Best of value-based systems


As a long-time audio enthusiast, I have watched with interest as the hobby has evolved from a budget-driven search for the best sound, to a hobby that seems increasingly driven by how much expendable income one has. No offense meant to the younger 'philes with lots of techno-money, but simply buying expensive gear isn't what the audio hobby is all about. Most of my system has been assembled from used equipment, with a strong emphasis on VALUE for the dollar. Hence, I have largely eschewed "audio jewelry". I'd be very interested in hearing from others who have built systems on the concept of most "bang for the buck". What components do you think provide the maximum quality/audio return for the dollar?
sdcampbell

Showing 1 response by john_l

I have a great little system that is a set of Spica TC-60's driven by a Denon 1025 receiver and a conrad-johnson SD1 CD player. Wonderful soundstaging, very musical, and easy to listen to. Worth about $800-900 on the used market. I love the fact that we can buy used gear to try out different things and find out what we like. It's a big adventure to me. I find that my tastes change as I learn and experience different characteristics of equipment. Another recent 'find' is old tube amps. I just bought an old tube amp, and I find that it does some things that more modern equipment cannot match. It has more distortion, but also a sense of harmonic texture that is unbelievable. Electric guitars have a presence that I've never heard before. I notice it uses the same family of tubes that my guitar amp has. Lastly, to beat a dead slug: It's really obnoxious how some people try to portray themselves as 'better than others' by bragging about their economic power. Why don't you go hang out at a 'new' equipment site.