The good news is that you don’t need to spend a lot to enjoy your turntable. You can also incrementally add to your system over time and don’t need to purchase everything at once in order to get started. The bad news is that there are also plenty of expensive products on the market and salespeople willing to separate you from your money if you are so inclined. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the products aren’t worth the money (value is a tricky and personal matter to qualify) but be cautious of anyone with a financial stake in the outcome telling you want you must do. I think we are primarily visually oriented creatures and so can generally reach consensus on what looks clearer, sharper, etc. Audio is a bit different in my opinion; we usually can tell what we like but that isn’t necessarily the same thing if you were to ask two different people. Various tube and solid state receivers, amplifiers, preamplifiers and/or phono stages can all have unique sound characteristics but whether you care for any of them over another is your call. If you are able, try to get your local audio salesman to let you audition the equipment you are considering in your own home before buying it, or order something from an internet direct seller offering a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy, so you can get a better sense of whether you like it before spending your money. In the end, if the sound appeals to you, that’s all that matter regardless of whether the equipment is cheap or pricey, has better or worse specifications, or conforms to some audiophile expert’s opinion as to being the best. Also, I believe there’s a law of diminishing returns when it comes to audio equipment. I don’t doubt that a $10,000 amplifier might sound better than a $500 one but am hard pressed to think it sounds 20 times as good, not to mention being at a loss on how you’d actually quantify that. Here are a couple different options for consideration:
1. Get a standalone phono preamp that connects to your computer. That would get you started listening to your RX2 immediately, as you could take advantage of your Sound sticks until you decide on something to replace them. The phono preamp just boosts the very low output that a turntable produces up to line level so you can connect it to the same inputs you use for a CD player, for example. There are lots of options in this area ranging from around $50 to thousands of dollars. Sites like needle doctors, audio advisers, etc. advertise many different models. Soundsmith makes their own as do numerous, other audio companies. Keep in mind that if the phono preamp just has a USB output, then this likely won’t be an investment you can reuse with an eventual stereo system, although it might still be useful if you ever decide to digitize any of your LPs via your computer. On the other hand, if it has RCA connectors then you could reuse this standalone phono preamp with any stereo receiver or preamp you get. Keep in mind, this initial setup won’t get you great sound but it will get you started with just a single, likely inexpensive purchase (and hopefully one that you can reuse later as you add more components).
2. A better option would be to get a stereo receiver or an integrated amplifier having a built-in phono stage/preamp. You would then just plug your RX2 into its phono jack, connect the ground wire, and listen to records either via a set of headphones (assuming the receiver or preamp has a headphone jack!) or by hooking up a pair of loudspeakers to it. Although not as common as they used to be before CDs came along, there are still plenty of companies that make these and prices can range from cheap to ludicrous. This option requires two pieces of equipment (the receiver or integrated amplifier combined with headphones or speakers) but should give you much better sound than using your computer as a de facto receiver.
3. Alternatively, you could get a receiver or integrated amp without an internal phone stage and connect your RX2 to one of its line level inputs (CD, AUX, Input 1, etc.) via a standalone phono preamp per Option 1 (i.e. RX2 connects to the phone preamp and the preamp connects to the receiver). You are now looking at three pieces of new equipment (receiver, standalone phone preamp and speakers or headphones). You get more flexibility to just replace individual components down the road if you want to upgrade something but this might be a bit more expensive than option 2 (I say might because some companies make multiple models of receivers and those having internal phono preamps tend to be a little more expensive. It might wind up being a wash getting a receiver without one and then factoring in the cost of an external phono preamp).
4. You could also go for a multichannel A/V receiver with a phono input (or coupled with a standalone phono preamp like option 3 if the A/V receiver doesn’t have one). This might be useful if you are thinking of using the same equipment as part of an eventual multi-channel home theater set up but it’ll be overkill for just listening to stereo. Depending on the presence of an internal phono preamp, you are looking at adding two or three pieces of equipment per options 2 or 3.
5. Lastly, you can go for individual components across the board – a stereo preamplifier (with or without an internal phono preamp) and a separate power amplifier, with loudspeakers or headphones connected to them. This gives you the most flexibility to upgrade single components should you want to do so later but will probably be the most expensive option upfront. There are plenty of companies that cater to this market, including internet direct sellers that will let you do a 30 day trial and then return the item if you don't want to keep it.
Anyway, the above is just food for thought and there are probably other options to consider as well. For example, Dave’s suggestion above on a fully integrated B&O system is also a good one. I don’t have firsthand experience there to offer but you are definitely on the right forum to explore that further with people who do! In the end, trust your own ears and know that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get up and running, nor to build a system that makes you happy. Enjoy the RX2. I’ve had a Beogram RX for 30 years now that I continue to enjoy and, although the RX2 came out after I got my turntable, believe it was similar as well as a step up. With regard to the Soundsmith cartridge, I have one that’s about 5 years old now and it’s still going strong. Try to not to plug and unplug it from the tone arm too much to avoid risking damage and it should last you a long time (assuming my single data point example is any indication ...). Good luck.
- Charley
