How cheap can you go and still be happy with the sound?

If your experience by choice is exclusive to high-priced and difficult-to-source gear, it is easy to forget how much progress has taken place in audio quality at lower price points in the market. Progress to a level of satisfaction for many may have taken years of listening and equipment experimentation, but nothing stands still at any level, and it is possible that with newer products from newer producers, reaching a level of satisfaction may take much less time and treasure than in the past. It's all good.

I have a pair of Q Acoustics M20s. I bought them because I had seen reviews about how remarkably good they sounded. They were not expensive by today's standards, a pair of 2-way ported active speakers for about $500. I connected them to a streamer and DAC and they sounded very nice. Were they as good as a pair of my passive standmounts and a good sub using a good preamp and amp? No. Did I think they sounded bad because of the difference? No. I take pleasure in how well the speakers perform especially considering their low cost. I hope I never get to a place in this hobby where I can't enjoy a system because I know that a different group of components might sound better. That would be just as bad as not being able to enjoy a good meal at a cheap restaurant because I might have had a better meal somewhere else.