I've always found that no matter the price / value of the equipment, proper component matching is what makes a system sound ok, good, or fantastic. Right now, I have about 12 pairs of speakers, 3 tube amps, 4 solid state amps, a hybrid amp, multiple preamps of both solid state and tube variants, some equalizers, a few DACs and multiple different analog or digital sources. Some speakers I have built myself from scratch, some I have modified, some are at manufactures spec. Some of my equipment is fairly valuable, some is not. I am constantly mixing and matching, trying to get the best sound out of each matching component set. I must say, there are times when I am amazed at how good some of my inexpensive equipment sounds when properly matched up. I am also equally horrified with the results of matching up some of my higher end equipment. With that said, one of my least valuable, yet favorite sounding system consists of:
- Mistral MT-34 Integrated Tube Amp with solid state rectifier
- S.M.S.L. SU-6 DAC & LDAC Bluetooth receiver with volume control and remote control
- Schiit Loki EQ (to add bass)
- ZU Audio Omen Bookshelf Speakers
- Self made Custom interconnect and speaker cables