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Finally stepping into the hobby after 30 years of watching from the sidelines

Ok, so I hope you are all ok with a longwinded post from a first time user of the forum.  I have been obsessed with vinyl and tubes since my dad played records for me as a 5 year old.  My wife and I are finally in a place that we can take the leap into the scene.  We want to grow our system over time and may even create 2-3 systems along the way as we have a bed and breakfast where we want to make analog part of the theme. 

We have made up our mind that our first speakers will be Vandersteen 2CE sigs.  That is about as far as we have gotten.  We definitely want to power them with tubes and have very little idea of where to start.  Obviously the mainstream option would be a Mcintosh mc275 and our local HiFi salesman would LOVE to sell us a pair of those.  However, we know that there are several cheeper/better options out there and would love some input from the board.  We'd like to keep the first amp under $3,000, but we aren't locked into that.  Keep in mind that we are ok starting with a single amp and then adding a second one along the way to mono them.  Also, we would love some help with a table/arm/cartridge!  One with an integrated phono stage is fine to start with and we would again be open to upgrading and adding a stand alone phono stage later on.  

We will be doing some electrical work soon to run a 40 amp fuse to the BnBs espresso machine and would be open to setting up a dedicated line for our main system at that time so that we can have clean power.  Has any one had any experience with this?  Any ideas or recommendations that you may have would be a big help here! 

Thank you all in advance, and we are really excited to finally be part of the scene! 
128x128cottguy
inna
7,816 posts
 
" face melting volume", I think it would depend on guests, some of them might deserve it.
Tight bass with tubes, especially at this level, is a very tough task to accomplish. Whether you decide to get Rogue Cronus Magnum II or something else, you might want to install New Old Stock tubes that are not too mellow, the ones that would give you more dynamics and bass control. You would have to consult with those in the know about which tubes. Speaker cables are going to be long?

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hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
cottguy  Have you given any consideration to a top flight integrated amp?  One chassis rather than two and you eliminate a pair of interconnects.  Lots of good vibes on this forum for the Rogue Audio Pharaoh integrated amp.  It has 12AU7 tubes in the preamp stage and a class D solid state output.  It also has an integrated adjustable phono stage.  I have never had the privilege of hearing it, but if I was looking to put together a new system I really would consider it!  It should mate up well with the Vandy 2CE Sigs.  There are reviews online that should give you a decent sense of it.  Just a thought.  I really love the system I have spent all these years assembling, but were I to do it all over again, I would go with an excellent integrated at the heart of my system.  

Good luck with your audio adventure.  As you read more and more from members here I'm confident you'll sense the joy that the pursuit of audio excellence gives us.  Welcome aboard.
inna
7,816 posts
 
People want tubes not hybrids. It is more difficult but may be rewarding if done right. Cables are very important too.
As for table/arm/cartridge, a lot would depend on funds. Not many choices at the entry level.
eniac26
97 posts
 
Here is another option to consider based on your described room and budget.

Have you looked at the Magneplanar 1.7 speakers by chance? I think those and nice JL Audio Sub would be a nice setup in that room for starters.

You would probably be a little over the cost of the Vandy setup but I think the end result would be much better. In fact, I Bet this in combo with that McIntosh Amp you previously described would be as impressive sounding as it would be crowd pleasing :)
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