Hifi system for playing vinyl

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PragueBlue

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I am looking into getting a hifi system with turntable so that I can play vinyl records.

I am not remotely technically minded and would prefer to keep wires/cables to a minimum. Ultimately I'm looking for a very simple set-up but of reasonable quality. It would mainly be for classical/opera.

Any suggestions?
 
Make sure the amp you buy has a built-in preamp. You need it to ‘boost’ the signal from the turntable. Not all do, so worth checking.

Look in Richer Sounds. Their in house brand ‘Cambridge Audio’ make some good value well made stuff.

As someone else said, Rega make solid turntables.

I’ve got the Pro-ject Debut which is very similar to the Rega ones. Bought it second hand a decade ago and had zero issues.
 
johnnymarrsbarres said:
Make sure the amp you buy has a built-in preamp. You need it to ‘boost’ the signal from the turntable. Not all do, so worth checking.

Look in Richer Sounds. Their in house brand ‘Cambridge Audio’ make some good value well made stuff.

As someone else said, Rega make solid turntables.

I’ve got the Pro-ject Debut which is very similar to the Rega ones. Bought it second hand a decade ago and had zero issues.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that.

Is there any real difference between a Bluetooth speaker and wired speaker in terms of performance? Somebody mentioned the Bose Bluetooth above and I also heard that the Sonos 5 was good but not sure if it's Bluetooth or not.
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
Thanks for that.

Is there any real difference between a Bluetooth speaker and wired speaker in terms of performance? Somebody mentioned the Bose Bluetooth above and I also heard that the Sonos 5 was good but not sure if it's Bluetooth or not.
Click to expand...

I’ve no experience in Bluetooth turntables I’m afraid.

I’ve got a traditional separate amp, turntable and passive speakers, and we’ve got an Amazon Echo that connects to the aux input on the amp if we want to listen to Spotify.

A Bluetooth turntable will have a built in analogue to digital converter to send the signal to the speaker. Your eventual sound quality will depend on how good that is.
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
Thanks for that.

Is there any real difference between a Bluetooth speaker and wired speaker in terms of performance? Somebody mentioned the Bose Bluetooth above and I also heard that the Sonos 5 was good but not sure if it's Bluetooth or not.
Click to expand...
If you are building an audiophile system around a good turntable like the rega you will probably want a specific amp and speakers to get the most from it. Nothing against bluetooth / sonos btw, but if you are doing that you might as well stream from your phone.
 
I’ve a rp2 (rega turntable) and a rega IO amp with some Dali speakers. It’s a stand alone set up only for vinyl though. It was around £1200 all in but arguably in its price range there’s not much better. I use two Sonos 1’s for streaming music, they’re wired but definitely worth the inconvenience.
 
It is really a choice between a dedicated hifi system or the convenience of wireless. Sound wise the first will almost always win and if you are wanting to base your system around a turntable then I would go the first route and invest in a good amp and speakers to go with it. You should get reasonable quality for £1,000 to £2,000.

As others have mentioned, Rega do make good turntables.

Have a look at some of the specialist magazines but remember they sometimes have reasons for pushing certain kit. If you can get your local hifi dealer to set up a demo of different components play together and let your ears ultimately judge. You could always use that as a comparison against a wireless system. Remember to spend an appropriate amount on descent connecting leads. They do make a difference without you having to spend a fortune.

Good luck mate.

a WhatHiFi article to get you started:

www.whathifi.com

Home

Why building a system based around vinyl makes strong audio sense rather than simply being a gesture towards fashion...
www.whathifi.com www.whathifi.com
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
Is there any real difference between a Bluetooth speaker and wired speaker in terms of performance? Somebody mentioned the Bose Bluetooth above and I also heard that the Sonos 5 was good but not sure if it's Bluetooth or not.
Click to expand...
Laws of Hifi. No324B (section F)

Bluetooth is always inferior to qood quality cables.
 
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I have been into hifi for four decades and I am a moderator on one of the UKs leading hifi forums - music and City have been the consistent loves of my life as others have come and gone.

Honestly, if I was getting into hifi now, I wouldn't go down the vinyl route. It is expensive and the quality of new vinyl is variable in the extreme and is often generated from digital recordings anyway. If you have a large vinyl collection and want to play them in a simple way then do a little research. Personally, I would be looking at a nice deck with an integrated amplifier that has an internal phono stage. Wireless speakers can complete the job and there are some that will directly take an input from the deck, avoiding the need for a separate amplifier at all. Good luck and if I can help, I will.
 
forums.stevehoffman.tv

Audio Hardware

Discussions about all types of audio hardware, from vintage gear to the latest in hi-rez. Discussions regarding CD recorders, media, software, and tweaks are also to be found here.
forums.stevehoffman.tv forums.stevehoffman.tv
 
oldius said:
I have been into hifi for four decades and I am a moderator on one of the UKs leading hifi forums - music and City have been the consistent loves of my life as others have come and gone.

Honestly, if I was getting into hifi now, I wouldn't go down the vinyl route. It is expensive and the quality of new vinyl is variable in the extreme and is often generated from digital recordings anyway. If you have a large vinyl collection and want to play them in a simple way then do a little research. Personally, I would be looking at a nice deck with an integrated amplifier that has an internal phono stage. Wireless speakers can complete the job and there are some that will directly take an input from the deck, avoiding the need for a separate amplifier at all. Good luck and if I can help, I will.
Click to expand...

I’m not knocking your knowledge as you’re obvs the expert on this, but people buy vinyl for different reasons. I work I live music and am always bantering with our sound engineer about vinyl vs download / cd.

There’s something really nice about collecting records. Artwork is always better on a physically larger object, and it’s fun to buy special edition stuff with extra booklets, coloured vinyl etc.

I listen to tons of audiobooks too but if there’s something I like I’ll always buy a printed copy of it.

Also the deliberate act of putting a record on is more intentional than clicking a button. I always find I listen more intently to records rather than just having Spotify on in the background.

Maybe it’s just me.
 
I use a project deck with built on n pre-amp into a pair of q-acoustics speakers that have a built in amp. (BT-5)
 
johnnymarrsbarres said:
I’m not knocking your knowledge as you’re obvs the expert on this, but people buy vinyl for different reasons. I work I live music and am always bantering with our sound engineer about vinyl vs download / cd.

There’s something really nice about collecting records. Artwork is always better on a physically larger object, and it’s fun to buy special edition stuff with extra booklets, coloured vinyl etc.

I listen to tons of audiobooks too but if there’s something I like I’ll always buy a printed copy of it.

Also the deliberate act of putting a record on is more intentional than clicking a button. I always find I listen more intently to records rather than just having Spotify on in the background.

Maybe it’s just me.
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Its not just you. I know exactly what you mean.
I was brought up listening to quality hifi and listened to vinyl for decades. Something really special about the purchase, learning the lyrics (party piece I can still belt out every word of Suppers Ready by heart) carefully handling the disc and placing it on the turntable. Artwork was often amazing and just not the same when replicated on a CD cover.

Sadly, my collection of albums went about 20 years ago and I am now 100% streaming. Once in a while I still hanker about re -starting an album collection. I have a Linn DSM which has very capable turntable capability but up to now I have resisted as I cant justify the cost or the storage space of a couple of hundred albums.
 
johnnymarrsbarres said:
I’m not knocking your knowledge as you’re obvs the expert on this, but people buy vinyl for different reasons. I work I live music and am always bantering with our sound engineer about vinyl vs download / cd.

There’s something really nice about collecting records. Artwork is always better on a physically larger object, and it’s fun to buy special edition stuff with extra booklets, coloured vinyl etc.

I listen to tons of audiobooks too but if there’s something I like I’ll always buy a printed copy of it.

Also the deliberate act of putting a record on is more intentional than clicking a button. I always find I listen more intently to records rather than just having Spotify on in the background.

Maybe it’s just me.
Click to expand...

You are spot on. I was talking from a hifi perspective really and I never factor in the collecting side of things. Thanks for putting me right.
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
Thanks for that.

Is there any real difference between a Bluetooth speaker and wired speaker in terms of performance? Somebody mentioned the Bose Bluetooth above and I also heard that the Sonos 5 was good but not sure if it's Bluetooth or not.
Click to expand...
I play my vinyl through my Sonos system which requires a wired connection to the 5 and then wireless through the rest of the system. In a way I know it’s not what the vinyl purists would do and if I wanted to I could simply stream the music I play through Spotify.

For me though the sound is good and I like the ritual, for want of a better word of putting a record on the player and sitting admiring the sleeves, etc. It’s an indulgence.
 
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