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Helping a kid out

So long story short I got neighbor kid into audio and to appreciate listening to music on something other than a cheap Bluetooth speaker.  He’s pretty young but a good kid, a hard working honest kid.  So far he’s accumulated his old mans Dual turntable that I helped him clean up and installed an Ortofon 2M Blue on it, a nice but older Marantz integrated and a pair of Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 speakers.  I hooked him up with a pair of Kimber 8TC speaker cables I had retired a while ago (lol, probably making them the most expensive part of his system).  He’s looking to upgrade and I suggested trying out a dedicated phono stage.  I’m assuming his budget is in the $200 range and I told his old man I wouldn’t let him buy something stupid.  I had no idea the sheer volume of phono stages in this price range on the market.  What would you guys and gals suggest?  My knee jerk reaction is Schitt Mani and I read a few good things about a Bellari unit but holy cow the choices are infinite.  Maybe something a little higher end but used?  Extra points if it can be purchased from Amazon but that’s by no means a deal breaker.
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tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,070 posts
 
upend the kids life and build the Bottlehead tube phono kit. I will pitch in $50 IF you go that route….

Good on ya, don’t let anybody rain on the parade
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,070 posts
 
The AVA ( Audio by Van Alstine ) phono is excellent affordable SS. Who knows, maybe call Frank, he was a kid…wayyyyyyy back.

The Schitt is remarkable value
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
Puffin used 3-400.00 worth EVERY penny.. Read a review or two.. Wonderful with top notch support from the manufacture and the public.. Nice well built.. Great onboard options too..

Parks Puffin.. Resale is close to what you paid. Same with used 3-400.00, it might not have all the latest options. Everything is upgradable for the most part with just firmware. There is a few hardware upgraded you can have done, if I remember correctly.

If you're gonna make your own recordings, RtR or Cassette. It sure helps.. Pop reduction, via software, pretty cool some of the options.

I paid 400.00 shipping and tax. 50 - 75 dollars for tax and shipping alone NOW.. LOL 200.00 in part, 300.00 in taxes. :-)
10229's avatar
10229 OP
41 posts
 
tomic601-

The Bottlehead is magnificent and a wonderful idea.  I’m just not sure either of us would have the time to assemble it.  He’d be learning soldering, woodworking, circuit design and craftsmanship.  Things that just aren’t taught anymore.  I will seriously consider the viability of this option.

mastering92-

His ears are good and despite having a knucklehead for an old man (a good friend of mine nonetheless) is a pretty thoughtful kid.  I taught him about sound-staging and to listen to textures and details.  I taught him to listen to the empty space between things and how different recordings have different effects on the sound.  When his parents come over for dinner I let him listen to my setup while the old folks hang out.  I gave him a Zeppelin IV album and his ‘friend’ who also happens to be a girl…but definitely isn’t a ‘girlfriend’ listened to the whole thing start to finish.  We haven’t done any classical yet, and definitely no jazz…but I did get him to admit he dug a Dave Brubeck album I played so there is hope.

With my career, busy life and countless excuses my wife and I never had any children of our own and I honestly was never a big fan of having any around.  The older I get however the more gratifying it gets to share some ‘old fashioned’ things with the younger ones who actually seem to give a damn.  An increasingly rare commodity nowadays.
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