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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
gdnrbob
4,447 posts
 
Cottguy, I, too, just started back into stereo after a long hiatus.
A lot has changed, but thanks to the internet, I have bought a pretty nice system 2nd hand, most of it bought here on Audiogon.
I, too, was afraid I might get scammed with defective merchandise, but to the contrary, Audiogon members, for the most part, are honest, stand up folk. Many will let you come to their homes and listen to the equipment before buying.
So, don't be afraid of buying used equipment. You can get great deals and save a ton of money-eventually getting a much higher end system than you would have if you bought new.
inna
7,296 posts
 
Cottguy, if you do take a risk and decide to buy used here, there is an older VAC Avatar integrated with phono stage. This would be my choice. VAC is a top level company, you cannot compare it to mass-market Rogue. If you do get it, don't rush with cables, this would require a careful thought and possibly consulting with VAC. Yes, no way would I go with Rogue, any Rogue, instead of VAC.
raymonda
855 posts
 
Cottguy,

Check out my Thorens td150, that I modded and maxed out on my virtual page. It is my second table and seems to hit all the buttons you have identified. I would part with it, for the right price, if you are interested. If, you are within reasonable distance you can audition it and or I would deliver and set it up for you.

The best Tubes for the money go to Rogue. I would check them out if I were you. Their 100 watt integrated with phono might be just the ticket for you to begin with.
This will give you nice sound and meet your desires for a classic system.

I love your plan and what you are doing. Enjoy.

emailists
923 posts
 
Hate to be a kill joy but it sounds like you might have a system turned on many hours of the day, many days of the week.   
I think you'd go through tubes rather quickly with that many hours of usage each week.  Maybe a hybrid design would give you the warm sound you're looking for with less tube issues.  
While vinyl might be a nice thing to do at certain times, I'd also add in a music server  you Can load play lists and let our  do its thing for hours while guests come and go.  
Or they could add their own choices via ipad.  
The point someone made about the sweet spot is a good observation.  
Also I'd do 4 subs around the room for even bass with less nodes.  
oleschool's avatar
oleschool
722 posts
 
Good point on the run time . I would think a server at a b&b would be a given except on vinyl night : ). 

X2 on the vac there serious amps  
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