Are you satisfied with your home Audio System?

[Somafunk]

Yes, subject to change.

Sometimes, 'different' is 'better.'

I'm human.

S’very true ^

 

[MattHooper]

I play a lot of classical CDs and am very impressed at how good most of the sound of my system is while different CDs sound noticeably different from each other. The gear is very inexpensive considering how well it works. It helps that I'm not aiming for high volume levels in a big room. At the same time, the speakers were only $30 as I bought them, in very good condition, at a thrift store. They're Infinity Primus 250s, 1 meter tall, 2-way skinny floorstanders. There's also a Sonus Son of Sub powered subwoofer, that was $50, used, a Yamaha RX-V461 5.1 AVR, $50, and a Sony BDP-BX57 Blue Ray player (SACD capable) that went for $8 used. Had to spend $10 to get for a remote for that. The most expensive part of the system (not counting all the headphones I bought) is the Topping E30 DAC and L30 headphone amp/preamp. The size and spread of the soundstage varies from recording to recording, violins sound both sweet and focused, nothing sticks out in the midrange. I'm happier with this system than with any system I've owned previously. I'd strongly recommend the two Topping pieces of gear to anyone looking for an outboard DAC and headphone amp/preamp.

I'm impressed. That is the least expensive system I've ever heard of in any audio forum, by a long shot!

"not that there's anything wrong with that."

 

[Adaboy4z]

I'm satisfied and the only thing I would add is a another Dac. I have the SU-1 just want something bigger size and more inputs to look better in my rack.

 

[DMill]

From my perspective I got tired of chasing diminishing returns on audio gear. Probably spent $40k or more on fun toys. Your head tells you there is always another best thing. Now I just chill to a Yami amp and a pair of Elacs with a sub and save my money for a trip to Italy this year.

 

[Robin L]

I'm impressed. That is the least expensive system I've ever heard of in any audio forum, by a long shot!

"not that there's anything wrong with that."

I'm sure there's audio forums that focus on portable gear, IEMs and such. Have to say, the Infinity Primus speakers are probably the biggest bang form the buck audio gear that I've owned, and that the Topping gear has a purity I haven't previously experienced from DACs or electronics. Not sure how well the Yamaha AVR measures and things do get congested if the volume gets above a certain level. But I can get more than enough detail and impact at lower volume levels anyway.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

l'm happy with my system in the living room. I wouldn't mind having 10 or 20 times the $600 I put into the AVR and speakers--50/50 speakers (3.1) and AVR. I think I could probably do better. Obviously, not 10 or 20 times better.

 

[Mikig]

for a trip to Italy this year.

if you need any advice, give a shout!!

 

[DMill]

l'm happy with my system in the living room. I wouldn't mind having 10 or 20 times the $600 I put into the AVR and speakers--50/50 speakers (3.1) and AVR. I think I could probably do better. Obviously, not 10 or 20 times better.

What do you think is better?

 

[Multicore]

So what is the answer after nearly 8 years?

It's starting to look like it's a lot different.

 

[Dinesh Menon]

I voted 'No'.
As I'm still with my Sony system, Toshiba Boombox and LG DVD player.
Looking for a proper audio system.
Almost finalized for a stereo format, but then further search and research takes me towards the AVR route.

 

[GD Fan]

Yes, but I'd like to try speakers that measure without the BBC dip in my main system.

Desktop system is an unqualified yes.

Meanwhile my upgrade urges have moved from the stereo to the guitars. However, I'm much better at listening to music than playing it.

 

[PierreV]

Yes, to the point that I have not bought anything in the last 4 years or so and I think I won't buy anything in the future (unless something breaks).

 

[Rednaxela]

Hi
Edits are mine
[...]

Not sure I understand the strikethroughs, but I enjoyed reading your story.

Agree 100% with your advice.

 

[Kimbrough Xu]

Most problème here is the room, not the equipement... Vote yes, but.

DSP can not solve your problem?

 

[Kimbrough Xu]

Yes, but I would like to live without neighbours. As I live now my current system does everything I need, but if I would live without neighbours I could play louder and then I'd build myself a pair of floor to celling line arrays and maybe four 12" subwoofers to get a BIG sound.

Why do you need so many subwoofers? Isnt it too loud?

 

[Tell]

Why do you need so many subwoofers? Isnt it too loud?

Could probably do with four 8" loudnesswise yeah, but I want more of them to help with room modes and more even response in just one position in the room. Bigger subs tend to go lower as well which can be nice for movies

 

[Kimbrough Xu]

Could probably do with four 8" loudnesswise yeah, but I want more of them to help with room modes and more even response in just one position in the room. Bigger subs tend to go lower as well which can be nice for movies

What subwoofers are you using?

 

[phn]

Perfect is the enemy of good, so voted "Yes". That won't mean I would not upgrade something in the future. But for now, happy I am.

 

[Willem]

Yes, I am happy, but will continue my efforts to improve the system (ADI-2 DAC, high passed 2x140 watt Quad 606-2 power amp and Quad 2805 main speakers, in a large room). My recent efforts have concentrated on the subwoofer side as that is the only part where I can realistically expect to achieve some improvements. So I upgraded from one B&W PV1d equalized by a Dspeaker ANtimode 8033 to three subs by adding a small Kef Kube 8b and an SVS SB2000 classic, equalized by MSO/miniDSP 2x4HD. I have still not used the full potential of MSO, and not yet created filters for the ADI-2 to equalize the main speakers in the range 80-200 Hz. I may also get a fourth sub. I wish MSO was not so hard to use. Even so, what I have done up to now is already impressive, and remarkably smooth across a wide listening area.
So I expect that I can tighten the bass a bit more, which will give a greater sense of dynamic realism. To be honest, that is the probably the biggest limitation of the system, because the electrostatic speakers cannot handle more power (the high pass filter fortunately helped a bit). It is the inevitable price I pay for the clean sound of the Quad speakers.

 

[Tell]

What subwoofers are you using?

None at the moment. Don't need any since my bookshelf speakers go down to almost 30hz at the levels I'm listening to nowadays.