This is a question near and dear to my heart as an Audiogon shopper. Here is a set of components that I have personally purchased on this site (or US Audio Mart) at the prices set forth below, which I
would
confidently put up against anything above (on the digital side):
Cat JL-1 Amps ($4k)
Audio Synthesis Passion Passive Preamp ($500)
Merlin VSM-M Millennium (filter network set for tubes) ($2k)
CEC TL-1X ($2.2k)
Dodson DA-217 Mk2D ($1.3k)
Throw in some Kimber PBJ and 8TC cables and a Monster HTS-2000 power conditioner, and you are good to go. If you don't like the digital setup, you can pick up an MBL 1531 CD player right now on Audiogon for $3500. If you add another $1k to the budget, you can pick up an Audio Consulting Silver Rock TVC, and the system can easily compete with systems costing $75k or more.
Will post my analogue system shortly.
Cat JL-1 Amps ($4k)
Audio Synthesis Passion Passive Preamp ($500)
Merlin VSM-M Millennium (filter network set for tubes) ($2k)
CEC TL-1X ($2.2k)
Dodson DA-217 Mk2D ($1.3k)
Throw in some Kimber PBJ and 8TC cables and a Monster HTS-2000 power conditioner, and you are good to go. If you don't like the digital setup, you can pick up an MBL 1531 CD player right now on Audiogon for $3500. If you add another $1k to the budget, you can pick up an Audio Consulting Silver Rock TVC, and the system can easily compete with systems costing $75k or more.
Will post my analogue system shortly.