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How cheap can you go and still be happy with the sound?

I would think many guys on this forum are spoilt by the gear they have and never listen anymore on cheap rigs.

I was listening recently on my younger daughter’s PC audio rig and got reminded again of how good it sounds. There is a fairly high level of clarity, detail, tonal balance and great bass in this rig.

 

- Yamaha HS8 powered monitors: $700 to $800

- Yamaha WXC-50 MusicCast streamer+dac+preamp: $450, often found on A4L for around $300

- Audioquest Powerquest PQ3 (was around $200 or so)

 

IMO, this would qualify as a high quality (sonically) charity price hifi rig for any younger or older person w.r.t small room nearfield or midfield listening.

 

What is the cheapest rig that has brought you happiness these days?

 

deep_333
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,196 posts
 

Good quality music reproduction can be had a little over $1k.  If you want great sound you have to pay a lot, lot more.

mahler123
3,267 posts
 

Assembling a great sounding system with a big budget shouldn’t be that hard.  Synergy between components and the room matters but at 5 figures and up you are probably going to get some decent sound even if you throw darts to pick the components.

  Building a satisfying system with a modest budget is a much greater challenge 

flyfish77
47 posts
 

My office setup consists of an AudioQuest Dragonfly Red, an iMac, and Definitive Technology Incline Speakers.  I like enjoy the sound using a variety of sources.

None of my setups are expensive.  For me it is all about the music.

 

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jonwolfpell
373 posts
 

I can & do enjoy good music on anything I hear it on. What’s really interesting is that the nuance & details I’ve come to notice & appreciate on the good systems I’ve had over the years get somehow imprinted in my brain & I seem to sort of fill them in when listening in my car or at my business but probably aren’t truly there. 
 

Maybe part of it is that we see what we want to see & hear what we want to hear??
 

 

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