alfa_lover said Paul,Nope, no problem at all. Use away.Using the Sprout either as a phono preamp or DAC,
Only using preamp ouputs, with volume at max, no speakers attached,
Any issues about not having speakers attached?
Paul,
Thanks for the info.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Peter
Great to hear all the first impressions. It would be nice to see a youtube video like the one Scott made from people who have already received the sprout 
I mean this video :
alfa_lover said Crisp but easy on the ears with a little bass boast (very little) or punch to output below 2K.
Thank You.
Is that mean Sprout needs some kind of āwormā speakers?
If they are crispy - they would not be good companion for Kef Ls50ā¦ Not good - Ls50 are well priced as for their sound
I will have to check Amphions Argon 3 and amazing Boenicke w5. But those are quite pricey.
Guys, do you have any recommendations for speakers? These days when we do not have so much free time, any advise is welcome.
I would not rule out the KEF LS50
Another great speaker at a great price are the Wharfedale 10.2 (6.5 inch woofers) or the Wharfedale 10.1 (5 inch woofers) ($449 / $349 / pair)
I have also used the new Parts Express, Dayton Audio, B652-AIR (with an AMT tweeter along with a 6.5 inch acoustic suspension woofer), with great sonic results.
The Dayton Audio speakers give both the the KEF LS50 and the Wharfedales a run for the money for about $65.00 a pair shipped (cheaper black vinyl wrapped in a plain rectangular box, but sound great).
I have listen to all three and they all sound great, however,
I have on order the Decware DM 945/946 (8 inch woofers), these speakers outperformed the KEF LS50 in a listening test last summer in a large room.
The Decware speakers sell for $995/pair plus shipping (Black Friday Special offers 10% off)
http://www.decware.com/newsite/speakers.html
Hope this helps.
Peter
If you want the Wharfedale speakers (10.1, or 10.2), I have found some demos at about a 30% discount.
Send me a PM for details.
Peter
@alfa_lover, thank youā¦ for bigger mess in my head 
To mess with you some more:
http://www.goldenear.com/products/aon-series
Otherās have reported great results with the Golden Ear Aon speakers (see link above).
Pretty disappointed after finally being able to hook up my Sprout and attempt to get some sound running through it after the Thanksgiving festivities have dwindled.
Firstly, I did not receive my red power cable. Packing list showed that it was supposed to be included, but it was not. Nothing major, have PMād Scott about it but yet to receive a response, I know heās busy, donāt want to be a complete bother. Figured I could afford to be patient on that front.
However, got everything hooked up and running. First test was the Bluetooth connectivity, as it is both the easiest way to quickly test the unit and I had my phone by my side. Worked like a charm, sounds great, no qualms there. The problems came when I attempted to spin a record with Sprout. Plugged in my turntable and was immediately greeted with a horrible scratching effect, so much so that it completely drowned out the music playing. Knowing it could be a number of issues, most notably improper wiring, I ran through a variety of checks. Changed records. Same effect. Plugged in the headphones with the vinyl setting, was getting the same thing in my cans. Even plugged in a digital music player through a line-out cable to red/white into the vinyl jacks, same thing. Last resort, double-checked speaker wiring, nothing. Put my turntable through other speakers, no issue with it.
So, to recap. Bluetooth works fine (havenāt checked the Digital or Analog components of Sprout yet). Not an issue with my speaker wiring, nor turntable. Has to be a defective unit with something internally jarred loose having to do with the Vinyl outputā¦ right? Admittedly, I am a novie when it comes to the likes of most forum/PS Audio usersā¦ So am open to suggestions. Is this some kind of beginnerās mishap that I am overlooking? Would love to get this baby up and running properly, but pretty sure this will be back in a box heading to Colorado soon. Bummer.
KFrench, backer #166
KFrench,
What is the output of your turntable set to? Sprout only supports moving magnet phono input. If your turntable has a built in phono stage and outputs a line level audio signal, you are going to get lots of distortion.
The fact that you get similar distortion with your turntable and another audio source tells me this may be the problem. If you look in the Sprout manual, it specially says not to plug other audio sources into the phono input.
Try attaching your turntable to the analogue input, I bet this will work, because it seems there is already a phono preamp built into your turntable (a lot turntables that sell for under $350 have built in phono preamps that would work with powered speakers, and other devives that have only aux in, etc.)
Please state make and model of your turntable, it is easy to look up.
It other words, I agree with the post above.
Hope this helps.
KFrench said . . . have PM'd Scott about it but yet to receive a response, I know he's busy, don't want to be a complete bother. Figured I could afford to be patient on that front. . . .KFrench, backer #166
I have PMād Scott twice and never heard back. I donāt think he checks his inbox.
KFrench:
I think some of the others are on the right track for sure. If your other system you mentioned is a mid-priced AV receiver there is a good chance it doesnāt even have a phono input. Lotās of integrated AV amp/receivers did away with it as turntables became less popular. The turntable āindustryā responded by including phono preamps in some of their entry level models so that they can plug right into a standard RCA line-in. What naturally makes this all confusing is that the plugs are identical RCA plugs.
Posting the make and model of your turntable will help us all help you. Does it, by chance, have a USB cable for ārippingā vinyl? If so, there is a virtual certainty it has a phono preamp built in. Good news is that you can often switch out the turntableās preamp so the RCA jacks work as traditional phono out. The better news is that once youāve done this (assuming it is the problem) youāll have just affected a tremendous phono preamp upgrade by using the Sproutās.
As alfa_lover mentioned above, under a worst case scenario if there isnāt a switch to bypass the phono preamp in the turntable you can always plug the turntable into the Sproutās analog-in jack with an RCA to 3.5mm converter.
Good luck and fear not, Scott will almost certainly weigh in on this thread come Monday.
The Wharfedale Diamond speakers are very good and not expensive at all. The 10.1 and 10.2 are old models though.
These are the new Diamond models ; http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/product-list.php?cid=15
Thank you all for the responses and tips. Wasnāt even aware of that bit of history with entry level turntables and the confusion behind the RCA/phono out. How ridiculous, both in my greenhorn unawareness and in this industry-wide ādecisionā.
This IS a very low-end turntable, and does have a preamp built-in. Audio Technica LP60[usb]. Donāt think thereās a way to bypass the preamp on this model, will have to find an RCA-3.5 converter as suggested. Fact is, the Sprout is my first truly āmajorā purchase in this game for me. Even went off and bought some Klipsch bookshelves just for the thing. So, am excited to get this working properly (am sure it is not the Sprout now, sorry Scott/Paul for jumping to conclusions). Now I just have to wait a little longer to find a converter.
Thanks again for the help everyone, and for not being so judgmental to my little n00b self.
BTW, was looking to start making some better vinyl transfers using Sprout (assuming it would make for a MUCH better result), I take it thereās no way to do this without buying another piece of equipment since Sprout was made for output of such variety and not input? Havenāt tried yet. My simple mind at the moment sees the same USB jack that my turntable is equipped with and thinks āHey, thatād be cool if I could integrate Sprout into that chain to get a better sounding vinyl rip.ā This the level of beginner you all are dealing with lol.
More info about the Wharfedale speaker comment above:
I believe these new models are at an even lower price point then the Wharfedale Diamond 200 speakers.
I made in inquiry about these speakers and it seems at this time they are not available for sale by dealers in the USA.
The reviews from the UK state that the new speakers are terrific.
The Diamond 10 Series is still be sold in the UK by Wharfedale but at a higher price point.
Please let me know if the Wharfedale 200 speakers are available in the USA, I would live to hear them.
Thanks,
Cypher said The Wharfedale Diamond speakers are very good and not expensive at all. The 10.1 and 10.2 are old models though.These are the new Diamond models ; http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/product-list.php?cid=15
More info about the Wharfedale speaker comment above:
I believe these new models are at an even lower price point then the Wharfedale Diamond 200 speakers.
I made in inquiry about these speakers and it seems at this time they are not available for sale by dealers in the USA.
The reviews from the UK state that the new speakers are terrific.
The Diamond 10 Series is still be sold in the UK by Wharfedale but at a higher price point.
Please let me know if the Wharfedale 200 speakers are available in the USA, I would live to hear them.
Thanks,
KFrench saidThere is a chance that you may connect your turntable by using the USB output of your turntable to the Digital USB input on the Sprout. Set the front selector to Digital.BTW, was looking to start making some better vinyl transfers using Sprout (assuming it would make for a MUCH better result), I take it thereās no way to do this without buying another piece of equipment since Sprout was made for output of such variety and not input? Havenāt tried yet. My simple mind at the moment sees the same USB jack that my turntable is equipped with and thinks āHey, thatād be cool if I could integrate Sprout into that chain to get a better sounding vinyl rip.ā
Let me know if it works,
Agreed with New Media. Sounds to mer like perhaps your turntable has a built in phono preamp already? Can you tell us what your turntable is?
Secondly, and this is very important, do NOT plug anything into the vinyl inputs of Sprout like a CD player. It will always sound terrible. If you want to plug a CD player in, use the analog inputs. That should work fine. You might also try plugging your turntable into those same analog inputs. If that works well, when switched to analog on the front panel, that means you have the wrong type of turntable for Sprout.
We would be glad to help. You can email me personally if you wish. I should be around this weekend to help.
Or just use these forums and I will read them, along with others.
KFrench:
The LP60USB has a switch on the back labelled āphono / lineā. Switch it to āphonoā and you should be able to use the phono inputs on the Sprout without a problem.
I donāt think the USB route will work as neither the turntable nor the Sprout are likely able to act as a USB host (they are both USB peripherals).