How cheap can you go and still be happy with the sound?

I think it’s impossible to get 100k, very high end system sound with 5k. But you can get maybe 75-85% of the way there. That last 15% will cost you exponentially more as you near 100%.

I do think however, that you can get 98% of 100k system sound Q for around 25k. For example, a preowned Hegel 590/600, and preowned Perlisten S7T or Boressen X6 towers. IMO you’d need to spend a lot more to get significantly better sound.

@megabyte

A Borresen, Schweikert, etc might kill a 5k or 10k rig, but, i have heard rigs in that price range, which sounded better to me than others in the high end...Mbls, Sonuses, etc.

Sure, the Sonuses or D’Agostinos look real pretty (audio jewelry and prestige pricing), but, i wouldn’t be shocked if someone preferred a rig in some lower range (5k or 10k) purely for sonic reasons over the latter. Not everything in the high end is worth its salt sonically, if the consideration of audio jewelry is discarded, imo/ime.

We agree. I’m just making the general point that while you can’t really get a true giant killer system for relatively little money like 5k, you can for a bit more and there’s not much need to spend 100k when you can get so close for 1/4 the cost.

I got a pair of mint/new but open box Perlisten r7t towers at 40% off list, and a brand new Hegel 390 at 35% off list. And for not a ton of $ (in high end audio terms) I feel like I have a true high end system approximately as sonically good as many systems that would cost 5x as much. 

When I started my audio journey, dealer had me listen to some Monitor Audio silver. But then I found out he had some gold’s upstairs. Hhhmmm, wondered how THOSE sounded.

I knew I was I trouble .  .    .        .           .                               .                                .                               .                                                   .                                                             .                                                                        .

I have a pair of Q Acoustics M20s. I bought them because I had seen reviews about how remarkably good they sounded. They were not expensive by today's standards, a pair of 2-way ported active speakers for about $500. I connected them to a streamer and DAC and they sounded very nice. Were they as good as a pair of my passive standmounts and a good sub using a good preamp and amp? No. Did I think they sounded bad because of the difference? No. I take pleasure in how well the speakers perform especially considering their low cost. I hope I never get to a place in this hobby where I can't enjoy a system because I know that a different group of components might sound better. That would be just as bad as not being able to enjoy a good meal at a cheap restaurant because I might have had a better meal somewhere else.

So many different takes on what serves as a baseline system I am actually a bit surprised...Try going cold turkey without your tunes for a few weeks as I did after our house fire, and it helps adjust your minimum standards or at least helps really define them. For nearfield at the computer  I have probably about 700 invested roughly between some modded dayton audio towers and the dac and cheap class d amp. While that doesn't satisfy too well if I am in the next room, it works awfully well when at the computer.

For listening at 8 feet or so away from the speakers, my 2 channel system in the music room meets the need in the size room I have in our temporary home. 2 svs subs, 2 Walsh 2000, VTV Hypex amp 500 wpc, Emotiva TA1 Dac, driven via optical output from the monitor connected to my old dell desktop. It kicks butt and can get uncomfortably loud and surprisingly clean in the small room its in. Low end response extends below 20hz and is well integrated with the Ohm speakers. Expecting the same level of performance once I move back into my house.

Then there is a TV only system driving an Emotiva MR1L and connected with some resto-modded 303AX fronts with dayton audio surrounds and a pair of 10" dayton audio subs with a JBL center speaker. Reasonably flat response down to about 25 hz. Plenty of volume with no shortage of reserve for apartment living.

The music room system is by far the most expensive of all of them and absolutely delivers smiles every time I listen to good source material. Sadly its revealing enough to show poor recordings for what they are. And that is the price paid to enjoy the goodness that comes with a good recording. I think I could be happy with what I have for the rest of my days, but I know that I can get closer to Nirvana...and that will eat at me until I do something about it.