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Finally stepping into the hobby after 30 years of watching from the sidelines

Ok, so I hope you are all ok with a longwinded post from a first time user of the forum.  I have been obsessed with vinyl and tubes since my dad played records for me as a 5 year old.  My wife and I are finally in a place that we can take the leap into the scene.  We want to grow our system over time and may even create 2-3 systems along the way as we have a bed and breakfast where we want to make analog part of the theme. 

We have made up our mind that our first speakers will be Vandersteen 2CE sigs.  That is about as far as we have gotten.  We definitely want to power them with tubes and have very little idea of where to start.  Obviously the mainstream option would be a Mcintosh mc275 and our local HiFi salesman would LOVE to sell us a pair of those.  However, we know that there are several cheeper/better options out there and would love some input from the board.  We'd like to keep the first amp under $3,000, but we aren't locked into that.  Keep in mind that we are ok starting with a single amp and then adding a second one along the way to mono them.  Also, we would love some help with a table/arm/cartridge!  One with an integrated phono stage is fine to start with and we would again be open to upgrading and adding a stand alone phono stage later on.  

We will be doing some electrical work soon to run a 40 amp fuse to the BnBs espresso machine and would be open to setting up a dedicated line for our main system at that time so that we can have clean power.  Has any one had any experience with this?  Any ideas or recommendations that you may have would be a big help here! 

Thank you all in advance, and we are really excited to finally be part of the scene! 
128x128cottguy
cottguy's avatar
cottguy OP
56 posts
 
Ok, so I'm strongly considering going with a set of used vandy 3a sigs.  Same price as new 2ce sig II, so why not?  I have found a couple of used sets online, but I'm waiting to hear back from the sellers on details.  One seller is apparently a member here, but hasn't replied to my text or PM yet.  I have been digging to try to figure out if the 3a's have changed at all over the years.  I know that the 2s have and that their name has changed slightly to reflect the upgrades.  However, it seems that the 3a sigs haven't gone through any upgrades?  Does any one have any light to shed on this for me?  I just want to make sure I don't buy something that isn't what I think it is.  

@inna after doing a bunch of research on the VAC, I'm leaning that direction.  Sounds like a phenomenal piece of kit.  You already know that, but I had to poke around myself.  The only downside is I won't be able to audition it :-/ 


wolf_garcia
6,612 posts
 
Jolida makes a line of very nice tube amps with a modern snappy sound and they're utterly reliable (I use a 502p with factory mods, runs all day) and beautifully made. Under 2 grand easy (new). Note that anything in a room is actually "room treatment" and you can have GREAT sound without worrying about that…room reflection (some speakers are designed to actually use reflections) isn't such a sound killer as some feel it is, and using some common sense in the setup of the system can obviate any minor issues. Get a good used sub or two someplace to further make things sound more lively and then ENJOY.
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o_holter
952 posts
 
Hi Cottguy, I have a room ca 20 x 30 feet. After much experimenting I found out that the system plays best in the longest axis of the room. Also, fairly symmetrically placed (on one of the shorter walls). I started with solid-state and big speakers in order to fill the room, but later switched to tubes, and have liked it more. I use Atma-sphere MA-1 monoblocs with Audiokinesis speakers. It doesn't quite push the sound like big solid-state can do, but to my ears it is more musical.
inna
7,132 posts
 
Cottguy, I would not rush with the turntable. I believe that the source should always be a strong link in the chain. If you get VAC Avatar and Vandersteen 3 Sig. it is highly unlikely that you will be satisfied with any $1000 table/arm/cartridge package, though it will sound good. Buying turntables used is something of a double risk: damage in shipping and that table may have thousands of hours on it regardless of how it looks. I myself took those risks because I wanted an excellent table and could not afford it new. I got very lucky with the seller - a very honest man.
gdnrbob
4,411 posts
 
I think if you aren't getting subs, then a pair of Quattro's or Trio's would be a better move.
I own the 3a sigs and paired them with 2w subs. The 3a sigs by themselves sound pretty good, but a pair of subs really fleshes them out.
You could also buy a pair of HSU subs (or at least one). They come up for sale on Agon or Ebay. They are considerably less expensive and provide decent bass compared to the Vandy subs.
As I said before, you should contact Johnny Rutan at Audioconnections. He won't steer you wrong.
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