3k budget for Turntable and Phono Noob- do I need external power supplies?
Good Day All,
Trying to put together a vinyl rig for the first time, the local shops all have Rega and Project so will likely land there however open to suggestions
Is it worth adding a $500 Sbooster or IFI Elite to either the TT or phono or both?
or should I up budget to 4k without them?
I was thinking either Rega P3 Special edition with their Aria phono or Project X1B with their balanced phono
thanks in advance
You could try this combo out, Pioneer DJ PLX-1000: All specifications & features parasound ZPhonoXRM + the audio technica AT33PTG/2 | Audio-Technica All this for around $2,000.00 This is a great turntable for the money, along with a phono preamp and cartridge. |
Leave the PSBS for later. At $4k you're getting into some pretty nice gear. I'd start with a Hana SL MkIi. That leaves $3200 for the table. VPI, Clearaudio, MoFi, Rega, for starters. Not flaming, but no Technics 'cuz they ugly. Their design was marginal 50 years ago, and hasn't improved with time. If you have a phono preamp with MC support you're set. If you only have a MM preamp, consider the Hana SH MkII High output - no extra gainstage needed. If you buy a TT and cart together, expect at least a 10% discount on the package. That might cover a decent preamp if you don't have any. |
Save some money for the record collection. You can only listen to DSOTM a certain number of times before your friends stop coming by, your significant other finds some other place to be significant, your family will shun you, the dog will run away, the house plants will die, and the fish will drown themselves. |
Got a couple questions for you. 1. Have you done vinyl before? 2. Do you have any vinyl now? 3. Do you want to get involved in a fully analog laborious process? 4. Do you have storage/space for records? 5. Have you thought about all the ancillaries, vinyl needs? 6. Do you like to constantly fiddle with things? Records are very time consuming, and all manual. Even taking the record out of the sleeve can be a patience sucking maneuver. If you go in with eye wide open, enjoy, it's also a lot of fun, and very satisfying. Plus records sound great!!! That all being said, I have a Pro-Ject X2, works great for me, easy to setup, easy to maintain, sounds great. But it's big, and heavy. Also the stock Suikmo cart sounds wonderful. My advice, get a TT that is easy to use, easy to setup, and does not require a lot of maintenance. Use it, learn all the ins and outs. Wait till you destroy a needle to upgrade the cart. With the TT, buy a carbon brush, needle brush, and a basic record cleaning kit. Learn how to use all of it, then start the upgrade path. Buying records is very addictive. Also they all cost more then you think. It feels like every trip to the record store is a $300 experience. |
Excellent advice from @vettegood And the Vincent 701 has its own external linear power supply. But to answer your original question, generally speaking you can spend $500 on a SBooster power supply or $75 on the AliExpress version. The difference between the two is that the latter will leave you with $425 to buy LPs with 🙂 |
