System help! Elac? Sonos? Rega? Onkyo?

[Nima]

Hi everyone!


New member here and I need some help and recommendation for a system that I want to buy.


I currently have a Denon DP-29-F hooked up to a Sonos play 5 Gen1. I've had this setup for like 5 years now and I mostly listen to jazz records (at the moment mostly records from ECM and free jazz). Of course I use my Sonos for streaming too and have a new Sonos One in another room.
As you see its a REALLY basic system and I want to upgrade it.


I've been searching for about a month now and have ended up with these:
Rega Planar 2
Rega Fono Mini A2D
Onkyo A-9110
Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2


I'm also planning to add a Sonos Port to the system later on to stream on the Elacs. My budget is limited and I want to keep within the same range as the above setup. Now here are the questions:


1. Most important question: do I even need a Rega Fono preamp? Is it any better than the phono stage in Onkyo A-9110? I'm planning to use the premounted rega carbon cartridge.
2. I'm somehow happy with the sonos one. How is a pair of Sonos One compared to the pair of Elacs?
3. I'm not planning to hook up a CD player to the system for now. But if I wanted to, would I need a DAC? Can't I just plug the CD player to a Line in input on Onkyo?


P.S.: I understand that the older systems might be much better that the new ones, but I don't want to go for vintage and second hand, mostly because there are not so many secondhand shops or repair shops where I live, and I dont want to get involved with repairing and troubleshooting an older model or looking for spare parts ... so please no suggestions like Technics Sl1200 , I would definitely get one if I would find a trusted secondhand!

 

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

 

[Phil A]

Welcome as well. I'd listen to the phono preamp and do a comparison. One would think that the outboard Rega phono preamp would outperform what is built in and also have the USB out if one wanted to digitize their vinyl. The Rega phono preamp could also probably be upgraded via a better power supply than the one which came with the unit.

 

[Puma Cat]

Hi everyone!


New member here and I need some help and recommendation for a system that I want to buy.


I currently have a Denon DP-29-F hooked up to a Sonos play 5 Gen1. I've had this setup for like 5 years now and I mostly listen to jazz records (at the moment mostly records from ECM and free jazz). Of course I use my Sonos for streaming too and have a new Sonos One in another room.
As you see its a REALLY basic system and I want to upgrade it.


I've been searching for about a month now and have ended up with these:
Rega Planar 2
Rega Fono Mini A2D
Onkyo A-9110
Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2


I'm also planning to add a Sonos Port to the system later on to stream on the Elacs. My budget is limited and I want to keep within the same range as the above setup. Now here are the questions:


1. Most important question: do I even need a Rega Fono preamp? Is it any better than the phono stage in Onkyo A-9110? I'm planning to use the premounted rega carbon cartridge.
2. I'm somehow happy with the sonos one. How is a pair of Sonos One compared to the pair of Elacs?
3. I'm not planning to hook up a CD player to the system for now. But if I wanted to, would I need a DAC? Can't I just plug the CD player to a Line in input on Onkyo?


P.S.: I understand that the older systems might be much better that the new ones, but I don't want to go for vintage and second hand, mostly because there are not so many secondhand shops or repair shops where I live, and I dont want to get involved with repairing and troubleshooting an older model or looking for spare parts ... so please no suggestions like Technics Sl1200 , I would definitely get one if I would find a trusted secondhand!

This is a dupllicate of your other post, but I'll give you my recommendations here:

1) Get a Schiit Mani phono preamp for $129.

2) Get the ELAC Debut 2.0 6.2 speakers, from the money you'll save on the phono stage. These will provide a more engaging experience than the Sonos Play 5 Gen1.

Your plan to get a Rega Planar 2 is a good one, and the Mani phono stage is good enough that if you upgrade to a Rega Planar 3, etc in the future, you can still use the Mani.

 

[Mechnutt]

I agree with Puma.

 

[Randy Myers]

I agree with Puma and Mechnutt.

I would like to also answer your CD question. For playing CDs you will not require an additional DAC. Almost all CD players have a built in DAC. Going to a better, separate DAC using either the digital coax connection or optical connection might improve your sound quality somewhat, depending on the level of CD player you get. This can always be added later. Many times higher level CD players also have better DACs built in.

ELAC are really good value speakers, therefore a very good choice for starting out on a budget!

 

[Nima]

Welcome to AS!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!

Welcome to AS.
The Rega Phono should be much better than the phono preamp in the Onkyo.
You do not need a DAC with a CD player as the player has one built in.
I can't comment on the sound of the Sonos One as I have never heard one, but I have heard the Elacs and if I were a betting man, I would expect the Elac's to sound better. I do prefer the Elac B6.2's over the B5.2's. I bought the 6.2's for my daughter.

Thanks. I guess I will go for Elac. But what is the difference between 6.2 and 5.2? Isn’t it just the bass?

love my sonos for its simplicity , but not heard the sonos one yet .

I will definitely keep my sonos for streaming. In my experience, Sonos One is much better than Sonos 5 Gen 1.

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

Thanks!

Welcome as well. I'd listen to the phono preamp and do a comparison. One would think that the outboard Rega phono preamp would outperform what is built in and also have the USB out if one wanted to digitize their vinyl. The Rega phono preamp could also probably be upgraded via a better power supply than the one which came with the unit.

Thanks. I think I will buy a preamp after all.

This is a dupllicate of your other post, but I'll give you my recommendations here:

1) Get a Schiit Mani phono preamp for $129.

2) Get the ELAC Debut 2.0 6.2 speakers, from the money you'll save on the phono stage. These will provide a more engaging experience than the Sonos Play 5 Gen1.

Your plan to get a Rega Planar 2 is a good one, and the Mani phono stage is good enough that if you upgrade to a Rega Planar 3, etc in the future, you can still use the Mani.

Thanks for the recommendations.
One question though: why Elac 6.2? Isn’t it just the bass that is better in 6.2?
Yup! I didn’t notice the duplicate, sorry! 

I agree with Puma and Mechnutt.

I would like to also answer your CD question. For playing CDs you will not require an additional DAC. Almost all CD players have a built in DAC. Going to a better, separate DAC using either the digital coax connection or optical connection might improve your sound quality somewhat, depending on the level of CD player you get. This can always be added later. Many times higher level CD players also have better DACs built in.

ELAC are really good value speakers, therefore a very good choice for starting out on a budget!

Thanks for the clarifications!