Just retired and want to get back to vinyl listening

Music Direct has open box Luxman 550AX for $3.5k, that's $2k off. 

Hi Steve, I've got to add my $2. Congrats on making it through your illustrious career. I retired several years ago to pursue other opportunities. I got back into analogue audio about three years ago. I have spent more money than I care to count trying to satisfy my lust for good sound.

I'm not going to tell you what brands to buy. I will just relate some of my experience. Peter Lederman told me the speakers and turntable/cartridge are the most important. In that order. You can match the electronics to those. I use a 35 yo Conrad-Johnson PV6 and an Acoustat TNT120 for the amplification. They sound as good as anything for my speakers, ATC SCM19s. You need to match features that you need with the performance necessary for the speakers. Your phono stage should match your cartridge, not the other way around. Pick speakers that will sound good in a variety of locations, so if you decide to move into a different room you don't have an acoustic nightmare, like I did.

As you are aware, there are literally 100s of cartridges and everyone will tell you to buy what they have. A really good one is going to go for $1K - $10K. Just remember that in spite of advancing age and the subsequent hearing loss, the best possible sound will be enjoyable even if you need hearing aids to have a conversation or watch TV. You will put them aside to listen.

The turntable needs to be able to track the better carts, specifically the cart you have chosen and most will do a fine job. I've heard VPI bandied about in this thread. If you don't mind tinkering and tweaking, the VPI is a very fine turntable. I have a Prime Signature. It sounds wonderful with my Sound-Smith Voice.

I had no idea though, the amount of continuous tweaking that is needed. Everything is adjustable, which is good, but there is a compulsion to tweak it to squeeze more, better sound out of it. Or you'll notice a bit of sibilance and after spending hours if not days trying to find what has caused it you find a tweak will help. You can buy tools and what not to help in the tweaking, but you are still tweaking. You'll need a Fozgometer and test records. You can adjust the azimuth with that. A lot, they say, do it by ear. Great! I can tweak and listen, then tweak and listen some more, etc., etc. Oh, and anti-skate. That's a whole education in and of itself.

So you've got to ask yourself, "do I want to just listen or do I want to spend my retirement tweaking?" I personally would prefer to set it and forget it so I can just listen. The VPI is hands on at all times.

You've heard what everyone else has recommended, mostly hardware, but I thought a bit of my personal experience might help too. Once the equipment selection is done, you'll want to listen and enjoy. If you've done a good job selecting you'll have years of pleasure in your retirement. Best of luck on this new adventure, bring the Dramamine. And, happy listening!

Peace out, Len

inna -- thanks for that -- I think I’m after a Luxman 590 -- although that is a tempting offer..............trying to understand the difference between the AX and AX mkII Luxman integrateds -- These are difficult beast to go see in shops.. The place I auditioned the Devore speakers - the owner had sold them until the distributor change.. I’ll be getting the I-AMP and speakers after the move...

len -- thanks.. I decided on a clearaudio concept wood with satisfy carbon fiver arm and the clearaudio maestro v2 MM cartridge to start -- I had read about and discussed the VPI tweaking with my friend who has a VPI Scout and with the shop I bought the TT from as they are also a VPI dealer -- they are going to take me through setup and care and feeding of the beast -- I do not think I will be an endless tweaker, but could upgrade change some things over time.

in my first round of "stereo" decades ago -- over a 16 year period -- I had Genesis (I can not remember the model - but was a big bookshelf style like an old Advent), Heresy, DCM TF500 speakers (these were ok, but I was traveling and moving so much in my early Active Duty days in the mid 80’s this is wre I give up my TT and other "stereo" things for a number of years -- Yamaha and Denon Receivers, Technics TT -- etc all

I would like to hear some of the ATM classic series speakers

oops - that would be ATC Classic series  -- lots of ATC models have built-in amps -- that is not where I'm interested in going for this setup...

Did some more listening and learning today from the other hifi audio place close to me.. nice people as well

this trip was to specifically listen to Harbeth and Audio Note Speakers..  some side listen to some shop made very large and very expensive setups, but back to things in my budget

they did not have the Harbeth 40.2s in the place - but had 30.1s and they were very good with both digital and vinyl sources through Synthesis I-amps  or some in house built amps

Audio note speaker listen was an AN-E -- This was very very good and a smaller model AudioNote

The AN-E seems much like a Devore 0/93 that I have not heard yet -- will this week or next

These speakers all were very good with tube I-AMP  - heard with Synthesis A100 and A40

I may give the node to the AN-E for just natural listening to music...

thoughts on these speakers and Synthesis AMP -- I really was not going to tubes -- but may -- it is a time to listen more -- not sure I'll be able to listen to these various speakers with a Luxman I-AMP - but wish too

another 2+ hours well spent in the education