2. misc-audio
  3. 138079-102681

The High End for Under a Grand?


I love the way Doug Schneider (an experienced hard bitten high end reviewer) seems genuinely shocked about the high sound quality of a system coming in for under $1000.

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1213-a-feature-rich-fully-modern-hi-fi-system-you-c...

Here’s a quick taster of Doug article or you can simply use the link above to read it in its entirety.

"In the last few years I’ve reviewed some very expensive hi-fi gear (all prices in USD): Constellation Audio’s Revelation Taurus Mono amps ($40,000/pair) and Revelation Pictor preamplifier with optional DC filter ($23,000); EMM Labs’ DA2 Reference digital-to-analog converter ($25,000); Muraudio’s SP1 speakers ($14,700/pair) -- and, still to come EMM Labs’ Pre preamplifier ($25,000) and MTRX2 monoblock ($85,000/pair).

--

In short, no audiophile of average income is going to spend $25,000 on a preamp -- but they’re happy to be entertained by reading a review of that preamp. More likely, they’ll be looking for something that costs a lot less -- something for way under $10,000, and perhaps under $2000 or even $1000. It’s reviews of affordable products like these that get read much more often than reviews of most expensive items, as is seen in our statistics. And the average music lover would rather go even lower -- say, an entire system for less than $1000. This is what “normal” folks can actually afford and are willing to spend on hi-fi gear.

---

But you might be wondering if it’s even possible, in this era of accelerating price increases for high-end audio, to assemble a good hi-fi system for under a grand.

---

I was able to assemble a surprisingly complete, feature-rich, expandable, shockingly good-sounding hi-fi rig with a total US retail price of only $926.95. Its sound is good enough that I think many people would enjoy it -- not only plain ol’ music lovers who just want something that sounds great, but budget-conscious audiophiles as well"


My only concern with this system would be that it’s not full bandwith. As Doug says, it only goes down to about 50Hz.

For me it goes without saying that its almost crying out for better loudspeakers but this article certainly does make me question the relationship between high priced and high end audio.

For music lovers it’s just got to be a great thing to know that high end (near state of the art) sound is well within the reach of almost anyone!

cd318
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Only 50 hz! That's better than my Heresy's!
mahler123
3,076 posts
 
I just read the link.  I have to say that there is a fair amount of hyperbole here.  The speakers are the Paradigm Atoms.  I had bought a pair of these about 8 years ago to use for background listening in my office, driven by a Denon AVR .  It was fine during working hours, when I had the system playing barely to the threshold of audibility, but when I was in the office working at oddball times and turned it up to just moderate levels, it frankly sounded bad.  The music was muffled, no bass or highs, and I certainly wouldn’t describe the midrange as rich. At one point I replaced the Atoms with an entry level B&W speakers that I was using as rears in a 5.1 System at home, during a remodeling phase at home when the rears had to be removed temporarily.  I think the B&Ws cost at least double the Atoms but wow, what a difference in sound!  That was one of the most dramatic illustrations to me of how a relatively small increase in outlay could result in a huge performance upgrade.
  Without used components, at that price point I just don’t think a decent system could be had.  Perhaps if there are some decent sounding Active speakers  to be had in the $500 range that cover the DAC and amplification , leaving the rest for a source and cables, but I’m not holding my breath
trelja
3,223 posts
 
Thank you for initiating the thread...

Although I think the system he put forth doesn’t exactly meet the mark on several levels, I find the spike in HEA pricing over the past 5 years especially ridiculous. There’s a paucity of actual improvement in performance. So much of the change in components has been to the aesthetic. All this talk about spending $25K, $50K, $100K, or even $300K on a system doesn’t yield any better sound than a well-thought out, well-crafted system costing a fraction of those numbers
djones51
4,947 posts
 
I can understand some wil not like the amp or speakers chosen for this article but point is there are components out there the average person can buy and get a decent system for around $1000.  As he pointed out their statistics show more people are interested in reviews of modest priced gear which is the average buyer.   He mentioned at the end how he will look for a TT and see what he can put together for about $1200 perhaps swtiching speakers or amps as well while adding a different source. Yeah I can start adding $$$ and come up with something better but that isn't the point , stay withn say $1000-1500 which is what most people would spend, read the article again that's what this is about not what I would like but what this average buyer can get for that amount. Those who spend 5 figures or more on their systems are not the majority but a very small subset of the population.  I think it was a great article. 
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Both my second and third systems come in a hair under/over $1000 ($990&$1026).
Are they HEA?
Who cares....
Do I thoroughly enjoy the music that plays through them?
Heck yes!
Both have integrated amps with built in DAC and headphone amps. 
One has a tt, the other has a nak cassette
One has small floorstanding speakers, the other decent bookshelf speakers.

Am I happy with both?

Heck yes!

Are they perfect and need nothing more?
Of course not!

But they do a great job for me right now

More to discover