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Finally stepping into the hobby after 30 years of watching from the sidelines

Ok, so I hope you are all ok with a longwinded post from a first time user of the forum.  I have been obsessed with vinyl and tubes since my dad played records for me as a 5 year old.  My wife and I are finally in a place that we can take the leap into the scene.  We want to grow our system over time and may even create 2-3 systems along the way as we have a bed and breakfast where we want to make analog part of the theme. 

We have made up our mind that our first speakers will be Vandersteen 2CE sigs.  That is about as far as we have gotten.  We definitely want to power them with tubes and have very little idea of where to start.  Obviously the mainstream option would be a Mcintosh mc275 and our local HiFi salesman would LOVE to sell us a pair of those.  However, we know that there are several cheeper/better options out there and would love some input from the board.  We'd like to keep the first amp under $3,000, but we aren't locked into that.  Keep in mind that we are ok starting with a single amp and then adding a second one along the way to mono them.  Also, we would love some help with a table/arm/cartridge!  One with an integrated phono stage is fine to start with and we would again be open to upgrading and adding a stand alone phono stage later on.  

We will be doing some electrical work soon to run a 40 amp fuse to the BnBs espresso machine and would be open to setting up a dedicated line for our main system at that time so that we can have clean power.  Has any one had any experience with this?  Any ideas or recommendations that you may have would be a big help here! 

Thank you all in advance, and we are really excited to finally be part of the scene! 
cottguy
cottguy's avatar
cottguy OP
44 posts
 
Thanks inna!  We are primarily into piano heavy jazz and vocals.  Orchestra isn't our thing, so huge amounts of power shouldn't be a concern.  You were right when you said we want a warm cozy relaxed sound, but we also want to make sure we have decent clarity with tight bass.  Due to the nature of the BnB, we won't be able to accommodate face melting volume, so again you are right on with that assumption.  

The room is large.  It is approximately 20 x 40.  The speakers will be placed at about the mid point of the room facing one of the walls.  So the listening area will be about 20x20 with the kitchen area BEHIND the speakers.  Leaving a 20x20 space behind the listening area.  We know that this isn't optimal, but it's what we have for now.  The ceiling is 11 ft tall.  

If I didn't address your questions properly, please let me know as I'm still learning :-)
cottguy's avatar
cottguy OP
44 posts
 
Infection, I already have a decent amount of dislike for dealers.  I can't believe how they go out of their way not to help you.  

Erik_squires, room acoustics is something we are already planning to work on and will be trying to improve them as we go.  
gdnrbob
2,421 posts
 
That is a large room for the Vandy 2's, I would consider getting the 3a sigs-at the least, with the 2w/wq subs. or the Quattros used. 
If you are set with the 2's, then get a pair of Vandy subs. For a room that size, you are going to need some bass augmentation.
For amps/preamps/DAC, I recommend McCormack, which pair nicely with Vandersteen's and don't cost an arm and a leg.
I would also contact Johnny R at Audioconnection, he is a Agon member, and a Vandy Dealer, and he won't steer you wrong.
(Audioconnection is his member name).
Bob
cottguy's avatar
cottguy OP
44 posts
 
gdnrbob, unfortunately, that addresses a concern that we had about the 2's.  Keep in mind, that this is our first system.  We will probably upgrade to the quattros in the future and move these speakers to another room where they will be better suited.  Thanks for the recommendation for Audioconnection!  I'll be sure to reach out to him! 
facten
931 posts
 
cottguy,

If you haven't done this already you might go to the Virtual Systems page and type in Vandersteen 2ce at the top of that page, this will bring up systems of folks who have those speakers. You click on the system picture and the next page will give you the system components being used by that member. Also, this enables you to indentify members that you might want to directly contact. Good luck
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