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Not enough. I'm still in my living room after I turn it on.

it contains nothing truly high end but some of the components are the flagship of the manufacturer @ the time of purchase. i'm very pleased with my system and i'd like to upgrade to much betterequipment such as Krell and Dunlavy but $ is alwaysan issue.

And enjoying every minute!

Complete Home theater that sounds great with music...

I currently own an all c-j system (except cables) and it is worth every penny.

Pioneer F205 tuner, Marantz PM66KI Integrated Amp, Marantz 63 KI CD Player, Mission 752f Floorstanders, Mission Bi-wire speaker cables, and Cable Talk Monitor 2.1 Interconnects

To get the best sonic character for the buck there is no way to stay below $10,000 with the price of tube euipment, digital gear worth listening to and speakers that can at least fake a live performance reasonably well.

If you count the CDs and LPs that I play on the system, its cost jumps to in excess of $10,000, which makes me cringe at how much I might have in the bank right now if I didn't love music so much.

soon upgrading to DD and DVD

I've got mid-level Aktiv Linn, and it blows away 99% of the systems I've ever heard (regardless of price). $10,000 doesn't seem too steep for nirvana. Can't wait to triple the system price with a CD12, though!

This is based on my current set up. I also have around another $1000 or so of other stuff sitting around in closets or under the bed. At one time or another I have owned such rarities as Marantz 8B's and the 10B tuner and of course sold them many moons ago. But then again haven't we all done stuff like that in the past? Practically all of my present setup was bought used - new is just too expensive these days.

...but I swear I can hear a difference!!!

MY SYSTEM IS MORE THEATER. BUT THE AUDIO SIDE OF IT IS 80% OF THE TOTAL COST.

Rega Planar 3/RB300/Benz Silver, Accuphase DP-55, Melos SHA-Gold, McCormick DNA-1 Dlx (panels) & DNA 0.5 Dlx (woofers), Martin Logan SL3s, Velodyne F-1800 Mk.II, and all MIT cabling. I thoroughly enjoy every musical note that comes out and it was worth every penny (and my wife might even agree).

After years of the expense of incremental upgrades, I decided to just get it over with and spent a lot of money on VERY good equipment. Now, any limitation is 90% the recording or room acoustics, and I'm not constantly second-guessing the components. That said, there is not necessarily a correlation between cost and quality of sound. System matching and setup are most important, in the end.

CAL Delta, $350; CAL Alpha, $400; VTL Ultimate pre, $650; Adcom 555 II, $585; Genesis 400, $1600. Everything but the Adcom was purchased on the used market. The Adcom was purchased new at a military exchange in Okinawa (and hauled back Stateside in the engineroom of USS Chicago). That adds up to only $3585, but the components I have added to my girlfriend's system make up a balance in the $5k range.

Not much to say, but I can't help wondering why I don't see any Canton loudspeaker's mentioned in the american hi-fi press. They are so good! Soon buying a better amp, perhaps Adcom, don't know really.

You can get an excellent system for under $5000 if you buy used.

You had to ask, didn't you! When I think of all the money I have spent over the years, the figure gets downright frightening. But this is a hobby---remember? I've certainly spent more than is reasonable for any sane person (at least that's what my wife and friends keep telling me), but the desire for the perfect sound drives me on! Besides, what else should I be spending my money on? Food and shelter?

I HAVE TRIED TO HIT A BALANCE BETWEEN PRICE AND PREFORMANCE WHILE COMPROMISING ONLY ON THOSE COMPONENTS USED ON A LESS THAN DAILY BASIS.

This is a difficult one to estimate, as I've equipment from '82 (Linn LP12), with an arm from '84...preamp sometime around there...two amps, one from the mid '80's the other a kit w/tweaked parts and tubes...3 pairs of loudspeaks (average price $80, what I paid for the Dyna A-25s) So, I price what's actually in use right now, not what I've spent in the last 25 years and may still have lying around!

too damn much.. hobby is too expensive for normal consumers..

I have B&K,PSB,Magnepan Rotel,Phillips,Dual Equipt..Have had good reliability,but hardtime of matching to get good symetry between components. Example-Rotel pre-amp with B&K amplifier.

I've spent more than I ever thought I would, and with each new purchase I still get goosebumps at the improvement in my system.

You reach a point when you realize that no matter what you add, the sound will not improve enough to warrant extra cost. What has to improve is the software. Many CDs and much of vinyl has not been well recorded, or engineered, or A/D'd, or whatever. We can all hope that the new audio standard just announced, 24/196, will get us to master-tape quality. But, of course, everyone down the recording chain has to do his/her "bit." (Ouch.)

mainly Krell with B&W, Purist, VPI

$25,000 over the last 25 years, not including all the CDs, reels, and LPs. That is a lot of money. When people kid me about the cost, I just say, "Well, you just spent $30,000 for that new car. In another 25 years I will still be hearing great tunes on a quality system. The car, on the other hand, will be long gone." Come to think of it, for less than $90 a month, audio is a bargain!

I consider the $5000 I have spent as an "entry-level" system. When I upgrade (after children graduate from school), I see myself replacing almost all of the componets to the $2-5k per component level. Until then, I will continue to read Stereophile and dream.

Being in school yet, I don't have the money to build a $30,000 hi-fi system... Hopefully someday I can! But as of now I'm trying to build a budget system that still sounds as good as possible for the respective dollar value.

And this isn't counting the stuff in the basement! Spica Angelus's, Scott 222C, Technics SL1200, Thorens TD125 (orig), Apogee Centaurs, ADS L710's, a NAD 3240, Stax 'phones and probably more. This hobby aint about "how much money", it's about "how much fun"!!