Buying cheap components as stop gap measures and also to placate the wife have lead to unsatisfactory music reproduction. Too many artifacts in the music presentation just prevented me from enjoying the music, as that is what it is really about. Some one once told me "Buy cheap, buy twice". That has proven itself to me over and over again. Also spur of the moment buying in the mid-fi store (aka Tweeter, etc.) has produced the same experience. I was never happy with what I ended up with from that place. Also listening to the hype surrounding this hobby has proven itself to be misleading. A component with 50+ positive reviews on Audioreview.com and mutliple positive posts here were proven wrong (IMO). The component, in my system, was a dissapointment from the start. It never lived up to its hype.
So, live and learn. I'm pretty happy now, but I've taken a few hits in the wallet to learn what sounds good to me. Listen first and decide for yourself.
So, live and learn. I'm pretty happy now, but I've taken a few hits in the wallet to learn what sounds good to me. Listen first and decide for yourself.