hi, punched-up. have you been reading john marks' column? he's been on a mission to put together an almost-no compromises budget system. great insights there, check it out.

i'm not familiar with peachtree stuff, but with the dac, tube in the preamp stage & great design, seems like a good product. you should try to audition it.

Nothing wrong with your choices at all. If I recalll correctly you were gung ho on the Peachtree originally? If that's what your drawn to, go for it.

I haven't heard it. Just seems you may be able to get more bang for your 1,500.00 bucks depending on what your actually trying to achieve. The Atoms are great for small speakers, but they are small.

You haven't told us what you intend to use for a source or sources, and what size space your trying to fill with sound?

RG

Paradigm products are always wonderful. It's simply amazing what the Atom's accomplish in their price range. They never fail to be musical to my ears.

If you could upgrade to the Paradigm Titan Monitor speakers it would be well worth the money.

Time your auctions so they end two days to one day before the full moon, OR the new moon. The male of the species likes to 'get him some' from the female of the cave and She is more receptive to this on the full moons...and thus...he brings prizes home to the cave the day before so he can get some nookie. In this modern time, it could be impulse buying on eBay, instead. Times change - but the man does not.

Make sure the auctions end at 10:00pm on the east coast which means 7:00pm on the west coast. This makes sure everyone is in front of their PC's to bid the price up as high as possible.

This will bring as much as 25-50% higher of a price than is normal or compared to the person who is foolish enough list their stuff at midnight on Sunday on the west coast (thus, 3am on the east coast). That's a guaranteed money looser and a 'score' for guys like me.

Also, be clear about the quality being perfect and/or fully backed..and the photos need to be excellent, focused, clean and prolific. Remember, it is your storefront and it is all the customer has to go on when it comes to evaluating YOU..as seller. Be sure to say you are an excellent packer and will pack the items very securely.

Create trust by removing questions before they can happen.

The new moon JUST went by (part of why NC drawl's daughter was born NOW, the world works like that...) and you now have a few days to prepare for a 10 day auction that can be time to end RIGHT on a PAY FRIDAY..AND a FULL MOON..which is a very great 1-2 combination punch for getting the most out of an auction. Every potential buyer with a Dollar and a dick will be sitting there in front of their PC's, vying for your lenses -IF- you finesse it just right.

Key words are also essential, for those who know how to use the eBay search functions. You have a few days to check the existing Nikkor auctions for specific key words tied to the specific lenses in question.

The above are the most important things you need to know for eBay.

Quote:
hi, punched-up. have you been reading john marks' column? he's been on a mission to put together an almost-no compromises budget system. great insights there, check it out.

i'm not familiar with peachtree stuff, but with the dac, tube in the preamp stage & great design, seems like a good product. you should try to audition it.

John Marks will be discussing the Nova in our August issue, on newsstands at the end of June.

Hi! - great site - lots of good info! -
I would like to share my experience with putting together what might be called an "entry level system". It seems that no matter how much money a person decides to spend on their system, the goals are the same - To get the best for the money, and to get a system that the person will be happy with. Getting a great deal on a piece of equipment is only good if it sounds good, and spending ANY amount of money is satisfying only if the there is some level of satisfaction with the end product. There are just as many people selling their $10K CD players in search of satisfaction as there are "entry level" upgraders looking for that extra bit of something from their system. With that said, I do believe that there is a certain level of sound quality that is pleasing to most listeners, and that minimum level is what might be called HiFi or audiophile level. We all want that - at the very least! How much does that cost? That is the $10K question! IMO that level can be reached these days for much less than $10K! Especially when using a computer as a transport/server.

Ok enough of the BS - here is my system - see what you think.
Front end: Slim Devices Transporter $2K
Speakers: Magneplanar MMG's modified - $750
Interconnect: Silver Audio .5m - $200
Power Cords - MIT Z-cord (for amp) $70
JPS Labs digital $325
Speaker Cable - Audioquest Granite $300
Amp - Winsome Labs Mouse - $400
HSU sub $1K
There you have it - $5K total system price. Entry level? I think not! If someone offered their $10K system on an even trade for mine I would have to think (and listen)long and hard! I think you would have to spend more! - thats my 2 cents!

Enjoy!
Eric

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OK thanks guys. I'm going to try to find a place to audition them and I'll let you know how it goes.

I just stumbled upon my father's SLR setup and he's got some really expensive nikkor glass he said I can pawn off. SO, depending on how generous ebay is, I hope to try out those titans.

Any thoughts on adding a sub to the system? Are paradigm subs (pdr-8/10) recommended?

The Paradigm Titan Monitors, properly positioned in the room, are quite capable of producing satisfying bass from musical program content. If you need building shaking bass from hi-rez video content, then perhaps you do need a subwoofer. But if this system is for music only, and you don't listen to a steady diet of Marcus Miller, Electronica or large pipe organ music, the Titans alone should do well. Please go listen to them.

. . . or if you need just a little more bass move to a floor standing speaker from the same series. That's much cheaper than a pair of bookshelf speakers, speaker stands, and sub. As Jackfish said subs are only necessary if for a very small amount of music.