Q. Regarding the combo of the WiiM Amp Ultra and TEAC CD player/FM tuner you wrote about recently, do you have a recommendation for $500 bookshelf speakers, as well as a turntable? I have been living with old inferior sound equipment for too long. I currently listen to iTunes and CDs and have have a collection of 1970s vinyl I am looking to unearth as well. I would also like to get a portable, movable speaker and am leaning towards another product you featured recently, the $349.99 Klipsch Gig XXL on sale for $79.99. I would like to keep my total expenditure for this (outside the amp and TEAC CD/FM) under $1,500.

—R.H., Minneapolis

A. If you are still interested in the Klipsch, I would move quickly. According to Amazon they are selling at a pace of over 500 units per month, and I am quite surprised it is still available. Such bargains tend to sell out in days, not weeks.

I did some research and the best deal on the market right now is the KEF Q350 bookshelf speakers, which Audio Advice has on sale for $499.99 per pair, reduced from $799.99. KEF is a legendary British speaker manufacturer that has served the hi-fi market for decades, and even manufactured speakers for the BBC. The Q350s have a coaxial driver setup (Uni-Q in KEF-speak) that makes for very even sound distribution, allowing good sound to be experienced almost everywhere in the room.

If you want to stay under $400, Audio Advice has the Q1 Meta for $399.99, discounted $300 from $699.99. Given quality speakers are a lifetime investment I would spend the extra $100 for the Q350. audioadvice.com

You are wise to allocate a healthy chunk of your $1,500 budget towards the turntable, Extracting the microscopic musical information from the grooves of a vinyl record is no small task, and the difference between an average turntable and a good turntable is dramatic. My favorite belt-drive turntable under $1,000 is the Cambridge Audio Alva ST, which list for $699. It's beautifully made of expensive-feeling materials, sounds great and has a built-in phono preamp so you can use it with any amplifier or speaker with an auxiliary or stereo RCA (red-white) input. The phono preamp can be bypassed if you want to use an external phono preamp, or the phono preamp of an amplifier or receiver. The internal phono preamp of the Alva ST is of exceptional quality and based on the $399 Cambridge Alva Duo stand-alone phono preamp. It will work perfectly with the analog input of the WiiM Amp Ultra.

The Alva ST has a preinstalled Audio-Technica AT-VM95E moving magnet cartridge. The AT-VM95SE is an exceptional entry-level performer that is easily upgraded by changing the stylus, which switches out effortlessly. Upgrading the stylus to the $159 Audio-Technica AT-VMN95ML will take the sound of your Alva ST into the stratosphere, with greatly increased detail, precision and musicality. The difference is so profound I recommend doing it right away since it is in your budget, and the KEF speakers are easily capable of revealing the difference from the upgrade. But if you want to stick with the included stylus for a while I can understand that, too.

The Alva ST also has Bluetooth streaming so you can send the sound from the turntable to your Gig XXL. The Alva ST is a hot seller and most retailers show it backordered, but I was able to find it in stock at hifiheaven.net. Learn more at cambridgeaudio.com.

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