Speaker Advice Needed

Tacozilla

Premium Supporter
Dec 3, 2012
3,242
Liverpool (UK)
So I am looking at getting a turntable hopefully sorted out in the next few months. I have decided to go for Audio Technica ATLP120USBC - I know there are better turntables out there, but I am doing this on a budget (of sorts...) and I have a small vinyl collection (about 25 or so)

I need some advice with speakers. The two options I have are

  • Amplifier & Speakers
  • Powered Speakers
I am a bit of a noob when it comes to audio set ups (especially when with vinyl)

I'd say my budget is about £150 for the speakers / speakers amp (though the cheaper the better)

I am just playing vinyl on this set up, nothing else will be connected to it, and my room is fairly small so doesn't need to be super loud.

Tagging @Noodles as you are the vinyl dude and might be able to assist in some way :p

I have tried looking up as much info as I can myself online, but it seems there is a lot of snobbery when it comes to trying to make a budget set up (a lot of sites saying, if you can't afford it, don't do it)

I am leaning towards Powered Speakers as apposed to Amplifier & Speakers, mainly as a space saver and the fact that nothing but the turntable will be connected anyways. This setup will not be used constantly, I will mostly listen to vinyl for a few hours during weekends mostly.

Any help anyone can offer would be great.:thumbs:
 
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I really wish I could help mate, but unfortunately I don't actually know all that much about speakers. :(

Maybe try asking the same question in this thread if you don't get an answer here. Or @Slinchafi might even be able to offer you some advice... he seems to know his stuff. ;)
 
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I really wish I could help mate, but unfortunately I don't actually know all that much about speakers. :(

Maybe try asking the same question in this thread if you don't get an answer here. Or @Slinchafi might even be able to offer you some advice... he seems to know his stuff. ;)

Thanks @Noodles

I am having a poke around Amazon (mainly to get an idea of prices) and something like - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HR1AWVC/?tag=hidefnin-21 pretty much what I'm looking for. So if anyone can recommend something cheaper, better etc, or give their opinions on these that would be great
 
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@Tacozilla
Seeing ur from Liverpool , have u tried richer sounds in town mate?
The Cambridge audio range are top class ( Cambridge audio can only be bought in richer sounds )

Mission speakers and mordaunt short speakers are pretty decent , also gale , I usually change my speakers every 3-4 years and get one of them types
, usually get them from richer sounds too , they do deals all the time with amps and speakers too and can set up in one of their rooms in store for u
 
@Tacozilla
Seeing ur from Liverpool , have u tried richer sounds in town mate?
The Cambridge audio range are top class ( Cambridge audio can only be bought in richer sounds )

Mission speakers and mordaunt short speakers are pretty decent , also gale , I usually change my speakers every 3-4 years and get one of them types
, usually get them from richer sounds too , they do deals all the time with amps and speakers too and can set up in one of their rooms in store for u

I haven't tried Richer Sounds yet, I am just starting the search for speakers. I was planning on popping into richer sounds at some point and giving a few a test.

I have used Cambridge audio in the past, and they were pretty good (had a old 5.1 surround system for my PC years and years ago)

I just need a good set of speakers, that don't sound tinny and cheap.

I probably wont be getting everything sorted until around Christmas time most likely (well possibly soon if I can squeeze some money away from steelbooks lol)
 
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I haven't tried Richer Sounds yet, I am just starting the search for speakers. I was planning on popping into richer sounds at some point and giving a few a test.

I have used Cambridge audio in the past, and they were pretty good (had a old 5.1 surround system for my PC years and years ago)

I just need a good set of speakers, that don't sound tinny and cheap.

I probably wont be getting everything sorted until around Christmas time most likely (well possibly soon if I can squeeze some money away from steelbooks lol)
Forgot about Q acoustics mate , they are cracking speakers too , £119.99 in richer sounds , award winning ones in the what hi-fi magazine
 
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On a tight budget, getting powered speakers is definitely the best bang for buck choice. But the first real thing to consider is: are you cool with buying used, or does it have to be new? In the price range you've set there really is a huge gap between the quality you get new vs. second hand. But some people aren't comfortable with buying used, that's why I always ask (I've bough 80% of my hifi equipment second hand and never had a problem and the only way I ever buy new is if I find a big enough discount to actually come close to a used price)

Also, what price are you getting that AT LP120 for? Because for roughly the same cost you can get a Pro Ject Genie that is far superior in every way imaginable: http://www.analogueseduction.net/pro-ject-turntables/project-genie-mk3-turntable.html

The LP120 does have a built in phono preamp, but from what I can tell it also retails for 20-30 GBP more than the Genie and for the difference you can get a preamp that outperforms the LP120's built in one by a mile. So unless you're buying the LP120 locally for 200 or less, it's not even close to being the best budget option out there.

As for speakers, check out what thomann has to offer in your price range (note that the models that have a single speaker on the image are priced per piece and those that have two are priced per pair) : http://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html?oa=pra

A solid entry level is M-Audio BX5: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005F3H6Q8/?tag=hidefnin-21
Though personally I'd go with their bigger brother BX8: http://www.thomann.de/gb/m_audio_bx8_d2.htm

That's probably the best you can get out of that budget
 
Also, what price are you getting that AT LP120 for? Because for roughly the same cost you can get a Pro Ject Genie that is far superior in every way imaginable: http://www.analogueseduction.net/pro-ject-turntables/project-genie-mk3-turntable.html

The LP120 does have a built in phono preamp, but from what I can tell it also retails for 20-30 GBP more than the Genie and for the difference you can get a preamp that outperforms the LP120's built in one by a mile. So unless you're buying the LP120 locally for 200 or less, it's not even close to being the best budget option out there.

I was reading reviews and watching video reviews on it and a lot of people said it's a good beginner player, I wanted a player that's easy to set up. I looked at the Pro-Ject players multiple times and saw them for good prices, but the setup looked a bit fiddly (also I need get a pre-amp, and some don't come with dust covers?)

I haven't looked at prices for LP120 yet, I just use amazon as a base because of its ease of searching really.

As for speakers, check out what thomann has to offer in your price range (note that the models that have a single speaker on the image are priced per piece and those that have two are priced per pair) : http://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html?oa=pra

A solid entry level is M-Audio BX5: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005F3H6Q8/?tag=hidefnin-21
Though personally I'd go with their bigger brother BX8: http://www.thomann.de/gb/m_audio_bx8_d2.htm

I have looked at the M-Audio BXs and they looked pretty good. I am not apposed to used as long as I can get them from a reputable site and they come with some form of guarantee
 
I am not apposed to used as long as I can get them from a reputable site and they come with some form of guarantee

In that case only demo models from retailers come into play, buying used from private sellers usually means no warranty.

I was reading reviews and watching video reviews on it and a lot of people said it's a good beginner player, I wanted a player that's easy to set up. I looked at the Pro-Ject players multiple times and saw them for good prices, but the setup looked a bit fiddly (also I need get a pre-amp, and some don't come with dust covers?)

Yeah, the Genie model doesn't have a dust cover, though unless you have pets it's not an issue really. I also just found that sevenoaks has the Debut Carbon on clearance: http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p-9903944-project-debut-carbon-white-turntable.aspx

These are actually set up out of-the-box. Takes maybe 5 minutes to get it up and running :)
 
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In that case only demo models from retailers come into play, buying used from private sellers usually means no warranty.

Yea, certain things I am a bit wary of getting from private sellers, just in case it gets damaged in transport or something and they get fussy etc. I don't mind getting demo models / ex-display models as long as they are in somewhat good condition (I don't expect them to be perfect)

Yeah, the Genie model doesn't have a dust cover, though unless you have pets it's not an issue really. I also just found that sevenoaks has the Debut Carbon on clearance: http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p-9903944-project-debut-carbon-white-turntable.aspx

These are actually set up out of-the-box. Takes maybe 5 minutes to get it up and running :)

Where I live at the moment seems to get a lot of dust from god knows where...which is why I wanted a dust cover. Not too keen on a white player, looking for a black one if possible. But as I said before I am not in a huge rush to get it all sorted, more interested in saving money where need be and getting a nice simple to use player.

If you can recommend any good sites for turntables and speakers, that would be great as I can browse them over the next few months and see if there are any bargains, thanks.
 
I'm not as familiar with UK sites as I mostly buy from Germany, but these are the two I check most often:

http://www.analogueseduction.net/
http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/

Their prices are pretty similar, but they might have some deals going on here and there. You can also keep an eye out on http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/ and http://www.richersounds.com/ they often have a lot of stuff on clearance.

You can also check some other EU sites, they might have some competitive prices even after factoring in shipping. You can select English language on most.

http://www.dienadel.de/
http://www.hifi-phono-house.com/index.php?language=en&XTCsid=ne5i74e76v1kju9rlrlj0shvq0
http://www.phonophono.de/
 
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