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Looking for opinions on components for a vintage tube system and 90's solid state

I've enjoyed reading audiogon for some time and would now like to seek some wisdom from the members. I'm trying to put together two separate systems - a vintage late 50's tube system and an early 90's solid state one.

For the tube system I have a pair of original early JBL C34 speakers and a pair of Marantz Model 5 amps, but no preamp and no turntable. 

For the 90's SS system, I have a Levinson 23.5 amplifier and a 25S phono preamp, and am looking for a 26S preamp. I have no turntable or speakers for this system. I am interested in playing only vinyl or reel to reel tape for both systems.

I'd love to hear thoughts on an appropriate preamp and turntable for the tube system. I suppose a Marantz 7 (or pair of Model 1's if I get lucky or rich) would be obvious choices for the preamp. Or perhaps I could use the Levinson 26S/25S for both systems? For the turntable I am thinking a Garrard 301 or Thorens TD-124 would be a good match, but I know nothing about tonearms and moving coil cartridges for these.

For the 90s SS system, I thinking British monitor speakers like ProAc or perhaps LS3/5As would be a good match. I am clueless as to the best turntable/tonearm/cartridge setup.

I'd love to hear opinions on all the above as well as an appropriate open reel player that would be suitable for both systems. Thanks in advance for your responses!     
ausernamethathasntbeentaken
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glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
702 posts
 

I went through the whole Garrard 301 Build last year and have not regretted it at all. I went from a oracle Delphi mk 4 and the Garrard has much more PRAT and musicality. worth every penny. I did the 301 with a custom bamboo plinth and Jelco 750l 12" tone arm. its a great combo and imo better then the vintage SME's a lot of people use not to mention less money. The new Jelco arms are even better. pictures on my profile if you want a peek. there is so many carts out there that is a topic many will give you suggestions just remember you will need to match the cart and arm together for compliance. other then that it was not a hard or nor frustrating experience well worth the time and cost ( total my turntable system cost me about $4k and time of course).

Tube pre's from the 50's I'm not too sure, I would consider looking to the 70's as you will find more available with some of the better names available by then.


I'm not that up to speed on the SS vintage stuff other then some of the stuff from the 70's - 80's

I've owned ProAc speakers ( response 2.5) and they are very musical and have good base for their size. they also image very well.


almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
During the 1990s I owned the Marantz 1s, 2s, 7, 9s, and two different 10Bs. For roughly a decade prior to and subsequent to that I owned a Mark Levinson ML-1 preamp. My favorite combination of all of those components was the ML-1 + Marantz 2s, with the 2s operated in triode mode (which I believe is very similarly rated in terms of power capability to the 5s, when both are operated in triode mode).

The 1s and 7 were also quite good, but I preferred the ML-1 by a slight margin. Its built-in phono stage, btw, was excellent, at least when used with moving magnet cartridges. I used the well regarded Grace F-9E Ruby for most of that decade, and I never tried the ML-1’s plug-in boards that provide it with LOMC capability.

The ca. 18 watt triode mode capability of the 2s, btw, together with the 90 db/1 watt/1 meter/7 ohm speakers I was using at the time, was sufficient for most but not quite all of my recordings. Exceptions were classical symphonic recordings having particularly wide dynamic range, such as some of those from Telarc, Sheffield Labs, and Reference Recordings. Bass drum whacks on some of those recordings could cause the power tubes to visibly arc.  Ultra-linear mode provided about 3 db more power, of course, but I found to be significantly less preferable sonically.

Hope that helps. Regards,

-- Al
irish_tim
50 posts
 
A CJ Premier 16 preamp and any McCormack amp would be superb.  
ausernamethathasntbeentaken OP
7 posts
 
Glennewdick, did you do the Garrard build yourself? Anyone you could recommend for such a build? Thanks
ausernamethathasntbeentaken OP
7 posts
 
Almarg, thanks - what tonearm and turntable did you use with the Grace cartridge? Based on your response I think I'll defer looking for a Marantz vintage preamp (unless something really interesting comes along) and use the Levinson 26s + 25s for both systems initially. 
almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
What tonearm and turntable did you use with the Grace cartridge?

I used, and in fact still use, a Magnepan Unitrac tonearm and a SOTA Sapphire turntable, which I purchased in 1983. Both still work as well as when they were new!

I used various incarnations of the Grace F-9E, F-9E Ruby, and SoundSmith re-tipped F-9E Ruby with that arm and table for most of 30+ years. In the last few years, based largely on glowing praise provided by other members here, I went to a currently produced Audio Technica AT-ART9 low output moving coil cartridge and a Herron VTPH-2 phono stage.  I’ve been very pleased with both.

The Maggie arm, by the way, is best suited for cartridges having medium to high compliance. I would not pair it with a low compliance cartridge, such as the Koetsus for example.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al


ausernamethathasntbeentaken OP
7 posts
 
Al, that's very interesting! My last system (circa 1995), and the best one I ever had, was C22+MC275+10B with a SOTA Sapphire and Proac supertablettes on high quality stands. I have no recollection at all of the tonearm and cartridge, but the system seemed superb to me at the time, particularly with vocals. I'm sure it still would today. Perhaps another SOTA with Unitrac tonearm and the Audio Technica cartridge could be just the ticket for the 90's system I am looking to build around Levinson electronics? These seem to be available at reasonable prices, which suits me. Actually, the 90's Levinson stuff is also reasonably priced for what it is. The 50's tube system willl probably cost 50-75% more to build out, but I do want to have both. BTW, I also like the looks of the Magnepan tonearm and Audio Technica cartridge. Thanks!  
almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
A word of caution, though, about the Unitrac.  They apparently had a design or manufacturing issue which in many cases eventually caused a burr to cut the internal wiring, which is said to be impractical to replace.  At least a couple of members here have reported experiencing that problem, while I and at least one other member (who has two Unitracs) have had no such issue. 

See the following thread:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-tonearm-for-high-compliance-mm

Good luck.  Regards,
-- Al 
noromance's avatar
noromance
1,780 posts
 
Check out my system. I run modified 1957 EICO HF35 monos. Old iron is like an aged violin. 
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
702 posts
 

I picked up the table from an original local owner and it was in very good original condition so other then a quick clean and lube it was perfect. I had a local craftsman build the plinth for me, there are pictures of it in my profile, not hard and cost me $600. I did the rest, ordered the arm and installed it. other then that I added some cones for isolation and that’s was it. not a big deal really you just need to find a good table to start with. this is were time and money will come into effect. another option is to get a rebuild table form somewhere like loricraft and buy a plinth from online there are dozens of companies and people out there that build quality plinths anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands of dollars. arms, there are so many arm choices its hard to decide I went the Jelco path because of funds and cost to performance value of the Jelco arms are high.


google Garrard 301 there are so many helpful people and builds for these tables with a huge upgrade path. theres a good article in absolute sound a few years ago that followed a simple build then again when he upgraded it considerably. there are also quite a few companies that specialize in these tables Loricraft probably the best known as they bought the Garrard name.


http://garrard501.com/

and another very good high end company

https://www.artisanfidelity.com/restoration/




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