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Helping a friend build a new system

A good family friend has recently retired and is looking to build a system for his home office. He used to own a nice sound system some 25 years ago but hasn't been actively pursuing the hobby. He was visiting my home a few weeks ago and I guess listening to my system must have inspired him to finally build a new one. He asked me to help set up a new system (new to him, he's willing to buy used). I asked him a bunch of questions to find out what he wants and how much he is willing to spend. His responses are summarized below:

1. Budget -- since he's retired he wants to keep the total system budget to around $7-8K (including cables)
2. Components Needed -- bookshelf speakers, integrated amp, cables. He already has a CD player which would do for now, but he might get into streaming later on. He owns a few hundred CDs.
3. Room size -- around 10x12 with 10 foot ceilings. Fully carpeted with some furniture.  
4. Music genres -- jazz, blues, vocals (he's a big fan of Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, Billy Holiday, etc.), and R&B
5. Listening preferences -- he is looking for an 'intimate' and cozy experience and wants to try tube amps with high sensitivity bookshelf speakers. He mostly listens at a moderate volume and can be sensitive to high frequencies.

He also mentioned that he has some hearing loss since he's in his early 60s and suffers from a mild case of tinnitus. I'm not sure if this plays a role in the choice of components but I thought it's worth mentioning just in case.

I will really appreciate it if you guys can provide some pointers. Please remember that he is retired so $8k is absolutely the max he can do. System synergy is important. And, please no Tekton or class D recommendations. He really wants to try some affordable tube gear as a starting point.

arafiq
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,185 posts
 
Yes brother in law has the newer version, coming off Odyssey Khatargo SS amp and Candela pre. He as i suspect bought a low hour trade for half of retail. My sense is they sink to about that level and flatline, if it does not impress it, flip.

I probably have 20 hours listening to it on Vandersteen 1ci ( in a 10 x 10’ phone booth and now special 40 w single REL in a much larger space… I think Treo is his next stop but who knows ? 

in his system; MoFi Untradeck, Ortofon Bronze, Nova III phono, PS Audio Dac, Dynaudio…it leans slightly romantic but not sterile or tuby. My only beef w Integrated is the steps on remote volume are big.

a good dealer to chat w is John Rutan at Audio connection in NJ, he has  Vandy and ProAc.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,730 posts
 
@jjss49 -- well said, and I agree with everything you've said. It has been a few years since I listened to the Proacs Response D2s at a dealer. I remember that they were driven by Audio Research separates but can't recall the exact model. I still found them too forward for my taste. That same day I also listened to Sonus Faber Olympica 1 with the same equipment and fell in love with the sound. What I've learned though is that sometimes you just don't know until you bring the speakers home. One of these days, I am going to buy a used pair of Proac Response to compare with my Harbeth 30.1s in the home office. It's just that the 30.1s do so many things right that I just can't bring myself to sell them to try out something else. But you never know. I might snap up a pair of used Proac Response D2 or Fritz Carrera BE if they every show up in the used market.

You are absolutely right about synergy. Last summer when I was auditioning speakers for the main system, I listened to a pair of Proac D48Rs at a local seller's house. He was driving them with some PS Audio equipment. I had never heard such lackluster sound coming from such imposing speakers. It was obviously not my place but I wish I could have told him to try them with some decent tube amplification. 
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,730 posts
 
@tomic601 -- thank you for the feedback. I really hope my friend likes the VTLs. If it were up to me I would have asked him to do some more research, but I guess he found something about the VTLs very appealing and pulled the trigger. Hopefully, he won't regret the decision, But like you said, it should not be difficult to off load them if it comes to that. Personally, I would have preferred that he had bought the speakers first. Oh well ....
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,185 posts
 
welcome to audio consulting !

arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,730 posts
 
@kahlenz -- couldn't agree with you more regarding Harbeth P3esrs. I had them in my system for almost two years and absolutely loved the sound. These speakers are sort of like an acquired taste. When I first got them I was using KEF LS50 Ws and it was quite a difference. A difference which at first I did not appreciate. But once I put on about 100 hours on the P3esr's and got used to their sound, there was no going back to the KEFs. I upgraded to M30.1s a few months ago, but the P3s will always have a special place in my heart. I don't think any speaker does vocals like these little guys can, not even the more expensive M30.1s. The way they just disappear and draw you into the music is just out of this world.

The P3esr's were in fact my first recommendation to my friend. But the thing is that he really wants to try out tubes, and I feel that P3esr's really need some SS juice to get going.
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