Did a satisfaction threshold exist under 1000 bucks ?

I am a music lover first, but i am also an audiophile; give me 100,000 bucks i will go with ghdprentice club...😊

I never said that my 2 systems are audiophile ceiling , only at the audiophile minimal floor starting point for the speakers, but higher for my headphone which is a unique design a top one in all headphone history ...

My next upgrade will be not the headphone nor the amplifier but the dac, i dream to buy a BACCH filters dac system...

You have arrived a totally blessed place!

Hopefully everyone else can join you, there!

As you see even totally satisfied i dream anyway... But the BACCH system is way more than an upgrade to be truthfull,... I will not upgrade probably save with that...

Would love to try the new Fosi V3 with a pair of large high quality high efficiency speakers that I do not own currently.  I would go in with very high expectations.

If anyone with large good quality high efficiency speakers would like to try that,  I'd be interested in the results.  Could a $140 Class D amp be a reasonable alternative to a 10X or more pricey tube amp that would normally be assigned the job?  Inquiring minds want to know!    The Fosi V3 with upgrade power supply is only $140 on Amazon and easily returnable.

$100 to $200 Pioneer portable dsd player and a pair of $100 to $200 Sony studio monitor headphones and I would be very happy.

The gear listed in my system (sans cables, tubes, power conditioning, surge protection, the rack and custom shelves) was purchased for around $1300.

Love this system and have been using it for 20 years now.

The mini system I use @ the computer (Sharp SD-EX111/Polk RT15i) was purchased for $88.50.

$75 for the Sharp on closeout (had been $500) and $13.50 for the speakers @ a local thrift ($15 less my senior discount;-).

I owned/drove a Citroen DS-19 for 8-9 years and the cost of doing so (including the purchase price, annual insurance/registration fees and maintenance) came in @ around $10K.

When I compare that car to an equipment rack or a cable selling for around the same price ($10K) things become both more confused and more clear @ the same time.

I find it difficult to judge anything by its cost as we all have our different takes on "value".

The following link shows a DIY system that definitely cost more the the $88.50 I spent on the mini-system.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DHGjFdnGT_Q

DeKay

I wonder if anyone has sought to downgrade their system, not to save money or because they needed the money, but because of the idea that living more simply will force them to focus more on the music.

This would be the Henry David Thoreau approach to audio -- to make it more meaningful by abandoning the quest for better sound. 

Because if I could focus just on the music, then why would I want to go back to thinking of ways it could be better? Just for myself, this is what I think about.