dimmable Multi-function LC-Display with Digital Clock
    • On/Off Timer and Sleep Timer of up to 90 minutes
    • 10W + 10W Output power
    • Muting
    • Line Input and Line Output on Rear
    • Headphone Out on Front
    • Detached 2-way Speakers with Rear Bass-reflex port
    • Remote Control
    • Replacement Sapphire Stylus available (STL-103)
    • Optional Diamond Stylus for SP records (SPL-102)
    • RoHS compliant
     
  19. Bender Rodriguez

    Bender Rodriguez RIP Exene, best dog ever. 2005-2016

    A stereo for your daughter? Sounds like a fair trade.
     
    BZync, Jacob29, Doug_B and 19 others like this.
  20. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    Good choice, very plug and play, yet probably the best sound you can get for the money.
     
  21. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    I think the NAD D 3020 has a bit of a cute factor as well being a bit easier to put on a shelf in a small dorm room than a standard NAD amp. I was very happy with mine for the time that I had it with a Pono and a mac mini hooked up to it running some NHT bookshelves. I think your PSB are a better and more readily available suggestion however. I notice it has Bluetooth as well although I don’t remember ever using it. The first version anyway was a little on the dark, warm, rolled off side of things; it reminded me of my NAD 3240 from back in the late 80’s, but then I think it will rock the dorm room out just fine. Also there is not a lot of room back there to connect speaker cables so you have to get creative if you are using spades; it seems really designed for banana plugs. Also with full size RCA cable jacks note you have to avoid causing a short as the RCA connectors on it are not really full size and the sleeve of the RCA cable connection can hit the back of the amp if you press it in all the way, so just pull it back a tad and I never had an issue after finding that out.
     
  22. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
  23. rpd

    rpd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nashville
    Ha...she’s actually a keeper
     
  24. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I was going to suggest Wharfedale Denton 80th anniversary speakers, which I bought new from Music Direct last month for $399. But I see they've suddenly went up to $499. If they come down again I'd grab them. I love these speakers.

    MD has a demo for $399.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
  25. harby

    harby Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    What do you think the physical aspects of a good record player are?

    How about
    [​IMG]
     
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