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
Ok, so I was able to go to the Needle Doctor in Minneapolis yesterday.  I was pleasantly surprised with how I was treated by their staff.  It was the first time in over 15 years that I had an audio salesman who actually was into the hobby and not just there to sell me on the most expensive gear.  I dealt with Brad and would highly recommend him if you are in the area.  The showroom wasn't anything special, but they did have plenty of gear to audition and he actually knew what he was talking about when I asked questions.  This was a completely different experience than dealing with Listen Up in Denver.  They have a beautiful store, but no substance or support.  
I was able to audition the Cronus Magnum II and was really happy with what I heard!  Once I get back to Colorado, I'm going to head up to Fort Collins to visit The Audio Alternative to audition some Vandys and to pick their brain.  Unfortunately, I think it is going to be hard to get the Rogue and Vandys together.  

@oleschool  and @gdnrbob Thanks for the reassurance on buying used, it's a leap of faith, but I think I'll be ok.

@inna that VAC looks amazing, I'm not ready to buy just yet, so I hope it is around in another month or two! 

@raymonda thanks for the offer on the Thorens!  It looks like an awesome table and if it's around in another month or two, I may make you an offer :-)

@emailists I appreciate your concern on burn out and ease of use.  However, keep in mind that people are coming to Denver to spend time in the mountains, go out to dinners/bars, and enjoy the local cannabis scene.  Most of our guests spend very little time in our home.  Also, there is no way in hell that we will be allowing people to operate the system themselves.  This is my full time job, so I will always be home to cook for them when they want and since our kitchen is part of our living room, we thought this would be a great way to incorporate a passion of ours into their experience.  Once we have the system(s) dialed in, we will make it more of a fixture in the BnB experience.  If we burn through tubes, I'm fine with that because that would mean that I'm surround by beautiful music all day long :-)

@polkalover Room treatments will definitely happen as soon as possible!  Thanks for the recommendation on treatments! 

I'm going to be attending the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival in October.  If any of you will be in town for it, I'd love to pick your brains in person and listen to some awesome gear together!  I'd offer up our BnB for you to stay in, but we are already booked solid till November.  


Cottguy, VAC Avatar is a very rare find. I heard that the company is great to deal with.
I'm going to advise against Rogue Audio and class D unless you hear it first. The hypex sound is very sterile and cold by default...Rogue Audio tries to fix this issue with a tube preamp, but I'm not sure that the end result is what you are looking for. 
The Cronus Magnum ii is a complete 100 watt, KT120 integrated tube amp. They will drive most speakers and give great tube sound. There is no need to go with a hybrid, not that there is anything wrong with that, too.

I'm going to follow this thread and vicariously enjoy the new system build. Cottguy you are in for a lot of fun.
Vandersteen is a good choice....I'd be more open to solid state of I were you.  If you can find used Ayre, you'd make a find.  Be careful about getting hooked into the upgrade sickness. Buy from companies that are solid...with great customer support.  Buy what you like and enjoy the music.