What Does 80 Grand Get You Nowadays?

Not to let facts get in the way, but I had to check the assertion that Marantz house sound is “rolled off”.  In 2022, Stereophile did a review of the 40N, a $2500 integrated, and Atkinsons’s measurements showed it was about 0.2 db down at 20khz at 2 ohms!  That is not rolled off!  Now, I am not suggesting Marantz/D’Agostino/Wilson would sound good, but painting with such broad strokes about an entire brand seems gratuitous to me.  

Btw, 25 years ago I bought an Audio Refinement Complete integrated amp to pair with some JMLabs floorstanders.  It was a nice combo, in part because the Conplete had a “tube-like sound” that tamed the bright treble of the speakers.  “Tube-like” was polite for rolled off; an old stereophile review actually showed the roll-off in the measurements.  (It was down 2.5 db at 20hz.)  

What Does 80 Grand Get You Nowadays?

@devinplombier 

I’m hoping to get there with Vimberg Mino D speakers plus an Audionet Humboldt integrated amplifier. Purchase AXPONA demo speakers at deep discount, and the integrated used.  Couldn’t afford new above $80k

I approached high-end audio by listening to the best I could find the sound I resonated with, then try to recreate sonics at home within budget. This became very daunting as my tastes run to Magico and YG.  Try as I might Wilson never pulled me into the music.  Matching SS electronics like Boulder, Dartzeel, CH Precision, Constellation, Soulution, etc were also pricy.  

The Audionet Stern and HEISENBERG preamp+amp was the German scientists’s all out price no object to create a state of the art sonic performance.  After succeeding, they used this knowledge to shrink it down to the single box Humboldt while trying to preserve the sonic excellence.

I viewed the Humboldt as the lowest cost into the very best SS Sonics available.  Reviews are extremely very positive.  I’m very fortunate to find one used in my budget range and especially in my 120 voltage standard.  It will be replacing my TAS Top 50 Audio Bargains Constellation Inspiration Pre+Stereo  

$15K for Yamaha NS-5000’s (with powerful class D amps) is all you need to spend.

@incorrigable 

I haven’t auditioned the NS-5000 yet, but I hear a lot about them and the feedback is always positive. Folks who own them rave about them, including some members here.

This post motivated me to try my $2000 Schiit Wotan amp, that I rave about on this site, on the NS5000. The Wotan is now perfectly broken in. I have owned a few Class D amps and liked the Wotan more. It is a Class AB amp with some warmth and great bass control.

The Wotan immediately sounds different. It sounds pretty good but compared to the CODA #16 that is normally in place it is missing a bit of that rich Class A sound. I think you need some really great amps on the NS5000 to make them shine. I would not use any Class D with these speakers.

BTW - the NS5000 + used CODA #16 cost me a little under $20k.

@kennyc 

Best of luck with your newest acquisition. Interested to hear your review of the Vimberg / Audionet pairing.

You mentioned Audionet Heisenbergs, these are beauties!

@yyzsantabarbara 

It is always good to experiment, even when the results are somewhat predictable :)

Great speakers call for great amps, or at the very least amps with great headroom and vast reserves of power. Too often you see systems’ end sound being unnecessarily throttled by merely adequate amplification.

Of course, listening preferences and musical tastes also play a great role. Blasting symphony or industrial calls for very different gear than light chamber music or unplugged singer-songwriters. That said, gear that is good with the former should be good with the latter, but that probably won't be true the other way around.