Source first.
$325 EVS Millennium DAC 1
$75 some digital IC
$50 some transport, like my Marantz which was $50 used.
$50 used IC
$100 used headphone amp or DIY
$100 Grado SR 80 headphones
$75 Walker SST (a must!)
$2 commercial grade outlet
====
ca. $700
or with vinyl ...
$300 Music Hall MMF-2.1
$20 Dayton black chrome spikes (to defeat the music halls suspension)
$125 Hagerman Bugle RIAA battery powered
$100 used headphone amp or DIY
$50 IC
$100 Grado SR 80 headphones
$75 Walker SST (a must!)
$2 commercial grade outlet
===
ca. $700, less if you get these at a good price.
For non-headphones
$400 MG-0.5/QR or MMG used (or maybe Vandersteen 1C, 1B, 2Ci)
$80 Panasonic XR-25 (store demo)
$80 Whatever CD/DVD transport, probably Panasonic
But truth be told, I would just watch thrift stores, garage sales, and eBay and score some vintage gear.
Or maybe do some DIY fostex bookshelf speakers and get something like those $200 ASL wave-8s or wave-20s and something directly into the amps, like a PC, CD discman, mp3 player - everyone has something like that laying around somewhere.
The problem with this budget is how to you do SET amps at this price? You can't afford the IRON!
$325 EVS Millennium DAC 1
$75 some digital IC
$50 some transport, like my Marantz which was $50 used.
$50 used IC
$100 used headphone amp or DIY
$100 Grado SR 80 headphones
$75 Walker SST (a must!)
$2 commercial grade outlet
====
ca. $700
or with vinyl ...
$300 Music Hall MMF-2.1
$20 Dayton black chrome spikes (to defeat the music halls suspension)
$125 Hagerman Bugle RIAA battery powered
$100 used headphone amp or DIY
$50 IC
$100 Grado SR 80 headphones
$75 Walker SST (a must!)
$2 commercial grade outlet
===
ca. $700, less if you get these at a good price.
For non-headphones
$400 MG-0.5/QR or MMG used (or maybe Vandersteen 1C, 1B, 2Ci)
$80 Panasonic XR-25 (store demo)
$80 Whatever CD/DVD transport, probably Panasonic
But truth be told, I would just watch thrift stores, garage sales, and eBay and score some vintage gear.
Or maybe do some DIY fostex bookshelf speakers and get something like those $200 ASL wave-8s or wave-20s and something directly into the amps, like a PC, CD discman, mp3 player - everyone has something like that laying around somewhere.
The problem with this budget is how to you do SET amps at this price? You can't afford the IRON!