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A little more information would be helpful but we can make some inferences. How big is your room? What king of music do you listen too? What kind of volumes do you listen at? Besides phone, computer and CDs what other sources do you want? Like a turntables? What other sources do you have like a Blu-Ray player or say a PS3 that might be able to be used in the system? Do you want bookshelf or floor standing speakers?
For instance, if you listen to music in a small to medium sized room, at moderate volumes and you aren't into real heavy hip-hop type music, something like the Marantz M-CR611 which is an all in one with a headphone jack for $699 is sweet. I have a prior iteration without the CD player which was called the M-CR510. I was more than pleasantly surprised with the quality of the sound. The internal DAC is excellent, it supports streaming services like Spotify internally and is equipped with Apple's AirPlay which I am a huge fan of.
If you paired it with something like the PSB Imagine X1T which are $900 for the pair for floor standing speakers. These are pretty efficient so that despite the modest power rating on the Marantz you would still get a surprising amount of volume.
The PSBs are extremely neutral while the Marantz is just a hair warm in its sound profile. Most people would find the sound profile appealing. This would give you everything you need now but would be moderately inflexible when upgrading in the future.
This is strictly an example. You need to go out and listen to some things before you buy and honestly, there are lots of ways you can put together an awesome system for $1500. This is one example based on what I like.
You can put together a quality system for $1500-$2000. I'm fairly new to this hobby and was in the same situation as you. I spent a little over $2000 on my entry level system and am quite happy with the results. I plan to keep these components for years and am looking forward to upgrading once I can afford to.
Folks in the Stereophile forum are quite knowledgeable and will certainly help guide you in the right direction.
I don't think you need to spend very much to build a system that will make you really, really happy. Assuming you're not going to get into vinyl, here's what I would recommend: an integrated amplifier, a DAC, and a pair of bookshelf speakers on stands. I use a NAD C316, a Schiit Modi DAC, and Pioneer SP-BS22 speakers. I also have an Apple Airport Express that I use to stream music digitally to it. That plugs into the DAC with optical cable. This set up cost me about $700. This is all very entry level stuff and it sounds great. People seem to really like the new ELAC B6 speakers, that would bring it closer to $1000. There are other options of course.
I mainly listen to music in my office ( 15ft x 8ft ) or in my family room ( open plan that runs into the kitchen so whole area approximately 35ft x 15ft ) but usually through headphones. I do have a pair of cheap Behringer 600watt powered monitors that I use for my digital keyboard and sometimes I hook my little portable mini-disc player up to them and they can shake the windows and walls.
My laptop is hooked up to a Logitech speaker system with a subwoofer, in the office and seems plenty loud enough for the small space but the quality is not that great.
I am in my early 50's so no, no video game systems. I don't have a cd player ( my micro system is bluetooth ) nor a DVD/Blu-ray. No turntable. No plans on getting one.
I am looking for better sound quality. I have no shelves in my house so if I go the speakers route they would need to be floor-standing. I like my music loud and my tastes are a little eclectic...Mahalia Jackson to Slipknot.
As I prefer to listen through headphones should my first priority be a better set of headphones and a first class headphone amp and DAC?
So, to sum up, I guess I am looking for a great digital player ( network player ? ), headphone amp and headphones...or...Digital Player, amp and speakers for a small budget. I don't mind if the digital player is portable as it will probably be better quality than the music from my phone and earbuds.
Thank you guys for your input. It is much appreciated.
Dave
As far as your laptop is concerned, I suggest that you replace the Logitech speakers with a pair of powered Audioengine 2 speakers, which are very good-sounding. I use them for my desktop computer with a small subwoofer. They will cost you $250 per pair and be a huge improvement.
For the other system, I suggest that you get a Cambridge Audio 351A amplifier, which Audio Advisor is selling for $399 right now (regular $599). It has a DAC and USB input which can connect to various music sources, including your computer, and analog inputs of course. It also has a headphone jack to allow using it as your headphone amplifier, and a front-panel mini-jack for connecting portable devices with music on board.
For speakers, the Infinity P363 tower speakers, which Amazon is selling for $360 per pair, are what I would recommend.
Another good pair of speakers to consider are the Pioneer SP-FS52 speakers, which are very good and sell for less than $300 per pair.
There is really no need for a "digital player". You can just put your music in your computer music library and connect the USB from the computer to the USB input of your amplifier, and your computer is your "digital player".
How loud is loud? This isn't going to be clear until you get the equipment into your home so buy from a place with a return policy.
That being said, I would second commsysman's recco. The Infinity Primus 363s are really efficient and should deliver some serious volume with even a modest amount of power and I have always liked Infinity speakers personally. I would be more cautious with the Pioneer's. I think they are great sounding speakers but are going to require a bit more oomph to deliver big volume.
Paired with the Cambridge 351A Integrated he suggested, that would be a pretty sweet budget system. It has a headphone amp built in. Check out a pair of Thinksound On1 Headphones which you can get for $199.99. I am planning on ordering a pair of these. Another great choice is the Grado SR60e for $79.
Simply spending more is not guaranteed to improve results. You can do better if you want to push closer to your budget. An example would be the Cambridge CXA60 for $799 with the PSB Imagine X1Ts mentioned above at $900. With the Thinksound headphones you would be at $1900. Not in the same price range as the 351A with the Infinity's but would sound more refined.
Welcome! Dave-
there has never been a better time to jump into this wonderful hobby. There exists a plethora of excellent used gear in the marketplace.
Thank you guys.
Unfortunately, I live in the far north of Los Angeles county and the only place to buy
audio equipment here is Best Buy. I would need to make a trip down to at least LA to find somewhere that sells the equipment you guys recommend. Due to a crazy work schedule and that I work an hour in the opposite direction from LA making the journey will not happen any time soon. If I ever need to buy anything that can't be bought at Walmart then I really have no option but to buy online.
Again, thank you for all your help and I will definitely check out your recommendations as soon as I can.
Dave
Hi Dave
Let me recommend you come over and visit us on the TuneLand forum. We'll be happy to hook you up with the best sounding system for any price range as well as show you the tricks to your own specific sound. We do a ton of system designing for free on-line as a means of promoting our methods of listening. Here's a link to check us out http://tuneland.techno-zone.net/ . Many of the members here use our listening methods as well as our designs or products we recommend by others. Money really has very little to do with great sound. The hobby today is completely different than years past. You can get great sound for very little today, but putting that system together is the key, and knowing how and where to buy. On TuneLand we look at your acoustics, electrical and mechanics and show you how to blend these 3 (lots of free tips).
The best of luck weeding through all the opinions.
hope to see you on our forum
michael green
MGA/RoomTune
http://tuneland.techno-zone.net/
I think you would be better off buying online anyway.
Auditioning stuff at a store is a waste of time, because the system will be different from yours and so will the acoustics.
Just do your homework and decide what you think will be best for you and get it online.
Audio Advisor gives you 30 days to return gear if you don't decide to keep it.
That gives you a couple of weeks to really evaluate things properly, which is really essential.
You probably will not have to ship anything back, but if you do it is much cheaper and better than buying something that is wrong for you and being stuck with it.
I think Crutchfield gives 60 days.