critique my setup -- weak link? best way to improve?
I just put together my first turntable setup after many years of listening to CDs only. It sounds pretty good -- good enough that I'm curious how to make it better. (: What weak link(s) do you see in this system? Where is the best bang for the buck?
Between the two of us we listen to a wide range of styles (symphony, choral, folk, indie, dark wave, metal). The one constraint is that the speakers can't be larger than about 20" tall and need to stand on a wooden sideboard/console type thing.
The setup:
Pro-ject T1 with built in phono stage
Luminous Axiom passive preamp
Rotel RB-1070 power amp
Blue Jeans interconnects
Klipsch KG2.2 speakers
Amazon Basics 12Ga speaker wire, Monoprice banana connectors
Based on your post focusing on your analog needs If you don’t already have the speakers isolated from your sideboard look at Isoacoustics mini pucks at a minimum. Also a standalone phono preamp from the likes of Schiit or others within your budget and an updated cartridge at least in the $200-300 range or more. An upgraded Preamplifier more in line with your Poweramp would help your analog and digital quality. |
Re Seeker, nearly all preamplifiers ever made operate in Class A, and many/ most modern tube Preamplifiers can drive a 10K ohm load easily (which is to say their output Z is 1K ohm or less). I agree those are parameters that need to be checked out before you buy a tube preamp to drive an SS amplifier. You want input Z to be 10X or more higher than output Z. |
Speakers would be the biggest bang for your buck improvement IF you can afford 1500-3k on new speakers. I am personally a huge fan of Tekton Design Impact Monitors and Double Impact, but any of their designs with the seven tweeter array I'm sure is solid. Expect to wait weeks though and have trouble getting through to them at times. Although, they have some models available for sale right now on their specials section. Otherwise KEF makes solid stuff if you don't like playing loud as I think their low end gets heavily distorted at higher volume typically at lower price points. But yes, without knowing your budget, it's hard to give you advice. Speakers are by far going to give you the biggest change in your system though. But I'd say you'd have to spend $1500+ to get more than an incremental change. I'd go as far to say that with some $2000+ speakers such as the tektons, it would absolutely change your system into a different animal. Wish you the best of luck in your system journey! |
Further to my earlier comment and to reinforce some of our colleagues like jrareform here is a link to help prioritize and invest in the different components, if that can help. It also recommends to spend the bulk on speakers, then on the source, etc. https://youtu.be/eNK9c6-rTrI?si=z-6DAHinMqvUqIDR good luck and keep us posted on your choices.
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