My Dream Vinyl Setup – What Changed in 2024

It's been a year since I last walked through my setup for vinyl record playback. Alot has changed since then (and some things will NEVER change).

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[disquesettourne-disques]

Hi Rick! This is Thierry (yes, you got that right), that's an honour to be featured on your channel among those other passionate audiophiles.
Will those set-ups be the same next year? Who knows... Mine was certainly different last year!

[StanOrr-gesh]

Hey Rick! Great video, as usual! Thanks for including me! Everyone seems to have not only an investment, but great systems . “Upgrading “ never ends. The QUEST never does either. Always striving for the best sound from our equipment, and most importantly, the best sound out of our vinyl. Keep up your pursuit!

[pkats]

Enjoying your videos, keep up the nice work. Gotta love that tubey warmth! Aric audio gets nothing but high praise from what I can tell.

[dominickdepaolo]

I think you've reached near perfection with that set-up, Rick. 👍 As a fellow NH resident, I have also made the drive down to see to Dave at Vinyl Nirvana. I've gone to see him a few times over the years for different upgrades and services on my TD's, very helpful and convenient. My current one-off model TD 160B MkII deck was acquired last summer thru Dave.

[salvelegio]

I’m happy that you like your HiFi. Personally I prefer Linn. So my choice is Linn tt. Linn pre amp. Linn pow amp and last but not least Linn sp. ❤

[ptg]

Aric Audio's products are beautifully made ! Well done !

[middleearthltd]

Beautiful system that I could only dream about but congratulations are in order
I hope you can get some New England made speakers that carry over to the beautiful components
Might I suggest OMEGA SPEAKER SYSTEMS hand made in Connecticut
Many of us team tube like single full-range driver speakers and Omega makes a beautiful subwoofer to match so a 2.2 speaker system would be sweet

[rofgabor]

watching your new post is the best part of my Sunday morning :)

[dimensionsofmusicD]

Your system is magnificent. I have the same model 5s in one room run from a Mc 8900 int. amp and they are sweet.
I think a pair of open baffles may be in your future 😊. They play well with your tube setup. Happy holidays to you and much success in the future. 🍺 🍺. Greg

[ericelliott]

My system currently and for as long as possible: We are on year #5.
Parasound A23+ Amp
Parasound P6 Preamp
Parasound JC3 Jr Phono preamp
Denon DP47f turntable with a Ortofon 2M Bronze (daily driver) although right now I am using my Pioneer PL510A because I mounted a new Sumiko Olympia cart on it and waiting for it to hit 6 to 8 hours play time to recheck the install to see if any adjustment is needed (Yes, I suspect so already). I also have a Pioneer PL530 in the wings waiting for a new cart.
I generally use the Pioneer tables with my vintage receivers, but that PL510 with the Sumiko Olympia is giving me amazing pleasure right now I was not expecting. (The JC3 Jr could be part of the reason, who knows).
Marantz ND8006 CD player (network player, window washer, etc.)
Speakers: Paradigm Studio 100 v5
Schiit Magni headphone amp (4 generations old)
New, yet to be installed: Bellari EQ

As for any changes in future: Well, maybe down the road the P6 might end up in the wings. I'm not crazy about it's headphone amp (the thing can't drive any of my cans except my Status Audio studio monitors, that is why I use the Schiit Magni) and the DAC is lifeless. Other than that, it is a great preamp. However, it is not broken so don't fix it is the approach I take (I don't have disposable income and saving up is now a herculean task with cost of living basics).
Additions that may happen sooner than later: Outboard DAC. I'm very curious to see if that will be an improvement. The built-in DAC on my CD player is alright, not much to complain about and I have it hooked up to bypass the DAC in the P6. Now days there is no need to get spendy with outboard DACs either. I was looking at a Geshelli Labs J2, but I don't want to risk not being able to return it should I find no difference to my system. I also can't decide what chip I want. So now I am looking at the Douk Audio Q11 with it's two different chips and outputs.
Everything else remains. I won't trade the JC3 Jr for anything and it will be near impossible to replace those speakers! The turntables aren't broken so why change?

I also have two vintage receivers I swap in and out from time to time: Marantz 2236B and Sansui 8080DB. Both sound entirely different from each other so they are fun. The Sansui is as close to tube as I am going to get (yes, it is solid state, but sounds very close to tube).

At one time I had a Pioneer SX1050 and the HPM 100s! Playing vinyl records on that set up was like time travel, the sound was solid 70s and really fun. The HPMs are not easy speakers to handle, but once you figure them out, they are a hoot.

What I'm jealous of is those who have dedicated rooms.

[jeffreysobczynski]

Rick - congratulations on your system. It looks great - sure it sounds great too! One thing I added recently was a step up transformer (SUT) that helps boost the gain for MC cartridges. It has made a huge difference. I purchased Bob’s Devices SUT along with their shielded cables. Just food for thought.

[TheModestAudiophile-oqhy]

Good morning and thanks for a really nice video. "Tubey Warmth". I love it! That would look great on a T-Shirt. Being in NH as well, you have really intrigued me on the manufacturer of your turntable. I'll have to do some research. Beautiful setup you have there. Thanks for sharing.

[nanduullegaddi]

Hi Ricky,

New to to channel, and I’m loving the content from Hifi gear to ultrasonic cleaners and everything in between . Hi do I send you photo of my current system. Look forward to more great content.
Best wishes Nandu (UK)

[johnosullivan]

Hey! Love your New England system! Being in the UK I love my Old England system ;) Here it is in our North London front room - Townshend TT, Icon ps pre and pp20 power into Spendor S35a

[bluebuddha]

Another great video that speaks to me. I might have to look into the Thorens as well. I have a pair of Clayton Shaw open baffle speakers on order and have spoken to Aric Audio about his amps. Pretty much everything built by one person.

[gregcarson]

LOL everybody is jealous of someone, me I am jealous of your system. It really is a thing of beauty my man. Don’t get me wrong I am happy with my modest systems, I have two living room, and my small office. But sometimes, you get gear envy, and want more.

[alexlopez-ui]

Great video. Thx for the walkthrough.

[jimsregaturntableshifijukebox]

Thank you for another interesting one. Like number 17 from me.
If you aren't finished, It may be worth investigating turntable platter mats! I like the ones from Origin Live and Funk Firm, though there are many more worth investigating.
You may also find the world of tonearms worth looking into, my friend has a Rega Rp8 and a Rp6 with an Audio Note tonearm fitted and he says the RP6 gives his RP8 a very good go!
Best wishes and happy listening from Scotland.
Jim🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙂

[Robert-rsc]

My Vinyl system...
Pro-Ject Perspex Magnetic suspension turntable.
Hadcock Export GH 242 Uni-pivot Tonearm (made in England)
Denon DL 301 11 Moving Coil cartridge.
Eastern Electric Mini-Max tube Phono stage.
Sengter Belle JP 200 line stage tube Peamplifier
Rotel RB - 1582 MK 11 Power Amplifier 200 W continuois /channel ("warm" sounding)
i pair of KEF LS 50 Metas. Two SVS Sub woofers.

[sidesup]

The last room really had a cool atmosphere. And it was intelligent too; except for the TV scren in the room which is acoustically a no no. I recently found something which I believe is an art piece, but the dozens of odd shaped wood pieces in the frame loojed like it would be a good diffuser. You can guess the main reason I bought it for. I put it behind one speaker and it made my left speaker sound bad in comparison. I then put it behind my left speaker and the right speaker paled in comparison. Until I.find another diffuser, I put it in between the speakers. It doesn't do as much good for any particular speaker, not being directly behind it, but benefits both at least some.

Your main improvement in the future will be getting speakers where the the driver(s) is out of the box.