The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Was wondering was there a relatively simple, inexpensive (also relatively) stereo and speaker setup out there to purchase?
    I have ZERO interest in going down the Rabbit Hole of top notch audio gear, I just want the following:

    * C/D player
    * A few speakers
    * turntable
    * the ability to link phone or other device to

    In the 80's-90's I had 2 large speakers, turntable, a receiver, tape deck, carousel C/D player and equalizer I believe. It was a gift and I knew nothing about that stuff., just wnated to play some music. It was a gift and seemed simple. Over the course of a few moves we got rid of it all and now have to start from scratch and it all seems overwhelming now.

    This is literally "Stereos for Dummies"!

    Any help or guidance is appreciated.....

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  3. #2

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    The easy way is probably powered speakers. They come with bluetooth to connect to phones et al, and many have multiple inputs. Turntables and CD players are available in many places, and brands, and I have no particular recommendations. I have CD players, but I haven't pulled them out in years. I have ripped all my CDs that I care about, and it's far more convenient to play from the files on hard drives. Just for safely, I have the music on separate drives, one magnetic and one SSD, plus stored in the cloud. I stream from Google a lot using my phone, and it's easy to cast that to powered speakers. My turntable is left over from my component days of the 70s, and I haven't looked closely at newer models. For speakers, Edifier offers some highly-rated bookshelf models for a reasonable price. I don't have any, though. I limp along with old amps and speakers. My Bose 901s still work fine.

  4. #3

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    TEAC MCD800B 20-watt Turntable System with AM/FM/CD/Wireless Technology in Black

    I bought this unit a few years ago. Easy to link Bluetooth from phone/IPad. Sounds decent in a small room and takes up little space. On sale for half of what I paid ?

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bflat
    TEAC MCD800B 20-watt Turntable System with AM/FM/CD/Wireless Technology in Black

    I bought this unit a few years ago. Easy to link Bluetooth from phone/IPad. Sounds decent in a small room and takes up little space. On sale for half of what I paid ?
    Wow, does that like easy and simple!
    I wonder if you can upgrade or add speakers. I imagine so.
    Thank you very much!

  6. #5

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    Unless you want vinyl to access recordings you can't otherwise listen to, I suggest steering clear of vinyl at this stage. Just focus on a basic 2-channel stereo unit and some kind of all-in-one integrated amplifier/player.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by DMgolf66
    Was wondering was there a relatively simple, inexpensive (also relatively) stereo and speaker setup out there to purchase?
    I have ZERO interest in going down the Rabbit Hole of top notch audio gear, I just want the following:

    * C/D player
    * A few speakers
    * turntable
    * the ability to link phone or other device to

    In the 80's-90's I had 2 large speakers, turntable, a receiver, tape deck, carousel C/D player and equalizer I believe. It was a gift and I knew nothing about that stuff., just wnated to play some music. It was a gift and seemed simple. Over the course of a few moves we got rid of it all and now have to start from scratch and it all seems overwhelming now.

    This is literally "Stereos for Dummies"!

    Any help or guidance is appreciated.....

    I feel exacty the same way - -and I mean exactly - -about my cable remote and cell phones....: )........

  8. #7

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    Buy used.

    Learn & purchase on AudioGon.

    Back in the day I got a Rega / Bryston / Vandersteen rig for about ten cents on the dollar. It still sounds great. My neighbors still hate it.

  9. #8

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    Spend a few hours looking through this site - Audiokarma

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by DMgolf66
    Wow, does that like easy and simple!
    I wonder if you can upgrade or add speakers. I imagine so.
    Thank you very much!
    that's no audiophile piece of gear, but it definitely takes care of your wants..and there are few other all in one options! (just had a look around amazon)

    you could use different speakers... but at 10w per channel, any replacement speaker would have to be fairly efficient..not a lot of power there...

    seems to be a good recommend by bflat, for your listed needs

    cheers

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    Spend a few hours looking through this site - Audiokarma
    Yes, good site, I have posted many hi-fi repair threads there user "ic-racer"

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    Spend a few hours looking through this site - Audiokarma
    Afew hours too many for me, ha!

  13. #12

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    Or you could get an audio interface for you computer and a couple of powered studio monitors and start down the rabbit hole of a home recording studio.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by fep
    Or you could get an audio interface for you computer and a couple of powered studio monitors and start down the rabbit hole of a home recording studio.
    Ha, ain't nobody want to hear me playing.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by DMgolf66
    Ha, ain't nobody want to hear me playing.
    Ha... lol. But seriously, studio monitors can sound pretty good even though they're generally designed to sound accurate. Stereo speakers are suppose to actually be designed to sound good, not necessarily accurate though, or so I've read.

  16. #15

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  17. #16

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    My favorite web site for audio is Audio Science Review. Worth your time especially if considering going full digital. Lots of useful information and reviews, including of speakers as of recently. Lots of welcome, merciless debunking of "high end" audio. Good news is, there's no need to spend fortunes on audio gear today in order to get great sound.

  18. #17

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    After paying for my kids to have Spotify for several years, I finally asked them what the heck it was. They responded that I could access any music ever made..something like that anyway. I gave it a shot and I am addicted. Access on your I phone or computer, a bluetooth connection or an aux cable and you're set. I have a decent powered speaker for the home, I got a bluetooth adapter for my old home stereo (Amazon $20), and a portable speaker for where ever. I use Sotify in my cars as well. Even if you don't have a blue tooth stereo in the car you can still rig it up with an Aux cable or worse comes to worse, a bluetooth adapter that plugs into you car's 12 V supply. I have an old truck that had worn out speakers (kid's rap music killed em) and an old dash unit. I went to Crutchfield and for not too much $ installed after market speakers and a new modern dash unit.

    And I know,the files are compressed or whatever but it's good enough for me and I was already paying the monthly fee. Sometimes I'll hear a song and ask Siri what song that is and she'll respond and I'll save it to Spotofy. I have tons of cds and old cassettes that have not been out of the box for years now.

    In a perfect world I would have walls of vinyl and a high dollar old school stereo (they did sound awesome back in the day) but, it is a heck of a lot better than what I was doing not so many years ago.

    I bought a used car a few years ago and the prior owner left the sirius radio subscription on it for a few weeks and i got hooked on that as well.

  19. #18

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    Not really what the OP is looking for but I had a good sound system from the '90s with an amp and 2 good quality speakers with crossovers and all.
    But last December, I got rid of the whole thing for a Sonos TV Bar after the wife suggest we get more room in our living room, where every little space gain in a small flat counts!
    Fun part is it sounds good enough for both my music and TV needs.
    Last month she also sold me on Spotify after she took a 2 adults subscription for both of us.
    It is incredible all what is available there, even some obscure Kraut rock bands I would never have doubt being available.
    I know its not the best solution to support artists, but it is still better than using my 2TB of MP3s
    Nowadays I play mostly stuff streamed either from the phone or a laptop to a JBL bluetooth speaker or through the Sonos.
    Certainly not audiophile quality but unmatched portability and accessibility!

  20. #19

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    I got a couple of months of free Amazon Prime Music. Like it so much I may even pay for it.

  21. #20

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    I did not know what "spotify" was so I looked it up. "Video Takeover" no thanks, I think I'll listen to my CDs and LPs instead.

    Spotify offers advertisers ten different types of advertising formats, described in 2016 as: Branded Moments, Sponsored Playlists, Sponsored Sessions, Video Takeovers, Audio, Display, Overlay, Homepage Takeovers, Branded Playlists, and Advertiser Pages.

    Video Takeover is a "video spot with a companion display unit", is "served during commercial ad breaks between songs in a music session"...

  22. #21

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    ^^Video takeover? Maybe there is a free version. I’ve never seen an ad on Spotify.

  23. #22

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    What is your budget? That’s the first step to figure out before making recommendations.

  24. #23

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    I think you can get Spotify and Pandora for free, but you have to put up with the ads, but with a paid subscription you don't get the ads. TANSTAAFL. I've been paying for a family subscription to Google Music (soon to be YouTube Music) for some time. It has my entire library, and knows my preferences, so I don't get a lot of music I don't want to hear unless I intentionally go on a tangent. I'm not interested in all the music ever recorded, so most of what is available is useless to me. But there are tons of older jazz on YouTube, and that is of interest. Paid subscription so no ads, just music that I like. $15/month total for everyone in the family. The quality is good enough to satisfy all of us.

  25. #24

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    Spotify and a sonos (you'll need a play 5 or a connect to link a cd player or turntable) . Got rid of all my cd's. If I really like something I'll buy it on vinyl which is also connected downstairs to the play 5.
    I have an old turntable, micro seiki dr 31 which was a gift from a neighbour and i love it. If you're buying a new one i would look at pro-ject or rega.

  26. #25

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    You know you're asking audiophile input about what you describe, but what audiophiles consider unlistenable junk, right?
    You really need to disclose your budget. If it is less than about $1000 you may be very disappointed with anything you buy new. However, if you are not in a hurry and are willing to do some research on the audio forums, you can learn about nice used equipment, much of the best of that made before about 1980.