Vote

A "first audio system" would be rather basic and low-cost in most cases. My bedroom system is a Denon RCD-100, which is a receiver with built-in CD and timer, connected to a pair of excellent, small, and pretty Dali Royal Menuet speakers. I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone who wants an inexpensive system that looks good, is easy to use, occupies very little space, and sounds very agreeable indeed!

I have been an "audiophile" since 1973. About 15 years ago, I started to experiment with affordable equipment to see how low I could go for an "audiophile" system. Last Christmas I made an offer to people I knew that I would be willing to give away my "newest" stereo system if they could guess how much it cost, within 10%. All they would have to do is come to my home and listen to the system blindfolded. The answers that I received ranged from $1200 to $26,000. The actual cost of the system was $265.

rwet

How low can you go???

GO USED! Find High equipment that has become about 3-5 years obsolete!

Go with headhpones. For less than $1k you can get Sennheiser 580s, a decent headphone amp like the X-cans, a very good CD player, and still have some money left over to buy some overpriced CDs. Headphones offer an amazing amount of sound quality for little bucks.

I think, with careful shopping, one can easily put together a system that will admit them to the High End for a little under three grand. My first "real" system cost about $2800, I guess. Nowadays, though, there is such a resurgence of great DIY kits and publications, I think the best $150 an aspiring audiophile could spend would be on a basic electronics class at the local adult school, a decent soldering iron, and a voltmeter. One can get real high-end sound for under $2k, and some knowledge of electronics, by restoring vintage gear and building kits. Also, I'm sure everyone has noticed that there has been a deluge of ridiculously cheap (I mean, under-$500) speakers that sound ridiculously good, coming from both pretty large companies and really tiny ones. It's almost imposible to buy a really "bad" speaker anymore, which certainly wasn't the case 10 years ago.

I don't think that cost is necessarly a criterion. I guess it is whatever you can afford. I remember my first audio system, which was given to me. It consisted of a Sharp mini-system with some JBL speakers that must have cost no more than $400. Yet it was very satisfying to me. If you are listening to the music and not the sound, I don't think price matters. Now please don't get me wrong; I do believe that typically more expensive systems often bring out more of the music. Yet sometimes I rock out more to my $300 car stereo and not my $12,000 home system. Now I don't think this really answers the question of the week at all . . . but hey, it's mine.

Meeting a budget of only $2000 would be a snap as long as the equipment included Australian-made speakers. The enormous prices we have to pay here in OZ for imported US (but especially UK) speakers are what blow any budget.

Buy good used gear, maybe a McCormack amp (less than $1000), Adcom GFP-750, Totem Model Ones, and maybe a Marantz 67SE CD player.

Depends on the intended usage. Is the intent to derive better reproduction than a boombox or rack system ? Then the easy answer is the NAD receiver/CD integrated plus good minimonitors such as B&W DM302 or Mission 731i. If the intent is to go after entry-level high-end, then the obvious answer is go used. To that end, I would assemble the following system: NAD 3020 integrated, Thorens TD-160 plus Grado Wood cartridge, NEAR 10m (or 15m) "Building Center" generic OFC 12-gauge speaker cable, and RadioShack Super Cable Gold interconnects.

Open your ears to hear the music and shut them the instant the salesman opens his mouth. Be frugal and use your money for really important things: travel, philanthropy, retirement, and rainy days.

Don't blow too much too fast.

This is the absolute minimum I have found to give the sensation of true high fi.But you could always shop second-hand.

for staters, two ch amp, a pair of full range speakers, a single tray cd player

Fisher x202b, any cheap CD player, RadioShack LX5 speakers—better than most Sea Cliff systems. (smile)

dhf

Arcam Alpha 9 CD player, Classé CP-35 preamp and CA-101 amp, B&W 805 loudspeakers, Target stands, Monster cable interconnect and speaker cable.

If you gey lucky!

as a long time lover of both, go with onkyo and polk, they are a match made in heaven

If I wanted a great system today and was strapped for cash, this is the system I would put together. I would value midrange accuracy, tonal definition, an accurate stereo image, and a nicely presented soundstage over an impressive bass response and an artificially boosted treble response, which passes as lively and open to inexperienced listeners. The system I would assemble is as follows: Spendor SP3/1P (a speaker known more for its accuracy than for its performance at the extremes of the frequency spectrum); NAD C340 integrated amplifier; Rotel RCD-971 CD player; MITerminator 3 or (if you want body and warmth) Kimber Kable Hero/4TC (if you want a more open and livelier sound) cables. The cost of the system? $2334 (with Kimber), $2553.90 (with MITerminator). Suggestions, anyone?

You can get am NAD 320 and a pair of PSB Alphas and a good soundcard. That is a bare bones hi-fi!

My knee-jerk response to this question would be "More than $5000." I have not been able to do a lot of listening to enough equipment combinations to give me a sound basis for a really well-founded response. One listening experience, however, convinced me that if everything is set up and working well, less than $3000 can do the trick. That occurred some years back at Arizona Tube Audio (Tempe, AZ). I listened Rebecca Pidgeon sing "Spanish Harlem" on Chesky's "The Ultimate Demonstration Disc." I can't recall brand names, but the speakers cost $600/pair. The amp was a little tube job and the CD player was a hybrid (part tube). The results were, in a word, stunning. It was hard to not think Rebecca was not right there in the room performing. So a lower-budget system that inspires is possible, but getting the synergy right with equipment, room, and placement can be harder if you have less money to throw around.

First system should have as much visual appeal as possible; therefore Magnepan MG1.6s, and the rest used. So a used Rega 3 with Rega arm and Grado cartridge and a used NAD integrated with phono. Should come to about $2500 for all—a good-bang-for-buck system that is easy to upgrade.

If you use an audiophile friend to help shop the used market, an entirely adequate starter system can be assembled for about $2000.

Use all the "cheap" tricks: 2-way speaker, small class-A amplifier, only one source (prob. CD), and some fairly good cables. Then you have a good basis for acceptable sound—and something to build on.

include one MSB Link DAC

LINN Classik Dynaudio Audience 50

About $2500 would do it. At this price point, a person could build a great system and pay the mortgage.

Two grand would cover it nicely, especially if it was spent in the used market and purchases were made from individuals.