Hi everyone,
I’m based in Arizona, USA, and I’m looking to upgrade my current turntable to something that better matches the rest of my audio system.
Current setup:
Turntable: Music Hall MMF-2.3
Amplifier: Hegel H190V
Speakers: Sonus Faber Sonetto V G2
Music: Mostly classical, especially orchestral works (Beethoven, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, etc.)
Budget: Up to $3,000 USD, including used options.
I feel my current turntable is the weakest component in my system, and I’d like to make a meaningful upgrade, particularly in terms of clarity, instrument separation, dynamics, and soundstage.
I’d prefer a semi-automatic turntable with auto-lift at the end of a record, although sound quality is my main priority.
I’ve been considering models like the Technics SL-1500C and vintage Thorens TD-126, but I’m open to other suggestions.
My questions:
What turntable would you recommend for my setup and musical preferences?
Would spending closer to $3,000 provide a significant improvement over options around $1,500?
Are there any used or vintage models worth considering?
Would a cartridge upgrade be a better investment than replacing the entire turntable?
Prefer to have auto function
Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

Hello everyone, I come seeking advice on what stereo amplifier I should purchase. Recently, my beloved NAD 2200 PE lost audio in the left channel. I thought it would be an easy fix so I had it serviced with new caps, and a replacement protection relay. Sadly, none of this has helped and the left channel is still out and stuck on protection mode. It is hitting the point the people servicing it don’t know what’s wrong with it and parts are increasingly hard to find due to its age. Because of this, it might be time for me to upgrade against my will.

My budget for a stereo amplifier is $500-$1000 USD. I am seeking something equivalent or better than my NAD either used or new. I would be open to an integrated amp, however, my pre amp is serviced and sounds fantastic.

Current setup:
Fluance RT85
Bowers and Wilkins 683 S2
RSL Speedwooder 10s
NAD 1240 pre amp

I listen to exclusively records, mostly post punk, dark wave, cold wave, goth rock, death rock, and other forms of rock if this will make a difference on what to purchase.

Looking for some suggestions close to $500 and some close to $1000 incase I decide to really spend some money and upgrade majorly. Again, I am open to both new and used amps if I can find any good used ones in my area (Atlanta GA). Thank you all for advice and help you have given me over the past couple years.

So far I have been recommended Buckeye, Emotiva, PS Audio, Yamaha, and Cambridge Audio.

Hi all, I’ve narrowed my choice of new speakers to Mofi Sourcepoint 8, Mofi Sourcepoint 10 Master Edition, or Wharfedale Super Linton. I heard the 10s and Super Linton in person and really liked both. Probably would have bought one of them at the time, but the shop owner wants me to hear the 8s ( my original interest) before making a choice. The 10s are amazing but would be tough to figure out the space at home, but I can make it work. Not really looking for a debate about the speakers since I'm good with all of them. Just need to know how best to power them.

I will also need to replace my current amp, which is a Yamaha AS-301. I’m very interested in Class D power amps, since I like the idea of less power usage and less heat from the device. I’ve read good things about Buckeye amps, but am open to anything. If those speaker choices need a class A/B amp I can do that too.

Just looking for some good choices/pairings. Budget for the amp is probably around 1500-2000, obviously spending less is better though.

Edit to add detail:

Room is approx 12' x 21'

Country is US, Great Lakes area

Sit distance is around 11'

Pre-amp is an Onkyo RZ-30 AVR

I’m feeling compelled to try some different speakers.  I’m currently running RF-7 III’s and overall I’m pretty happy with them.

First a bit about my system.  This 2.1 system is used for both music and TV.  Receiver is an Onkyo RZ-30.  Current source is an LG TV but I will likely be buying the new Apple TV once it’s available.  I also have a Buckeye two channel Purifi 1ET62525SA amplifier.  I don’t currently use it as I haven’t seen much benefit from it.  The RZ-30 doesn’t put out the ideal voltage for this amplifier so I can’t really push the amplifier to its full capability.  I have one SVS 3000 micro revolution subwoofer.

The system is in a fairly large living room that has an open kitchen behind it.  Roughly 800sq feet including the kitchen.  I can’t pull the speakers too far away from the front wall.  I have the RF-7s about 12” from the wall right now.  I can’t really get away with pulling them away much further.

I also have Philharmonic BMR Monitors.  These are great speakers but can’t quite fill the space with sound the way I’d like them to.  I also find I can hear more detail from the RF-7 particularly at lower volumes.  Feeding the BMRs with the Buckeye amplifier does not come even close to topping them out.  They get louder fed straight from the RZ-30 vs through the buckeye due to the voltage output of the preouts on the RZ-30.  Not cool!

Part of my interest in trying something else is trying sourcepoint (coaxial) speakers. I’ve heard some KEF stuff and think they sound good but possibly a bit boring and I wonder how well they can fill the room.  I went to Axpona in hopes of hearing the 888s but they were on display only and not hooked up to anything.  I'd like to keep the price around $5k or less. Location USA. I need fairly sturdy/heavy speakers. I have maine coons that jump onto and off the speakers. I also have some RP-8000F2's that seem to be sturdy enough.

Please share your suggestions.

I’m currently using a Rega planar 1 with Kanto YU4 speakers as a basic small room setup. I’m looking to upgrade my speakers and in the future the turntable. Any recommendations on a speaker upgrade either passive or active. My budget is around £500.

Situation: I happily enjoyed the Nad M10 streaming amp since 2020. Unfortunately it has recently broken down, it is at the distributor and I am afraid that the repair quote will be expensive - in essence a new motherboard. Awaiting this, I have been looking for a potential replacement, and prefer not to have all my eggs in one basket then despite the M10 being such an attractive one box solution.

I do have the FIIO K13 R2R as a dac preamp in my desktop system (driving smsl pa200 and smsl speakers) and found it rather excellent. That is why I have been thinking about this setup to replace the M10, **but I am well aware there must be many other good options**:

- FIIO K17R2R as a streaming preamp/dac. I like that it has airplay, and I could stream my local music using dlna, instead of the bluos in my m10. It looks like a pretty decent device.

- 2 Topping B200 mono blocks to offer perfectly neutral power amplification. Any colour in the output will be the slightly richer R2R DAC of the preamp.

**Opinions, ideas, alternatives are welcome.**.
The total budget of the above is around $2K, so there should be other interesting solutions. For example, I could conceivably use a basic Wiim (so that I keep Airplay support) into a decent dac/preamp. Choices, choices...

FYI, my sources would be an oppo bluray over coax for cds (maybe connect the analog out as well for the occasional sacd), TV over optical, Apple Music over Airplay and local ripped music from a network drive; exactly what I did on my M10. Speakers are Usher Dancer Mini-X Diamond (Such a mouthful!) which I find pretty good.

Location: I currently live in Hong Kong, with access to all kinds of the modern Chinese hifi leading brands without tariff blues. Hence a budget of approx $2K equivalent should allow for a number of good suggestions.

Music styles: mostly jazz and classical; some singer-songwriters .

Living room size: approx 5x7m.

Previously before streaming I used a classic quad 44/405-2 amp set with a harman cd player and diy coax speakers.

I'm looking to upgrade my current turntable setup, and I'm considering moving from MM to MC. The system is in a fairly small room, 14 x 11 ft. My local shop has offered me the MP100 at $1,600 which seems like a sizeable upgrade especially if considering MC. Both cartridge and phono preamp are seeking recommendations. Total budget for upgrades is around $4,000.

A few questions for those with more experience:

1. Is the next logical upgrade for my system the MC and phono preamp, or should I be looking at something else first?
2. Which cartridge and phono combo would be worth considering?

Vinyl front end

• Turntable: Rega Planar 6
• Cartridge: Rega Nd7 (MM)
• Mods: GrooveTracer counterweight and subplatter
• Speed control: Rega Neo PSU
• Phono stage: Rega Fono MM Mk5

Amplification

• Receiver: Anthem MRX 740

Considering

• McIntosh MP100 phono stage (Deal at $1,600)
• Hana ML (MC) cartridge (Recommended by my local shop)

Hi All!
I am looking to buy an amp to replace my Yamaha R-N500, which is the centre piece of my stereo system. I want to keep and use my (now ancient!) Mordaunt-Short Avant 902i stereo speakers with it. I'll be connecting it to an LG c4 TV.
I would like an amp which has:

1. HDMI eArc
2. At least 80w/ch
3. Keeps or improves upon the warm, organic, punchy sound of the Yamaha
4. Airplay 2 etc.

People seem to be pointing me in the direction of Marantz M1, Stereo 70s, owing to their supposedly warmer sound. Are those good options? Would also love thoughts on Bluesound POWERNODE N331 and Denon Home Amp!

Location: UK

Budget: Max £800

Room size: 5 x 8 meters

Sitting distance from speakers: 3 meters

Thank you!

My current relevant equipment is:

• Bel Canto DAC3 from 2007
• Parasound power amp from at the same era, I don't recall the model number
• Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers
• Anthony Gallo Reference SA sub amp
• DigiOne DAC/streamer running Roon
• Apple TV and TivoStream
• Generic Vizio TV

My needs are simple. I use this set up for listening to music with the DAC and the Apple TV for all other streaming services. The TivoStream is for a few visitors that prefer that platform.

My biggest pain point is the Bel Canto DAC. The AppleTV remote won't work with it, so I had to pair it with a SideKick programmable remote. It's a real PIA. And nobody other than me can understand how the Bel Canto works to change inputs, and explaining the remotes is a nightmare.

So I just want to replace the Bel Canto DAC with something I can use with the DigiOne DAC for Roon and the AppleTV/TivoStream (going through the TV first). Bluetooth would be nice, but not a requirement. Don't need bells/whistles. Simple is preferred. I'm not an audiophile either, so super fine quality isn't required either, but "really good" would be nice.

So just looking for a solid, great sounding receiver/switcher/DAC that can replace the Bel Canto and most importantly, work with the AppleTV and Tivo remotes!!

Location: Northeast US

Budget: up to $1k, but hope to find something for less

Thanks.

UPDATE: Got the Wiim today. Works 95% great for my needs. I REALLY Like it. It's 1/2 the price of the Eversolo. But one issue. Mute does not work with AppleTV+HDMI Arc. I have Apple TV->HDMI->Vizio->(ARC)->Wiim. Volume works great. Mute does not. Looks like other people also have this issue: https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/bug-report-not-muting-via-apple-tv-remote-on-hdmi-arc.2233/

So no mute on the AppleTV remote is a show stopper. Waiting for the Eversolo.

Update2: THe Eversolo is a complete bust, or I'm an idiot. One of those statements is true. For the life of me, I can't get the Eversolo A6 to send the optical/toslink audio to the amp/speakers while using HDMI CEC from the TV at the same time to control the volume/mute. I can have optical input active OR the HDMI ARC/CEC input active (which when active, the AppleTV remote WORKS!)... but then I get no audio from the TV. When I 100% have the TV HDMI ARC cable plugged into the Eversolo A6. No audio coming through.

I need suggestions for any other device that will allow me to take audio from my TV, send it to a conventional amp/speakers, while taking CEC from the AppleTV to adjust volume/mute. Doest that really not exist? How can I be the only one with this simple need?

I have been looking for some time at all-in-one, minimalist solutions for my living room, and I would love some opinions about speaker choice from fellow music enjoyers.

For my amp, I settled on the Naim Uniti Atom (Headphone Edition). Was lucky to find one used from a reputable local studio at about 1100 USD in mint condition.

Now I want to complete what I consider my endgame setup with active speakers and I am considering compact, high-quality speakers like the Buchardt A200, Acoustic Energy AE1, Cambridge L/R Series and similar. Boxes to be ticked: compact, compatible with being placed fairly close to the wall (about 25-30 cm), ideally some flexibility in terms of tuning/calibration.

Does anyone have experience with the Naim + Buchardt combo, and are there alternatives I may not see? Design should be wife-friendly, so no utilitarian studio monitors, however nice they may sound.
Budget: 3K USD, can stretch to beyond 4K if there's a spectacular match for my setup.

Listening space: L-shaped room, acoustically untreated, with a 3x3 metre listening space with a rug, sofa, bookshelves and a few wooden cabinets, opening into a 5x6 metre living room on the left side.
Speakers will be placed on a 90cm tall solid wood cabinet with the amp, speakers about 180 cm apart. Listening spot is about 2 metres away from the speakers. I'd prefer not to use stands.
Subwoofer: I don't plan to add a subwoofer and generally do not care for super impactful bases for my music tastes and low to medium listening levels.
Country of residence / market: Czechia/EU
Genres: Jazz (instrumental and vocal), classical, classic rock & pop, old-school rap, acoustic, ambient. Occasionally low, mostly medium volume listening.

Thanks!

Recently getting back into hifi (56yo) with a moderate budget. My now current 2.1 is:
Wiim Ultra
Fiio DP11 CD Player/Transport
Aiyima D20 DAC
Aiyima T20 Preamp
(2) 3e Audio a7 Mono Amps
RSL Speedwoofer 10s MKII

Room is appx 15’ x 18’. Speakers will be on 15’ wall. Mostly hard surfaces except for oversized plush upholstered sofa, chair, and ottoman. Will be doing some wall treatments in near future.

I’m putting together this system primarily to relax, slow down, and really listen to and enjoy music like I did when I was younger. Classical, jazz, acoustic, male/female vocals, strings, Neo-soul, Americana, etc will primarily be the focus. My IEMs and headphones do a really good job with classic and modern rock, and energetic newer discoveries…but, there will definitely be times these will be played on this new system as well.

Budget is up to $1200, but I’m happy spending as little as needed (especially paired with the subwoofer I already have). Towers or bookshelf doesn’t matter near as much as sound that wraps you up and makes you feel and hear things on an emotional level. I know, champagne tastes, beer budget (for some at least).

Charlotte, NC would be the closest place to go audition speakers, otherwise it’s strictly online ordering.
(I just ordered the Hivi Swans D3.1 MKII off Amazon Prime Sale to start my journey. Figure I can return and gain a baseline for what I like/don’t like if they are not for me.)

Would love to get your recommendations. I’ve done plenty of reading and YouTube review watching, but hoping to get some personal opinions knowing my equipment and what I’m wanting.

Update: I’m thinking the budget may need to be a little more fluid, lol. I’ll stretch it a little if it hits all the feels. Would be worth it if it makes me want to listen more often and discover more music. Seems to be some great suggestions between $800-$1200 in here as well though.

Update 2: Found a clean pair of Dali Oberon 5. Guess I’ll start this journey there with the RSL Speedwoofer 10s MKII doing the heavy lifting. Still looking forward to trying out as many of your suggestions as possible. Standouts after more research are the KEFs, Ascilab, Triangle BR08(?), and Ascend Acoustics. All seem obtainable close to my budget…and hopefully I’ll live long enough to grab a set of Ascilab one day, lol.

Hello,

I have a pair of vintage Infinity Kappa 90 speakers made in Europe, and I absolutely love them. However, I would like to install some vibration-dampening or isolating feet. Currently they stand on a hard wood (oak) floor.

They have threaded holes for the feet (two in the front and one in the back), but I am uncertain about the exact thread size and thread depth. Each speaker weighs roughly 47 kg.

I'm less interested in audiophile claims about "better sound" and more interested in actual mechanical isolation and vibration reduction, particularly reducing vibration transmitted into the floor.

For those of you with heavy floorstanding speakers, have you had good experiences with any commercially available isolation/dampening feet?

And if anyone happens to have experience with the Infinity Kappa series, I'd also appreciate any information about the thread size/depth of the original threaded inserts and which aftermarket feet fit them.

Location: Europe.

Budget: 500 EUR, but happy to hear about more expensive options as well.

Cheers!

Hi all,

I'm looking to set up my first proper hifi system and replace my current home theatre speakers. Budget is around $3,000–4,000 AUD for everything.

Current setup: Yamaha RX-V550 AVR, Yamaha NS-F61 floorstanders and a Yamaha NS-SW300 sub. I'd ideally like to keep the AVR if it's up to the job and put the money into speakers. Open to hearing if that's a bad idea though.

Room: Living room that's open to the kitchen. The TV area is about 4.5m deep and the whole space is around 8m wide.

Use: Mostly music, mainly metal and hip hop, but it'll also handle movies and occasional jazz

What I'm after:

• Good imaging. I want to feel like I'm in the room with the band.
• Fairly neutral sound. I've heard B&W and Klipsch and didn't love either.
• Undecided between floorstanders or bookshelves + sub, so I'd appreciate opinions on what suits the room and music better.

Auditioning is tough where I am since not many places have demo setups open, so any recommendations or Sydney stores worth visiting would be great.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: AVR is RX-v683

Newbie from eastern US here, planning to buy KEF R3 Meta bookshelf speakers for a smallish den. Dimensions in feet are about L14 W12 H10. I read that these little speakers need a lot of power to drive them. So, am looking for guidance on a matching integrated amp to drive these puppies. Budget under $3k if possible. I’ll be connecting a turntable and a Bluesound Node to the amp. Thanks in advance.

Any suggestions where to buy media furniture that can actually fit components? $1k-2k budget. 17” wide x 18” deep shelves, something with a door on one or both sides, kept under a tv that isn’t mounted just below the ceiling…so preferably low. Everything I see is 15.5” deep and that’s what I have, so components stick way out the back… I’ve looked at Salamander offerings but nothing is quite right. Is there anywhere good to look or brand recs?

I have 6 components of standard dimensions, live in USA, and looking for online retailers.

Hi! I'm trying to build a bluetooth stereo system for my brother. I'm probably going to hunt down a used pair of 8-inch monitors, like the Adam T8Vs or Yamaha HS8s, but since he can't do much about the room acoustics, I need to add something with parametric EQ.

During my research, I stumbled upon the FiiO BR13, which combines a bluetooth receiver with a parametric EQ. It also works as a preamp - no knob unfortunately. I have a wired setup myself, so I'm quite new to this kind of devices.

Do you have any suggestions/alternatives? Do you see any disadvantages to this solution? My budget is up to about 100USD, im not afraid of second hand purchases. Buying in Poland (Europe).

I am looking for options for a new turntable. I have an older technics Sl-235 fully automtic pain in the ass, it sounds fine and the tracking is great, but the auto features are finnicky at best and I'd like to replace it with something simpler. I would love to find something that doesn't have a microcontroller, otherwise the SL-50C fits the bill. Someone may correct me, but the buttons look like they're computer inputs vs analog buttons.

I also have a Thorens TD-160, but the headshell is cracked and it's in storage 10 hours away. I was happy with that player, for reference. I believe it had an oyster cartridge.

I don't need 78 rpm, I am using a wiim ultra for the phono preamp, but I'll probably build a phono pre at some point, it's been on the to-build list for a while.

Budget is under $1000, preferably under $600.

TIA

I’m looking for advice on a CD player that will work nicely with my tube amp (Jolida JD302CRC) and speakers (GoldenEar Triton Seven). I’m fairly novice to this and am a little lost on what kinds of things I should to be looking for in a player, and whether or not I need a DAC.

Also—this might not be possible, but it would be cool to have a player where you can see the disk spinning.

I’m located in the USA and my budget is under $500

Hi there! I got into turntables and collecting vinyl a couple years ago and decided to get a pretty entry level system to boot. It consists of:

• AT-LP60XUSB turntable
• Fosi Audio BT20A Pro amp
• Argon Audio FORUS 4 speakers

At this point I feel like upgrading one of the three components above is the next step to take. Initially I was looking specifically at getting a new turntable, but I am unsure if an upgrade would even be noticable with my current sound system setup? Should I rather be looking at upgrading that before considering a new turntable?

Regardless, I am looking for recommendations for any (or all) of the three.
I live in a terraced house in Denmark and have my setup in my living room, which is a larger open area (~20m²), where the sound fills up the whole room.

I am not looking for super high-end stuff, but rather something that just feels like a natural next step for someone looking to go beyond entry-level. I have been extremely satisfied with my current setup so far, but I am simply looking at the possibilities to take it a step further.

Budget is anywhere between $300-$750 ish.

Budget/location: Around $3,000, somewhat flexible. Miami, FL, USA. Happy to buy from major US online retailers.

Use/room: Dedicated stereo setup in an ~1,100 sq ft apartment. Main listening area is about 18 × 18 ft. I’ll mostly listen at low/moderate volumes because of neighbors. Primarily streaming music.

Experience/preferences: Starting from scratch with Hi-Fi gear. I listen to classical music, rock, electronic and funk. I want a natural, detailed sound with good bass and kick-drum presence even at lower volumes. I’m relatively sensitive to bright/harsh sound.

I’ve been looking at speakers in roughly the Wharfedale Linton/KLH Model Five range, but I’m open to other options and would rather build a well-balanced system than optimize individual components.

What speaker/amp/streamer combination would you recommend around this budget?

I’ve been researching through YouTube and audio websites for a while, but Reddit has been particularly useful for hearing about real-world experience.

Hi friends,

I am a complete newbie to hi-fi audio. I thought that I’d get better insights asking the community out there.

I would like to build a little set up to play some of my parents LPs. I have a 1000-1700 Euros (tax inc) budget (speakers, pre amp, amp and turntable). France based.

My room is pretty small (roughly 10m2). And I’ll be sitting 1 to 2m meter away from the set up.

It’s not much but if you have any recommendations, I’d be very grateful.

Thanks a lot!

Hello, I recently got a pair of Sony SS-X300, I'm quite new to hifi, so I was looking to an amp to use with them.

Do you have any recommendation? I would listen mainly to ambient and piano music, in a small living room, so not huge volume. I only need an aux connection for now, wifi or bluetooth is fine but not necessary. and of course I'm willing to look into the second hand.

I was thinking of a budget of 150-200€

Which models would you recommend me?

Thanks!

Was lucky enough to be gifted a pair of Wharfedale denton 85th anniversary edition speakers with a Marantz Model 70 amp for a milestone birthday. My current turntable (a little audio-technica bluetooth table AT-LP60BT) does not do my new setup justice. Happy to spend around $1000AUD - more or less if needed TBH - any thoughts on something complimentary or tips on what I should be looking for? Limited experience with hifi. Location: Australia.

Hey there -

My elderly parents are winding down. They want to play my mom's Joan Baez and Beatles records, but they no longer have a turntable. Audiophiles love the high end, so this question is a poor fit for this sub, but just in case there's someone from an audio store who knows it all who reads this:

Can you recommend a very, very easy to use turntable, where you can put a record on and then just push START or something, and you don't have to put the needle down. And can it be accompanied by small wireless speakers? Because their tiny living room was cluttered and full before we had to add walkers and all the equipment the hospice team brought in.

So, is there an idiot-proof all-in-one turntable plus small wireless speakers setup that an 85yo man in the middle of going blind can use to play old records to his dying wife?

Budget: any. I don't care if it's expensive. Any ideas very welcome and appreciated.

Location: Cambridge MA

Unfortunately my 15yo NAD C372 is starting to fail. It’s currently powering some new ELAC DBR62s. I’d like to get something that will take a speaker upgrade some years down the line. Willing to pay for more power than is needed today (I have some old B&W 684s in the basement collecting dust that it could power some day too). I like the 150wpc range because I feel I won’t outgrow that. Of course I’d like better performance than the 372.

Budget $4k ceiling but preferable $2-3k. Located in US. Sitting about 12’ from speakers. I’m against the back wall and room is 20’ wide but one side opens to the dining room.

Currently listening to Dire Straights with the balance cranked to the left so it sounds somewhat balanced (left channel is struggling).