GIRL NEWBIE

I'm kinda in the same boat. I started thinking budget, but after you start getting into it and reading a bit, you kind of throw that out the window. Vinyl is especially expensive, I think it's worth it but there is the table, then cartridge and most likely a phono stage. Then you get into cables, power conditioning etc.

Given that you have a turntable already (I have one too but need a new one), I would think $1000 minimum.

I'm new to all this too, but some names get repeated often enough. You can google this stuff and figure it out for yourself. I have a solid state amp (NAD 325bee) but am thinking of going for an integrated tube amp. At least I have something to compare. You might want to just go straight into it. Do some reading about speaker sensitivity etc.

This might help:

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-EntryLevel.html

This guy the "Vinyl Anachronist" is really good, I like his articles. He writes for "ToneAudio" as well. It's a free online audio mag. Great freebie and excellent "software" (music) recommendations.

http://www.furious.com/Perfect/vinylanachronist.html

Solid state amps:

Nad 325bee ($200-300).... I like mine by the way. Been researching tube stuff so don't know other SS int.amps.

NAD 352, 372 ($350-450)

Tube:

Prima Luna Prologue 1 & 2 (seen $800-1000 used on Audiogon)
Onix SP3 II ($400-600 used)
Jolida 302b ($600)
Cayin, Ming Da (other Chinese tube amps)
Unison Unico ($50-600)

I've never heard any of this stuff but am intrigued.

Speakers:

I have Energy RC-10s ($335), tried Totem Mites ($400 I didn't give them a fair shake, bought new, returned them for cheaper used speakers), Totem Arros ($500-600 might like their looks, popular).
Van Schweikert VR-1s ($400-500 popular). Usher X-19 ($600)

Turntables:

Music Hall MMF-5 ($350-400, seems to be very popular)
Rega P2 or P3 ($400, $700 respectively)
Goldring GR2 ($250)

DACs:

Entech Number Cruncher 203.2, 205.2 ($150-250) These got a lot more expensive recently because of a write up buy a NY Times article about DACs. But this model works with an Airport Express and is cheap enough to give it a try.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
RTGAM.20071025.wgtjukebox1025/BNStory/PersonalTech/

Ackdack (?)

Channel Island VDA 2 ($400)


(shrug)...like I said I'm new to all this. Haven't heard half this stuff but this is what has interested me.

Hope this helps...

Oh one more thing, as a generalization, audiophiles (like those on Audiogon) take care of their equipment. And love to upgrade for the hell of it...it's a hobby after all.

Looking through the ads and reading the reviews etc for a while, you get an idea of what is "popular" and what people like. If you choose carefully (quality products) and buy used, you will most likely be able to sell whatever you buy for around what you paid for it.

So like a few others before me, I would spend a little more and not look for the "absolute" bargains, that way when you upgrade, etc, you will get most of your money back.

And there will always be "newbies" after you...looking for advice.

...at least that's my theory anyway....

Welcome girl newbie.......

With your budget I would also recommend getting a quality vintage receiver from the 80's with phono. Look at Marantz, Pioneer, Yamaha and Sansui. Built like a tank, beautiful and great sound to boot. Make a visit over at http://www.Audiokarma.org to get more info.

Welcome to the hobby . . .

I think there's plenty of good advice above, and even though much of it will lead you to believe your budget won't be enough (ie, "save your money" comments, and equip suggestions clearly higher than your budget). I think it's still fun, and possible to assemble a system on a shoestring. More importantly, if you search carefully, research thoroughly, and by used. you can build a very satisfying budget system. Satisfying to you is the goal, and it doesn't matter if it meets someone's standard of audiophile quality. As pointed out above you can upgrade later selling off what you bought without losing much if any of tour initial cost.

So browse the forum archives. Make sure you know how to search them too, because there's wealth of information there already. I've been a member for ~3 years now and many discussions come up every year or more, and it's also likely that pretty much any topic you want to know about has been asked and discussed previously. Finally, browse the equipment listings, and monitor new listings. If you can, buy a Bluebook subcription. All of this will prepare you to jump on the item you want when it comes up.

Your post will draw lots of attention with a title like that! :) Audio places are like Hair Club for Men, with too much testosterone and not enough female input. Sort of the way women would be excited to show a man how to decorate a living room, etc.

I agree with Paulowski in that if you're chasing higher end sound, then you need to save more. If you cave in too soon and buy, you'll end up with mid-fi sound and may get disappointed. Depends on the type of woman you are. If you are into techno stuff and want to flip equipment in search of something better sonically, then you'll jump in now and add $ as you go. If you just want beautiful Hi Fi sound and aren't interested in dealing beyond obtaining the system, then wait. If you are undisciplined and the money would be spent on clothing etc. then you'd better get the system now or you might never...

$500+ will never get you Hi Fi; you'll get mid-fi or vintage Hi Fi, which can be very good, but not up to standards of today, and can bring repair issues. The excellent thing is that you can attain well over 50% of the quality of authentic Hi Fi with such a reasonable budget! At your price point I would not go into tubes; stay with solid state equipment. Take the longest time looking for speakers, as they are what you will want to spend the most $ on. Maybe even up to half the money ($300 on speakers, $200 on integrated amp).

For my office the other month I purchased a used Parasound cd changer in beautiful condtion, and has very nice sound. Older Parasound, NAD, Rotel and Adcom equipment should give very decent sound and be relatively repair-free. At your price point you may want to consider a cdp as it will likely outshine your vinyl - at least until you can upgrade the system. I would begin with the speakers and integrated, as you have a turntable already. But, consider a used cdp later and it will open up a world of economical, excellent audio.

I suggest an integrated amp since it will mean less cabling to buy and get you the most bang for buck at your price point. You would do better to find an excellent pair of Monitors (bookshelf speakers) rather than a so-so pair of larger speakers.

Some speaker suggestions, all of which are decent quality and reasonably priced used: PSB, Paradigm, B&W, KEF, Klipsch, etc.

Regarding cabling; Start with whatever you can use, but with time put a bit of money into used interconnects and speaker cable. Don't worry about power cables...yet. Your components will likely not have detachable power cords anyway! :)

Go online and look up phrases like "budget speaker of the year" etc. and see what you find. Then look for them used.

Watch out for used items for sale without boxes and manuals. Often you are at risk in purchasing such eqipment, since you are at the mercy of the shipper's packaging skills, or lack thereof. If a remote control is important, don't forget to look for it in the ad.

An alternative way to go, IF you are COMMITTED to building a system, would be to load the purchase of the integrated first, with some super economical speakers, then work toward saving for new speakers. I kid you not, the lowly Best Buy Insignia speakers that have been raved about on Audio Asylum (do a search for Insignia speakers - I wrote the first review in the world on them!) would work - I think well under $100 and really decent sound for a starter speaker.

Finally, call dad and ask for money for Christmas, or take some of your rediculous amounts of clothing to a resale shop and convert it into audio eqipment! ;)

Bottom line: Something is really going to suffer badly in absolute audiophile terms. However, you can make a bold move toward Hi Fi with your $500. I would purchase from sellers here who have good feedback and reputations. And always, always ask for female discount! :)

Currently, there are two decent speakers for sale in your price range:
Warfedale Diamond 8.2's (just came up - they won't last!) and Paradigm Mini Monitors V4, either of which would sound decent and leave money for integrated.