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??? Which Would You Buy ???

 So your in the market for a new component,amp,speakers,DAC,doesn't matter what it is...You have a budget of say $7500.00...You aren't made of $ & this amount represents a significant investment in time spent working & saving & will likely be the only upgrade you can make for the next several years...The rest of your system is good,what is considered mid level gear..
 After extensive research,time & money spent seeking out & demo'ing many choices you narrow your shortlist down to 3 different choices..2 of these choices are from well established manufacturers, have good reviews,sound very good in the demo environment & have excellent build quality but will max out your budget..
The third choice is 1/3 the price of the other 2,is a fairly new product & has limited but positive feedback on sound quality,comes from an established manufacturer that many high end manufacturers have sourced to build their products,has  very good build quality but not quite up to the level of the others & offers about 85% the sound quality of the others...
 Choosing item #3 saves you about $5000.00,meaning you could also upgrade another component or bank the savings...Which do you buy???
 

freediver
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,828 posts
 

Components are not created equal.  Rather than keep this in the theoretical, what exactly  are we talking about?

The only general rule of thumb; buy what is best built ... buy what breaks down the least.  

Rich 

rar1's avatar
rar1
1,828 posts
 

As I watch Summer Slam, my mind ponders this further ... 

Let's say we are considering these 3 integrated amps ... 

  1. McIntosh MA5300 Integrated @ $7000
  2. Prima Luna Evo 300 Hybrid Integrated @$7000
  3. Heaven 11 Billie MK3 Hybrid Integrated @$2750 

It's a bit of a head scratcher, as you are talking different classes of components altogether.  

Rich

ghdprentice
8,111 posts
 

Just from my experience of fifty years.

I always figured out why I saved money after the purchase, and invariably spent more money after buying the budget gear and then the good one. If there is one thing I learned... as long as you do your research and know what you want, you get what you pay for.

So, the great inexpensive preamp I bought sounded great... then taught me what grain sounded like. They incredibly will reviewed consumer tape deck taught me what restricted dynamic range sounded like... etc. 

Building a great system is about slowly building a great system. 

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,969 posts
 

To provide a useful answer, would  ask which 3 amps are under consideration specifically, what speakers will it be used with, how big the room is, and how loud must it go?

With any large purchase, some kind of satisfaction guarantee with money back is always desirable.  
 

Cost alone assures nothing. 
 

 

 

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