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Diminishing Returns

I know the point of diminishing returns is different for everyone, probably dependent on their inclme, how much importance they place on the stereo, and to exactly what sound they will be happy with.

In these times (not pandemic but rather trickle down tech) where I feel like you are able to get more for your money, what price point do you feel you need to be at to achieve audio nirvana?

I was researching the absolute least expensive speakers and found that the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2, the Wharfedale Diamond 225, Triangle Borea BR03 are a few that get excellent reviews and can be had for around $500 or less and it got me thinking...

At $1000 the Whatfedale Evo 4.2 looks very compelling (I loved the Evo 4.4 at RMAF last year)...

At $2000 there seems to be some seriously stiff completion...

Just a fun discussion regarding what you think are outstanding deals sound wise, what the speakers are and how much they cost.  No “well such is $10,000 and it competes with $100,000 speakers”.  I’m talking for the average person who isn’t making $100,000 a year.  I’m talking $5,000 or less, less is better, much better.  I understand that for some, $5,000 speakers are like $500 speakers to others, no need to point out the obvious.

What I do want to know is speakers that you feel punch waaay above their price point and at what price (the lower The better) you feel like diminishing returns comes into play.  Also, lets try not to make this a Tekton DI conversation because it looks like they are the answer to this question at $3500; lets get some others in here that we may not know about.

If this thread sounds dumb to you, sorry, and just move on please!

Another one in question for me would be the SB Acoustics Satori Ara kit...
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tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,879 posts
 
The LiL Maggie desktop system is pretty good :-) real high end on a work surface..,
jfuquay
106 posts
 
The great thing about shopping for speakers is that it’s so subjective (it’s all in your head, you know). All you have to do is discover what you like. That said, the last time I was auditioning speakers I thought Wharfedale beat Elac and others. I pretty sure that Kevlar cone Material They use is a big reason. So if you’re lucky enough to be able to audition them, have at it.  That said, I ended up with Magnepan .7s and if you can hear the LRS, do. 
coltrane1's avatar
coltrane1
715 posts
 
I don’t think $2k will get you there. Heck, you’ll spend $2k for a turntable and cartridge alone. $10k would be a better amount. I’ve $2k in speakers, $1500 in a turntable, another $2k in a dac, $1k in a tube amp, $1k in a tube preamp, $1k in a solid state amp. And all of my gear was bought used...all of it. So if bought new I’d say double my investment price. So yeah, $10k at minimum in used gear to have an awfully decent system. BTW, I use Martin Logan Theos speakers, which are fairly easy to drive, and are fairly revealing. Best!
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
The Roon eq will be the best speaker upgrade you can have.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,961 posts
 
At 50 bucks used, the top of the british line Mission, the Cyrus 781+ a passively and actively modified acoustic room by my homemade methods, gives me in my 2 listening position (regular and nearfield) a sound so good that even if an upgrade would give me a better sound, the increase in money invested would be out of scale....


I sold my 4 Tannoy Dual Gold 800 hundred dollars for each pair few years ago, I had pay them 400 dollars in 1975....They were very good but not better than the Mission and too big for my desk....


In my experience the acoustic treatments, the passive one and the generally unacknowledged active one, are the keys to audio experience, not so much the speakers, especially if you play with low price speakers around 1000 dollars new...
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