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

@waytoomuchstuff... +’something significant’...;)

When banging the rocks together to improve and/or creating (some may say ’cretin-nating’, but they just don’t....."....well, never mind...").

’Something pleasant to move the task along’ covers a lot of my need and desire for ’decent audio’, when involved in a non-audio ’fo-cussed foray’....

DLH ( ’Difficult Listening Hour(s)’ ) is when you’re ready to ’git down ’n In To’ that which taps your toes is a whole different activity....

...esp. when you’re rubbing your forehead from that launched wrench that bounced off a surface and returned with a vengeance....

True story, that....wrenching on a Triumph Spitfire with a cantankerous bolt....

I pick my unintended targets more carefully since...like the object itself v. random uninvolved.... ;)

Here's my home office system under $50:

B&W C201i -- $10 

Onkyo R1 amp -- $ 10

Sony 300-CD changer -- $5

Realistic Lab 430 turntable -- $20

It's mostly used for background music

I found that the dirtier and nastier the task, the more forgiving I am of flaws in audio quality.  Listening to music while cleaning the bugs off the motorhome, for example, does not require a pristine delivery of an audio masterpiece to be a beneficial musical contribution..  Just something more pleasant than standing on a ladder while removing bug guts gets a "pass."  Working on a classic car?  Same rules apply, but  genre also matters.  The laid back sound of California surfer music instrumentals lowers the stress level and reduces the "tool throwing factor" by 50%.

A six-pack of beer - about $8 including tax

I don't that exists in my town. Maybe for $11

For me:

A balmy, early summer’s eve,

My favorite chair on the back deck,

A Sony Walkman CD player (used) - about $20,

A pair of 30 yr. old Bose headphones - $100 (back in 1990),

A six-pack of beer - about $8 including tax

I had a pair of Sony sscs5 speakers for the deck (bought for ~80 dollars on a amazon sale). It was... meh ok. I put the GR research upgrade kit in it, ~300 dollars and it has become a creator of happiness.

Can't do the liquor anymore... but, the Sony does work well with the coffee/cigars on my deck. 

Bose wave radio while washing my car in my garage. Better than nothing or accidentally getting an expensive piece of equipment wet. Happier than nothing. Kind of a trolling conversation though.

I’ve owned three tube amps (I still own my first one) and the best sounding I ever owned were a pair of monoblocks that could be a bit unreliable so I replaced them, but they were the amps with the highest MSRP.

I own three preamps, and each successive preamp cost more than the last one and each one had sonic characteristics that were distinctly better than the one it replaced.

YMMV, but my experience has been that every increase in sonic performance that I have ever experienced has required an increase in expenditure. To me, that does not seem all that unreasonable.

LOL@ the snobs.

The best speakers I bought and enjoy are the JBL J216 speakers paid 40 bucks for them . At a Antique shop . I had speakers over 2 Grand could not compete with those. There efficient and sound fantastic tubes or solid state . Ant cheap tube intergraded amp will be fine . And a Rotel make excellent CD players for the money .

I think you would be surprised at the incredible systems that some people can put together at a reasonable price. 

"Incredible" and "reasonable" are both relative terms.  

I think you would be surprised at the incredible systems that some people can put together at a reasonable price.  Systems that can sound rather magical.  

@immatthewj

+1

nor mine.

The price of your equipment bears little relationship to the sound it may produce

That has not been my experience(s).

Regardless of how much or how little your system costs, as long as it sounds good to YOU, that's all that matters!!!

The price of your equipment bears little relationship to the sound it may produce. While it may be a "general principal" that the more the equipment cost the better it will sound... it... does not mean there are no exceptions - there are many!

I bought a $700 Class D. Audio amp a few years ago (SDS-470C Class D Audio Power Amplifier - 300 watts / channel at 8 ohms), and it drives my $1000 Maggie LRS+ speakers to "audio Nirvana."

That’s about as "cheap" as you can get for great sound! Though, I am using a Bryston BDP & BDA as the source.

You can get pretty great sound for not a lot of $ these days. Maybe THIS is the Golden Age.

It's really hard to say, there are some great affordable pieces of gear out there and they're getting better and better as time goes on.  I would be happy with a $5000 integrated and a $3000 - $5000 set of speakers.  I'd get a decent streaming DAC and call it a day.  Maybe another $1000 - $2000 for that.

What I've woken up to is that I have accumulated a number of mid-tier gear that had I just saved my money, I could have bought a higher-end piece.  Then again, it's hard to know what you like or don't like unless you try a lot of things.  Thank God for used gear - at least I can sell this stuff without much loss.

 

Wiim Amp and Klipsch Rp600M speakers work very well in the garage.

Now that I'm retired  and I'm 72 ,my system that would add up to about $5,000.Will be my last system I think it sounds great. But I guess as far as audiogon guys think it not good at all.I think it sounds great and that's all that matters to me.

These are great posts. I am using an old Bose Soundlink Revolve in my living room/dining room for news and dinner party background music and it is remarkably satisfying in a difficult environment with a lot of reflective surfaces. I could never get a high end system to work in that room to it’s full potential.

I have set up many small systems, and good sound is easy if you don’t want real bass. Good bass is expensive, and there is no real way around that. If you’re OK with everything above 50Hz, then there are many inexpensive systems you can assemble that will sound very good, if not great.

kn

For me:

A balmy, early summer’s eve,

My favorite chair on the back deck,

A Sony Walkman CD player (used) - about $20,

A pair of 30 yr. old Bose headphones - $100 (back in 1990),

A six-pack of beer - about $8 including tax

Perhaps another sample from the used purchases category that I regard as great value some are not low budget…

Audio Research D240 MKII - original cost USD$900

Audio Research LS10 - original cost $1100

Audio Research Ref CD9- original cost $6000

This is a complete set up. Just add speakers.

The CD9 doubles as a DAC for any streamer source (I use the Cambridge MXN10). It’s the best DAC I’ve ever heard.

I know this can’t possibly fit this brief. 
Today I’ve lost the LS10, it blew its power module. I replaced with an Marantz AV8805 that I have on hand. It sounds incredible playing through the D240 MKII! It’s such a music amplifier.

Sorry for this high quality interlude. It’s an avenue.

I think anything can move me .

I've owned both ends of a HiFi budget, Nothing beyond Pass, Esoteric, B&W, PS Audio... And I can assure you, hi quality HiFi can be had for a bargain if you do your homework. The 'cheapest' isn't necessarily a bargain in the long run.

Here is an example. The Roon Nucleus, a very popular server, runs around $1400  USD. I purchased a preowned i7 NUC, 3.4 Ghz quad processor... Blah, blah for $120 on eBay. You can do the same for DAC's, Amp's, Transports... 

The flip side is pride of ownership. I remember a fellow right here many years ago was school teacher (low pay scale). He had cobbled together his system over three decades and always wanted an ARC preamp. He finally purchased one. He said thats the reason I drive a 20 year old Lexus lol...

Some klipsch rb62 II and an alan eaton amp. Setup under 2500

DIY speakers.  Lots of really excellent designs.

Onkyo C-7030 CD player

Good used DAC (optional)

Monoprice Stereo Hybrid Tube Amplifier 50watt  (integrated)

Smithwire 12ga stranded wire for speaker cable (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.)

Find interconnects to your liking.  

I'm thrilled with my PSB Image 2B front and Image 2C center channel speakers, REL subwoofer, and Radio Shack Optimus LX5 rear channel speakers powered by my Yamaha RX-V571 receiver(soon to be replaced with an Aventage RXA-4A receiver)! Even if I had a massive reserve of disposable income, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on HiFi/home theater components is unnecessary and ain't happening!!! But, I'm not hating on those who have the resources and choose to do so, 

Knowing what I know now, I could probably live sub $1k.

I recently subbed out my Modwright PH9.0 with a vintage Moth Audio phono stage ($200) and it sounds pretty good!

I also picked up a Dual 1218 for $60. I put a V15 typeII on it.

Add a decent receiver and I could be happy.

I think though, you have to experience really good first, so at least you have a baseline; you have to know what minimum makes you happy.

I really like my living room setup, intended for casual but satisfying listening that has minimal visual/esthetic impact. It uses a Teac A-H01 class D integrated amp, Magnepan MMGW speakers, Martin Logan 300 sub and — wait for it — Apple AirPort Express as source. Total price probably around $800, since I shopped pretty hard at the time and got some good deals. The electronics are small and can hide under the TV. The speakers are wall-mounted and I ordered them in a linen cloth cover that blends in with the walls. You get that sweet Maggie midrange and let the sub provide the bass. I will just add that if you told me I could only have a pair of cheap bookshelf speakers, Wharfedale’s Diamond series, even the tiniest model, sound pretty darn good. It’s all about synergy, both kit and the room.

I am currently listening to some Fostex Fe126En drivers (purchased used for 100…) in DIY Olson/Nagoaka Manifold Horns, being driven by a Heathkit SA-3 SE EL84 amp, cost me 200, which I stripped down and did a ground up rebuild in a DIY chassis. A very satisfying listening experience.

I’m like curious Jim.  I can enjoy music anywhere, from almost any source.  I think engineers have figured out a way to get decent sound on many products.  The cheapest solution that I am currently enjoying are a pair of Bluetooth speakers I found on the morningsave.com site.  The speakers were about $50, as I recall, and I bought a pair for myself and two other pair to give as Christmas gifts.  The sound is not bad for what they are, and I like the feature where they glow in 6 different colors, which can be set to one color, or set to cycle through all the colors, or set to pulse with the music.   I find it convenient to take them out on my rear deck or front porch, or anywhere I choose, grab a few cold ones and rock out.  The volume could be greater but otherwise I have no complaints.  I find that young people today value portability and low fuss, as well as lower price, over the expensive stationary gear us oldsters tend to prefer.  The gifts were well-received by the younger people I gave them to — one guy thanked me, saying the lighted speakers enhanced his getting laid.  Lol, excellent!  
 

P.S.  I looked to see if I could buy more.  Morning Save doesn’t have them anymore.  I found them on Amazon for almost $200!   Whoa! 

That's a bit extreme, at least in terms of price, that RTR deck. You can easily find $3k or so two track Otari in excellent condition. Or $10k Studer. They can still be serviced and repaired.

For all those saying that you need at least 10K as an entrance fee to good sound, just keep saving and you’ll get to this range.

https://futureaudiophile.com/how-many-audiophile-whales-are-there-really/

@simao, there are lot more 'unawakened' audiophiles in the real world imo/ime. A percentage is probably not born that way, he is made that way from exposure.

My insurance guy stopped by the house out of curiosity last year. He listened to some stuff and said something along the lines of.... "Shhhii, can't get back to the stuff at home now"...(I suppose he had some multi-room sonos type of whatever). After i sent him home with some stuff i had in storage, my insurance rates have gone down this year .

@deep_333
 

So sorry you can’t enjoy music in you car anymore.

When I’m mowing the lawn, music through the earbuds does make the time go by. Or when I’m in my car, I still tap my toe and slap my thigh to the beat, but I definitely prefer listening to music with my main system a whole lot more. 

Jim

@curiousjim

I wish i could....unable to get past the cabin noise floor (feels jarring now). I used to go on road trips (not fly) just to enjoy music on the road. The spouse was wondering why we were listening to podcasts and guys yappin on youtube instead of music on the last trip.

@nonoise 

@grislybutter

Dude, don't blow my cover....

😺

I was going to disagree with the $10K to $15k as a starting point to getting great sound until I added up what makes up my system and it's north of $10K. Being as picky as I've become to what I'll settle for, that's a very reasonable starting point.

All the best,
Nonoise

@simao - sounds easy. It must depend on the balance where more money comes in than goes out. I am not a economist so these things are pretty mysterious to me.

@grislybutter - a dollar here a dollar there. Some Krill here, some Plankton there, and eventually we can be the whales

just keep saving and you’ll get to this range

that's great! I thought I would never! 

For all those saying that you need at least 10K as an entrance fee to good sound, just keep saving and you’ll get to this range.

https://futureaudiophile.com/how-many-audiophile-whales-are-there-really/

I am not an audiophile (neither the ears nor the funds) so I can enjoy various mixes from used components (craigslist, goodwill) - Celestion F3, Hafler DH-200, CA 540p, Dual 506, etc. under a $150 each - my latest finds. (And I have an equal number of non-functioning gear unfortunately - I don’t always get that lucky)

Could I spend 15K if I was "forced" - probably, but I dropped such an ambitious goal from my bucket list.

(But if I were near a bluetooth portable speaker, I would genuinely want to use it as a football)

The question was, "How cheap can you go and still be happy with the sound?" Well, I can listen on my ~$20K system at home or I can listen to a $200 JBL Charge3 Bluetooth speaker when I’m grilling steaks. I can still be happy with the sound from each and enjoy music. I’m not EXPECTING the cheap Bluetooth speaker to do more than what it does. Still sounds better than a small transistor AM/FM radio, which is what got me into music in the late 1960s.

@deep_333
 

So sorry you can’t enjoy music in you car anymore.

When I’m mowing the lawn, music through the earbuds does make the time go by. Or when I’m in my car, I still tap my toe and slap my thigh to the beat, but I definitely prefer listening to music with my main system a whole lot more. 
 

Jim

Don't get me too wrong, I can sometimes kind of enjoy listening to iphone when I have nothing better at the moment.

Yes, this is audiophile forum and standards should be high enough. $10k is not much really.

@inna ...This is more along the lines of why i started this thread. In my case, i've never been able to enjoy the sound coming directly out of a phone DAC....with some dragonfly or similar dongle...maybe.

I am no longer able to enjoy music in a car. The noise floor is just too high. I recall being able to enjoy music in a car once upon a time.

But, there are a handful of things around a 1000ish dollar budget i am still able to appreciate when i hear it.

Assembling a great sounding system with a big budget shouldn’t be that hard.  Synergy between components and the room matters but at 5 figures and up you are probably going to get some decent sound even if you throw darts to pick the components.

  Building a satisfying system with a modest budget is a much greater challenge 

@mahler123 +500... I ended up spending an arm and a leg on the former before i knew enough to build the latter. I think most guys who've already spent an arm and a leg tend to stay there and probably never investigate any modest gear (pricewise) thereafter, unless if it was for a secondary rig or something. I can think of a few reasons why.

IF everything in my life went to SHIITE & I had to sell everything I own,I would hang on to my Motorola smartphone,loaded with about 1800 songs in FLAC & my HiFiMan "Deva Pro"Bluetooth headphones..Total investment,$230.00

I threw this together and turned out to be a killer el cheapie system:

yamaha a-s501 used $350

dayton audio outdoor IO8XTW speakers new $320/pair

pioneer blu-ray play new $350

AQ type 4 speaker cables $150ish

i listen to this strictly outside and is way more fun than my main rig. 

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.

I am surprised that you have not repurposed a mansion somewhere so she could use that for her listening room.