[tator]

I'm trying to get into vinyl, but I'm on a tight budget, so I have a few questions. I've already decided on the sl-1200, but for the amp, I'm not so sure. Originally I was planning on getting a nice vintage Pioneer, Marantz, Yamaha, etc. amp from eBay, or from a thriftstore. I did manage to find a Yamaha CR-800 for $60 in a pawnshop that looked to be in pretty good condition, and I found a guy selling a Pioneer 939 for $145. But then I got to wondering if maybe I should spend a little more and get a modern receiver with a phono input. Are the modern receivers with phono better than the older ones? The cheapest in the audio store that I visited was $400, but I haven't shopped around that much. And of course the third option is a regular receiver with a seperate phono amp. I would also be connecting my CD player to whatever I get, and I need at least 50wpc since I have some big speakers.

So what is the best route to go? Really just trying to get the best bang for my buck, which is $100-300. I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[mrarroyo]

I would go to Ebay and get a 70's Marantz, Pioneer, Technics, or similar. Lots of bang for the money.

 

[Todd]

A great option for a new amp is the NAD gear. You can get a new amp that sounds very good - especially for the money. For NAD 320BEE it is only $399 and you can get it for less. Give me a call and we can see what we could sell one to you for. This piece gets great reviews and for good reason!

Todd