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Help: ISO Beginner full setup for excellent sound on $2000 max budget

Overview: Brand new at this, looking for help purchasing beginner full setup of TT, Tube Amp, Speakers, Preamp that is aesthetically pleasing (i.e. minimalist, blends in as piece of furniture with plants), that sounds fantastic, and will stand up over the next 5-7 years, for $2000 max. I'm in search of the best sound, most aesthetically pleasing, and holds up longest overtime. If you could put together a beginner set of quality products for somebody about to enter their 30’s for xmas with a $2000 max budget, what would you include?


Hey y’all, I’m brand new to this and don’t want to jump down a huge rabbit hole, or spend countless hours contemplating decisions about these, not because I don’t have time, it’s just not good for me: I’m so bad at making decisions and I want somebody’s advice that I can trust. So, figured I’d start a dialogue:

I am looking for a simple setup with the following components for a small to midsized room:
- Turn Table (I like Rega, UTurn, and Pro-ject easthetics);
- Preamp (whatever pairs best with the entire setup);
- Speakers (what I think I should invest most in? - I like Omega Super 3 XRS Speakers); and
- Tube Amp (whatever pairs best with the entire setup - I like the Almarro a205a).

The most important aspects of these products are all:
- Durable (wanting to last a while and feel a little modern classic 6-7 years from now);
- Best sound for the price; and
- Aesthetically pleasing (this is important, it will be the center of my living room for the foreseeable future).

My music style: is mostly slower independent stuff: Sun Kil Moon, John Prine, Iron and Wine sounding stuff. Other than that I’ll mostly listen to Hip Hop, like J Dilla, or Rock, like Pearl Jam).

I’d love for it to be something that’s not jumping head first into this as a hobby, but something I can be proud of owning that I can play every day.

If you have any specifics please ask, I apologize for the length of this post, just figured I ’d try to be general enough so y’all could get an idea.
whyistherenopie
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Correction, third last paragraph should read, "... with a boxy cabinet coloration" 
whyistherenopie OP
18 posts
 
@douglas_shroeder, You’ve explained a lot, and I appreciate your advice, I think is incredibly important to take into consideration, alongside other suggestions. I’m not sold on those speakers or that amp, as stated previously. Again, I know nothing about this subject, but there are millions of products out there that I could get within a 2k budget that could be fantastic for the lay person who is interested in getting better sound. This isn’t my wheelhouse, if you need any niche information about philosophy, IT Auditing, or bartending you can let me know, but I dont think many folks need to know the ins and outs to enjoy a good cocktail, or to understand the concepts or interlocutors in entry-level Kierkegaard.

If possible, though, can you or anyone else reading this help guide me, in layman’s terms, toward a system that could work. I’m not trying to be a 3 michelin star restaurant, I’m simply trying to make the Bib Gormond. Or, if you were taking a philosophy intro course, I’m looking for the survey data, I’m not looking to write a PhD thesis on the connection between sexuality, body politics, and their relation to finance-dominated capitalism.

If you could choose a nice-looking set up for somebody who looking to gain some knowledge but not dive into this headfirst, what’s respectable and what makes sense together based on the previous posts.

Also, I’m going back through everyone’s posts rn and looking at products and trying to understand them and why they would work together, just taking some time, I have some other projects I’m working on .
br3098
969 posts
 
So if I read Doug's post correctly, it seems that he is not fond of Omega speakers. But I'm not quite sure as Doug's critique was quite subtle...

Although I recommended something different I would like to take a few seconds to rebut: it's true that Omega speakers, like almost every high-efficiency speaker, are not to everyone's taste just as low powered SET amps are not everyone's cup of tea. But I take exception to some of Doug's specific remarks that seem to imply that you are naive, clueless or just plain stupid if you don't accept what Doug considers to be good sound and proper audio design parameters.

Namely:
1- pretty speaker. Where's the problem here?
2- cabinet coloration. Yes, it's intentional and part of the design. There are many speakers that use resonant cabinets (Snell/Audio Note, Klipsch Heritage, virtually every Altec Lansing design, to name a few)
3- can't play at higher listening levels (repeated as don't play real loud). Well, my Omega Alnico 6s played plenty loud (92dB+) with my 5W SE EL34 amp in my 17x26 living room.
4- dynamically limited/bass very weak.Well, I guess that will depend on your needs and perspective. My Omegas 6s have taut, well-defined bass down to about 46 Hz. I didn't want more for years but when I did I paired small REL subwoofers. This worked very well for me.

My point is not that Omega is the best speaker. It's not. There is no best speaker for all ears, all music, all gear or all rooms. You need to decide what's best for you by listening, not magazine reviews or Audiogon opinions (even mine!). Yes, you have a challenge based on your price limit but it's doable. My suggestion is to look, then LISTEN and have fun while doing it.

hbarrel's avatar
hbarrel
342 posts
 
I will second soix system. You’d be happy with the simplicity and sound. Easily last more than a couple years.
If a Blue Circle NSCS or FiTh ever comes up at the proper price point... grab it.
soix
8,651 posts
 
If possible, though, can you or anyone else reading this help guide me, in layman’s terms, toward a system that could work.

If you could choose a nice-looking set up for somebody who looking to gain some knowledge but not dive into this headfirst, what’s respectable and what makes sense together based on the previous posts.
Have you even really read any of the helpful advice being given to you here? You make it sound like nobody as of yet has provided any helpful advice or information. I read your stated goals carefully and actually spent quite a bit of time putting together a coherent system to meet your specific requirements and budget (as have others). Read reviews of the products I (and others) recommended here and I think you’ll see why they were chosen and why they’re particularly well suited to meet your all your needs. You’ve already received some good advice and recommendations, so at this point YOU should be doing a little research into what’s already been given to you and either asking us specific questions on why this or that is a good choice for what you’re looking to achieve or start buying the components that you find are a good fit for you. Putting together a good system is going to require a little effort on your part at this point, and it will be well worth it.

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