Cheapest Audiophile System
- Thread starter Bjcho
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zenith2134
Lunatic Member
Used Luxman R-1070 from CL or eBay, a set of old AR-2AX's and a Thorens table.
JimJ[VT];2688947 said:
i wasnt looking specifically for the marantz when it turned up. if you're going to do the fleamarket rounds looking for a specific piece of gear your bound for a let down. i go to look for audio gear that i can resell or trade for something else i want. to me its all about wheeling and dealing. theres no way i'd ever be able to afford the gear i have if i went to a place like audiogon and plunked down their prices.
for the guy thats just getting interested in good audio gear wheeling and dealing is a good option. not as much $$ outlay and you get to try out lots of different stuff. theres lots of sleepers out there.
this weekend i bought a whole bunch of gear. acoustat amp, meitner AT2 TT, hk receiver, technics integrated, legatto preamp, some fancy crossover, denon tuner, philips av1002, revox receiver and a bunch of other stuff. spent under $300. i met the guy at a hamfest and made a few bulk purchases. try pulling that on audiogon. the legatto alone would probably cost me more than i paid for the whole pile.
my last flip involved an antique radio saved from a dumpster, a grebe cr2. the guy wanted $10 for it. i gave him the money based on the fact it was just an old radio that looked cool. i later found out the darn thing was highly sought after. swapped my $10 radio for a pristine mc240 refurbed by mcintosh. had i bought the mc240 on audiogon i'd EASILY spent over $1k.
audiogon is great for the rich guys. us poor guys need to wheel and deal.
What is it you don't like about your current gear options? How do each of your current speakers, in your opinion, excel or dissapoint? What is your room size, and how loud do you want to listen? And, as already asked, how much are you able to spend? I agree with the previous comment that you may want to shed a couple of the speakers you have now as you replace with something more appropriate...
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NumbDiver
Super Member
I've gotton screaming deals on audiogon and the 'bay. On AG you'll pay top buck for a CAT JL-2 or McIntosh so & so. But mid-fi (or percived mid-fi to many AG'ers) can be had quite cheap.
fatfingers.com is your friend on the 'bay. It searches for popular mis-spellings. That's how I got my Yahama (check the spelling) C-2x. Oh, I've never seen one go nearly as cheap as I got mine for (about 1/3 average retail).
My B-2x came from AG. The seller was upgrading his mid-fi to another brand with much higher notoriety and pricetag. Much of the vintage good stuff is underpriced on AG, as it is perceived as 2nd rate to many there.
Deals are everywhere if you are persistant, know what you want, and are ready with the $$$.
fatfingers.com is your friend on the 'bay. It searches for popular mis-spellings. That's how I got my Yahama (check the spelling) C-2x. Oh, I've never seen one go nearly as cheap as I got mine for (about 1/3 average retail).
My B-2x came from AG. The seller was upgrading his mid-fi to another brand with much higher notoriety and pricetag. Much of the vintage good stuff is underpriced on AG, as it is perceived as 2nd rate to many there.
Deals are everywhere if you are persistant, know what you want, and are ready with the $$$.
Brett a
~◦●○o0o○●◦~
Cheapest? it's either $300 or $10,000 depending on who you're asking.
"Audiophile" is a tricky word when describing the quality of gear. Since I've seen popular "audiophile" websites and magazines whose readers' systems average around $25,000. I'd say $10,000 would get you a glimpse.
Personally, I can only afford "capable" gear. I wouldn't call it audiophile.
What's most important is that a person enjoys the gear they own whether it cost $60 or $6,000. And that they don't go into credit card debt to get it (but that last point is just my value judgment-go ahead if you want)
I listen to mostly old school R & B, smooth jazz and top 40 music. $10,000.00 is way out of my price range. I'm a poor boy. I guess right now I could spend about $700.00 whether it be speakers or source. Mostly was auditioning speakers right now. Of the 4 sets that I have I like the Jbl's better. I like a good horn sound with great clarity. I do not need a lot of volume if the sound I want is there. Mostly listen to cd's as I disposed of all the vinyl I had. This will hopefully be the last system for a while if I get it right. I feel that my speakers are lacking, but maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing. Maybe I need a better receiver. I know nothing about tubes and such.
GregLee
New Member
Forget ebay. Get a Pioneer VSX-817-S 7.1 receiver from Amazon for $145 shipped, and two Axiom M3v2 bookshelf speakers for $298 (factory seconds price) shipped from axiomaudio.com, at which web site you can find a number of favorable reviews, and a set of NRC measurements (look in the GoodSound review). Then if you want to experiment with adding some channels -- center, side surround, back surrounds, subwoofer -- using some of the legacy speakers you probably have lying around, all you need to do is hook them up, tell the receiver you have them, and re-run the auto-calibration and -equalization program. And listen.
Edit: The 817 receiver I mentioned is as cheap as it is, probably, because it does not process sound from HDMI and so cannot cope with the new HD audio formats from the PS3 and other Blu-Ray players.
Edit: The 817 receiver I mentioned is as cheap as it is, probably, because it does not process sound from HDMI and so cannot cope with the new HD audio formats from the PS3 and other Blu-Ray players.
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Was only using ebay as a reference guide. If you know what you are looking for, it gives you an idea of what you will have to spend. Sort of bargaining knowledge. Lets you know depending on the condition if its a good or great deal. An old saying is its worth what someone is willing to pay.
good speakers will make weak electronics sound good. weak speakers will make everything sound bad. spend the bulk of your cash on the speakers.
gladiator335
MRTI
Yamaha separates (power amp, preamp, CD player and tuner will send you back about $400 (I'm talking let's say M-50,C-50 and such). There are many Yamaha fans here.
See how they sound with your JBLs first and if you don't like what you hear you can
get another pair of speakers (local CL is a great source).
Sell Infinities to recover some money.
See how they sound with your JBLs first and if you don't like what you hear you can
get another pair of speakers (local CL is a great source).
Sell Infinities to recover some money.
Sounds like you should be looking at something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/KLIPSCH-KG-5-2-VINTAGE-1992-FLOOR-SPEAKERS-33-X15-X14_W0QQitemZ260393855921QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item260393855921&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
(No affiliation)
NumbDiver
Super Member
Umm...have to add a caveat:
Good speakers will make weak electronics sounds absolutely awful. Depending on the speaker in question.:yes:
Very accurate, hard to drive, high current, low impedance speakers and not only sound terrible on inadequate gear, it can damage both the gear and the speakers. I can run down dozens of examples, but the short of it is once again; know what you are buying.
I will step out on the plank just a bit and offer one small suggestion (I don't like to give opinions for others that are buying new gear):
Stick with efficient speakers. Smaller power supplies in cheaper gear won't clip as easily, and will have more headroom. The OP mentioned horns I believe. A very good start. Lots of good, inexpensive Klipsch & such out there (Heresy, Forte, Quartet etc) that are mostly really, really good speakers. Yes, there is some horn coloration that some can't get past. But others (I am in the second group) embrace.
Running really efficient speakers opens you up to so many more posibilities with amplification since you don't need much. If you run horns for a few years while you learn what you really like and dislike, you will either learn to love them even more, or have a basis of what horn-coloration is, and will be able to pick it out when auditioning speakers in the future.
Other than that, stay away from any of the newer HT receivers if you can (at least the stuff under $1k or so). Any of the older, heavy iron stuff will (generally) be a much better amp section.
So there. An opinion. Hopefully vague enough I won't get in a flaming war!
Doesn't have to be this specific pair, but given your preferences, I think Klipsch might be a good way to go.
Flammaster
DrumCorpsZappaFreak
Here is what I got. A Marantz 2226B for 85 dollars plush shipping. A pair of AR XP62 speakers for 138 dollars. Then I hooked it up to my computer to listen to iTunes.
a sweet sounding bedroom system for less than 300 bucks.
Plus now I bought a 1967 Sherwood S 8600 receiver for 86 bucks including shipping and that sucker sounds nice!
a sweet sounding bedroom system for less than 300 bucks.
Plus now I bought a 1967 Sherwood S 8600 receiver for 86 bucks including shipping and that sucker sounds nice!
AnalogDigit
Realistic fan.
Ebay is terribly expensive for equipment. It is better to buy on Craigslist, Flea Markets, Thrift Shops and Garage Sales. Put speakers 1st, then shop for a good receiver. I would check threads and posts about what other AK'ers got and research and start from there.
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