Bang for the buck

@tony1954 is that because ASR doesn't properly measure equipment or just because the vast amount of personal experience found here definitely outweighs any measurements found elsewhere? I don't want steak from  a salad bar, but I would like to learn why you say that. Thanks!

Gotcha, thanks for rhe info.

It sounds kind of like how Rtings rates Tv's. They rate them without ever taking the tvs upscaling ability into account for their image rating (not every tv image is already in 4k guys). 

Solid state front end. May upgrade to a better integrated but plan to stay solid state.

@audioguy85 I need your job! I can't imagine havng that kind of cash to drop on something and leaving it in the box.

I bet they sound great, but I suppose it's relative to what you currently are using. [Shrug]

@baylinor well said, i understand, thanks.

@yogiboy do you think those Vandersteens will outperform a Salk veracity ht2?? I've heard a vandersteen before and was impressed but I don't remember the model. i can het a desl on a salk songtower or veracity, but I'm not sure that they'll do great with all genres of music and fit my small apartment space, and I listen to just about everything.

@james633 I had Kef r3 , buchardt s400 mkii se, and Arendal on my radar too. So many to pick from. Heard some monitor audio gold I liked but they are out of budget. It's going to be impossible to listen to all the options that interest me, and my current setup seems to exceed its price point of being so affordable. I'm pretty sure I'll need to triple my spend to noticeably know it's worth the improvement. I like the sound I have now. I just know it can be better. Having apartment neighbors necessitating lower than my desired volume level is a buzz kill too by the way.

I don't want vintage,  the croton tdx are definitely bargains,  but I would not be inclined to build them myself. The bang for the buck I was thinking of was great sounding speakers that sell for irresistible prices on the second hand market. As someone already pointed out, sometimes those great speakers are hard to find on the second hand market because people tend to keep them. I like the idea of getting a Salk veracity ht2 vs the songtower (both are great I'm sure, but the ht2 is probably better but bigger.). I do wonder if for a small space (15'x11') if the cabinet space of transmission line design takes up more cost and space than cheaper and simpler port designs.

I have no idea if the Salk songtower or veracity ht2 would walk all over the Arendal 1723 speakers, but those 1723 seem to be on the current speaker "hype train" , and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about which choice would be better. (Largely due to the fact that I've heard neither and I have absolutely no clue because of so many available options)