Are there other people like me ? Amazed by their low cost system :)

My thread intention then i hope it is now clear, was only that : a celebration by some of us about our relative successes in the scale ratio S.Q. /low cost, and the pleasurable occasion to read others explanations about this relative success i called : the minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold and level ... 😊

This is also meant to be  an invitation for the beginners to think BEFORE upgrading too prematurely BEFORE trying experiments  or uselessly if they are not in the ideal room condition anyway  ...

Define "low cost.'Mine, by my reckoning, is high value and reasonable cost;but I couldn't have afforded any more. And it was actually going out on a limb to get what I wanted and that's; with a preamp I've had for 20 years! so my amp was like $1500, speakers something like $3k, CD Player - that  I hardly use anymore but was primary when I bought it 7 years ago or so - $500, streamer $700, cables about $400, stands $500; so about, what, $6600 all-in new? To most people that's A LOT, to others, it's being cheap and doesn't sound good lol. For me, it's nigh on perfect, certainly for the investment.   

Low cost here is a relative notion i refuse to precise...

In my exemple above i spoke about Bill Gates reading my advices about embeddings controls of the mechanical, electrical and acoustical dimensions and discovering that a 88,000 bucks system almost rival his one million bucks system...😁 For sure it is an audio parable... 😊

For him 88,000 is very low cost...It is peanuts...

For us reading this we understand that before upgrading we must learn how to realize our dream at a favorable ratio in the scale S.Q. /price when going with our budget which is different for everyone...

But as i said the minimal acoustical threshold of satisfaction and level is characterized by the same acoustics factors at play : timbre, distortion, spatial qualities of the sound and of the soundfield and immersiveness grosso modo... There is many others secondary factors and qualities which are all important and they all must manifested together some balance ratio for an optimized perceptive experience of any stereo recordings..

This is what matter , the knowledge behind these factors and their controls multidimensional parameters...

It is why speaking of price tags has absolutely almost no meaning in audio... The common place fact that better design cost more is only that a common place fact which is useless if we dont learn how to embed rightfully any system at any price to begin with once synergy between some chosen gear is reach for sure...No embeddings controls will replace synergy and vice versa.

Then your post is very useful and can reveal that acoustic happiness can be done at this price : 6,600 bucks and we can be satisfied with no frustration at this level...

This does not means that we cannot do better ... Toward a way greater results with more money or toward a better or equal results with less money ... ( my 2 different systems were 1000 bucks value speakers and headphone included and unbeatable in my opinion with less money and hard to beat even with some relatively costlier system at my level compared to my 1000 bucks......With no limit budget or even a few times bigger it is if not easy possible to beat me...( my own dreamed upgrade system will be 15,000 bucks but i felt no frustration because i am already at the minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold anyway )

The goal is with your example and your post some beginners will begin to think BEFORE throwing money uselessly ... Then thanks for your post...

In a way my thread is the opposite of most thread... We think less often about a way to have more with less money invested for more joy ... Most audio thread started with some frustation and a search for a costlier upgrades...No thinking about homemade devices and tweaks and about embeddings method seems necessary BEFORE upgrading, which resulted in a frustration starting an upgrading race ...

Audiophiles subjectivist as objecvtivists focus on gear qualities or measures make us forgot acoustics and psychoacoustics and mechanical and electrical embeddings controls. What was called "tweaks" in the past.

I dont like this word because embeddings controls are more than just "tweaks" and they are not secondary at all but at least as much important as gear synergy choices. At the end they are the most important because learning them save us money and end our frustration with sounds...

Define "low cost.’Mine, by my reckoning, is high value and reasonable cost;but I couldn’t have afforded any more. And it was actually going out on a limb to get what I wanted and that’s; with a preamp I’ve had for 20 years! so my amp was like $1500, speakers something like $3k, CD Player - that I hardly use anymore but was primary when I bought it 7 years ago or so - $500, streamer $700, cables about $400, stands $500; so about, what, $6600 all-in new? To most people that’s A LOT, to others, it’s being cheap and doesn’t sound good lol. For me, it’s nigh on perfect, certainly for the investment.

Especially since my retirement ...

Noted. Now your responses are starting to make sense - word count wise. Happy posting and make sure that you are the one who has the last word. Have fun.