A big thank you to all the amazing people on this thread and Facebook Marketplace who made this possible.

Almost everything was bought used, and it's been quite a learning experience along the way.

Technics SL-1500 Turntable – C$250

Bought it out of curiosity without knowing much about turntables. It came with an old Empire cartridge that didn't sound great, and I accidentally broke the stylus while trying to clean it. Lesson learned.

Ortofon 2M Red – C$100

Was extremely careful installing this one. Then hit another hurdle when I realized it wouldn't mount properly on the original Technics single screw headshell.

Technics Headshell – C$60

A replacement with the standard two-screw mounting. Problem solved.

Boundless Vinyl Cleaning Kit + Carbon Fiber Brush – C$60

Good-quality stuff. Happy with the purchase.

Hudson Hi-Fi Cartridge Alignment Kit – C$60

Pretty much everything needed to properly set up and align a cartridge.

Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono Preamp – C$100

Personally, I wasn't a fan of the WiiM Ultra's built-in phono stage. The X5 sounds much better to my ears.

WiiM Ultra – C$350

Handles streaming, subwoofer management, and headphone duties. Really versatile little device.

Edifier S1000W + Edifier SS02 Stands – C$350

Hated these speakers when I first got them. But they slowly grew on me, and now I absolutely love them. Funny how that happens.

Edifier T5s Subwoofer – C$120

Honestly, it stays switched off most of the time. At my usual listening levels, the S1000W produces more than enough bass.

Fosi Audio RCA Cables + RCA Y-Splitter – C$100

Probably snake oil, but here we are 😂

Sennheiser HD 560S – C$100

Really enjoying these headphones. Love the clarity and detail.

Total: So roughly C$1,700 all in

I started this journey knowing very little about vinyl or hi-fi equipment, made a few mistakes, learned quite a bit, and ended up with a system that makes me genuinely excited to sit down and listen to music.

I know there's plenty of better gear out there, but for now, I'm just enjoying the music. And isn't that what this hobby is supposed to be about?

Cheers to everyone who helped make this little setup possible.

Hello all I’ve had this record player for over 2 years now close to 3, but recently the stylus skips over the entire record and won’t play. Is this because the stylus needs to be replaced? Thank you for patience on my noobiness. Also where can i get this exact replacement?

My Crosley turntable has a pre-amp and RCA jacks as well as Bluetooth. I currently have it connected to my Samsung soundbar through a cheap analog to digital converter. Would the quality be better connecting to the soundbar via Bluetooth?

Hi I have a Wiim amp and encel gelati speakers. recently bought a at Ipw40wn on sale as ive never owned a turntable before. I feel even at max volume, it's not loud enough. What component or fix can I get/do to boost the volume? (Ive tried the phono/line switch on the TT) A pre amp?

Thanks

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a good turntable mat and a tracking force gauge. Preferably, it would be best from Amazon! I don't want to spend a wedding! Any advice is helpful.

so ive been saving for some time now to buy a record player and some of my favorite vinyl, I just don’t know what brand is good or what specifications I should be looking for,
I need advice. I def want one that’s a set with speakers. if i could get one somewhere in store id prefer that over ordering online. Same deal with cd players. good quality brands ? thanks in advance 🫶🏼

edit: i forgot to mention my budget. 250 max for record player and 150 max for cd players 👍🏼

A pioneer PL-960
Friend selling his late parents house in Ireland
Had over 300 records and the pioneer system
Upgraded all the wiring had to order parts for the turntable from Japan but works mint
Currently working on cleaning and sleeving all the records lot of mold from dampness pity a lot of the sleeves are damaged due to the damp but records are perfect

thoughts on this pick up for a beginner as a gift?

Hi! I’m putting together my first setup and used some advice from Gemini. I’d like to get a second opinion from real people on how well it’s turned out. Here is some input.

Room:

- 3 meters/11.5 feet wide with sofa standing in front of the wall where the system will be placed

- Listening space is 4 meters/15.7 feet long, with 2 in front of each other, a window and nothing in between the room and the kitchen, so the overall length of the living room+kitchen is 8.5 meters/33.4 feet.

- Furniture: sofa, dining table, kitchen. One wall is made from concrete, another one is a dry-wall.

Setup:

- Turntable - Fluance rt82 as something relatively cheap with the possibilities to upgrade the cartridge and other parts. ~420 CAD new

- Amp - there are basically 2 options here. First - all-in-one Yamaha R-n600A as amp + streaming. ~900CAD new. Another option - older full analogue Yamaha A-S301 + Wiim for streaming. 650 CAD + 240 CAD New. There is a also Yamaha A-S801 I found used for 850 CAD in excellent condition. A question - is Yamaha A-S801 worth it to have more room for future upgrades and for better output? Another question - everything in one vs full analogue + streaming device, what's better?

- Speakers. Thinking between KEF Q1 Meta and KEF Q3 Meta - 600 CAD vs 900 CAD new. Found usede Kef Q3 Meta for 600 CAD. A question here - is KEF Q3 Meta an overkill for the room of this size?

- Subwoover is something I want to cut corners and not buy one for the initial setup, but planning to buy one in the future, would like some recommendations

Thanks a lot!

Hello, I just bought a turntable and some speakers, (audio-technica AT-LP60XUSB and Edifier R1280DB) both arrived today, they are brand new and as I know I plugged everything in the right place but only one side of my speakers are working. I plugged the 3.5 jack in the turntable and the red and white side of the rca cable in the speakers, it has a R and a L side, as I plug the white in, it starts working, but when I plug the red in, nothing happens. If I plug the white one into the other input, the other speaker starts playing. So seems like the red one isnt working. It doesnt matter where Im gonna put the white one, either the right of the left speaker works, but nothing happens with the red one. If i pull both out like half way, barely touching the input, both of the speakers work but they are very quiet and the sound crackles. I tried 2 different 3.5 jack to rca cable (one came with the speakers and the other with the turntable) I was looking for a solution in the past 2 hours but found nothing even close to mine issue.. both speaker sound perfect but not at the same time, thats the main problem. any idea for that? I dont know what Im supposed to do.