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

I would think many guys on this forum are spoilt by the gear they have and never listen anymore on cheap rigs.

I was listening recently on my younger daughter’s PC audio rig and got reminded again of how good it sounds. There is a fairly high level of clarity, detail, tonal balance and great bass in this rig.

 

- Yamaha HS8 powered monitors: $700 to $800

- Yamaha WXC-50 MusicCast streamer+dac+preamp: $450, often found on A4L for around $300

- Audioquest Powerquest PQ3 (was around $200 or so)

 

IMO, this would qualify as a high quality (sonically) charity price hifi rig for any younger or older person w.r.t small room nearfield or midfield listening.

 

What is the cheapest rig that has brought you happiness these days?

 

deep_333
waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,108 posts
 

@chenry

Well stated.  And, correct.  Currently "messing around" with Fosi and WiiM gear at present.  At just over $350 (for the pair), delivers something "enjoyable" to those who have not had the opportunity to get up close and personal with stellar hifi systems.

@asvjerry

"When I met the 'spous' to be, she'd bought a Ford Fiesta hatch, 1st Gen in US trim...  One day, both side by side for a common oil/filter routine...."

Oh yes.  The exchange of fluids remains one of the most enduring dating rituals to this day.  Standard or metric?  Not a factor.

emergingsoul
1,132 posts
 

Oh my God, being out in the middle of nowhere with an old radio from RadioShack with the battery cover taped to the plastic back would make me happy.

lubbertp's avatar
lubbertp
2 posts
 

Remeber, a $50k system sounds crapy in a room with bad accoustics (almost all rooms have bad acoustics) and a $1k system can sound beautifull in an acousticaly treaded room. To begin with, you have to study your room acoustics, take into account the type of system you want and consider advise on what acoustic treatment you need; then buy whatever you consider an appropiate system for you and you will be thanking me for the rest of your life!

Post removed 
macg19
911 posts
 

@lubbertp

Remeber, a $50k system sounds crapy in a room with bad accoustics

Gotta love sweeping generalizations and a random number generator.

Many of us don’t have dedicated rooms, but instead have challenging spaces like large open floor plans but somehow manage to create very good sounding systems. Speaker selection plays a huge roll in this.

As to the OPs question: $300 (B&O A1)

 

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