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Looking to build new system. Budget under 4k. Been 30 yrs since last system.
Starting with rogue Cronus mag integrated amp. Pretty much set on this amp.
Need help with speakers & turntable. Used up about half the budget with amp
Where can I go from here speaker wise
Follow Ups:
Try to find other Cronus mag users and see what they are connecting it to.
It could be a nice feature in AA Inmate System that we could cross reference systems based on components.
Give me rhythm or give me death!
Goober that's a great idea. Will do
Why not good used speakers? I like the ADS 810 or 710 or the KEF 103.2
I am amazed every time I listen to mine.
This may sound crazy, but with your budget constraints I'd strongly recommend the Pioneer Floorstanding speakers (Model SP-FS52) available at Best Buy for a mere $260.00/pair. These speakers were designed by Andrew Jones, who also designed the ultra expensive TAD series of speakers and electronics for a Pioneer affiliate. Their smaller bookshelf siblings got rave reviews in both Stereophile and The Absolute Sound.
I bought a pair on a whim-and it had to be a whim because these speakers are on display out on the main floor at Best Buy, which means no decent chance to audition, given all of the ambient noise.
But I assure you, you will not be disappointed. I've used these speakers with tube, solid state and hybrid amplification, all of which produced excellent results. They do require some break-in, but continue to improve with age. (And Best Buy does have a decent return policy (although there may be a restocking fee.) And they're not especially fussy about cables.
With the money you save on speakers, you can get a pretty good TT. I'd suggest a Rega RP 3 with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. These can be had for about $1000 combined.
In any event happy hunting!
It is great amp for the money. That I did not find Conrad for about the same price I would have Rogue.
If you look you will find Speaker and Turntable for about $1000. Currently there are couple of good deals:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/monitors-lsa-1-standard-edition-monitor-brand-new-in-box-blowout-pricing-2014-11-04-speakers-93422-atascadero-ca
http://www.musicdirect.com/p-57507-epos-epic-2-bookshelf-speakers-pr.aspx?source=igodigital&
Improvise for stands for now.
Turntable, you will probably have to go used to get something decent for below 500 with cartridge. Keep checking your local Craigslist. Advantage is that it will not be shipped and you can inspect it.
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"One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."
Welcome! Sonus Faber speakers are sonic matches w/ Rogue gear.
Information would be required - size of room, what kind of music do you wish to play. Magnepan might be fine for string music but they completely stink at playing amplified rock so if AC/DC is on your playlist then it impacts on their effectiveness and what can be recommended. If it's a smaller room maybe a standmount but in a big room you'll want a bigger more full range speaker.
I recommend a pair of used Magnepan 1.6's; they go for around $850.
How did you know.... that AC/DC was on my playlist! ;-)
Mine too.
I managed to get my LM 219IA over the 25 watt rating in the red 50-100 watt zone with my AN E's with Thunderstruck. My Ausie friend was very happy indeed.
That Cronus amp could probably use a nice set of loudspeakers. I like floor standing and they all are probably in the $1-2K range.[I have Anthem separates and Castle floor standers (read, polite British). I like the sound of my system. You can add sources later. Off hand, I've always fancied Totem and Joseph Audio, but not for any particular reason, as I've mostly seen them, but NEVER really auditioned them.]
Edits: 11/04/14
What's the point of that, so he can stare at his system and imagine how great it will sound?
-RW-
even though some of those are purty to look at.
GREAT POST!!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
I think you'll be very pleased with the Cronus Magnum and KT120 power tubes should you decide to go that route.
Depending on your speakers you may want to swap the speaker taps inside the Rogue from 8 Ohms to 4 Ohms. Unfortunately, you'll have to remove the top cover and flip the amp over to gain access to the nuts behind the speaker binding posts. I recommend doing this on a workbench or kitchen table with a soft bath towel underneath to prevent scuffing the amp (or your wife's kitchen table!). It's a heavy beast!
One channel is easy to do, the other is a bit tight in there with not a lot of room for your fingers and tools, but it's doable with a little patience.
Swapping my Cronus Magnum output taps from 8 Ohms to 4 Ohms made a very noticeable difference with my 4 Ohm nominal Thiel speakers.
If your room is small enough and your amp powerful enough (I think it is),
I suggest a pair of Magnepan MMGs. You cannot buy a better speak for the
money, but they are power hungry.
As for a TT, I suspect that Rega is the way to go, but I'm not at all into
vinyl and the guys over on vinyl asylum can be of much more help. Back
in the day (way back), I had a Panasonic tt that I thought performed
admirably for the money.
Good luck.
Mike -
I heard a pair of Magnepan 1.7s at a friend's house driven by a pair of hefty 300wpc Ampzilla 2000 2nd Edition monoblocks. These are incredible sounding speakers, very open, detailed, effortless, clean and transparent. I think the smaller MMGs have similar specs in terms of sensitivity and nominal impedance.
We swapped out the Ampzilla monoblocks with my Rogue Audio Stereo 90 Super Magnum amp using KT120 tubes at about 100wpc. Unfortunately, this wasn't a great match for the Magnepan 1.7s. What used to be very clear and dynamic turned compressed and veiled, like the amp was struggling to drive the Magnepans to their full dynamic abilities. This same Rogue Stereo 90 had no problems driving my Thiel CS2.4 or Tannoy Definition D500 speakers.
And since the Cronus Magnum integrated is also rated around 100wpc with KT120s, similar to the Rogue Stereo 90, I would be hesitant to run it with the MMGs.
Abe - your cautions are well spoken. I wanted to convey the idea that
they might work only in a small room with that amp. In a large room,
there's no way in hell 100 wpc will drive any magnepan properly.
of beginning with the speaker that matches your tastes - then finding an amp that is a good match to drive it.
Starting with an amp necessarily limits your choices.
True. And the problem with 'difficult speakers' is that they limit your choices for amplification.
I thought my Thiels required ballzy amplification. The 100wpc KT120 based Rogue sounds wonderful on the Thiels. It was completely inadequate for the Magnepan 1.7s.
...they limit your choices for amplification.
Among hundreds of possibilities, they guide your choices.
As an electrostatic speaker enthusiast for over thirty years, I've needed to steer myself to a very acceptable series of good matches. :)
!
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.
Thanks for info Speakers may be the hardest component. I'll be happy to find a decent sounding pair and upgrade as I get into things
Local are golden ear triton 7 & 3. PSB imagine 2, Revel. I need to hear these
The Triton 7's would be a easy load for the Rogue.
I have heard them many times with a Peachtree integrated at half the power and thought they were excellent.
I was a vegetarian for 15 minutes, until the main course.......Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
TT new May be VPI or Rega. Both have right price range and good reviews. Tempted to go old school and find a thorens Td160
Speakers like magnapan smg or mmg have very mixed reviews. Some like them others hate. 'Em not sure about the design Mylar coated with wire and glue ?
Great start to a very nice system! Hopefully you'll get similar quality and synergistic components to go with it!
I don't have a clue, unfortunately! what really goes well with it, but the amp seems to have taken up more than 1/2 of your budget? $2300? So you only have $1700 left ... yes, used may be the way to go to tide you over for a while.
Could the Sphinx ($1300 sans remote) be a possibility instead? That would leave an extra $1000 for the other components ...
Music Hall MMF-5.1SE Turntable ($1100 with good MM cart installed)
Used speakers for $600 (with Cronus Magnum) or $1600 with Sphinx. Personally, I desire some MM DeCapo i speakers (~$1600 used). Get some inexpensive cables and maybe a cheap subwoofer for now ...
Upgrading the cables (I like Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cables, maybe $500 used) with some decent interconnects ($200 used?) and a $500 subwoofer later would make a killer system (I'm guessing here, but may be a good guess).
Sphinx $1300
MMF-5.1 with cart $1100
DeCapos used $1600 (use cinderblocks with nice soft covers for now)
That's $4000 ...
Decent used cables later, another $800 or something
Decent sub later on closeout/refurb, $500
Decent stands $200
Now you're up to $5500 system price, bet it sounds great.
Roll some other tubes in the Sphinx later for flavoring ... $100 will get a nice pair of Gold Lions or whatever ...
It's easy to spend other people's money ... HTH ! Cheers! :D
Welcome to the asylum-
not quite sure what is left in your budget - however you might wish to take a look at the Asylum Trader - Lots of good speakers at less than retail ( I have no current listings)-
as to which speakers - what type of music?; what is your room like?
what are you reserving for a TT?
There are a bunch of entry TTs available - new & used - and if you prefer - you might find a good TT on CL (Craig's List)
you have lots of unknowns - so making a recommendation is tough...
Happy Listening
First post & wasn't sure it would go up.
Good questions. Many moons ago I had a basic tube setup Dynaco st70 amp forget pre amp. ,thorens tt basic cartridge & pair of DQ10's
I'd listen to Jazz, Classic, and some older rock (pink Floyd ,Dire straights. Etc)
I wanted to be around 3,000 but will eat up 2k on amp. So let's say I can go about $1000
On speakers & same on tt& cartridge I know this is tight budget but I gotta start somewhere
Many more speakers around these days very hard to know without hearing but I figure this is the place to narrow things down
Thanks
You certainly had a nice system back then, but I bet a Sphinx- or Cronus-based system will sound much better! WILL likely not be as 'tubey' as the ST70 based system though, I hope you understand.Will still have some golden glow/smoothness, but will be MUCH more resolving, possibly with better other attributes (soundstage depth, etc.).
I drooled over some Dahlquist speakers (actually, they WERE the DQ10s) back in the day and knew someone with DQ20s. I got the cheaper '3D Acoustics' sub-sat system that was somewhat affiliated with Dahlquist, at least they seemed to share space/facilities in NY.
When I got an SCA-35 around 1995, I was amazed how good things sounded. I tweaked/upgraded/simplified the SCA until I got it as far as I could without a total rebuild, then went on to better/more resolving amps/systems.
The Sphinx or Cronus will get you many steps 'forward' in the journey to high end (high resolution) audio, as long as that's what you're looking for.
Edits: 11/04/14
Not quite sure what to suggest if you liked the DQ10s - as to the TT - I might encourage either CL or one of the following - which can be had - depending upon options/cart etc for your target budget:
Rega, Music Hall, Project-
This is not to give up on vintage or not quite vintage - you can get an old Thorens - or used VPI, and for more vintage - thorens, Garard, Empire...
You might review the postings in the vinyl and speaker forums - and possibly vintage for some discussion-
there is also a Planar forum - for ESL and Magnapans....
Used will save you - and you can do well-
Happy hunting
Spoke to folks at Rogue (really nice & helpful). Surprised that they mentioned the Sphinx which is a lower priced int amp. I may look into it as it does free up $$. But tubes are down to one in pre amp
It was easier back in the 80's. Less options
having the tubes in the preamp section of the Sphinx is a good thing IMO, one can roll some varieties in there to flavor the sonics. There's some really nice things being said about the Sphinx in various places, and it should drive about any speaker you get to (more than) reasonable levels.
I donno, in the 80s you still had tubes and SS amps etc., but yes, phono was still the main source (along with FM, tapes, etc. ...). I don't know that things are 'easier' at any time, there's still lots of options and things to consider!
Some say THIS is the golden age of audio! I can't disagree.
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