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Helping a kid out

So long story short I got neighbor kid into audio and to appreciate listening to music on something other than a cheap Bluetooth speaker.  He’s pretty young but a good kid, a hard working honest kid.  So far he’s accumulated his old mans Dual turntable that I helped him clean up and installed an Ortofon 2M Blue on it, a nice but older Marantz integrated and a pair of Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 speakers.  I hooked him up with a pair of Kimber 8TC speaker cables I had retired a while ago (lol, probably making them the most expensive part of his system).  He’s looking to upgrade and I suggested trying out a dedicated phono stage.  I’m assuming his budget is in the $200 range and I told his old man I wouldn’t let him buy something stupid.  I had no idea the sheer volume of phono stages in this price range on the market.  What would you guys and gals suggest?  My knee jerk reaction is Schitt Mani and I read a few good things about a Bellari unit but holy cow the choices are infinite.  Maybe something a little higher end but used?  Extra points if it can be purchased from Amazon but that’s by no means a deal breaker.
10229
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
The skills are nowhere near overwhelming. Take a look at a solid state amp like the Dynaco ST400. If it isn't at least ten times the parts I will be shocked. And I built that at his age. By myself. Totally by myself. Hasten to add, no internet back then. When I say by myself, I mean by myself! 

This Bottlehead, all there is, roughly a dozen caps, about that many resistors- you can see the whole thing right here https://bottlehead.com/product/reduction-1-1-phono-preamplifier-kit/  Can be done in an evening or two- it is just not that hard! 

Soldering, within a couple tries he will have that down pat. The solder flows towards the heat. Don't drip blobs. Hold the iron on the part until it gets hot enough to make the solder flow into the joint. Couple tries he will have it down pat. Just not that hard.  

If you like the way it sounds now just wait till you hear it with this phono stage. The kid will freak. You will freak. Seriously. So totally worth it.  

Overwhelming. Don't make me laugh. 
10229's avatar
10229 OP
41 posts
 
Easy does it Millercarbon, I never said it WAS overwhelming, just potentially so for a young kid with a life outside of audio.  When I was his age was a long time ago and very different.  There were a lot fewer distractions. I am (was) an engineer by trade and fully capable of assembling this kit with him and have done similar projects across many different hobbies countless times in the past.  My relationship with him is currently very good and I don’t want to impose myself or my enthusiasm on him.  He doesn’t need another old man nor am I qualified to be one.  My intent is to let him steer the ship and to explore this hobby with him as he sees fit.  Spending a few evenings in my garage putting together a kit may sound good to him or maybe not.  It may be the best audio component he’ll own for a while or it may not.  Those are all decisions I respect him enough to make on his own.  Right now it’s just a kid listening to records on an old Dual in his basement with his ‘not girlfriend’ and enjoying every moment of it.  How many of us would love to be back then or there when life was so damn simple? 
10229's avatar
10229 OP
41 posts
 
Additional thumbs up on the Sinatra album by the way…its fantastic.
gochurchgo
946 posts
 
I’d kick in $25 for the bottle head kit. Building one gives a different perspective. I’m building one now and struggling (though learning). It’s fun and frustrating all at once.
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