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Help: ISO Beginner full setup for excellent sound on $2000 max budget

Overview: Brand new at this, looking for help purchasing beginner full setup of TT, Tube Amp, Speakers, Preamp that is aesthetically pleasing (i.e. minimalist, blends in as piece of furniture with plants), that sounds fantastic, and will stand up over the next 5-7 years, for $2000 max. I'm in search of the best sound, most aesthetically pleasing, and holds up longest overtime. If you could put together a beginner set of quality products for somebody about to enter their 30’s for xmas with a $2000 max budget, what would you include?


Hey y’all, I’m brand new to this and don’t want to jump down a huge rabbit hole, or spend countless hours contemplating decisions about these, not because I don’t have time, it’s just not good for me: I’m so bad at making decisions and I want somebody’s advice that I can trust. So, figured I’d start a dialogue:

I am looking for a simple setup with the following components for a small to midsized room:
- Turn Table (I like Rega, UTurn, and Pro-ject easthetics);
- Preamp (whatever pairs best with the entire setup);
- Speakers (what I think I should invest most in? - I like Omega Super 3 XRS Speakers); and
- Tube Amp (whatever pairs best with the entire setup - I like the Almarro a205a).

The most important aspects of these products are all:
- Durable (wanting to last a while and feel a little modern classic 6-7 years from now);
- Best sound for the price; and
- Aesthetically pleasing (this is important, it will be the center of my living room for the foreseeable future).

My music style: is mostly slower independent stuff: Sun Kil Moon, John Prine, Iron and Wine sounding stuff. Other than that I’ll mostly listen to Hip Hop, like J Dilla, or Rock, like Pearl Jam).

I’d love for it to be something that’s not jumping head first into this as a hobby, but something I can be proud of owning that I can play every day.

If you have any specifics please ask, I apologize for the length of this post, just figured I ’d try to be general enough so y’all could get an idea.
whyistherenopie
whyistherenopie OP
18 posts
 
@br3098 yeah I think that’s right. I’m still not sure what the critique is other than: take my advice because you obviously don’t know what you’re doing." Which, given that I’ve explicitly said I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m still not sure what the critique is.

I need a librarian, somebody with industry knowledge that can point me toward sources so I can do whatever layman’s research I can to try to make an informed decision about something I know nothing about.

A bartender isn't going to tell you the ins and outs of spirit production and town history when you get a cocktail you like. They’re going to invite you in to have a drink and then if they ask questions about what they're drinking you can help understand what you’re drinking and why it's important and interesting. I liked your suggestions about Edwards Audio, I'll get back to you with some further questions.

I also like the direction of @mofojo thats more my speed. Does anyone have any critiques about that setup or would you swap out any pieces for better sound?

soix
9,456 posts
 
A librarian? Ok. Go to Google and type the names of each of the above recommended components followed by the word “reviews.” That’s where you’ll find useful information on each of the products recommended specifically for you given your requirements out of the thousands of other audio products out there.

A bartender? Got it. You have all the ingredients you need to make the kind of system you say you’re looking for. All you need to do is read a little about each of the ingredients to see which brands fit best with your particular taste to get the best mix for you within your budget. There’s tons of info on the internet, or perhaps a librarian can help you find some helpful books or publications.

Peace out.

(p.s. maybe there’s no pie because someone needs to get off their butt and start making one)
whyistherenopie OP
18 posts
 
@soix You post was actually super helpful earlier, just got busy and didn’t respond. 
Post removed 
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
whyistherenopie, you're being gracious and wise, so I'll add some more. :) 

Not trying to berate you, not trying to destroy Omega speakers. Trying to teach you - from someone who is an industry member, reviewer at Dagogo.com - what to expect. 

Here is an exercise; open up two windows on computer and put the pics and specs of the Omega speaker on one page and the pic (sans grill cloth) of the Vandersteen 2 on the other. Analyze the differences, a crash course in speaker analysis. Gain familiarity with the numbers and seemingly not so great differences. Those differences are very important as to expectations oF what a speaker can/cannot do. Whatever speakers you become interested in, do a similar comparison and try to figure out what the specs will mean in real world performance. When I was just starting out about 30 years ago, I didn't pay much attention to specs, and that was a big mistake that would have guided me better if I had a light familiarity with them. 

Spend some time reading about higher efficiency speakers and lower powered amps, and conversely lower efficiency speakers and higher powered amps. Two very different setups with different characteristics in system sound. 

Look at genres of speakers; panel (i.e. Magnepan .7), hybrid (i.e. Eminent Technology LFT-8B), dynamic (i.e. Salk audio), etc. All these brands reviewed by myself for Dagogo.com 

Two ways to go about it; you can have someone assemble it for you. That's easy and no mental work involved, but you have to be ready for anything in terms of results. Or, you have to invest time and effort to educate yourself. Most likely the results will be more gratifying than just copying someone else's system.  

Everyone is rooting for you! I wanted to make sure you really understood/appreciated how vastly different speakers perform. It's all good.  :)
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