Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Do you need phono? £1k is a good budget.

Nope, no turntable.

£1k is more than I'd spend ideally so options below budget all good too

any requirement for an on board dac?

If no, Rega Brio probably worth a look.

if yes, audiolab or cambridge options look hard to beat.

What speakers will it be driving?

DAC would probably be good as I don't have a standalone one and do stream quite a lot, but will check the brio out anyway.

It will be driving 2 x celestion ul6 and maybe also 2 x Rogers LS7 but replacing speakers is probably on the list once I've sorted the amp!

It will be driving 2 x celestion ul6 and maybe also 2 x Rogers LS7

at the same time? bear in mind, that will halve the impedance seen by the amp, making current overload more likely.

Either pair by themselves should be fine!

Well the UL6 are great but lack some bottom end, which the Rogers provide (although I find them a bit lacking in detail compared to the UL6) .

My HK is built for 2 sets of speakers (has a second speaker set output) and is a hefty dual mono so should be able to handle it, I'm not whacking the volume up.

If a new amp could extract a bit more bass from the UL6 then I'd maybe drop the Rogers, but it's not as if the HK was underpowered

I’d split that budget and go for new speakers too

Ah, so you have already, too bad :(

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223803345946

Quad Vena

And my Tannoy Eatons (or another pair) and you’d have a belter of a set up for well under a grand.

You could then sell your kit and have a few hundred to spend on fuses and power cables.

Hmmm, interesting - could work. I was veering towards a new amp just because of the trouble I've had with second hand (I also have a Nad which had a fault, plus I withdrew my old Cambridge Audio from sale as it had a crackle) so thought buying new and getting warranty was worthwhile.

That said, might be more inclined to go 2nd hand on speakers where there's less to go wrong - how much were you thinking for the tannoys?

I had a NAD3020, one morning it decided with no pre warning to destroy the decent speakers it was connected to and itself. The magic smoke escaped from everything. I guess it was some kind of DC that it shouldn't have been sending the speakers. Eventually the whole lot (except cables) went in the bin because the cost of repairing the bass drivers was prohibitive and the amp maintained a permanent fault light. I usually fix electronic gear down to component level but looking in this amp it was like a lot of class d, impossible to diagnose.

Hello!
I've got a QED pre amp with two separate power amps, both with hummm noises, one more than the other. Doesn't really bother me (sorry if that sounds crazy). I bought everything second hand many years ago, it has always done this. As I've just re-installed my system after over a year (moving house mess, never enough time...) I'm just wondering if I should be worried for my speakers. Good amplification for me otherwise (with MM / MC phono stage), I'd love to avoid servicing/upgrading...

... Well, to celebrate the newly re installed system, our two years old just destroyed my MC cartridge... Argh! My fault for leaving the room without strapping the cover onto the turntable as I normally do...

poo!!

Ouch

kind of tempting:

Luxman M03 Power Amplifier with Furutech Silver plated power cord. https://ebay.us/ZtwJ9x

Rad

Oh no! I had the fear (hard). So much that I fucked the turntable off for a linear tracker.

I am constantly shitting it at the moment with the new speakers. They are immaculate and the grilles are fragile.

I am happy buying well worn gear - I can be a bit of a knobfingers. If it was Ted, I’m not sure how I’d react.

My Beogram 1203 is needing new drive belt and pick up and it is looking very pricey to get it back to former glory.
What sort of turntable should I look for second hand to get the most out of my money?
I'd ideally spend less than £100

I was upset but not at him at all, completely my fault for leaving the room with the turntable not fitted with cover. He saw me taking the cartridge off the tonearm later. I re strapped the clear cover onto the TT and he was saying "no no, I want to fix it!" (which I loved).
Wasn't the most expensive MC cartridge. An Ortofon SL20Q, which I bought from a dude on a French hifi forum for about €120 a few years back. Supposedly (or so I was told) a good match to my lightweight tonearm (Audio Technica AT1120). I've made an offer on eBay today for something similar, except I can justify the full asking price if offer is rejected. I have a decent budget MC cartridge on another TT that I'm not using, but switching to MM on that amp means opening it... Pain in the ass...
Oh well, shit happens!

I am constantly shitting it at the moment with the new speakers. They are immaculate and the grilles are fragile.

My parents used to say parents could never have nice things...

I can only suggest putting them somewhere safe and find an alternative solution. Maybe just hide the grills and make an industrial alternative with solid cast iron grills welded to a cage.

I have a deprecated Audio-Technica OC9 if that would interest you. It has lots of mileage on the clock and was replaced when the LP12 went in for servicing. Still sounded OK to me.

Dual 505 off eBay, maybe?

I'll have a look. Thanks

Thanks, that would have been an attractive option, meanwhile my eBay offer has been accepted: hopefully this is being resolved without splashing too much cash... Still, an expensive mistake on my part!