2. best-of
  3. 1148423744

Best sounding system for under $10k

I had been dreaming about acquiring a pair of mbl 116e's since I heard them last year at the expo. I knew I had a very good system but the mbl's give you that you are there feeling. Well I just made a few changes to my setup recently and things kept getting better, so much in fact that I no longer will be looking at those mbls. It was the last change I made that really was the killer. I have sims pre p-5 and power w-5 amp, I had them coupled with rca i/c's, and just yesterday I switched to balanced and WOW what a difference. I am willing to bet that there is nothing out there for under $20k (list prices of course) that can beat this sound. If you are looking for that you are there experience consider how I got there. Speakers; merlin, these are incredible and worth every penny, amp as mentioned earlier sims p-5 w-5 they too are just awesome most defenitely world class , phonostage ear834p another excellent component, tonearm: clearaudio emotion, cartridge : sumiko bluepoint amazing for the money will probably get the blackbird, turntable: vpi tnt mark I and V world class and not overpriced, cables: bluejeans xlr balanced amazing cannot believe how much better the system just got from that change, other cables my own rca interconnects, room treatment: acoustical ceiling tiles, records as in lp's, and book shelves with books on health must be on health ha-ha. And that's it, hard to believe but this was all found used here on agon for under $10k. And I have to add that rarely did I hear a system in any of the retail shops get it right like this one.
pedrillo

Showing 3 responses by gunbei

gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Judging best would depend on who the listener is.

What's better? Blue or red?
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Pedrillo, surprises like yours are what make this such an addicting hobby! I bet your Simaudio combo sounds great with Merlins. Do you have the TSM or VSM? Which balanced IC are you using?
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Pedrillo, I've owned some expensive cables, but am also of the opinion that you can get quality sound without spending a lot on them.

I've been using Acoustic Zen interconnects for a few years and really like them, but at $995 for the Silver Ref II and $495 for the Matrix Ref II they're definitely the ceiling on what I plan to spend for cables. You can always get used samples on Audiogon for about half the price of new for the Silver Ref II and about 60% of retail for the Matrix Ref II.

I've been comparing the Acoustic Zen against some Z Squared interconnects I won on auction on Audiogon. Depending on how many people you're bidding against you might be able to snag the Z-Squared AUAU for $120-190 and the Copper for $80-120.

Interesting comparing the Z-Squared versus the Acoustic Zen interconnects, because the best I can say so far is that they're different. When you have most of your system locked in and you're doing specific tuning and comparisons rather than having one IC blow another, it usually works out to be a case of where one does attribute A, B, and E better than other while not doing C and D quite as well. And all that in different degrees.

So it isn't always easy deciding between cables, and often you have to decide which sacrifices the least. Based on forum opinion I was really hoping that the cheaper ones might replace the more expensive ones, but I may have to take longer to decide. Not surprising since different systems react differently to different cables, heheh.

So for you I'd try to remain as economical as possible with cables, however I'd bet that a lot of forum members could suggest something in $100-200 range that might improve on what you have.

Bottom line. If you're currently happy with your set up do your best NOT to get curious and bite the upgrade bug!
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