IMO there is nothing in the audio chain that will change the sound of a system more than the speakers.
The best electronics in the world will not make crappy speakers sound good.
My .02 is the most on speakers, maybe half, give or take a litte. Then, nearly as much on the amp/preamp/integrated amp.
Lastly, the digital source. No doubt this is blasphemy to some but the least amount needs to go here. I'd say not necessary to spend any more than say $500, and maybe less, on a digital source.
Really, to find out for myself, I have a Benchmark DAC1 on order and I'm going to put it against a $120 Pioneer DV-588A, a Denon DCD-1560, a Denon 2900, and a Music Hall MMF CD-25. If there is much difference in digital the Benchmark DAC1 should be clearly superior. We'll see.... |
Whoaru99, most people that suggest source is the most important (and this apply's to digital even more so) is because you really have to spend far more then $1k to get good digital. I've heard speakers as little as $1k used that I could live with, I'm not so sure I could do that with digital.
I've heard a number of setups that were inferior using great speakers and bad electronics, I've heard good setups using decent speakers, with great electronics that sounded...good. The fact that people support digital sources or sources in general has more to do with what you just suggested, perhaps there isn't as big a difference in lower end digital and that you have to actually invest quite a lump sum to get something that resembles music, at least digitally. |
I'd certainly agree that top notch speakers should better when driven with good electronics.
I would love to sit in on a properly done ABX test comparing cheap, mediocre, and high-end gear to find out for myself just what, if any, differences there are. Funny thing is, when called to the carpet, most "pros" find some reason to not take the test. Wasn't there a big deal one time where some relatively famous golden eared people couldn't tell a lowly Yamaha receiver from a Pass amplifier setup?
A number of reviews have favorably compared the Benchmark DAC1 to units costing several times more - but there are tons of reviews that come to the same conclusion on any number of pieces, "Comparable to units costing much more." What does that really mean? My interpretation of it is (from the reviewer's perspective) "I think I hear a difference..."
Hey, don't take it the wrong way, if you have tons of disposable income, good for you. I have no problem with that. You are entitled to spend it any way you choose.
The only problem I have is when I hear stuff like "there is so much difference in component X once you get past Y dollars" passed off as fact instead of what it really is, opinion backed up by anecdotal evidence. |
As much as possible! Then you can slowly upgrade your other components. BUT pick the best full range speaker your budget and room can support or if you think you may move to a bigger domicle...the best your future room might support. If you like bass then find a big enough speaker to give you that. There's plenty decent mid-fi amps/preamps to buy to get started. I prefer Thiel and Dunlavy. A pair of Dunlavy SC IVs can be had cheap on Audiogon. Company no longer in business however. If you go Thiel then I'd say the 3.6 or 2.4 would be minimums, but the CS 6 would best support my theory. In my ugrade process for electronics the first step up to the "big leagues" would be in source components (CD/SACd player and/or turntable/cartrigde/arm). short answer is therfore "as much as possible on speakers as per your budget". |
Whoaru, as you can probably agree, the second the Sony's and JVC's of the world hit the home electronics industry in the early 80's all bets were off with fact. The fact is you can no longer measure facts, because the entire industry was turned on its head with inaccurate measurements...THAT is when the industry (mostly seasoned audiophiles) turned to using there ears instead of measured spec. I won't dispute that some companies and magazines in general exploit the ear first approach.
Alot of the science behind audio was taken out of audio because the science was corrput to begin with. If you actually think about it, using your ears is the only way to distinguish good audio. In regards to a dbx, its rubbish. The second you impose a test on anybody all bets are off. Most of the dbx's are tainted in the way they are setup, usually in favor of the theory of the person who is hosting the test.
In closing, most dealers have a fraction of what they use to have in terms of market, home theatre is king, 2 channel audio is on its last legs...I doubt most dealers would put themselves in a position to making 1 isolated sale, its simply not possible to continue business this way in the current economic climate. |
IMO, it's a major mistake to go into a purchase with a dollar amount. Typical dealer question "How much do you plan on spending?". Then they sell you a speaker at that amount without considering you could have gotton acceptable sound for much less. Or maybe you need to spend more to be satisfied.
I understand people have a budget but if you go in with a dollar amount you will automatically go up to your maximum amount instead of just focusing on the sound. |
Here Here Cdc!
Speakers should have little if any character and a flat extended frequency response. Quality drivers and electronics will yield good resolution. There has been little development in the technology of speakers over the last 50 years or so and that is why there are some classic speakers which, used, sell for more today than they did in their day. There is so much bass information in movies, music and even cartoons and commercials today that you would really be selling yourself short by not getting a full range system either satellites and subwoofer or floor standing monitors. A pair of LS35as and a TBI subwoofer will cost you about 2k to 2500 new and little else will compare. A pair of LSA-2s will cost you about 2k and little else will compare. You can get a pair of KEF 105s, used, for about $1500 and have one of the best dynamic speakers ever produced. You could get a pair of Quad ESL 57s for about a grand and a new TBI Subwoofer or a used REL or Janis for about another $1200. As a point of reference if you took the best amplifier on the planet and played it through all of the speakers on Earth you would find that the sound quality relative to cost curve would drop off quite quickly assuming that you were using the above examples(which are just a few of many outstanding offerings). So, though dollars do not necessarily correlate to quality, if you trust your ears and use live music as a reference you can get the best cost relative to performance used for about $1200 to $1500 used and about $2000 to $2500 new. Speakers like Klipschorns have phenominal bass in their way, Fried Transmission Lines have phenominal bass in their way, Electrostatics like Quad are capable of awe inspiring resolution however, and though these qualities are not orders of magnitude greater than their budget competition they are unique and special and quite worth the difference in price for someone who can afford the difference (again, these are just a few of many outstanding offerings). This is why people buy Ferraris when they could get comparable performance for a small fraction of the price. |
- The rule of thumb that I would use is the following:
40% of your budget - Speakers
30% - amplification
30% - source
Good luck! -
|
I think that the formula must include money for room treatment - besides speakers that is the #1 influence on sound quality. Fortunately room treatments are a big bang for buck category too, especially if you can DIY.
Speakers: 40%
Room Treatments: 10%
Pre/Amp: 35%
CD Source: 10%
Wires: 5% |
I have always believed the room was half the battle.
The room is the most important component, not the sexiest but the most important. IMO, don't spend big money until you get the foundation settled, then build your system.
If what you've got doesn't sound good in that space, work with the space first and see what improvement you get. Maybe the speaker isn't harsh afterall. |
there is no rule of thumb. if you like the speakers and can afford them, you buy them.
given a budget constraint, buy the speakers first. sacrafice on the elctronics and thenm at some point, upgrade the electronics.
for example. let's say you have a $3000. budget.
buy a "cheap" dvd player and receiver and inexpensive cables, and save the rest for the speakers.
you may not get great sound, but you will presumably buy the speakers you want and will hold onto them for a while. |
My .02$
For a begining audiophile: Understand that you don't buy a system in a day - you assemble a system over years. Find the best speakers you can afford. Go to shows, shops, friends etc and find a speaker whose sonic characteristics you like and can afford. Buy them even if you have to use a reciever and lamp cord for a while. Then slowly, over time, find an amp/speaker cable to mate with them, evaluate your room and begin a treatment program, carefully pick a preamp to mate with your system and continue to work out to the front end. Don't worry that your system is not immediately perfect. It will never be - just better and better. Buy cheap used until you can afford (and fully evalutate in your system)the expensive new. When you are done you will have a system you really like and fully know. Of course if you are Bill Gate$ endowed you can just throw money around and it will come out ok in the end. But for the rest of us building a system takes time which is really more important than money. And by all means enjoy the hobby! |
Cjsmithmd,
I have to say that your post is one of the most sane and helpful and insightful and practical posts I have ever read. Somehow in reading it, I drew larger lessons about life, about career choices, etc ... You seem to say, just start, do some research, understand that the journey will take time, make adjustments, learn what you like, move toward what you like, understanding all along that you will never achieve perfection ... and enjoy yourself as much as you can along the way ... man, a great philosophy of life! ... thanks! .. |
Wow, Wattboss, you're welcome!
Yes, I really like this hobby - it does integrate well into my life. |
I think I remember reading that the speakers should be at least 50% of the cost of the entire system. It was a while ago, but it mentioned that speakers don't really wear out before our ears get used to and bored with them. After 20 years of this hobby I was finally able to do that, it did make more of a difference than I ever thought possible and I am only up to Wilson Audio X-1 Series lll's. The next step is the X-2's.
Todd |
Opticaltee,
Hmmmm... you must be as old as me :)
I remember the 50% rule from way back in the Stereo Review Days!!
The problem with this guidance is that one might find a 4K speaker that meets sonic needs, space considerations, WAF etc. It may not be nonsense to pair them with a 3K amp 2K pre and 3k front end.... you get my point.
I like to advise beginners to spend as much as they can to get speakers they like and build from there.
But then I don't bore easily! |
I used to be in the "spend the most on the speakers camp" however, as of today, and but for my interconnects and speaker wire, my speakers are the least expensive item in a 23K rig..(msrp of course), the breakdown as follows:
Speakers: Devore Fidelity Gibbon Super 8s ($4K)
Front End: Naim CDX2 w/ XPSII and damping by Symposium ($11K)
Electronics: Edge G3 ($5.3K)
Cables all Acoustic Zen: ($2.5K)
By far the most enjoyable system I have owned. But, I will say that I am going to move to a larger more full speaker, most likely the DeVore Silverbacks....then I guess I have to retract this posting.
John |
Your speakers are only going to sound as good as the room will allow! If you spent $200k on your room and acoustics... then you are allowed $40k on your speakers.
Regards,
Bruce |
I am of the front end school. But for what it is worth here are my suggestions.
1)buy good used gear on audiogon.
2)Buy the speakers last. Buy good compact 2-way monitors e.g. pro-ac tablette, totem model 1 signature, etc.
3)Buy a good amplifer, preferably 100-150 watts. (musical fidelity, quad 909, ayre v3x, bat vk200, etc.
4) pre-amp is more important than many think. Buy something simple. (pass x2, musical fidelity, etc.)
5)Digital source: something competent (one box player) e.g.
Creek cd50 classic.
6) cables: sensible well made stuff: cardas neutral reference, Goertz alpha-core sapphire for interconnect. non-bi-wire speaker calbles (cardas, supra, etc.)
You should wind up with a very musical and enjoyable system.
The upgrades will be genetically inevitable. Often the first or earliest systems are played in rooms with modest dimensions and small monitors are suitable. Transport costs are less and resale is easier.
Good luck with your decisions!
Appassionata |
Buy your dream speakers first and build everything else around them. Speakers are the least likely to improve in technology over time, heaviest and hardest items to sell and ship, lowest on investment return during sale, however, provides the greatest pleasure of all of the items in your system. I have lost count how many amplifiers I've bought and sold, and the same goes for front end equipment, because it's hard to keep up with the technology. I still have the same Klipschorns that I bought back in the mid 70s, and I still have the LaScalas that I added since then. The Khorns have hardly changed in 50 years and in my opinion are still the best speakers ever made. By the way, back then the new Khorns cost $2000, and the new LaScalas cost around $1000. |
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I think first instead of how much you want to spend on speakers, but rather what type of speaker you want and what type of sound you are looking for. Depending on your choice might change how much you put into your speakers. If you do not know what type of sound or presentation you are looking for then you should go to a local store that will let you bring in your own music and let you listen to various speaker types. |
With all due respect, my speakers only cost 20% of the total price of my system (including only CD as a source -- not including turntable). For some reason, for the 25 years I have been an audio junkie, speakers have always been the "sexy" components. Unfortunately, It took me many years and many thousands of dollars to realize that past a certain price point, source and electronics by far have the greatest impact on listening experience.
If a friend of mine had $5,000 to spend on a system, I would recommend that he spend a grand on good used speakers, a grand on a good used CD player and 3 grand on used electronics. (Unfortunately, there is a lot of over priced crap on the market in the electronics department.)
Five grand should get a person a very musical system. |
I think you should budget as much as you can to get into the speakers you really want. Electronics are easier to buy/sell.
A good set of speakers will reveal every improvement you make up-stream too.
You can get some GREAT deals on A-gon for some killer used speakers! :) |
Interesting quote from Ashley James of AVI Hifi (UK), not seen posted on here...
"If we score on a scale of 0-10 the difference in sound made by various components of a Hi Fi system, cables would score 0.1, electronics 10 and speakers a 100!"
Having faith in Ashley, I have to say.. he's probably right. |
The speakers are a choice that is left up to a persons own ear!
After listening to 10,000 dollar speakers vs.1,000 speakers the pearson might like the sound of the less expensiveitem.
It's all in the ear of the beholder,not the pocketbook. |
In building a system. First you buy Speakers that asthetically and acoustically work well with your particular Listening Room. Then you buy an Amplifier well suited to effectively power those Speakers. Lastly you buy the best sounding source component that you can afford. Add-in some good inexpensive Cables, and your done. As far as what percentage to spend on a particular component is concerned, it doesn't matter, there is no formula, it's impossible to calculate, there are far too many variables. The Speakers are the only Component that need to fit a physical and acoustic criteria set by the listening room. There are no physical restrictions on the other components, so this is where I would start, and let the costs/budget play-out from there. |
I'll chime in on the "garbage in, garbage out" side of things. Proportionally too little money on the source(s) and even amplification can lead to a kind of dead or ill-defined sound, even through the best of speakers- there's a kind of "musical integrity" lacking, is the best expressionistic means of putting it. I'd generally go roughly one-third for each stage in the chain, more for sources if you have a turntable and cd player- and I'd spend more on whichever source is more often used. No more than 10-15% on i-c's and spkr cables, perhaps more if power cords are also used. |
The speakers are a choice that is left up to a persons own ear For that matter, so are all other components. I'd add the "eye" as well as the ear. In practical terms, however, the above statement indicates absolute precedence to the speakers: speakers are the ones coverting an electrical signal (that we do NOT hear) into sound pressure (that we DO hear). I agree with this take on the statement above (even though it doesn't seem like the intended one:)). In ABSOLUTE terms, you choose a speaker and then work upchain accordingly. In real life's relative terms, things aren't so simple: pbs such as, i.e. "how do you drive said spkr" come to mind. Maybe a spkr+amp combo is the way to go! I for one would strongly urge in that direction. |
With so many great sounding budget electronics and source components these days, I don't think the old "garbage in, garbage out" argument holds up as stongly as before. You have Naim, Arcam, NAD, DK, Musical Fidelity, etc making great sounding budget amps and cd players that take you 80-90 percent of the way there where the big equipment take you. I don't think the same can be said for a budget speakers compared to a high quality full range speaker, the budget speaker just won't have the range or ability to move enough air fast enough or efficiently enough to create a cohesive and convincing full range sound. My opinion is that the shortcoming of a budget speaker and the cohesive sound quality of well made full range speaker is easier to hear and is a big factor in the enjoyment of listening to reproduced music. |
Hello,
I will only respond to the first part of your paragraph, when you say...'' I am just starting out in this HI-FI stuff ''
Here is my answer: RUN, RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN AND DON'T LOOK BACK !!!!
If you INSIST on spending 5K, here's a suggestion: ALL prices are ''AUDIOGON'' prices. Shop wisely and get mint for the price of rust.
AMP: 1K(or less)on a Naim Nait 5i integrated : INCREDIBLE for the money. All you need and more for this kind of budget.
Alternative choice: Arcam A 85. Nothing wrong with it - more power, more flexibility, and true usable tone controls.
Speakers: Polk LSi 15. (less than 1K) These are the most underated speakers on the planet. Forget about the Polk name not being ''audiophike enough''. Read up on them here (Audiogon) and on the web where there are many glowing reviews. I owned them once. Regret selling them too. ( And I once owned obscenely expense speakers in the past). Great overall performers, with refined sound in part due to the Ring Radiator tweeter used on some designs costing $$$$. Huge sound, extremely dynamic and lively. all you need, really.
Alternative choice: QUAD 22L. Much more body than a diminutive bookshelf, credible lows, and fit'N'finish worthy of 3 times the price gear. Good looking too.
CD Player: Shanling CDT-100 cd player. (around $ 1,000) Worth it's selling price on just sound. But of course there'es way more to this player as many of us know. Choice of tubed or solid state output, upsampling on the fly, headphone jack - and of course - a breathtaking visual centerpiece of your system - bathed in blue lights in a dimmed room.
Alternative digital choice: A good ( and less sexy )alternative would be the Denon 3910 universal player. Great sound, with killer DVD player thrown in for free.
Cables, (speaker and interconnects): Anti-cables by Paul Speltz: Very nice for the money. You could spend a lot more and get less. You probably cannot spend less and get more. No fuss, no big names, just great sound. Around $ 300.00 will get you speaker cables and two sets of interconnects.
So here it is
Naim 5i or Arcam A 85 = 900.00
Polks LSi 15 or Quad 22L = 900.00
Shanling T 100 or Denon 3910 = 1,100 (Shanling)
Cables from Paul = 300.00
If you shop wisely, you can get this nice (and it WILL be nice) system for less than $ 3,500
With the rest of the money, get $ 200 dollars woth of cd's (just to '' start the ball rolling'' with your system, and treat your significant other to a great evening out !
Your'e still $ 1,000.00 ahead...of your initial 5K. I doubt you can get better performance unless you spend quite a bit more. Then, maybe you will come to the conclusion that it is all you really need. Then forget about hi-fi and enjoy the music for awhile.
Hope you found this of some help! |
I use the SpeakerSpender Dart Board to determine how much to spend on speakers. So far it has never been wrong. |
A couple of speakers you can get on the used market, like here on Audiogon, that I have in two of my three two channel systems are: 1) Platinum Audio Solos (under 1 grand now) - they are small but have tremendous bass, image well, and have very good clarity. they are power hungry as they have low sensitivity but this is a kicking speaker via my Coda 250 wpc amplifier and parasound budget pre-amp (for a couple of hundred bucks the parasound pre-amp sounds much, much better than it has any right to), 2) Spica angelus (there is not much bottom end so you will need a subwoofer but voices are stunning in their clarity and imaging is excellent, 3) Triangle speakers - I have some on my two home theatre set-up and like both pairs a lot. A buddy has them on his main steroe set-up and raves about them. I have listened to them via my two channel systems and they are very good and don't cost a bunch on the used markets.
Good luck. |
I have spent thousands since 1979 on speakers, i.e., Bose 601's floorstanding, Fried floorstanding, three other pairs up until 2001, Jamo D830 currently on stands; all in the search for what best reproduces classical period and modern instrument CD's. Am now trying to sell my Jamo's so I can buy a pair of B&W CM1's coupled with a Sunfire subwoofer as my listening room is less than 250 sq. ft. Associated equipment: Magnum Dynalab MD-308 integrated amp; Magnum Dynalab FT-11 Tuner; Rega Jupiter CD player; all connected with Kimber Kables. I probably spent more on my LP collection which I sold in 1990 than speakers. Since than I have spent at least $4000 on classical CD's. It is the source of your music and not the equipment that really makes a difference! Every professional musician I have talked with has confirmed this opinion, these include musicians from both the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I am not saying you should not try to find those speakers you like, I am saying make sure you spent a good percentage on your source material as well. If the music was properly recorded than it is going to sound good when it is reproduced despite your equipment. Good luck finding those speakers - I'm afraid it is a process more than a percentage! |
If the music was properly recorded (than) then it is going to sound good when it is reproduced despite your equipment IF the music was well recorded. But usually one buys the music and the musicians playing the music -- not recordings. |
Thanks for correcting my English Gregm. Your absolutely correct, I buy the music and musicians. This is why I just purchased a Taddeo Digital Antidote so I can stand to listen to Reinhard Goebel and the Musical Antiqua Koln on the Archiv label at a decent volume without the violins hurting my ears. This is coming through a Rega Jupiter CD player analog outputs to a Magnum Dynalab MD-308 integrated amp. I am using Jamo D-830 speakers, which I have currently for sale in the classifieds. Am looking to upgrade to a pair of B&W's. What in your opinion are the best bookshelf speakers for classical music? |
What in your opinion are the best bookshelf speakers for classical music Fred -- that's a difficult question to answer. The BBC type speakers maybe? Or monitor types like the ATC (great midrange driver!). Maybe a Sonus Faber... There was only one small B&W I liked called something or other "silver" (which doesn't help much, sorry). Goebel is worth suffering for:) BTW, a have a few Koln cd's (more on vinyl) -- but they're not that bed sounding (true, a bit shrill). Cheers |
having been some time since I added to this thread and some things have changed for me including my perspectives, I'll add this bit of experience and begin by echoing "Sonicbeauty"... RUN, DO NOT WALK! Away from this hobby. the balance of his statements may well serve you too.
Stick around if you really want to wind up with something quite superior in sonic performance though.
How easily satisfied you are or are not, will directly reflect upon both your wallet, and stress levels.
I'm still in the "it's What's up front that counts" camp. Solidly... because it works.
one decision in speakerage needs be made right off, apart from the amount of duckets being cast at them... "Which way shall I go to find my sonic paradise?"
Low power, or high power? Megga watts or just a handful? either works. Each has it's own character. Both can be done with the same speakers, IF more than "sound" is considered when buying them.
Erring here can cost later. substantially so, if you later decide to go the SET route, after first deciding Monster watts rule so eff ratings aren't important.
In the 'real' world you gotta consider upgrades. Speakers if floor standers, are usually large and certainly heavy. Tougher to ship for sure than componenets. Being out in the unprotected openess of a listening area, they get 'touched' more. See more the effects of day to day living.
Big, heavy, bulky, costly to pack and ship. speakers don't flow in and out of my house for that express reason. I have three sets though. one set will be moving on soon too, as i have decided to follow a different path in amplification, and never ever did I give the slightest thought I would go that direction. never entered my mind..
things change.
Being considerate of more than sound at point of purchase is very important, more so with greater expenditure. Efficiency, impedance curves, range, and flexibility, not just color and size have to be thought well of here and now... not just the sound.
Ratios? I've roughly $25K RETAIL IN FRONT OF $4K speakers... the next set of speakers will likely be in the $4 - $8k range.... so waht's that speaker to system ratio? 25% or so on speakers?
One doesn't need super high dollar speakers to have a super high end sound. Good speakers will sound far better with a better signal runing through them. that is a fact. In fact, every very good to great sounding system has easily had 3-4 times the value of the speaker in it's electronics.
There's lots of solutions here in this thread. Some quite good advice too. so go which ever way you are capable of now. Regarless. I started my re-entry this time around with exactly what was said above. A mass fi source, receiver, a sub, and a pair of speakers. All that remains of it are the Receiver and sub. the source died and the speakers moved on.
Think outside of your plans if you feel power is the answer. it's not. think efficiency and impedance curves as well as esthetics and sound, and you will be far better served for far longer.... but it ain't the end all be all... cause if you do stick around and are not the easily contended type, the first set of speakers will be just a memory soon enough anyhow. Just like the other 'first entrants' in the high end derby, because as was said, "...just begining..." was the thrust, and not "What's my last speaker?"
Spend wisely and comfortably. Listen to the ones you like on far better electronics than are being bought at the same time if possible, and if a spouse is involved, have her pick the color and perhaps price of this first set. it will be maybe your turn next go 'round to do likewise... cause there will likely be a 'next time'. maybe a few next times.
|
I would spend 1/2 to 2/3 on speakers. It deepnds on what speakers you like, after all. Some speakers may take a lot more power to drive them, and so you may have to buy a used high-power amp to start with. |
Use the same formula that DeBeers uses (but wait, there's more than one!):
http://minuk.vox.com/library/posts/tags/debeers/
http://www.dashes.com/anil/2006/12/01/blood_diamonds |
I spent $1600 on speakers (Paradigm Studio 60 v.3) , $500 on an integrated amp (Marantz PM7200) and $1000 on my SACD player (also Marantz-SA8260). Three hundred or so on cables and it worked out well for me. The amp is great for the price , but has been discontinued (as well as the SACD). They show up used here and fleabay. I don't know if you can set a "percentage" value with this question. Audition as many combos as you can with a total cost under your budget and pick the one you like best! |
No more than $1000.... DCM TFE200's! |
I'm with Uraniumcommitte's 1/2 to 2/3 of total component spend, as a rough rule of thumb for speakers/sub (excluding room treatments and very small rooms). Distortion figures for speakers often make them the weakest link in the chain. |
I am in general agreement with Shadorne but there are some special cases. One that I am familiar with is Maggies, where a pair of MG1.6, for example, fit well with electronics costing four or five times as much (and that is not including vinyl playback which would run it up to at least ten times).
. |
That is a difficult question that has many variables. Price is only one. You have room acoustics, tubes or solid state, type of music, etc. I have found that system matching is manditory if you want the best possible sound. If you unbalance your system with one component then your overall coherancy is thrown off and is disjointed. This won't be glaringly apparent, it will just be a feeling that things just don't mesh. When this happens, you start listening to the sound rather than the music. This is my great judging factor in audio. Is it musical? |
There's a lot of responses already, so I'm sure my opinion here will die, ignored, in the ether... I don't think there's a percentage of a budget that you can copy/paste into making a system. What I can say is what _I'd_ do with $5k.
As little as $500 for used Vandersteen 2Cs or as much as $1,500 for used MartinLogans (SL3 or Aerius i are in that range).
Somewhere under $1,000 for a used amp.
Somewhere under $500 for used source components.
Throw in some interconnects.
Buy a used dirt bike. Probably a KDX-220.
The main idea is that I don't think you can build a permanent system in one fell swoop. You need speakers that speak to you personally. You're going to be staring at these things for years (probably) and that alone can fill your mind with doubts that'll affect your opinion of their sound. (Not that it's right, but it happens.)
Listen around, read, take your time and find the right speakers. Then you can find the right amp for them (I'm sure most of us can tell you the joys of the right speakers and the wrong amp... IT SUCKS!). However you do it, I'm sure you won't be anywhere near the $5k proposed... either 2/3s of it or 3 times it. =] |
I realize now what my future speaker will be. I orginally had my sights set on the Tyler Linbrook Sig Sys. In fact almost bought one used this weekend. BUT as my brother in law pointed out that speaker is 4 ohms, which my new Jdais Defy 7 could drive , but even better is to stay with the 8 ohms as are my current Seas Thor speaker. So I have made my final decision to go with the Tyler Linbrook Super Tower with 4 W18's per cabinet!!!! My orchestral collection will be taken to new even richer fuller sound stage over my current fantastic Thor speakers. I bought the kit for $1800 and honestly have not heard anything to compete with it for any price. Except Tyler's Seas line of course, as both use the smae drivers.
So since I could not sell my Thor's at $1200, I'll try again later this summer when I have some cash to get the Lin Super Towers. Can't wait!!!!!!
You do not have to speand $$$$$$$$ to get first calss sound. Many lines are wayyyyyyyyy over priced.They have to pay ad costs. |
Find a pair you love the sound of. Find the price and then you'll know how much to spend. |
If it were me, I'd buy used to begin with, on Audiogon. And start with a pair of Magnepan 1.6s at less than $1000. Then a matching pair of amp and preamps, the BAT VK-3i preamp and the BAT VK-200 amplifier at about $1000 and $1200 respectively. Then a good cd player, like the Jolida A100 tube player for about $900 new. For a total of around $4100. Later, you could do surround sound by getting another amp for surround speakers. If you want a good subwoofer, I suggest an Era, for the additional few hundred, making it just a little less than $5000.
In any case, have fun.
Sincerely, waltcertain |
If you get Magnepans then you can spend as low as 10% of your budget on speakers :)... ha ha ha ha ha ha to everyone else...
Just having fun. But its actually somewhat true. If you look through virtual systems Maggies tend to get paired with much much much more expensive gear. Means they are very good value.
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