The infamous

I always find it interesting that there is so much emphasis on gear and how much it costs in relation to benefit, diminishing returns and the like. What I don't see is much talk about where its going. Certainly gear on the order of magnitude of Albert's limits would make sense if you had a proper room (read "full sized") to place it in. In my space I don't know if spending 100k would be warranted, it would probably be overkill. My room isn't big enough to justify spending that kind of money for presumably a full range system that is not very efficient that would require a powerful megabuck amp to drive it that would REALLY get the bottom octaves along with everything else. Too many variables concerning room and listening objectives IMO. Someone correct me if I'm wrong would you please?

Tubegroover, as far as the very deep low end is concerend, I could not agree more with you. But as far as the other parameters are concerend, which are generally held in high esteem in our circles, if find Albert's limits right on the money, even for smallish rooms. In-field listening can both be very rewarding but also very critical, mercilessly showing up even the tiniest lack in musical coherence or a faulty voicing of your system, whereas big rooms are often quite forgiving, as far as these two aspects are concerend. Here in Europe, living space is generally smaller as compared to the States, so audiophiles here generally have to contend with smallish listening areas and are quite savvy to make the best of that fact.

Albert's limits are out of this world, IMO. Twinsdad and Fineberg are absolutely correct that you don't have to spend megabucks to have gorgeous sound, if you buy used/demo and do lots of auditioning and careful component- and cable-matching--a lot of which has to be done trial and error, unfortunately, which of course contributes to the used/demo market for the rest of us. For myself, after years of listening, lusting, buying, selling, and overspending, I have settled on a tube system that is the best system I have ever owned or listened to--but I don't live in a big-time audio store area so I haven't listened to the best of the best. My system is listed in virtual systems on this site and retails for around $50,000. The limits I would place on various components are based on my experiences building this system over the past 5 years and are as follows (retail):

amp $8000-10,000
preamp $5000-7500
speakers $15,000-20,000
CD playback $8000-10,000
vinyl playback $8000-10,000
tuner $2000
cables and power cords $5000 total
stands and racks $2000-3000
power isolation/conditioning $3000 total

I know I could put together a DYNAMITE system to live with for the ages at the low end of these ranges! I guess it would look very different from Albert's, but to each his/her own, of course! One more thing: I spent $13,000 on a high-end fancy amp a couple of years ago and it was the worst purchase I ever made as a spendthrift audiophile (with a long history of ridiculous purchases). My current amp (ARC VT100 Mk III) cost me $4500 (I bought it right before the price went up $1500) and sounds/operates much, much better. Thus I know I will never spend anywhere near $13,000 on an amp again, even if my fortunes change and would allow for it in the future.
Sarah

I try to maximize my listening experience without spending the farm on components. catch the cost versus sound quality curve at the apex right before it goes exponential in cost

I typically buy used, I only upgrade when it's a real significant improvement and always strive for musicality and could care less about audio bragging rights

I know an audiophile who scrapped a $40,000 system, the more he tweaked the more uncomfortable he became with the sound

his advice to me "if you are happy with your current sound, hold right there and enjoy it"

that said - price per component limits new (used)

preamp 5000 (4000)
amp 5000 (3500)
cd 3000 (1500)
dac 3500 (1500)
speakers 5000 (3500)
speaker cable 1400 (800)
interconnect 900 (500)

I've actually came in well below that amount with excellent results

I don't know how much I'd spend on a system if my resources were unlimited. I'd get better speakers and source components but I'm not sure I'd bother to upgrade my amp and preamp, because I suspect they represent the level where returns start diminishing very sharply. I might, though, want to try tube amplification and be willing to experiment with cables more.

So far the most I've paid for a single component (counting speakers as one component) is US$1000 for the big Tannoys, but then except for cables and the phono cartridge, I've purchased everything used. The Sony CD player cost me $650 (retail $1900), the smaller Tannoys the same ($2000?); the turntables so cheap they were almost free; the tuner $200 ($650), the Pioneer CD player $235 ($1300), the Monarchy pre/dac $250 ($950), the Meitner pre $550 ($2200), the Meitner monoblocs $900 ($3400), the smaller Meitner $400 ($1500). . .

I've always wanted a pair of Tannoy Westminster Royals and I guess that's about as "crazy" as I'd get if I had the money: US$30K plus a year on a waiting list. But of course I'd probably opt for used at half or a third of the price.

The following itemizes my two systems: one in the living room and one in the bedroom.

Sources: Sony CDP-X779ES CD player, Pioneer PD-91 (used as transport)feeding Monarchy Audio 18B DAC; Thorens TD-125-II, Grace 707, Ortofon OM30; Systemdek (no model name or no., but has metal not glass platter), Signet XK-50 arm, Reson Reca cartridge; SAE T-101 tuner.

Amplification: Meitner PA-6 preamp (factory upgraded), Meitner MTR-101 monoblocs; Bryston 11B preamp, Meitner STR-55 power amp.

Speakers: Tannoy System 12 DMT (biwired), Tannoy 3836s with custom crossovers and cabinets (full-range). Both with custom stands made from cedar 4 X 4s, lead sheet, Corian and other goodies.

Cables: Canare StarQuad, DH Labs SilverSonic, XLO Pro 1200; all power cords stock (all "captive" style).

Happy listening all.

Joel.