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The Clearaudio Emotion turntable with a Satisfy arm & Aurum Classic Wood cartridge at Elusive Disc.
Readers often complain that high-end audio products are priced too high for the typical enthusiast to afford. But good audiophile gear does exist. In your opinion, what's the best audio deal out there?
Paradigm Reference 100s, and or surround sound, try the matching surrounds and center. These speakers have it all. Finesse,detail, great soundstaging, and depth, with rock solid bass, mids and highs. Can't be beat by anything even remotely close in price.
I was originally going to say any pair of used Magnepan speakers or the B&W DM603 S3s but, actually the hands down best deal is any LP you can find that is in decent shape at a garage sale or the local niche record store. I picked up four LPs at Charlie's Records in Albuquerque that I never thought I'd find again. He even had a CD version of the Strawbs fron the from the early '70s. I paid the same for the LPs as I had back in the '70s. Garage sales are even better. There is no watermarking and fair use is no problem. Mikey had it figured out a long time ago!
There are great deals out there, but you're probably gonna have to restrict the definition of "high-end" a bit. My speakers, for instance: ADS HT400 LCRs. They are high-end in performance and build quality, but not in the intangibles that define the high-end in the minds of many audiophiles.
How about a speaker from a designer whose previous creation was Stereophile's 1998 loudspeaker of the year. Not only does Siegfried Linkwitz's Orion speaker outperform the Artistry Audio Beethovens in a number of ways, it can cost 1/10 the price! I'm lovin' every minute of mine.
Taking time to breathe calmly (and maybe breathe a Burgundy) and establish a peaceful attitude from which to hear some nice music, whatever you think that is, and truly give yourself an opportunity to enjoy it. No electronics can offer that and all systems can be improved by it.
Though no longer available, I use a Chase RLC-1 remote line controller on my office system. For the $60 I paid it is wonderful. Controls bass, treble, balance, volume and fades between 2 sets of outputs so I can use a subwoofer under my desk. A well thought out little piece that when gone will be missed.
With a little self control, you can build a very good sounding headphone rig for a very reasonable price. You would also save on room treatments and space. Sure, you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on your system, but you can get great sound for just several hundred or a few thousand dollars..
PS Audio UPC 200 (formerly Ultimate Outlet) and power cords. For $10002000 depending on how many components your system has, I don't know of any other upgrade that delivers the same amount of improvment for the money. The power cords are bulky and difficult to manage around the rack, but they provide a blacker background and get rid of lots of has and other garbage.
Anything that was the "rave" product of three years ago, or older. Let someone else take the huge depreciation hit, and then enjoy some wonderful gear when that depreciation guy decides he needs the latest and greatest because he never knew how much more music there really was in those grooves or those pits.