Did a satisfaction threshold exist under 1000 bucks ?

If you are truly committed to the best possible sound you can get, then the next issue is financial. If I could only afford an eight hundred dollar system without taking food off the table or losing the roof over my head then getting a carefully constructed $1,000 system is going to sound great.

Systems at the $1K, $5K, $10K, $50K, $100K… etc, within the limits of values in sound quality each sound better than the preceding category when presented to knowledgable people that are passionate about sound quality without financial constraints… that’s a pretty objective group.

So, does a satisfaction level exist under $1,000? Absolutely. If you cannot afford more… or if you are compulsively frugal and can afford more.

I went to Outward Bound and after having no food or water for three days, being rained on for a day, snowed on for a day, freezing my butt off, with no tent or sleeping bag and having a trail biscuit and hot tea was one of the best meals I ever had.

I heard Jay's Audio Lab system played on YouTube through my TCL tablet. It was playing THAT Elvis song "I love you baby ..." from Tidal. Execrable sound quality! The Wilson speakers looked and sounded like what you'd see at a rock concert! So a quarter million for the Wilson's and another quarter million for the electronics! There is no limit to the follies of the rich!

I must confess that if i was impressed by some costly system on some occasion , each time the acoustic of the room was the MAIN culprit ...

For Jay he does not know enough  about acoustics ... Buying panels is not enough... 😁

Some people invest in gear....More and more... Some others like me had no choice than invest in the knowledge necessary to improve what they have...

It is rewarding because whatever i had in the future as  what i have now will sound very good...

Making the most with the less is true audio knowkledge... Anybody can buy the best amplifier of the world... 😊 Not me right now though and i dont need it really bad  anyway  even if i am very curious about  it for sure...

I heard Jay’s Audio Lab system played on YouTube through my TCL tablet. It was playing THAT Elvis song "I love you baby ..." from Tidal. Execrable sound quality! The Wilson speakers looked and sounded like what you’d see at a rock concert! So a quarter million for the Wilson’s and another quarter million for the electronics! There is no limit to the follies of the rich!

@mahgister

Anybody can buy the best amplifier of the world...

I understand what you’re saying but at the same time, while any rich person can buy a pair of Magicos or Wilsons, not every person who has that kind of money can take the next steps -- choosing a source, amplification, cables that add up to something sublime! ;o)

@jasonbourne52

Too many members here have lost touch with Reality by pursuing ever more costly components. Enjoyment of music is a subjective experience that eludes comparison based upon cost of gear.

I’m all for maintaining focus on the music but not everyone here is necessarily after the same thing. Those who pursue ever more costly components may simply enjoy that pursuit, so who’s to say they’ve lost touch?

Personally, I don’t relate to such a quest -- I can enjoy music just as much listening to the radio in my Subaru as I can listening at home on my modest-but-satisfying-to-my-ears system and I wouldn’t have it any other way but there is a spectrum and everyone is not located at the same point. 

I went to Outward Bound and after having no food or water for three days, being rained on for a day, snowed on for a day, freezing my butt off, with no tent or sleeping bag and having a trail biscuit and hot tea was one of the best meals I ever had.

Great story.

The lesson I take from ghdprentice's story is that there are some choice points about audio, here:

If one wants better sound but cannot afford it they should deprive themselves, periodically, to appreciate how good their current system is.

Or, one should give up the idea of better sound and just focus on music only, not sound. (That's hard.)

Or, one should figure out what else is worth giving up to afford sound after spending various increments more.

Or, one can try to convince oneself that everyone else who can spends more is deluded. (That's hard, too. Better equipment -- room and gear -- does yield better sound.)