Here is my ‘old school’ mid to hifi set up which has held well up for decades. I used to work for a midfi electronics retailer back in the day so we could buy equipment at cost. I am still a novice with this but know some general concepts. I had an outrageous Kenwood/Visonic car stereo too w 2 amps and 6 speakers lol. Those were the days.
Speakers
My speakers are the cult classic Energy 22 References from 1985. These speakers have a rich history here in Canada after they won a blind listening test to be the studio monitor of the CBC ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) beating out some of the best studio monitors in the world at the time. And at $800/pr they were affordable to both audiophiles and more regular listeners.
They were designed in part by Winslow Burhoe (EPI) with a dual inverted hyperdome tweeter and mirror imaged to each other. The result was one of the most accurate bookshelf speakers both on and 30 deg off axis. 28 hz to 45 khz +/- 3db, +/- 2db 30 deg off axis. Bass is unbelievable too for a bookshelf. Long discontinued, as Energy went to more efficient speakers, owners can still get service from a few niche operators who bought up the energy parts and offer tweeter rebuilds for $85.
Here is their brochure and an article from Winslow’s blog on the speaker too.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LkpqrqL1...aMar1VmLqU/s1600/Energy+Pro+22+Spec+sheet.JPG
http://directacoustics.com/?page_id=128
Integrated Amp
I have a pretty decent mid/ hi fi amp in the Vector Research VA 1400 faithfully in service since 1985. This was a CA, USA company that are long out of business but their gear was very good and similar to NAD and Rotel , rumored to be made in the same factory etc. 100 w into 4 ohms at .08% thd. 65 into 8 ohms. S/N 95 db for CD. Decent but not hi end stats.
Slim in profile, it weighs in at 20 lbs so it has a nice power supply system. I recall it had headroom of ~ 1.5 db so it can power the Energys quite well.
CD player
In pic above. Yes old school too here with the Sony CA7ES CD player from 1998. ‘ES’ (Extremely High Standard) was the Sony audiophile line for many years and this was the 7th series of components. ES too has gone by the wayside now. S/n 116 db , 2 hz – 25khz +/ .3 db. CDs still a great medium and going strong.
Headphones/Future Plans/Other
Have a pair of SteelSeries Arctis 3 which are a very good, budget, accurate headphone and a FiiO E10K ( like the K3) which is an adequate DAC.
What I will be adding is a Topping 10 likely and connecting my new Acer Aspire A135-42 laptop to the system to add HD music to the mix. I may also add 4K DVD player. All a work in progress.
FYI old VHS enthusiasts may note another true classic to the left, a Panasonic 4 head PV-V4522K VHS hifi! Still have some old hifi VHS concert tapes but rarely used now.