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Megabound
Oct 20, 2012

I've got a pair of Acoustic Research AR91s at the moment but some Sansui SP-2700s have popped up and I really like the look of them. With the size of the apartment I can only have one or the other, and the room the stereo is in is quite small. The Sansui really go a lot better with our decor but the ARs aren't bad looking by any stretch. Would this be a straight up downgrade or will this have to be a "listen and find out" situation? I'd have to sell what I've got before I could pick up anything new and I don't wanna do something dumb, I don't really know enough about speaker stats to do a side by side comparison just on the data sheets alone.

AR91 Specs


Sansui Specs

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Mederlock
Jun 23, 2012

You won't recognize Canada when I'm through with it
Grimey Drawer

Megabound posted:

I've got a pair of Acoustic Research AR91s at the moment but some Sansui SP-2700s have popped up and I really like the look of them. With the size of the apartment I can only have one or the other, and the room the stereo is in is quite small. The Sansui really go a lot better with our decor but the ARs aren't bad looking by any stretch. Would this be a straight up downgrade or will this have to be a "listen and find out" situation? I'd have to sell what I've got before I could pick up anything new and I don't wanna do something dumb, I don't really know enough about speaker stats to do a side by side comparison just on the data sheets alone.

AR91 Specs


Sansui Specs


Personally I wouldn't bother. Those speakers have so many different drivers and controls and such that you'd probably have to overhaul all of the internal crossover components to get it to sound nice, and that's assuming that the cones and foam and all that stuff are in good condition

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!
I mean, those are cool as historical/collector/prop pieces but yeah I wouldn’t spend a bunch of money on them unless I knew I had a good reason to and I certainly wouldn’t use them as hifi speakers. They are umm, Not Good by modern standards. There are def speakers of that era that are, but those Sansuis aren’t it AFAIK.

What’s your max budget for speakers? What kind of decor aesthetic are you after? Do you want a fully period-correct setup?

Megabound
Oct 20, 2012

The AR91s sound great to me and I'm not in a rush to upgrade, it's just the opportunity. Budget would be about $500 - $1000 AUD, about the range the 91s could be sold for. I'm not after a fully period correct setup, what I have currently is a Denon DP-57L turntable, Fosi Audio BT10D amp and a Phono Box S2 pre.

I really like the wooden grills on the the Sansui, everything in mid-century, lots of wood, wanting to keep that aesthetic. I need to take a better pic of the setup but this'll give you an idea of the aesthetic for now:

Mederlock
Jun 23, 2012

You won't recognize Canada when I'm through with it
Grimey Drawer

Megabound posted:

The AR91s sound great to me and I'm not in a rush to upgrade, it's just the opportunity. Budget would be about $500 - $1000 AUD, about the range the 91s could be sold for. I'm not after a fully period correct setup, what I have currently is a Denon DP-57L turntable, Fosi Audio BT10D amp and a Phono Box S2 pre.

I really like the wooden grills on the the Sansui, everything in mid-century, lots of wood, wanting to keep that aesthetic. I need to take a better pic of the setup but this'll give you an idea of the aesthetic for now:


Check out the walnut cased Kef Q350's, they're gorgeous and sound amazing. You'd probably want a small sub to go with them but they've still got plenty of oomph on their own

Megabound
Oct 20, 2012

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep an eye out.

Matt Zerella
Oct 7, 2002

Norris'es are back baby. It's good again. Awoouu (fox Howl)
Hi folks, any recommendations for a phono preamp?

I found my SL1200mk2 with a M44G cart. It still works great. I'm using it for sampling into my MPC and listening so I've got speakers and a mixer but I want to get it up to line level.

I'm not a hardcore audiophile but I don't mind spending a little for a good preamp say under 200? It doesn't need USB or BT. Just good quality sound.

Also the stylus is quite old but it looks like these carts are discontinued. Are the aftermarket styli any good or should I pick up a new cart?

Megabound
Oct 20, 2012

I'm always down to recommend the Pro-ject Phono Box S2. It's small, neutral and supports both MM and MC cartridges so if you change in the future you won't need to also change your pre-amp.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Megabound posted:

I'm always down to recommend the Pro-ject Phono Box S2. It's small, neutral and supports both MM and MC cartridges so if you change in the future you won't need to also change your pre-amp.

Yeah this or the $130 Schiit one

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evobatman
Jul 30, 2006

it means nothing, but says everything!
Pillbug

Matt Zerella posted:

Hi folks, any recommendations for a phono preamp?

I found my SL1200mk2 with a M44G cart. It still works great. I'm using it for sampling into my MPC and listening so I've got speakers and a mixer but I want to get it up to line level.

I'm not a hardcore audiophile but I don't mind spending a little for a good preamp say under 200? It doesn't need USB or BT. Just good quality sound.

Also the stylus is quite old but it looks like these carts are discontinued. Are the aftermarket styli any good or should I pick up a new cart?

You've already gotten some good recommendations, but I'll add the NAD PP2/PP2e/PP2i, I've had a couple and always been happy with the sound from them.

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