Most affordable reference quality 2-channel system that would last awhile?

[ADU]

Per some of the comments in this discussion, tell me how you would set up a system with reference quality sound either in a room with a pair of speakers (and subs, if necessary), or via a pair of headphones at the lowest possible cost, but with decent enough build quality to last for more than a few years.

Edit: The equipment should also be fairly easy to find and set up by an ordinary person.

 

[voodooless]

What components would you need other than speakers? And what do you find affordable?

Kef R3 or Genelec 8030C come to mind. The 8030 has amps, so you can save on those. Depending on your needs you’d need a sub, SVS makes some nice budget subs.

Second hand would also save some money.

DAC: any well tested DAC will do. If you want low price, Topping E30 would work. You could connect it to the Genelec directly. If you want XLR, D30pro comes to mind.

 

[Voo]

magnepan lrs are really a treat for music for under 1k

 

[ADU]

What components would you need other than speakers? And what do you find affordable?

I leave both of these up to you, voodooless. But I personally am looking for the lowest-costing components that you feel can reasonably fit the above criteria, without any noticeable or appreciable compromises in sound or build quality, in your opinion.

If you want to include some source components in your suggestions, that's ok too. Certainly anything after that would be of interest though.

 

[ADU]

Some folks on this site talk rather cavalierly about audiophiles spending loads of cash on over-priced gear that yields little in the way of actual sound quality improvements. So I'm just sort of curious to know how you'd set up a system that would produce audio that is either at or close to the best that can be obtained on a much tighter budget.

Just break it down for me in plain english, and tell me the components you'd use in your own system(s) to make something like that happen.

 

[digitalfrost]

This is impossible to answer because people just have different standards. Budget and volume requirements also play a huge role. On the low-end, I would buy Elac Debut Floorstanders (Bookshelf review here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/elac-debut-2-0-b6-2-speaker-review.14272/). You can get a pair for around 600€. Then just add a random AVR (preferably Denon) and you're done for way below 1000$.

Looking at lowest possible cost, headphones will surely get you to "reference" the cheapest. But I think it is such a different experience that it cannot be compared to speakers. Just get a headphone in the 300$ range, buy a good integrated DAC+Amp and you're done for 500$. e: AKG K371 is only 150$ even. Combine with Loxjie D30 and you're done. But K371 is a closed headphone. I do not like to listen for long times with closed cans. On the high-end such a setup for me would be Sennheiser HD650 + RME ADI 2 DAC. But now I've blown up the price to 1700$. Will this setup be 4x as good as the cheaper option? I doubt it.

The studio offerings from Neumann, Genelec etc are surely the most reference of the lot, and initally for $$$ as well. But the small speakers cannot play loud and don't go deep and if you add subwoofers from the same company it becomes very expensive. e: Also, in this day and age, I could argue that any speaker setup without digital room correction is not "reference", but that only makes it more complicated.

There's a lot of roads that lead to rome.

 

[voodooless]

I’m guessing all of this is a hypothetical then?

 

[kongwee]

Apple Earpods with 3.5mm really good.

 

[ADU]

I’m guessing all of this is a hypothetical then?

It should be gear that is readily available, that an ordinary person like might myself could find and obtain and set up without much difficulty.

 

[MCH]

What components would you need other than speakers? And what do you find affordable?

Kef R3 or Genelec 8030C come to mind. The 8030 has amps, so you can save on those. Depending on your needs you’d need a sub, SVS makes some nice budget subs.

Second hand would also save some money.

DAC: any well tested DAC will do. If you want low price, Topping E30 would work. You could connect it to the Genelec directly. If you want XLR, D30pro comes to mind.

I already own a d30pro + boxem nc252 and am seriously considering the kef r3. I feel my problem with this is that if i ever want to add subs i will have to either run the r3 full frequency or change the d30pro, and i would prefer to avoid that...
What do you guys think about the r3 without subs or r3 w subs but running full frequency? Are any of them viable options at least until something like the minidsp flex is available at a reasonable price in eu?
Ps: sorry for the appropriation of the thread

 

[ADU]

There's a lot of roads that lead to rome.

Very true.

To paraphrase Joel Goodsen's parents in Risky Business, just use your best judgment, and try to give me what you think are a couple of the best answers you can come up with to this question... as you've just done, digitalfrost.

 

[voodooless]

It should be gear that is readily available, that an ordinary person like might myself could find and obtain without much difficulty.

That doesn’t answer the question: is this an exercise in what people come up with, or are you seriously contemplating buying such a system?

 

[ZolaIII]

What is "reference quality" sound?
Cheapest is when you get to know equipment that you own and it's limitations and are able to correct it's flaws so that you get where you want.
If you want it to last you need to stick to known firms - product that proven it's longevity and support already.
There are no ideal solutions but there are some without obvious problems and little flaws but they aren't exactly cheap.
So far and it's not much I can hands down recommend old - new Yamaha AB class amplifiers as you get what worked reliability for more than 40 years, normal caps and good quality and proper baked transformer and good performance of course. Unfortunately their mica cone mainstream speakers are not great (even if mesured good, not bad but not great either). Regarding DAC/hedaphone amp somehow all together (and it's a hard bargain) I prefer Creative, had a lot problems with their gear (from drivers, support to community work to overcome it a long Audigy journey) trough time but it continued to work long after expected end of life.
If you are not worried so much about equipment longevity that opens up a lot of doors.
For example Kali IN 8 V2 looks great and paird with something like SBX G6 you get very complete stereo system for not all that much money (including DSP, legacy Dolby support and cetera and you can get out without using subs [as those are three way and bass driver's are 8"]). Still you will need to put some additional effort to tune it up. The amp side is still doubtful both regarding implementation quality and longevity all do they redesigned it in V2 because it whose dreadful initially. Option B would be Yamaha HS8, there you get a deacent sound but not great regarding details and probably would need sub along with balanced source to fead them but the amp section is the old AB Sunken based one just like on their stand alone amplifiers.
It's hard to get where you want especially with limited budget and we all want that it sounds good with minimum effort and that it doesn't cost much but lasts long.
Hopefully with lot more effort from good folks who do the measurements we will easier get there in the future.

 

[Chromatischism]

Per some of the comments in this discussion, tell me how you would set up a system with reference quality sound either in a room with a pair of speakers (and subs, if necessary), or via a pair of headphones at the lowest possible cost, but with decent enough build quality to last for more than a few years.

I suspect a lot of answers will be biased towards what people own, because they chose them for this very reason.

With that in mind, lowest possible cost, probably something like the Kali IN-8 V2 for a pair of speakers.

If going passive, with great bass and a very neutral yet detailed sound, Buchardt S400 MKII. If you prefer something a little warmer, go for the MKI. Both of these represent some of the best you can get around the $2k USD mark.

Stepping up and away from low cost, I would look into JTR 3-way speakers with the coaxial compression drivers. Sure, there are other incremental improvements in between these two, but why go to the trouble of changing speakers for incremental improvements? Go big or go home.

And pair subwoofers with everything.

Or, get a really good set of IEMs and save thousands. Or get both so you can have your reference sound on the go and that bigger experience when you get home.

 

[Katji]

What components would you need other than speakers? And what do you find affordable?
[...]
Second hand would also save some money.

curious to know how you'd set up a system that would produce audio that is either at or close to the best that can be obtained on a much tighter budget.

It should be gear that is readily available, that an ordinary person like might myself could find and obtain without much difficulty.

Secondhand. If there is a local AV forum with classified ads, with members having some track record and so on. It's been said many times on local forum here, people have been able to get gear that they would otherwise never be able to afford.
It means waiting and checking every day, getting lucky. When I began, I had to subscribe to email notifications and check every morning, several times a day, otherwise "you snooze you lose."

 

[ADU]

Secondhand. If there is a local AV forum with classified ads, with members having some track record and so on. It's been said many times on local forum here, people have been able to get gear that they would otherwise never be able to afford.
It means waiting and checking every day, getting lucky. When I began, I had to subscribe to email notifications and check every morning, several times a day, otherwise "you snooze you lose."

A good suggestion, Katji. But this might not fit the definition of something that's readily available, and easy to obtain.

 

[SimpleTheater]

Per some of the comments in this discussion, tell me how you would set up a system with reference quality sound either in a room with a pair of speakers (and subs, if necessary), or via a pair of headphones at the lowest possible cost, but with decent enough build quality to last for more than a few years.

‘Affordable’ is relative, but I’d go with Genelec 8361A’s and an old laptop. Done for $10k.

 

[ADU]

That doesn’t answer the question: is this an exercise in what people come up with, or are you seriously contemplating buying such a system?

I'm always interested in new ideas on lower-cost gear. That shouldn't really effect your choices though.

I'd rather know what you'd get for yourself that fits all the above criteria, as opposed to what you'd recommend to somebody else.

Hopefully this answers the above.

 

[ADU]

Apple Earpods with 3.5mm really good.

IEMS are ok here too. Not everyone likes to wear these though. And they are imo some of the least reliable and predictable in terms of how they interact with a person's individual anatomy. (Something which I suppose can be mitigated with some EQ.) So I'd like to hear some suggestions on over-ear and in-room systems too, if you have any. If you don't, that's totally fine too. I'll listen to whatever you have to offer in the way of recommendations.

 

[Jinjuku]

Some folks on this site talk rather cavalierly about audiophiles spending loads of cash on over-priced gear that yields little in the way of actual sound quality improvements. So I'm just sort of curious to know how you'd set up a system that would produce audio that is either at or close to the best that can be obtained on a much tighter budget.

Just break it down for me in plain english, and tell me the components you'd use in your own system(s) to make something like that happen.

1> There are a lot of great options
2> People can generally tell you what they did
3> You'll want to get your own ears on it.

For me: JActive JBL 308MKII for $380 for the pair delivered. Matching subs JBL 310s for $249 per. SMSL SU-9 DAC for $400 ( you can spend less on this depending on features)

An alternate DAC could be even something like my Hidiz S9 Pro for $119 with a $42 TRSS to XLR cable and phone/tablet/pi/computer as a source.

For $1100 I don't see how it can be bested and it's a true entry into accurate, immersive, audio.

** YMMV for pricing. The above is what I paid.