Help me choose a decent starter system

[DomT]

Hello everyone

Sadly my wife and I are splitting up and I want to buy her a fairly decent starter system but I am unsure of what might be best as I haven’t heard any of the gear.

She will use our Neat Iota Alpha speakers because they are practical and work well in the lounge. But these are very revealing and have a slightly brightly lit high frequencies. She will also use the Auralic Aries Mini. The Aries Mini has a built in DAC that might be ok but I can’t test it yet as we don’t have the amp yet and I don’t have a suitable integrated amp to donate. Also she will have a Marantz UD7007 for CD playback.

So we need to buy an integrated s/s amp and a turntable with cartridge. Either the turntable needs to have a built in phono stage or the amp needs a built in MM stage. I am leaning slightly towards a t/t with built in phono as it will have been optimised for the turntable. But maybe it would be better to get an amp with an MM input? You guys tell me I have no idea at this price point.

We are looking for ease of use. A warm sound. A remote control for the amp would be useful. No HDMI input needed.

Maximum budget new is 1500€.

I saw this t/t with built in phono https://onoff.pt/produto/project-essential-iii-om10-phono/

For amps maybe Rega Brio or Marantz or Quad Vena??? I have no idea. There isn’t a lot on the secondhand market so it needs to be a new item available in Portugal. No future upgrades will happen.

Grateful for all ideas. Many thanks.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hello everyone

Sadly my wife and I are splitting up and I want to buy her a fairly decent starter system but I am unsure of what might be best as I haven’t heard any of the gear.

She will use our Neat Iota Alpha speakers because they are practical and work well in the lounge. But these are very revealing and have a slightly brightly lit high frequencies. She will also use the Auralic Aries Mini. The Aries Mini has a built in DAC that might be ok but I can’t test it yet as we don’t have the amp yet and I don’t have a suitable integrated amp to donate. Also she will have a Marantz UD7007 for CD playback.

So we need to buy an integrated s/s amp and a turntable with cartridge. Either the turntable needs to have a built in phono stage or the amp needs a built in MM stage. I am leaning slightly towards a t/t with built in phono as it will have been optimised for the turntable. But maybe it would be better to get an amp with an MM input? You guys tell me I have no idea at this price point.

We are looking for ease of use. A warm sound. A remote control for the amp would be useful. No HDMI input needed.

Maximum budget new is 1500€.

I saw this t/t with built in phono https://onoff.pt/produto/project-essential-iii-om10-phono/

For amps maybe Rega Brio or Marantz or Quad Vena??? I have no idea. There isn’t a lot on the secondhand market so it needs to be a new item available in Portugal. No future upgrades will happen.

Grateful for all ideas. Many thanks.

Sorry about your marriage - but it sounds amicable.

Rega Planar 1/2/3 + Arcam SA10 or SA20 (Ex-dem can be picked up at similar price to SA10)

 

[bencat]

Dom sorry to hear you are splitting up hope things work out for both of you . There is a very nice Lenco in the classifieds and a would suggest a decent integrated with Phono . Pioneer 400 comes to mind which you can pick up for decent prices used .

 

[Jules_S]

Dom, firstly I'm very sorry to hear your news, not the easiest of times.

On the TT front, if you want to stick with something that has a built in phono, how about this beauty in our classifieds? I'm sure our very own Adam could support it if necessary

Tons of budget left for an amp of your choice. For something on the smoother side either perhaps one of the aforementioned Arcams, or perhaps one of the better 90's era Sony ES or similar? I still have a Pioneer A400 for sale like the one that Andrew mentioned but I wouldn't describe it as "cuddly", although it would drive the Iotas no problem (it managed my Martin Logans OK so I'm sure anything else will be a breeze!)

 

[greybeard]

Dom sorry to hear you and your wife are parting company, an older Marantz model, something like the PM7200 which has a phono stage and can also be run in class A at the flick of a switch. The one I owned certainly had a warm sound. As for turntable a second hand Clearaudio Concept, is simplicity itself to use and setup, and has a great pedigree.

 

[DomT]

Dom sorry to hear you are splitting up hope things work out for both of you . There is a very nice Lenco in the classifieds and a would suggest a decent integrated with Phono . Pioneer 400 comes to mind which you can pick up for decent prices used .

Thanks Andrew. The items need to be in Portugal though so UK based items out of the question.

 

[simon g]

Neat certainly have used Exposure amps in voicing their speakers and, from experience, they do work well together

Take a look at a used or ex dem XM5 which does have a good MM stage.

Alternatively, one of the older series Creek amps. An Evolution 50a is a great amp and these often came with phono stages. If not, easy to fit one or use external.

It's too long since I had a tt to opine meaningfully on that. The obvious contender would appear to be Rega.

 

[DomT]

Also guys the vintage recommendations will not work for us as they are unlikely to be available within the next two weeks. So really just want to focus on a brand new amp that we can hear with our Neat Alphas and make a decision.

And it seems that now an HDMI input could be useful but not essential.

 

[DomT]

Neat certainly have used Exposure amps in voicing their speakers and, from experience, they do work well together

Take a look at a used or ex dem XM5 which does have a good MM stage.

Alternatively, one of the older series Creek amps. An Evolution 50a is a great amp and these often came with phono stages. If not, easy to fit one or use external.

It's too long since I had a tt to opine meaningfully on that. The obvious contender would appear to be Rega.

Thanks Simon I had forgotten about Creek and the 50 is available here in Portugal.

 

[simon g]

Thanks Simon I had forgotten about Creek and the 50 is available here in Portugal.

I notice that Rega is available in Portugal . How about an Elex with a Planar 1 or 2?

 

[pmcuk]

Sorry to hear your news. Ah well.... you will hopefully stay friends.

Can you be a bit more precise as to who wants what? From what I can see your wife will live in Portugal. Does she need the turntable or do you? Does she play records - where will the records be kept? What will be her preferred system for how she uses it? Will you visit or stay with her for any extended periods, and what would you need if you want to work in Portugal? Not sure if you know all this yet....

Good luck!

 

[DomT]

Sorry to hear your news. Ah well.... you will hopefully stay friends.

Can you be a bit more precise as to who wants what? From what I can see your wife will live in Portugal. Does she need the turntable or do you? Does she play records - where will the records be kept? What will be her preferred system for how she uses it? Will you visit or stay with her for any extended periods, and what would you need if you want to work in Portugal? Not sure if you know all this yet....

Good luck!

Thanks but this is for her and not for me. Requirements as per the OP.

 

[DomT]

And regarding the various recommendations for a Rega t/t having owned a P9 I am hesitant. But at the budget end Rega could be better than Project. My wife loves the sound of LPs (on my Lenco and now Luxman PD171) and clearly we cannot get anywhere close to this and so am thinking something that’s very easy to use. Simple things like an on/off switch on the front and not hidden round the back. Something like an Audio Technica seems very user friendly and apparently sounds ok. https://www.fnac.pt/Gira-Discos-AT-...Vl7nVCh1ZJw4cEAQYBiABEgJNPfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Jezzer]

Sorry to hear about the divorce. Hope it’s amicable (as was the case with mine).

As for amps, I often have a chance to listen to my friend’s Cambridge Audio CXA81 and can’t help but be impressed with the sound. The midrange is particularly warm and detailed. Definitely worth a listen but no HDMI unfortunately…

 

[audio_PHIL_e]

Sorry about the breakup, best wishes for staying friends.

 

[t1no]

Not knowing what your circumstances are but wanting to keep things simple and hassle free I would be tempted with Technics SA-C600 streaming CD receiver / all in one for around £800. Leaving you budget for a turntable and a leftover Aries Mini and Marantz CD player that you’ll get good money for.

https://bimotordj.com/pt/sac600egsk

 

[Rockchild]

Sorry to hear that @DomT Not an easy time.
I’m not going to suggest anything because the truth is, your experienced enough to know what will be the best solution.
I understand the reaching out tho

 

[DomT]

Sorry to hear that @DomT Not an easy time.
I’m not going to suggest anything because the truth is, your experienced enough to know what will be the best solution.
I understand the reaching out tho

Thanks Jon but we are unlikely to be able to demo anything. Should be ok with the t/t but am concerned that either a budget amp will be a bit shouty with the Neats so it’s always good to hear from the wise folks on here. Unlike the UK once a box has been opened in a Portugal the dealers will not accept a return so potentially a reasonably expensive mistake to be made.

 

[Rockchild]

Thanks Jon but we are unlikely to be able to demo anything. Should be ok with the t/t but am concerned that either a budget amp will be a bit shouty with the Neats so it’s always good to hear from the wise folks on here. Unlike the UK once a box has been opened in a Portugal the dealers will not accept a return so potentially a reasonably expensive mistake to be made.

Ah, I see. Makes things a tad difficult then.
Have you spoken to Neat themselves and asked what their preferred amplification is?

 

[CnoEvil]

Should be ok with the t/t but am concerned that either a budget amp will be a bit shouty with the Neats so it’s always good to hear from the wise folks on here. Unlike the UK once a box has been opened in a Portugal the dealers will not accept a return so potentially a reasonably expensive mistake to be made.

From the WHF review on Arcam SA10: https://www.whathifi.com/arcam/sa10/review

"It isn’t just a solid presentation, it’s delightfully warm. The midrange is richer than a Saudi oil merchant, giving vocals the kind of dimension many competitors lack in their search for outright clarity."

"The treble in particular nearly matches the midrange for richness..."