# Audio Equipment Advice Needed



## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

Somebody game a vintage high quality Yamaha amplifiers (2 pieces). I am thinking of adding a tuner, a CD player and a pair of speakers. I know nothing about quality stereo equipment (have Bose, but this is a real stuff), so would like to ask for recommendation. Something vintage with turning knobs would be preferable. 

The amplifier has ports for 4 speakers. 

Thanks,

Marko


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## RRLOVER (Nov 17, 2013)

I am happy with my B&W 600 series speakers


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## swarfrat (Nov 17, 2013)

Cool, love classic gear.

Two pieces, I presume that's a pre-amp and and amp combo?

Model numbers or pix of the front and rear panels would be helpful.



sr.


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## rahimlee54 (Nov 17, 2013)

As usual you'll need a budget speakers can go from 100 a pair well into 30-40k a pair. You'll also have to decide if you want to have a sub or not. Used is probably the way to go for your components, turner and cd player, used speakers are also a great value compared to new. Personally I have salksound speakers and avahifi components and really enjoy them but they were a substantial investment for me.


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## Mr.Magnus (Nov 17, 2013)

i regret big time that i sold my vintage Yamaha Mx-1000 amp from 1987. last thing i did before selling it and the speakers was cranked the volym up abit to much so the window in the livingroom got busted. speakers i used was cerwin vega 15"





Just look at the badass display 
[video=youtube;fiv_fhurfns]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiv_fhurfns[/video]


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## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

The amp looks very similar to the one in the picture above. I will get the model number when I get home from shop.

I am not looking to spend a lot - I am not an audiophile, but would like to make the system complete with good quality units. The pre amp and amp, might have been the biggest cost already and I got them for free. One component in the amp needs to be replaced (cost $2.00), but that's a minor repair and the amp is still functional.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

Another question. Does it make sense to buy just the speaker components and build the box myself? 

How would one go about buying components? Are there specialty stores?


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## Mr.Magnus (Nov 17, 2013)

Marko Tsourkan said:


> Another question. Does it make sense to buy just the speaker components and build the box myself?
> 
> How would one go about buying components? Are there specialty stores?



well the cheapest way would be to order from online stores the components. but i would have a serious read on forums made for audio guys first to see whats good quality and best bang for the buck before building anything myself.

a good preamp for the amp is cx-1000 witch is from same timeperiod. the MX-1000u runs betwin 600-800$ today. If one wanted to buy a new amp today to match the quality and power of a amp like the MX1000u (1100 watt/1300VA rating), you would have to pay ALOT more


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## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

Mr.Magnus said:


> well the cheapest way would be to order from online stores the components. but i would have a serious read on forums made for audio guys first to see whats good quality and best bang for the buck before building anything myself.
> 
> a good preamp for the amp is cx-1000 witch is from same timeperiod. the MX-1000u runs betwin 600-800$ today. If one wanted to buy a new amp today to match the quality and power of a amp like the MX1000u (1100 watt/1300VA rating), you would have to pay ALOT more



I have two units, a taller and a shorter, which makes me think the second is a pre-amp. The amp looks visually very similar to MX-1000.

A tuner from that time period that could complement the amp and preamp would be great. A good quality CD player would be great also.

Making boxes for the speakers, magnetically shielding them, soldering (if needed) is not a problem. 

Have no idea what to buy though, and don't have much time to spend researching speaker components on audiophile forums, unfortunately, so an advice would be greatly appreciated.

M


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## split0101 (Nov 17, 2013)

Hi Marco, lots of things here, let me try to get them answered for you.

*Speakers*
My suggestion is you buy them if you are not familiar with speaker design, its more complicated that buying a few components and building a box.

Building your own speakers. Very doable but it does require some know-how. The cabinet portion is simple enough, most people use MDF with veneer or plywood, then its braced and filled with acoustic foam. The cabinet needs to be built based on the speaker selection and design. This depends on a few factors such as; you want to go ported vs sealed, do you want full range speakers, towers or bookshelves, stereo listening or home theater 5.1/7.1/etc. Once you figure those out, then you can start looking to buy all the components. You will need tweeters, mid-range, woofers (depending on design), crossovers, etc. All these components will need to be matched to get the best performance out of your components.

If you are not familiar with these, buy a kit, check out http://www.parts-express.com. There are a bunch of places out there that sell kits.

If you want to buy, there are a ton of internet direct companies out there that make great stuff at very reasonable prices with great return programs. 

Some suggestions: 
http://fluance.com/about.eng.html
http://www.aperionaudio.com/
https://www.svsound.com/ (mostly known for subs)

*Components*
Preamp/Processor
If all you have is an amp then my suggestion it to pick up a preamp/processor. Without that you will not be able to decode most high fidelity audio formats like DTS or TrueHD. Most preamp/processor will come with ota tuners I would suggest checking out http://www.emotiva.com/. The XSP-1 is well regarded for its features at that price point. These can cost you as low as $100 all the way to 100k. Depending on your budget there are a lot of options.

Sources
These will be your bluray/dvd player, cd player, video game console, cable box/dvr, etc. The more sources you have the more inputs you will need on your preamp/processor. Lots of brands out there, I can offer you suggestions based on budget/needs.

Since your amp only has 4 outputs, my suggestion is you do a bi-amp design, i.e. you use 2 amp outputs to power one speaker and stick with stereo listening. With a good preamp/processor you can grow your system and add sources as you need.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

Cool, thank you. Ton of useful information!


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## Bill13 (Nov 17, 2013)

I'll agree with split about speakers. However Madisound's website is good. My favorite driver manufactures are Scanspeak (the Revelator line with the cut cone is truly amazing), Seas, and Vifa.

I think the best DVD/CD/ BluRay player made is by http://www.oppodigital.com/ a used one would be fine - they are built really well. Another way to go is http://www.sonos.com/ , I've installed about 100 of these with no complaints, it's easy to operate and sounds pretty good. 

If you are buying a sub the SVS are really good subs. I like http://www.triadspeakers.com/ They use the Revelator cones in some of their more expensive products!


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## Mr.Magnus (Nov 17, 2013)

sonos :sh*thitsfans:


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## stereo.pete (Nov 17, 2013)

I would stay away from a tuner and CD player and focus on purchasing a quality USB DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and either ripping your CD collection to a computer or using Spotify. No offense Marko, but try to stay away from building speakers. There's a tremendous amount of engineering that goes into their total design and you will get far superior results buying a prebuilt speaker. Now, there are a few kits out there that get good reviews and that would definitely be an option for you since the engineering has already been taken care of. 

If you want someone who builds speakers with the same passion and level of perfection that you have with knives, check out http://www.salksound.com . Jim Salk makes some amazing sounding speakers as well as wood cabinets.


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## rahimlee54 (Nov 17, 2013)

stereo.pete said:


> I would stay away from a tuner and CD player and focus on purchasing a quality USB DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and either ripping your CD collection to a computer or using Spotify. No offense Marko, but try to stay away from building speakers. There's a tremendous amount of engineering that goes into their total design and you will get far superior results buying a prebuilt speaker. Now, there are a few kits out there that get good reviews and that would definitely be an option for you since the engineering has already been taken care of.
> 
> If you want someone who builds speakers with the same passion and level of perfection that you have with knives, check out http://www.salksound.com . Jim Salk makes some amazing sounding speakers as well as wood cabinets.



I am with Pete, I wouldn't bother trying to build. I am sure you could get something amazing but it would take a while. Salks are great but they could be out of budget, check out http://www.emotiva.com/for more budget friendly stuff. Never heard em but they have a good return policy. 

Pete do you have salk speakers? If so what model.

Thanks
Jared


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## panda (Nov 17, 2013)

Get a vintage Harman kardon or pioneer receiver that has preamp out. pair of with some old advent or mission speakers. Don't spend too much, keep it simple. The whole point of vintage gear is its unique unrefined but warm sound.

If you insist on a cd player, a low cost option is California audio lab model or a pioneer elite DVD player off eBay. If you want to spend a bit more the original rega planet is quite good and the looks will match your amp.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2013)

what do you want to spend? I have a pair of Thiel CS2.4s, and an Audio Aero Capitole MK II SE (with a an Odyssey Stratos SE amplifier and an NuForce AVP-17 pre/pro, and an inexpensive NAD phono pre). Neither of these are vintage (a twiddly knob CD player might be a bit hard to find), but they are all reasonably priced at this point in time, and sound wonderful (assuming the amp can push the Thiels).


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2013)

stereo.pete said:


> I would stay away from a tuner and CD player and focus on purchasing a quality USB DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and either ripping your CD collection to a computer or using Spotify. No offense Marko, but try to stay away from building speakers. There's a tremendous amount of engineering that goes into their total design and you will get far superior results buying a prebuilt speaker. Now, there are a few kits out there that get good reviews and that would definitely be an option for you since the engineering has already been taken care of.
> 
> If you want someone who builds speakers with the same passion and level of perfection that you have with knives, check out http://www.salksound.com . Jim Salk makes some amazing sounding speakers as well as wood cabinets.




One nice thing about the Capitole Mk II is the plethora of digital inputs. I've compared it to my personal Benchmark DAC-1, a Benchmark DAC-2, and things like the Cary-306SACD, and the Cap beats them pretty soundly on 44.1 material, imo.


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## stereo.pete (Nov 17, 2013)

EdipisReks said:


> One nice thing about the Capitole Mk II is the plethora of digital inputs. I've compared it to my personal Benchmark DAC-1, a Benchmark DAC-2, and things like the Cary-306SACD, and the Cap beats them pretty soundly on 44.1 material, imo.



Well played on the Odyssey Stratos SE amp, that's what I am currently using along with a Candela tube preamp to drive my Mirage m-3si's.


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## Eric (Nov 17, 2013)

Marco: what type of music do you most listen to? What is most important to you in terms of performance, bass, voice clarity, soundstage etc? , How many watts is your amp rated for? What is the size of your room? Do you prefer small speakers on stands or floor standing speakers. Do listen at loud volumes ? Etc.


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## WildBoar (Nov 17, 2013)

NY city has more than a couple hi-fi stores. They will typically be full of high $ stuff, but also carry some smaller/ less expensive stuff. Gives you a chance to hear some different things.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

OK, here are the models:
Pre-Amp Yamaha C-70
Amp Yamaha M-70

Not the actual pics, but basically similar units


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2013)

Those are nice looking. Should be able to drive Thiel CS2.4s fine.


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## Marko Tsourkan (Nov 17, 2013)

Haha, Thiel CS2.4s are soo out of my price range. I don't want to turn into audiophile as it would create a serious competition to my tools addiction (and I have a long list of expensive tools to purchase), just want to put together a system and use it. Perhaps even take it to my work gym (yes, I am building one, as I tend to spend so much time at the shop that I might as well have one there now that I have more space).


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2013)

so, we now have a budget.  I agree with going to one of the many hifi shops in NYC, and seeing what they have in their trade in bins.


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## chokobo (Nov 17, 2013)

From all reports the guys at Odyssey Audio had one of the best, musical sounding rooms at the recent RMAF. Their complete system (speakers, amps, preamp, cables) could be bought for $6,700, which is a complete bargain compared to a lot of other rooms with hifi, overly analytical, dry sound from systems worth 30k up.

If you're looking to spend a lot less, you could pick up a pair of Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers designed by Andrew Jones for $130 at Best Buy (on sale I think you could get them for $90). Very good speaker unless you're interested in doof doof bass. Possibly an even better bargain is the same speaker modified with new tweeter and revised crossover by Dennis on AudioCircle for around $150.

Source is also very important. Given the convenience of computer based audio, a good USB DAC as mentioned earlier is recommended.


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## panda (Nov 17, 2013)

didnt realize you already had a matching preamp. creek and nad make good tuners. for speakers, look for old JBLs on craigslist.


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## Keith Sinclair (Nov 18, 2013)

I love my PSB towers,but I bought them years ago, prices for the higher end towers have gone up quite a bit.Speakers are a matter of personal taste,take a couple of your favorite CD's to listening rooms of stores that carry Audio.Vary the CD choices to hear how diff. types of music sound.

You have a good pre amp & amp to push the speakers,I have my PSB's hooked up to CD player,DVR,TV.Have a high current Amp.,good wire,It blows away a Bose system.


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## swarfrat (Nov 18, 2013)

Building speakers is lots of fun but is less about saving money (which it rarely really does) and more about making something tailored to your own personal tastes and needs. So if you're not looking for a new hobby, I'd stick with factory built. 

As for tuner, CD player and such, do you just want something nice, or do you want something that matches esthetically? Some people like to do vintage gear like other sorts of collections, matching pieces in a brand, series, time period or theme. The "period correct" matching tuner for your stack is a Yamaha T-70. (there's one on ebay right now for 40 bucks).

Here's a brochure from the era: http://sportsbil.com/yamaha/c-x0_m-x0_t-x0-b.pdf

We didn't have CD or MP3 players back then, but many manufacturers made gear in the "SAE black stack style" over the years so it should be easy to find similar looking pieces. (well, maybe not an MP3 player).


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