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system for a 12 year old

I'm going to assemble my 12 year old son's first system.

OK, so he doesn't know the difference between a woofer and a tweeter. Still, there are decisions to be made....so I request your comments and observations.

I bought a vintage yamaha CR-420 receiver for a pittance on ebay and plan to build from there. I have not received the Yamaha yet, but when I do I will either assign it direct to my son's new system or replace my vintage NAD 7020 receiver in my 2 channel a/v system and donate the NAD to my son instead.

Next, my plan is to add a pair of Klipsch RB-51 monitor series bookshelf speakers, which I've heard at BEst Buy and was very impressed with for the price. This will settle my yearning to gain exposure to a pair of horn based speakers at low cost and risk initially. I can then either dedicate the Klipsch's to my son's system with the Yamaha or NAD or replace my Triangle Titus's or Ohm L's and moved one of these to my son's system which will go in his modest sized bedroom.

Not sure which way this will pan out yet at this point, but I welcome any comments or observations.

Thanks.
128x128mapman
kotta's avatar
kotta
649 posts
 
It sounds like a very nice system either way. The only thought I had was on your choice of spk. wires and IC's. If you do not have spk. wire already, I highly recommend QED Qudos original (White jacket) which can be found new on Ebay as well. This would work great w/the system you are putting together because the cables add warmth on the bottom end, perfect midrange and a slight reduction of treble. Perfect for the electronics and spk' choics. I'm sure you have plenty of IC's around, but do use a good quality one as this will affect the tonality of the system. Email me if you need a good inexpensive CDP. Bill
mapman's avatar
mapman OP
22,396 posts
 
Kotta,

I think your assessment is on target. The interconnects will make a big difference for this, I believe at marginal cost.

I'll definitely check the QED's out and consider. I have nothing particular in mind for this in the IC department at present.

On other thing I forgot is that I'll be looking to add a very low cost (<$100) CD player for this. As it stands, I'll probably pick up something second hand at Best Buy, like a entry level Pioneer, Philips, or such. I'm open on suggestions for the CD player in this low end range as well.

I also have a nice Dual 1264 phono changer on my 2 channel A/V system that I hardly use and might put on my son's system, if I see that he is likely to be able to properly handle playing vinyl...we'll see.



Thanks.
mapman's avatar
mapman OP
22,396 posts
 
As a sidenote, in putting this system together, it works out nice for me as a way to scratch the itch I've had (see related thread) for sampling the horn loaded speaker experience. In researching, I've heard some enticing things about Klipsch Fortes, but these would be way overkill for this experiment, so I've decided to pass on larger horns for now in favor of the smaller and newer Klipsch bookshelf designs that I am able to listen to in advance at the local Best Buy. If I end up liking living with these, using my son as the lucky guinea pig,I'll go on from there at some later date.
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