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Is Budget Audiophile an oxymoron?

I would like to spend as little as I can get away with for bookshelf speakers, which would be driven by a Yamaha RX-V385 connected to a 65", current model, TCL

We use the TV infrequently; however, when we do use it, it is used to watch a movie. Blu-ray, DVD, or streaming if it matters.

Currently, I have 2 Klipsch RP-600M's that I am dissatisfied with.  
Some room acoustic issues, I'm sure, play a part in the 600s sounding poorly. This is set up in a partially converted garage.  Picture an L-shaped area where the lower part of the L wall area is 12' wide by 6' deep, with the remaining depth opening the larger garage area. The 600's are placed atop IKEAs (2x4 WxH) Kallex units along the 12' wide wall.  No soundbar is being used.

What is a budget audiophile to do?

johnmarzy
edinphiladelphia
29 posts
 

We all start with the budget thing, a tweak here, and upgrade there, then suddenly, you have more in your system than you have in your car.  Don't worry.  You can't take it with you.  That, and I use my system a lot more than I use my car. 

balthazarjw
5 posts
 

Real keys for success for budget audiophiles are luck and tolerance melded with skepticism. I have had several lucky system upgrades thanks to used items from  generous friends.  And the house we moved to 10 years ago has a room that has worked out acoustically extremely nicely with my electronics with intentional treatment limited to a rug.  I am tolerant of some shortcomings and skeptical of the value-added  metrics of many items. 

I have never heard anything like many of this forum's far fancier systems, certainly not for any length of time.   And the semi-high end one I am privileged to hear (over decades of changes) is very often considerably better than mine. So nice! But, I may be fooling myself in hearing, every once in a while, a song that isn't nearly as good as when played on my stereo. At least at the moment. Probably due to his electrostatics vs, my paper cones and our individual predilections. Note to self: make a list and try again.

I can live with one sub and zero fancy anything, other than performance and recording. Sometimes the experience is so truly transporting and I cannot imagine living with lesser equipment.  So I can understand how the chase gets underway.  All in all I have tremendous enjoyment of the music without the expense and anxiety that comes with the never-ending search for perfection.

Audio = Music.  Phile = Love.  That's what it as all about for me. 

But I really should address that problem with the Thorens....

helomech
2,003 posts
 

It’s only an oxymoron to elitist @$$hats. 

roadcykler
336 posts
 

To answer your title question, absolutely not. "Audiophile" doesn't hinge on the amount of money spent. Anyone who tells you it does isn't worth your time because they're doing what Alan Parsons said so-called audiophiles do. 

lanx0003
1,926 posts
 

It depends, depending on the type of audiophile.  For the type of audiophile only focuses on SQ, budget audiophile is NOT an exymoron.  For the type of audiophile purports price defines hi-fi or plays music, then yes budget audiophile is an oxymoron.  So, to recap

1. For SQ-centric audiophile - budget audiophile IS NOT an exymoron.

2. For PRICE-centric audiophile - budget audiophile IS an exymoron.

Got it?  What type of audiophile are you are or have you been?

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