I completely agree with the first post. Budget gear is so much better than it was in the 1970's when I first started. The principal reason is manufacturing technology. By the late 1970's or early 1980's good amplifiers were as good as it can be, i.e. they already measured exceptionally well and they sounded perfectly neutral. Sonically they were perfect. The only subsequent advances have been in power output, and in manufacturing technology, making good amplifiers cheaper and potentially more reliable.
The biggest subsequent advance has been the introduction of the cd. This was a huge quality leap if ever there was one. I know there are romantics who believe vinyl still has virtues, but I am not one of them (and I own a Linn LP12/SME combo). Even a cheap modern Chromecast Audio measures and sounds far better than that Linn/SME combo. So indeed also farewell to FM radio, and hello internet radio, for far more choice, more convenience and, again, better sound quality from at least the stations with the higher bitrates.
Now that we have potentially very good recordings on CD, the weakest link still is the loudspeaker. Here too there has been progress, and my modern QUAD 2805s sound better than my old ELS 57 (I still have them both), but it is not a quantum leap. With dynamic speakers the improvement has been bigger, I think, because there was a longer way to go. Improving all speakers is important because even the best are the really weak link in any system, but it is also the hardest thing to get right, because they are on that complex interface between the electrical and the mechanical. Dynamic speakers have mass, and that mass behaves in all sorts of hard to model ways. But things are moving in the right direction: my Harbeth P3ESR is really better than my old Rogers LS3/5a, even if that is still an enjoyable speaker. Again, however, the biggest advances have been in the budget market. Speakers like the Wharfedale Diamond series are spectacularly good for the money, and far far better than budget stuff from a few decades ago.
So, these days a few hundred dollars and up to $1000 maximum will buy you a really good 2x100 watt amplifier with digital inputs from one of the big Japanse brands, add a Chromecas Audio and as long as the room is not too large you are done for everything apart from some speakers. Spend a few hundred dollars on those and you are fine. Spend a few thousand, and you have a pair of Harbeth M30.1s, and you are in audio heaven with the best that can be achieved in a medium sized room (for big rooms the story becomes a bit different, and rather more costly). The news is good.
The biggest subsequent advance has been the introduction of the cd. This was a huge quality leap if ever there was one. I know there are romantics who believe vinyl still has virtues, but I am not one of them (and I own a Linn LP12/SME combo). Even a cheap modern Chromecast Audio measures and sounds far better than that Linn/SME combo. So indeed also farewell to FM radio, and hello internet radio, for far more choice, more convenience and, again, better sound quality from at least the stations with the higher bitrates.
Now that we have potentially very good recordings on CD, the weakest link still is the loudspeaker. Here too there has been progress, and my modern QUAD 2805s sound better than my old ELS 57 (I still have them both), but it is not a quantum leap. With dynamic speakers the improvement has been bigger, I think, because there was a longer way to go. Improving all speakers is important because even the best are the really weak link in any system, but it is also the hardest thing to get right, because they are on that complex interface between the electrical and the mechanical. Dynamic speakers have mass, and that mass behaves in all sorts of hard to model ways. But things are moving in the right direction: my Harbeth P3ESR is really better than my old Rogers LS3/5a, even if that is still an enjoyable speaker. Again, however, the biggest advances have been in the budget market. Speakers like the Wharfedale Diamond series are spectacularly good for the money, and far far better than budget stuff from a few decades ago.
So, these days a few hundred dollars and up to $1000 maximum will buy you a really good 2x100 watt amplifier with digital inputs from one of the big Japanse brands, add a Chromecas Audio and as long as the room is not too large you are done for everything apart from some speakers. Spend a few hundred dollars on those and you are fine. Spend a few thousand, and you have a pair of Harbeth M30.1s, and you are in audio heaven with the best that can be achieved in a medium sized room (for big rooms the story becomes a bit different, and rather more costly). The news is good.