Really Inexpensive Systems That Sounded Great?

My friend with 100k system told me my system made him trip...asked him why? your system sounds great.... "for what it is"...😉

@switlikbob 

It is like every piece of kit tok you closer or further from what you like, then it comes together. Interesting how Schiit gear is coming up in this thread, makes me want to try it.

@digsmithd 

It is surprising how you can go to a dealer and hear uber priced gear you have read great reviews and at the end of the day still can't surpass what you own. I find old Carver amps can sound better than come new kilobuck amps on my speakers, go figure.

My surprisingly good sounding simple inexpensive:

12x13 room w/8ft ceiling, carpeted, otherwise no treatment.

sansui 881 receiver

NHT 1.5 bookshelves

samsung CD player 

off the shelf 12 gauge wires 

a friend that worked in studios….wanted to buy the speakers on the spot.

Elac BS41-Bk (~$65.00)modified using Neil Blanchard directions ($20 plus parts ~ $70.00)

Aiyima a07 Pro (~$80.00)

Don’t be jaundiced by the inexpensive cost, this system rivals my mid fi system = Node as a streamer, REM ADI-2 DAC FS, Freya + pre, Rogue Hydra amp, TAD Micro Evolution 1 speakers, REL T/9x sub woofers.

Of course it is your listening area and your ears that should drive your choices.   Try to audition as much as you can, take advantage of return policies !

I don't like really expensive wine.  I feel like a lot of the time it tastes like wine with a bunch of gravel in it.  I really don't like expensive coffee. It's too bitter.  I've listened to some five and low six figure sound systems and while they seem impressive they seem like they're trying too hard I can also find the sound kind of uncompromising and the whole experience just overbearing. 

Mostly, expensive systems are an aesthetic that's harder to achieve at a lower price point. The fact that it's hard to achieve that aesthetic at a lower price point doesn't mean that it's somehow better.  I've watched a lot of people chug down expensive wine without knowing if they liked it. 

At some level there's a lot of diminishing return chasing some imagined super system. The whole hobby is filled with confirmation bias, and desire for desires sake, and if you ask me, a lot of junk science. 

My main system is a Tom McNally SET amp that I bought for $350 in a Harbor Freight parking lot and a pair of Omega speakers which are single drivers.  I love that system and wouldn't trade it for anything. It's easy to listen to for extended sessions and the mids sound great to my wife and I. 

In the end, you'll be happy with your system when you allow yourself that pleasure. 

Ultimately there is no objective measure, not really, as I don't listen to test tones in an anechoic chamber.