2. best-of
  3. 1274984487

Looking to buy a complete 2 chanel system

I have been tinkering with mid hi end systems since the early 1970s. Put a home theater system in 2 years ago. Now I want to buy a dedicated 2 channel system (tubes or digital)in another room.
Would love to go to the local dealer and hand him a blank check and say load me up. But I did not win the lotery, so need to find good used equipment. From power conditioners,racks, cables/ wire, amps, preamps, music server or CD player, etc. I want a system that plays music soft with detail or crank it up to ear drum shattering levels. Do not want to get into phono at this time.Just trying to make as few mistakes as possible.
My budget is $10 to $20,000. I live in south east Florida, so shipping charges can add up. I listen mostly to classic rock but love Sheffield Labs master recordings.
Been looking at agon for days, can't afford the big name stuff so give some suggestions.
bwoodham
timrhu
2,779 posts
 

Click here I'm sure he would also sell you a pair of suitable speakers. (no affiliation)
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
I listen mostly to classic rock but love Sheffield Labs master recordings.

If you want a reference system - start with speakers. Sheffield Labs (Doug Sax) uses ATC. Tom Petty from Gainsville Florida uses them too. There are plenty of other good choices but start with speaker you like first.
eslaudio
118 posts
 
I strongly agree with Shadorne. Start with the speakers-- different brands/models will have different strengths and weaknesses which must mesh with your personal listening preferences. You'll also need to decide based on your listening space whether you want to go with full range floor standers, or smaller speakers (e.g. monitors) supplemented with a sub. Once you acquire the speakers, I would move ahead with amplification based on the sensitivity of the speakers and their particular tone (e.g. bright or laid back). That's also probably a good time to ask advice on this forum from other Audiogoners who own the same speakers.
sprink
110 posts
 
Tyler has a complete Bel Canto system on here for under 5k. Leaves you enough for a killer set of speakers and some change.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,375 posts
 
You should be able to put an incredible sounding system together for that price especially if you buy used and can go up to 20K. The first thing to look at is your room. How big is it? Do you have the run of the room for speaker placement or is there a significant other or living considerations that relegate you to speakers placed close to a wall. This is going to be the biggest consideration. Also do you want a speaker that is going to sound good outside of the sweet spot or will you only listen by yourself and in the sweet spot. Find a speaker that will do the things you want and then get the right amp for it. These days you can get great sounding digital for very low dollars and use a Mac Mini as a server to feed the DAC.
More to discover