'Complete' modern system for $1000


_note: forum.audiogon.com seems to be organized around ’separates’, where there’s no current ’integrated’ room for discussions like this. Taking my chances posting here - citizenry/forum mod can ignore/remove my post if it offends anyone._

In ongoing conquest to hifi every room in the house except bathrooms, I’m assembling a ’complete’, modern hifi system for $1000. No ’save your money and get ______’ or ’spend a little more on _______’ ... already did that for other rooms.

Modern means, well, modern: technology, materials, sources, connectivity & delivery, etc. My ’complete’ means it plays hifi music. It also means no phono or CDP.

Inspiration: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1213-a-feature-rich-fully-modern-hi-fi-system-you-c...

Requirements/spec:

- amp <= all-in-one amp/dac best for me. _Must_ have headphone stage competent for Sennheiser HD650. Ethernet-in and sub-out highly desirable.
- dac <= prefer all-in-one but will do separates if optimal for inputs & still within budget
- speakers^ <= will consider active monitors & skip amp ... but then I won’t get any replies in this room ; )
- stands to get speaker axis up to 48" <= room has variable-height listening

sources: flac on NAS via UPnP/DLNA, Qobuz/Tidal, Spotify 320kbps
room: 20 x 15 x 8

Permutations I’m thinking about’:

- amp/dac all-in-one + passive speakers
- amp + dac + passive speakers
- DAC + active monitors

^ : already got sub to add to system if needed
’ : all include Chromecast Audio - because at $35 it’s a no-brainer for what you get


Thanks for considering, all helpful and sincere feedback appreciated.
usery

Showing 6 responses by usery

"...get a A/V receiver"
mzkmxcv - thanks for that, didn’t even consider AVR route. Downside is kinda diluted investment & focus by mass-producers (Denon, Marantz, Yamaha etc) in the hifi elements in such rigs (ie amp and dac components & circuits). AVR footprint/size also a detractor for me.

Tho’ I do have an older Denon AVR in storage. Doesn’t meet my ’modern’ requirement (doesn’t even have HDMI), and I’d have to jank together suboptimal connectivity/input config to make it work for this project. Upside: it’s free, I already have it, and could plow the $$$ savings into speakers.
"...look at maverick, cambridge, emotiva...
Loomis: appreciate those options, esp. Maverick and Cambridge.  Remote desirable but not a deal-breaker. Will take another look at Emotiva too (I have their Airmotiv 4s’s at office ... amazing hifi score a couple years ago), and Swan.

AudioEngine is off the table, due to encounter with shady behavior from owner.
Denon X1400 is $300 shipped from Accessories4Less
I looked at this feature set, indeed hard to beat for refurb at $300. 

Amp is 80w into 8ohms.  Nice set of inputs incl. rca, optical and ethernet.  DAC circuit for audio-in via network includes TI PCM5100 chip, an older model no longer recommended for new designs (replaced by what-looks-much-better PCM5100A).  But again, $300.
"...consider the iFi Stereo 50 and a pair of Polk T50"
Thanks audiothesis, didn't know that part of iFi product line.  Glanced at availability, didn't see any used but didn't look very hard.  Price for new is of course 2x above my project budget.  Added Polk T50's to my speaker short list.
"...[consider] some of the "Audioengine" components..."

thanks for replying. Call me principled (or naive), but I longer do business with Audioengine due to encountering shady behavior from one of the founders a few years ago. This was after I purchased their A2+ desktop speakers. Speakers are ok, but personally I hear less-than-honest audio EQ from them. Others may have a different experience.
"...emotiva pt-100"
thanks loomis, will look into pt-100. Airmotiv 4s will stay at remote office, where I’m really enjoying their sound. Recently deployed 4" yoga blocks under them for significant improvement (my own duh: gets speaker axis up off desktop and closer to ear-level).

Speaker part of $1K project is solved: I bought Paradigm Mini Monitor V7’s ($300).
In case it’s useful to anyone else, here’s where I ended up on this project:

  • amp/dac: Yamaha RX-V485 AVR, $349 new <= 80w 2ch 8ohms at 0.09% THD, TI/Burr-Brown PCM5101APWR DAC circuit, decodes .alac, .flac, aiff to 192kHz/32-bit; DSD support to 11MHz, Tidal to whatever their non-MQA max is, Spotify to 328Kbps
  • speakers: Paradigm Mini Monitor v7 $300 new <= 75Hz-22 kHz ±2dB, max input 80w
  • stands, interconnect, misc $140 <= Sanus Stand26, Monoprice 14awg, generic banana plugs, etc

Total: ~ $800

Sounds at least as good as $800 gets you. My baseline = Micromega M-100, Nola Boxer gen 1, Dynaudio Stand6, REL R-328, redbook, .flac, Tidal.