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Advice on integrated and turntable to front Keesonic Kubs.

Mr Magoo

Hello. How are you?
I’m looking to put together a vinyl based system for my son before he starts Uni in a few months. I have a relatively compact pair of Keesonic Kubs as my starting point (a pair I bought in about 1979 I think). I’m looking for a compact integrated with a mm phono stage and a turntable that is preferably semi automatic (though not essential).

I know the speakers are very good as I recall (originally teamed with an brilliant Armstrong 626 and Trio KD1033B....odd how I recall these bits of hi fi, but can’t recall my mobile number or current car registration), but would welcome some suggestions with a budget of say £100 for the amp and £150 for the turntable.

Also, can anyone recommend a decent budget cartridge?

Many thanks
Peter
 
as to the latter, the king of budget carts is AT's 95.
As to the first 2 questions there are hundreds of used bits on ebay, and since it may get some 'careless use', I'd suggest toughness over sound quality.
When I did this for a pal, we found a mini music system as the power source (denon)..it's suprisingly good and you get a CD and tuner thrown in free.
 
Second the AT 95e, though the Rega Carbon is also excellent, cheaper still and comes with decent mounting hardware.

I have a Denon UD-M31 which was part of my Uni system and is still going strong. It does not, however, have a phono stage, so unless you can grab a real bargain or get a TT with a preamp it may be suboptimal. I also have two old Rotel Amps, both of which have decent phono stages, but may be bigger than you were thinking...

My Granny's Pioneer PL-518 'Direct Drive, Auto Return' is still going strong and would probably see off quite a few reasonably priced modern decks. At the modern end AT make some fully auto decks, that have a phono stage and could be used with the Denon, or similar. I think the cheapest might just be in budget new!
 
With my Kubs I use a Creek CAS4040 integrated purchased here in Classifieds a while back for about £40. I can't vouch for the built-in phono stage since I only stream but the combination sounds very good. Mine has RCA phono inputs for "disc" (vinyl) and DIN for the others. You will find various reviews and write-ups via Google.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. A built in phono option is a requirement as I want to keep it as straight forward as possible. The semi auto tt is preferred as my son is disabled and may damage the stylus. I encourage him to try vinyl and he loves it. So getting him a vinyl based system will hopefully maintain his interest.

Just got him a great CD player courtesy of a PFM member and my sincere thanks to him (thanks Giuseppe) for a smooth purchase and ultra fast shipping. I have a Marantz PM66SE spare, but it’s physically quite big.

Peter
 


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