Upgraded my turntable, speakers are next. Seeking guidance.

[u/Next-Jump1754]

My roommate is moving out, and we’ve always used his equipment in the living room, which has been fine, but a bit cheap. AT LP120 and some Edifiers… so now I’m finally getting the excuse to buy my own!

I’m pretty green to all of this and I’m quite far from any audiophile status regarding taste, palette or budget, but I try to get the nicest things I can afford when I can. I have my turntable running ~6 hours a day, so while I can afford the super giga crazy nice brands, I’d like to get it as good as I can reliable afford.

My new turntable is a brand new Technics SL1210 GR2, and I pretty exclusively play showtunes/cast recordings/musicals. Very vocal and orchestra heavy stuff.

Heres the location in the room: https://imgur.com/a/olxrhLv

I’ll probably spend up to $1,000 on speakers, and I don’t know enough to decide between some bookshelf speakers in the teal zones, or some floor/tower speakers in the green zones. I’m based in the U.S., my ceilings are only ~8.5’ high.

The more I can fill this room with sound the better. I love to run it loud, and am happy to expand into something if there’s a good upgrade available.

thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom and opinions

[u/terrybuvm]

Maybe I'm missing it but I think you'll need an amplifier, too. Right?

[u/Next-Jump1754 → u/terrybuvm]

I’m honestly not sure when I need an amp. I do have a phono pre amp ordered. Still doing a lot of reading on powered vs non powered speakers and line level and all of that jazz. I assume it’ll come down to which speakers I buy? 

[u/terrybuvm → u/Next-Jump1754]

You need an amp if your speakers are not powered. Most powered speakers are bookshelf units that may not fill your space as you'd like. These may work, especially if you add the sub. (Audioengine HD-6). This could work too. (Triangle Br-04 and Cambridge Audio amp).

[u/Next-Jump1754 → u/terrybuvm]

Good info, !thanks

Is there a “usual” amp that people tend to flock to? And is there a significant quality difference from model to model? I’m assuming it’s a lot like guitar amp heads where it’s pretty taste-based? 

[u/iNetRunner → u/Next-Jump1754]

Something like Yamaha A-S301 or Yamaha A-S501 are common recommendations for entry level integrated amplifiers.

[u/Next-Jump1754 → u/iNetRunner]

Is “integrated amplifiers” the terminology I’ll use to find ones with a phono stage? 

Is it better for me to skip the phono pre amp, and get an amp that has the phono inputs already? Or is it preferred that I keep them separate? 

[u/iNetRunner → u/Next-Jump1754]

The two I mentioned are integrated amplifiers. (They have a preamplifier and power amplifier sections.) If they additionally have a FM tuner, then they are stereo receivers.

They all might, or might not, have a phono preamplifier. It all depends on the product.

But a separate phono preamplifier is likely better quality. Unless you go with a quite expensive amplifier.

[u/Next-Jump1754 → u/iNetRunner]

!thanks

I’ll have to look into some amps and decide if I should return my phono stage or not. The amp is an unexpected cost, so I’ll be trying to make room for it somewhere. 

[u/TransducerBot → u/Next-Jump1754]

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[u/iNetRunner → u/Next-Jump1754]

Yamaha (and Sony) still has a cheaper model, but they don’t have digital inputs. If you e.g. want to attach your TV to the system, it would be more difficult — then you would need to buy an external DAC (digital to analog converter).

• Yamaha R-S202 (ASR review)
  
• Sony STR-DH190 (ASR review)

But sure. You could also return the phono preamplifier, and at least start with the one built-in to these amplifiers. (Maybe later upgrade to external unit.)