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Turntable and amp combination

All

i would like to put together a turntable and amp combination. While I know enough about the world of digital audio, know very little about the world of analog Audio. 
Have a large collection of vinyl records that my dad gave to me to begin with. 
Also have a paid of bookshelf speakers from Salk sound to begin with (scanspeak 5” woofer and Aircirc tweeter in MTM configuration). 
For all other parts I would like to ideally spend unde $2k-$3k. 
It would be great to get a few suggestions for what gear to buy. 
marrduk24
looscannon
60 posts
 
marr, get a Rega, MoFi or Pro Ject turntable and an integrated amp with a phono section. I would check out Parasound. They have excellent gear for the money.
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arize84
57 posts
 
I think looscannon nailed it. I would add that Rega's are extremely easy to set up, (usually under 10 mins, once you know what you are doing). You can great deals on parasound gear. I would also add Rogue Audio integrateds as a recommendation as well.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Stay away from the overpriced Belt Drive junk and look for the Japanese high-end Direct Drive like brand new Technics SL1200GR ($1700) or more expensive SL1200G. You will not find anything better than this for reasonable price. 

Rega is not easy to setup at all.

What is easy to setup is Technics with removable headshell and tonearm with VTA on the fly.
marrduk24 OP
36 posts
 
Project Carbon Espirit is right now what I have in mind right now. I have also been steered towards Marantz. 
For amps, do most of the people pick solid state amps for vinyl or tube?

parasound Halo is something I previously looked at. I wrongly assumed that I need something different for vinyl. Will include it in the list. 
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arize84
57 posts
 
Regas are not hard to set up but marrduk is right that direct drive is even easier to set and you don't lose on sound quality when you get a quality deck like an upper tier technics.

With respect to ss vs tube, both are good (just depends on personal preference). But SS are maintenance free while most tube amps require regular tinkering. A good combo is a tube preamp going into a SS amp.
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