What's the Least You Could Live With?

with $200 a Panasonic portable and a pair of Grado SR 80's

with $800, a b-stock NAD L-40 (cd/amp/tuner/pre), b-stock soliloquy sat-5's from underwoodwally, and $5/foot speaker cable (this is what i have in my office)

with $3000, used bryston integrated, new soliloquy 5.0's with stands, a used micromega cd player, and decent cables (i actually have this one too, with excellent cables that drive the price up. also, i owned the cd player as a new unit, and i might not be willing to buy one used unless i knew the owner)

while all of these are immensely satisfying, none comes close to my big system, in sound or price. so would i die without the big rack? no. would i survive with just the panasonic/grado combo? yes. if you are a smart audio consumer, do you get what you pay for? of course. when should you stop? when your budget says "diminishing returns."

i'm glad that this is just a conversation topic and not a reality for me. i'm not remotely wealthy. my big stereo took me years to put together. but having it doesn't mean that i have to stand in line for cheese, either.

Me, I could never do it for less again, I've been much too spoilt. So I'd try to keep a decent suit, shirt, tie and a pair of Italian shoes, next to my jeans-stuff, save on food, stop drinking wine and take in as much live music as I possibly could afford.

I'm with Detlof -- at least in the short term. Psychologically, I don't know if I can move straight from "A" to "B" class sound. I'd start with an old vintage receiver from e-Bay for under $300 and slap on some, gasp, Bose speakers. Once my ears are accustomed to some "C" or "D" class sound, I might be happy to explore the options in moving to "B". But I might not ... and would then move on to another, less expensive, hobby.

A yamaha Tenor Sax, a Canondale mountain bike and beach shorts....can't get any more basic

I have to agree with Rbirke, Grado SR-60's and an inexpensive portable cd player.