I've got $5000 for a stereo system, how much on each part?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Slayne, Oct 13, 2019.

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  1. Mmmark

    Mmmark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Down payment on Pear Anjou cables....
     
    Balthazar likes this.
  2. Christophe999s

    Christophe999s Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    Have you considered active speakers?
    Kef LS50W and stands should set you back less than €2500. Add the Technics SL-1200GR and a cart like the Ortofon 2M Bronze, an Arcam rPhono, the rest on cables and you're set to go.
     
    brimuchmuze likes this.
  3. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Speakers should be your highest priority.

    Good speakers can improve any system.
     
    Frost likes this.
  4. chipcalzada

    chipcalzada Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Philippines
    I agree with the suggestions to allocate the biggest amount of your budget for speakers, the rest can be upgraded/traded-in down the line. Generally speaking, most people keep their speakers longer more than any other component so it would be good to get that right from the onset. Good luck!
     
    Glmoneydawg likes this.
  5. Ezd

    Ezd Forum Resident

    I don't know what opportunities exist for you to audition various other systems prior to spending money, but that would provide an idea of what sounds good to you. Perhaps you can achieve your goal less expensively...
    Speakers are the priority, buy amp and speakers secondhand in excellent condition.

    Chances are you are going to resell and purchase something else before long if you don't do the footwork now to narrow down your personal preferences.
     
  6. Balthazar

    Balthazar Forum Resident

    [​IMG]
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  7. dennem

    dennem Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bangkok, Thailand
    1000 turntable with cart
    1000 amp
    3000 speakers
     
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  8. Bob_in_OKC

    Bob_in_OKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    $1,000 for a turntable, $1,000 for an amp, and $3,000 for speakers. This isn’t a ratio that necessarily scales up or down. If I had double this budget, I’d probably triple the turntable.
     
  9. roboss38

    roboss38 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Clovis, CA U.S.A.
    Richard Austen likes this.
  10. My philosophy is to spend roughly the same amount of money on each component. An all-Rega system would sound great and be right in your price range:

    Rega Elex-R integrated amp $1695
    Rega Planar 6 turntable $1595
    Rega RX-1 speakers $1295

    That gives you $400 left over for interconnects, speaker cables, and a cartridge. Totally doable.
     
    displayname likes this.
  11. I agree that synergy is the most important thing when assembling a system. That’s why I recommended all-Rega.

    Could I make substitutions? Of course. In fact, I think that keeping the Planar 6 and substituting the following and using the freed up money ($1400 total) on a better cartridge, interconnects, and speaker wire would be a good way to go:

    Rega Brio-R: $995
    KEF LS50: $999 when on sale

    Heck, you could even add an REL T5i subwoofer ($549) to bolster the bottom end and still have $850 for cartridge and cables.
     
    Jimmy Disco D likes this.
  12. Didn’t even think of this. Great idea. If you are starting from scratch, active speakers are really the wave of the future and would be a great way to go.
     
    displayname likes this.
  13. Boltman92124

    Boltman92124 Go Padres!!

    Location:
    San Diego
    Yes this ^^^^^^. Brand new Technics sl1200 mk7 $995 street price. $500 for a good cart and $1,500 for a good integrated with a good phono section.
     
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  14. Anton D

    Anton D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chico CA
    OK, I will play!

    Schiit Aegir, 800 bucks.

    Schiit Saga preamp, 300 dollars.

    Schiit Mani, 130 dineros.

    Used Empire 580 or 680 Turntable...add 100 dollars to get new belt, motor mounts, etc. (Beautiful and sounds magnificent.) Guess 600 dollars.

    That leaves about 3.2K for speakers....

    Golden Ear Triton One. R for 3200 dollars.

    With this set up, the power amp and speakers are definitive...you won't need to upgrade.


    Over time, you can play with the other items and not lose much money from your original purchase.

    ___

    Edit:

    Ha! Joke's on me, I forgot a cartridge! I'll get back to you.
     
  15. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Speakers and Turntable/Cart should get the most funding.
     
  16. wolfyboy3

    wolfyboy3 99 Red Balloons Go By...

    Location:
    Indiana

    Why not go the whole hog on Schiit and get their turntable too?
     
  17. Dougr33

    Dougr33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Twin Cities, MN
    ^^^ This.. but forgo standmounts.. Get Monitor Audio Silver 300s and Peachtree Audio Nova 150. Done.
     
  18. Anton D

    Anton D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chico CA
    That would be great, but I worried it might be tweaky for someone new to it all.

    There are two certainties in life:

    1) When someone gets mad and says they are never ever coming back to a forum, they always do.

    2) A 'first system' never stays that way. So, I wanted to pick some items that would easily be changed without great expense, and some things that would endure.

    I think the speakers and amp are long term 'worthy,' and the person could fiddle with other parts over time.

    People mentioned 500 bucks for the Technics table, a great call...likely better than my idea, but the Empire is such a beautiful classic!
     
  19. displayname

    displayname Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    Discuss your budget with a local dealer (or a few of them). Ask them to assemble a system or two to demo. Decide with your ears. Enjoy dealer support and the input of experienced professionals.
     
  20. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I'm also not a fan of recipes based on allocating a certain amount of money to each component.

    What I would do, is find a set of speakers you like first, before doing anything else. Once you do, then find an amp that will power them adequately with more than enough juice for your desired listening level.

    Once you get that figured out, buy an inexpensive DAC and try listening to digital music first, however you listen to it normally: e.g. streaming, lossless files, CD, etc. Try to stick with that for at least a month before doing anything else, longer if you can.

    Once you get your digital playback where you want it to be, THEN and only then start thinking about turntables. If you would prefer to buy new for the TT, I think setting aside $2K for it is a good idea. That should be enough to pay for a decent TT, cartridge, and phono stage.

    You didn't mention records in all of this. Do you already have a bunch of records? If not that will be your biggest expense over the long term, especially if you plan to accumulate a sizable amount.
     
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  21. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    Snell J’s or E’s for $400 bucks - used
    Technics GR - $1700
    Line Magnetic integrated -1500 used
    Leaves you 1400 for a nice cartridge/phono stage combo

    that’s what I’d do.
     
  22. Tim Irvine

    Tim Irvine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    To my way of thinking the answer depends if $5000 is end game or just first foray. If it is end game get things in balance, probably around 1500-2000 for speakers, around the same for an integrated amp, and the balance for TT. If first foray, lean more heavily on speakers and source. I. Lean more towards source. Each upgrade in the other elements will be more gratifying.
     
    Big Blue likes this.
  23. BrentB

    BrentB Urban Angler

    Location:
    Midwestern US
    I woud spend 2000 on the TT and cart setuo. 1000-1500 on amplification. up to 1000 on speakers/stands/wires. The other 1000 you can sit on and maybe buy some tweaks/upgrades. When you go to upgrade later you can go for speakers and amplification. Sell your old ones for a good return. The 2000 table will work well for a lot of amp/speakers combos even if they end up costing more in the long run.
     
  24. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    There's no reason to forego used gear here, especially when it's identical to 2019 offerings (often the same model) in putting together a $5K system. Looking around what's out there both used a new listed right now I'd go for this:

    • Silverline Minuet Grand bookshelf speakers - used ($1,279 on Audiogon)
    • First Watt J-2 amp - used ($2,495 at Reno HiFi)
    • Schiit Freya S preamp - new ($599)
    • Schiit Mani phono preamp - new ($129)
    • Any entry-level Rega or Project TT with cart ($500) - there is barely any difference between TTs at price points under $1000 and if you decide you enjoy the vinyl experience you will definitely want to upgrade eventually to something that would blow your current budget away.
    Tough to find anything that will compare to this amazing pure Class A JFET amp setup with efficient speakers that produces surprising bass at your budget and nothing about the gear is dated whatsoever.
     
  25. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    Bro everyone is wrong here......Send me the money and I’ll take care of it for you.

    I promise........
     
    Ezd likes this.
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