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How much does your main stereo system cost?

How much does your main sound system cost?

  • Less than 500 euros / dollars

    Votes: 7 2.9%
  • Between 500 and 1000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 10 4.1%
  • Between 1000 and 1500 euros / dollars

    Votes: 18 7.4%
  • Between 1500 and 2500 euros / dollars

    Votes: 29 12.0%
  • Between 2500 and 4000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 34 14.0%
  • Between 4000 and 6000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 41 16.9%
  • Between 6000 and 10,000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 35 14.5%
  • Between 10,000 and 20,000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 41 16.9%
  • Between 20,000 and 50,000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 18 7.4%
  • Over 50,000 euros / dollars

    Votes: 9 3.7%

  • Total voters
    242

JaccoW

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Sep 25, 2021
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The Netherlands
Last edited:

ToriCatcher

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Jan 17, 2022
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How much did you pay for your main stereos? (no multichannel)
The sum must consider everything, speakers, amplifier, dac, any CD players, network streamers, turntables, also speaker cables, signal cables, etc.
I would keep out the PCs / phones / tablets that are used as a source.
I am curious to know how the curve is distributed among the users of ASR.
at a guess I expect a peak between 1500 and 5000 approximately
List value and "paid for" are very different things, as many buy 2nd hand.
 

killdozzer

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Aug 2, 2020
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Zagreb
In euros if that's OK:
speakers - 800€ (while they were still 1200, a great deal, for new, in box)
amplifier - 220€ (secondhand, works like a charm)
cartridge - 220€ (absolute overkill, but did it for sentimental reasons, TT was a gift)
NAS server - 200€ (more than happy with how it works, if I was buying today, I'd get the one where you can upgrade RAM, other than that, great)
2 x 1TB SSD - 200€
custom made stands - 100€ (a work of sheer beauty IMO)
miscellaneous 100€ (cables, interconnects, cleaning kit for the TT)
1662384316348.jpg
 

Somafunk

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Mar 1, 2021
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Scotland
If we take into account the room treatment then £6.5k, take that out of the equation then £4k.
 

Joe Smith

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I'm cheap...always have been...but love great sound. My current living room system consists of some ADS 520 speakers that I paid $80 for, a restored Kenwood KA-3500 integrated amp (about $70 from eBay and about $150 for a full restoration by a local friend), Yamaha P-500 direct drive TT with an AT95e cartridge ($25 for the table in a thrift shop, $50 cartridge), Sony UHP-H1 universal player ($75 from eBay) and a JVC auto-reverse cassette (bought new many years ago for around $200). So, what's that, $650? And the tape deck the largest outlay - go figure. Good sound does not have to cost a lot. This system is a good match for my 1916 house's living room, about 12' x 30'.

Oh yeah - I did buy some adjustable sturdy metal speaker stands so the speakers are positioned correctly and ride above the couch line, probably the best investment I made recently - I think the stands were about $80. So, $730. It was kind of tough to find stands with a nice wide top plinth for the 520's.
 
Last edited:

pma

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Feb 23, 2019
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Prague
I could swear I have answered this question before. There are probably more around here.
And the thread I anwered that in is posted not far down on the first page: How much money do you have invested in this "hobby?"
In my case, the answers to these two different questions (“hobby” x main system investments) would be very very different, as the “hobby” includes necessary instrumentation, component stock, design expenditures etc. :cool:.
 

JaccoW

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2021
Messages
348
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512
Location
The Netherlands
  • Speakers: €400 (on sale from €500)
    • Stands: €200
  • DAC: €270
  • Reel-to-reel: €0
    • Repairs: €425
  • CD-player: €50 second-hand
  • Turntable: €200
    • Cartdridge: €250
    • Feet: €130
So that's a total of ... €1925.
 

Jim Shaw

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Mar 16, 2021
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Hm... take note:
I checked yesterday and the US$ value is now nearly the same as the Euro dollar.
(my keyboard doesn't have Euro key. American pragmatism or chauvinism?).

PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS AS AN OPENING TO BITCH OR BRAG ABOUT TAXES
I'm just comparing numbers here.

Of course. Euro buyers have that delightful VAT, and America has an ~6% sales tax in most states.
1662388411098.png

Oanadian neighbors of mine suffer this, today. The CAN VAT is 5%.
1662388598967.png
 

Capitol C

Active Member
Joined
May 21, 2021
Messages
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189
Location
Washington, DC
Here's what I've spent on my main system:
Yamaha CD 600 CD player $330 in 2015
Yamaha RS 700 Receiver $500 in 2015
Thorens TD 328 MK II Turntable $450 in 1989
Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge $100 in 2015
Topping D10s DAC $104 in 2017
Raspberry Pi Server $40 in 2021
GoldenEar Triton 2+ Speakers $3710 in 2017
TOTAL $5234
All cables are basic, including zip cord for speaker connections.

One point of this list is to recommend the speakers, and they are now $1500 cheaper than they were in 2017. I'd also say that Yamaha amplifiers and receivers are very good and compete with much more expensive stuff on specs.

I have a home-brew digital storage system where FLAC files derived from CDs are on OneDrive. They are accessed via the Raspberry Pi talking to a domain that I bought so I can play the files from anywhere. I don't recommend this for someone who isn't slightly demented.
 

Steven Holt

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May 8, 2022
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I switch things out all the time, but right now it's Marantz 2020, Elac B6.2, Topping D30, AT LP120 and the MDR7506's. Also have the PA3s and the Onkyo 9010. Working on upgrading my speakers, can't make up my mind.
 

Capitol C

Active Member
Joined
May 21, 2021
Messages
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Location
Washington, DC
I'm cheap...always have been...but love great sound. My current living room system consists of some ADS 520 speakers that I paid $80 for, a restored Kenwood KA-3500 integrated amp (about $70 from eBay and about $150 for a full restoration by a local friend), Yamaha P-500 direct drive TT with an AT95e cartridge ($25 for the table in a thrift shop, $50 cartridge), Sony UHP-H1 universal player ($75 from eBay) and a JVC auto-reverse cassette (bought new many years ago for around $200). So, what's that, $650? And the tape deck the largest outlay - go figure. Good sound does not have to cost a lot. This system is a good match for my 1916 house's living room, about 18' x 72'.

Oh yeah - I did buy some adjustable sturdy metal speaker stands so the speakers are positioned correctly and ride above the couch line, probably the best investment I made recently - I think the stands were about $80. So, $730. It was kind of tough to find stands with a nice wide top plinth for the 520's.
18' x 72'?
 

Chromatischism

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$10k 5.1.4 system excluding display, my daily smartphone, and network storage:

AVR: $1000 (9.5%)
4-channel Amp: $950 (9%)
Blu-ray/disc player: $220 (2.1%)
Chromecast: $50 (0.5%)
Speakers: $4200 (40%)
Subs: $3000 (28.5%)
Stands: $150 (1.4%)
Absorbers: $750 (7.1%)
Cables: $200 (1.9%)
 
Last edited:

Joe Smith

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18' x 72'?
Ah, yeah, not enough coffee when I was on earlier. Actual is 12' x 30'. Don't want our European friends to think American houses are even larger than they are. I'm sure there are mini-mansion rooms that large, but not in our neighborhood.
 

odarg64

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Jul 17, 2022
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The setup I've settled on and actually use daily:
$109 Schiit Fulla E
$200 NOS Grado SR225e
plus shipping, so let's say $350 or so.

That doesn't include the computer connected to the Fulla E or a few boxes of unloved gear destined for new homes.

I like my setup so much that I'm pretty much finished with the audio 'hobby' (I use the term loosely) and, once again, focused on MUSIC.
 

Capitol C

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May 21, 2021
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Location
Washington, DC
Ah, yeah, not enough coffee when I was on earlier. Actual is 12' x 30'. Don't want our European friends to think American houses are even larger than they are. I'm sure there are mini-mansion rooms that large, but not in our neighborhood.
12' by 30' is impressive for an older house. My 1860s row house is 18 feet wide and was originally 54' deep, now expanded to 64' by replacing a porch with fully enclosed space The first floor has living room, dining room and kitchen.

1662399469585.png
 

JaccoW

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Sep 25, 2021
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Location
The Netherlands
(my keyboard doesn't have Euro key. American pragmatism or chauvinism?).
Depending on your keyboard layout in software, US International ANSI is what I use, Right-Alt + 5 gives me the € sign.
 
OP
Talisman

Talisman

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I switch things out all the time, but right now it's Marantz 2020, Elac B6.2, Topping D30, AT LP120 and the MDR7506's. Also have the PA3s and the Onkyo 9010. Working on upgrading my speakers, can't make up my mind.
I also have an Onkyo 9010 that I use on a secondary system, probably the best amplifier for the purchase price I've ever bought.
200 euros, complete set of analog and digital inputs, beautiful remote control, solid and motorized volume knob, and a sound that I cannot distinguish from much more famous amplifiers. A product that I find superb.
 

phoenixdogfan

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Around $6k, but that doesn't include the cost of the headphone system (around $8k), or the surround ($2k), or the Video monitor ($1.5k). So around $17k, and I may go for engame speakers costing $4-10k in the next year of two. I've been lucky in that I've been able to include earlier purchases (like cheaper amps) in the home theater system, without sidelining very much stuff at all. The only three components I bought and don't currently use are a Geek Out 1000, and Emotiva XDA-2, and IFI IDSD Micro (which I do find occasional use for when travelling). I think not wasting money with purchases you later regret and/or can't sell is a key to building an endgame system. The more stuff you buy and find unusable, the more fits and starts you have, the more ill advised purchases, the less high quality stuff you will be able to afford purchasing in the future.

In other words have a long term strategic vision for what you want your system to become, and make sure your every purchase advances that goal.
 
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