£300 to improve my system

[MarginWalker]

Hi all,

I have approx £300 available to improve my current set up...

- Thorens TD160 , all stock with the exception of a hardwood plinth, thicker MDF baseboard and replacement RCA cables
- Nagaoka Stilton MP11 boron cartridge
- Rega Brio R
- Rega RS1 speakers
- Audiolab Q DAC (sources for this are laptop and chromecast audio)

My first thoughts were either a new arm for the turntable, a new cart, new speakers or a record cleaning machine to improve upon the spin clean i currently use.

For the speakers i need standmounts that can be used close to a rear wall.

All suggestions and recommendations welcome!

Phil

[Yomanze]

Sure, replace your Rega RS1s with a pair of Epos ES14. :)

[wee tee cee]

Airlink BMU.....It will give everything a lift.

[Yomanze]

Airlink BMU.....It will give everything a lift.

...maybe, maybe not. ;)

I used one for years, a 2.5kVA one, but now I don't use any filtering, regen or balanced mains, just a big Olson mains block.

[Macca]

I don't think you can really improve on that system with only £300.

Although a proper record cleaning machine is a good idea, better than a spin-clean and a lot less mither

[MarginWalker]

I don't think you can really improve on that system with only £300.

Although a proper record cleaning machine is a good idea, better than a spin-clean and a lot less mither

I guess I could sell the component being replaced to boost the budget somewhat. What do you think would be required to improve on it?

[Scooby]

I would trade in or sell the TD160 and buy a better deck and arm with the proceeds plus your £300. Something like a Rock, Xerxes, pink, Alphason sonata, even a Mantra paired with a Rega RB250/300 will be a good step up.

[MarginWalker]

The Thorens is actually the one thing i dont want to part with as it has sentimental value. I am happy to improve or upgrade it but will definitley be holding on to it.


I would trade in or sell the TD160 and buy a better deck and arm with the proceeds plus your £300. Something like a Rock, Xerxes, pink, Alphason sonata, even a Mantra paired with a Rega RB250/300 will be a good step up.

[Sherwood]

The Thorens is actually the one thing i dont want to part with as it has sentimental value. I am happy to improve or upgrade it but will definitley be holding on to it.

You could buy my little used M-Dac and sell the Q-Dac. :)

[Scooby]

The Thorens is actually the one thing i dont want to part with as it has sentimental value. I am happy to improve or upgrade it but will definitley be holding on to it.

In that case I'd agree with Macca. I reckon you can get a different presentation by spending £300 but I doubt you'd hear £300 worth of improvement. A better cart will be limited by the arm. A better arm isn't really worth it on the 160. The amp is fine unless you're using more demanding speakers, but changing speakers to something better will only throw a greater light on the source.

[Macca]

I guess I could sell the component being replaced to boost the budget somewhat. What do you think would be required to improve on it?

Speakers. Nowt wrong with the Regas you have and I quite like them but anything can be improved and improving the speakers will make the most difference. Not sure what you would need to spend but if you are happy to buy second hand and have room for something larger then there are bargains out there for not much more than your budget.

Small speakers tend to hold their value more than big ones, in the UK at least.

[walpurgis]

The TD160 is probably the hardest item to improve on without spending a lot more than £300.

[Macca]

Should also consider that Rega amp and speaker combos do tend to add up to more than the sum of their parts. You may lose a bit of synergy with none-Rega speakers - or you may not. Something to watch out for though.

[MarginWalker]

Thanks for the input guys. I was initially thinking about either a SME 3009 arm or potentially the Kralk BC30 speakers that are for sale on here, but it sounds like I might be better off just spending a bit of cash on some new records, enjoying my current system and saving a bit more cash til I can afford a more significant upgrade

[Macca]

If there is nothing that is irritating you or sounds especially wrong with your system now then that's not a bad idea.

[Svend N]

Phil, just a thought...I have obtained the biggest bang for the buck by modding what I already own with carefully chosen upgrade parts. If there are any inherent weaknesses in, say, your amp or speakers as a result of the manufacturer building to a price point, then you may be able to make some real improvements by working with a skilled technician who knows what to selectively replace. E.g. op amps in the Brio? Caps in the crossovers and/or the amp?

In my case, I had work done on a Teac VRDS-10 cd player, which has a great transport but was lacking in the clock chip, op amps, and caps. These were all replaced with a discrete clock board, discrete op amps, and selective cap replacement in the signal path, plus other minor mods. The difference in sound quality was huge, and cost was many thousands less than buying a machine that would equal it in sound quality. Likewise my Sony TA-E86B preamp -- fully modded, all caps replaced, and many other tweaks -- and it now sounds outstanding, whereas before it merely sounded very good. The mods transformed the sound, and for very reasonable cost.

I am not familiar with the build of your components, but perhaps others here may have insight, or at least can recommend a knowledgeable tech who is experienced with such work. A consult with such a tech may be well worth a small fee, or may even be no-cost.

Finally, you don't mention if you have any upgraded interconnects or speaker cables. While the improvements here will be more subtle than a new component or the mods described above, they are real and apparent in a good system. And hey, every little bit helps bump you up the ladder. If you're handy with a soldering iron, making them yourself is very inexpensive.

Good luck in the quest!

Svend

PS -- how did your plinth project turn out? What did you end up using for the final finish? Wax or more Danish oil?

[rdpx]

If you're anything like me, this £300 upgrade will not be the end point, right?

When I do this kind of thing I try to upgrade something as far as I can afford, so parts of the system leap frog each other So I went from a small pair of bookshelf Tannoys up to a pair of PMC GB1. Then I put a Clearaudio Nano Phono into my Brio3, which was a big improvement. The plan was to at some point move onto a better amp with no integrated phono. That eventually turned into a Croft Integrated Phono which is now probably the best bit of our system.
Next plan to leap frog is the speakers, but for now they're quite happy being fed by the Croft.

My point I think is you shouldn't worry about getting something that is going to show up another part of your system because you can sort that in your next upgrade hit.

If you're lucky (and patient) you could probably find a Croft, or some other amp that would be a decent jump up, at a price not too far off what you might get for your BrioR + £300.

Or you could find a great phono stage and start plotting your next amp...

(No point changing the cartridge until the stylus is worn out mind you, as that's an expense you are going to have to deal with at some point anyway)

Which bit of your system do you think you most want to change, and do you have any bits of kit that you find yourself lusting after?

R

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[MarginWalker]

Thanks, Robert. Yes, my approach sounds a lot like yours as I certainly don’t see the next upgrade as being my end point. I guess I was hoping that someone on here would recommend something that would transform my system for £300 which, in hindsight is a bit naive. I think the speakers are what I would aim to improve on first. I really like them but I would like something with a little more bass. I think I will try to search out a pair of Epos ES11 (which have been recommended to me by a couple of people) just so I can try something different and scratch the upgrade itch. I can always move them on again if I find they aren’t an improvement on the RS1.

[MarginWalker]

Phil, just a thought...I have obtained the biggest bang for the buck by modding what I already own with carefully chosen upgrade parts. If there are any inherent weaknesses in, say, your amp or speakers as a result of the manufacturer building to a price point, then you may be able to make some real improvements by working with a skilled technician who knows what to selectively replace. E.g. op amps in the Brio? Caps in the crossovers and/or the amp?

In my case, I had work done on a Teac VRDS-10 cd player, which has a great transport but was lacking in the clock chip, op amps, and caps. These were all replaced with a discrete clock board, discrete op amps, and selective cap replacement in the signal path, plus other minor mods. The difference in sound quality was huge, and cost was many thousands less than buying a machine that would equal it in sound quality. Likewise my Sony TA-E86B preamp -- fully modded, all caps replaced, and many other tweaks -- and it now sounds outstanding, whereas before it merely sounded very good. The mods transformed the sound, and for very reasonable cost.

I am not familiar with the build of your components, but perhaps others here may have insight, or at least can recommend a knowledgeable tech who is experienced with such work. A consult with such a tech may be well worth a small fee, or may even be no-cost.

Finally, you don't mention if you have any upgraded interconnects or speaker cables. While the improvements here will be more subtle than a new component or the mods described above, they are real and apparent in a good system. And hey, every little bit helps bump you up the ladder. If you're handy with a soldering iron, making them yourself is very inexpensive.

Good luck in the quest!

Svend

PS -- how did your plinth project turn out? What did you end up using for the final finish? Wax or more Danish oil?

It’s looking good Svend, thanks. I applied a tiny bit of wax after the oil and I’m happy with the result. I have the new dustcover coming on Monday so once that arrives it will be all done for the moment.

[Svend N]

It’s looking good Svend, thanks. I applied a tiny bit of wax after the oil and I’m happy with the result. I have the new dustcover coming on Monday so once that arrives it will be all done for the moment.

Nice! Great to hear that you're happy with it and it turned out well. Enjoy.

BTW, in case you didn't know of this site, here's a wealth of info on all things Thorens, incl. the 160: http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_td_160_dept_.htm
Lots of stuff on suspension adjustment and tweaks. Maybe there are recommendations for tonearms that are a good match.