YOUR DREAM SYSTEM

[sarumbear]

YOUR DREAM MUSIC SYSTEM

What would you buy (new) to build your dream (but practical) 2.x music system?
No home theatre, just music. Save HT for another post.
No vintage, all readily available new today, with a total cost within say the cost of a good used car (U$ 20,000)

Check my set-up

 

[alex-z]

$20K wouldn't even cover the room in my real dream setup.

With that price limit, a pair of KEF Reference 3 Meta, converted to active crossover with a 6 channel Hypex NC502 amp + miniDSP Flex Eight.

A sealed Dayton Ultimax 18" to cover 10-40Hz, driven by another Hypex NC502.

$1300 on DIY acoustic treatment.

The remaining $25 on a steak.

 

[Jim Shaw]

Ok, I'll play.

Except for some reason you've limited people's dream system to $20,000. What if your dream system doesn't fit that budget?

The "some reason" was to keep it a somewhat attainable system for a reasonable portion of the market. And I didn't want this to become a brag thread about "looky what I can afford, don't you wish you were me?"
My thread question, my rules.
If you are Elon, a trust fund baby, or just won the lottery, etc., start your own thread.

 

[Gary_G]

I have never limited my dreams.......................... Otherwise , whats the point.

 

[odarg64]

The "some reason" was to keep it a somewhat attainable system for a reasonable portion of the market. And I didn't want this to become a brag thread about "looky what I can afford, don't you wish you were me?"

Your original 'wet dream' post is an invitation to display or fantasize conspicuous consumption. What did you expect?

 

[sarumbear]

Your original 'wet dream' post is an invitation to display or fantasize conspicuous consumption. What did you expect?

He did state the budget on his first post. I think it’s not helpful if one answers a post without reading and understanding it fully.

 

[Trouble Maker]

D&D 8C or Kii Three, that's it.
If I understand correctly the 8C's are designed to be closer to walls to take advantage of boundary gain. So probably those would work best with how I live in my space.

 

[Galliardist]

$20000 US is about $30000 Australian and my prices here are Australian. You can convert them back,

Predominant musical genres (please do not say 'all'): All the damn system should play anything. Mine does, and within your price range much of what I have will get in. (in the last week I have listened to everything from mediaeval choral music through renaissance lute, Baroque ensemble, modern orchestra, opera, soul, electronic, psych, prog, and currently I have Mark Knopfler playing. I think I pretty much do qualify for "all", I'm afraid.

Speakers: Osborn Eclipse Tower Reference, $10,455 AU - even with the audiophile woo internal cabling, they are superb speakers
Turntable: NO
Cartridge: N/a, see above
Streamer/DAC: - Fanless PC, Topping D90SE - probably $2000 AU for the two.
Amplifier: Marantz PM-10 $12,990.00 AU retail
DAC (if any):: - see above
Headphones: N/A for a dream system because I could always listen through speakers in that dream: though obviously i use them
Subwoofer(s): Not in my current room..
CD/SACD Player (if any): None. My dream is to eliminate the CD player but my partner won't let me. She comes first always, so in the real world it stays and the Topping is unnecessary.

Anything else in your wet dream: A million dollar+ house with a dedicated room for the stereo. Then I might upgrade the speakers as well, and possibly move to a surround audio system.

But you said dream, not total lunatic fantasy!

 

[MattHooper]

The "some reason" was to keep it a somewhat attainable system for a reasonable portion of the market.

Oh, ok, sorry. I saw you put a limit, but I admit I was thrown by the fact you asked to describe "Your Dream System" (which usually implies what you can't afford, whereas "practical" implies what you can afford).

So it seems the proper understanding of the thread is to actually ignore what might happen to be your dream system, because it has something more to do with putting together a system "for a reasonable portion of the market." So the real question is (irrespective of whether it's your dream system) "What system would you put together for around $20,000?"

And I didn't want this to become a brag thread about "looky what I can afford, don't you wish you were me?"
My thread question, my rules.
If you are Elon, a trust fund baby, or just won the lottery, etc., start your own thread.

I really don't think you had to worry about that. Even if you hadn't specified a $20,000 cap I don't think you'd have invoked bragging because:

1. "Dream Systems" generally connote systems people can't afford. You don't brag about systems you can't afford (I certainly can't afford the gear I mentioned).

2. This forum isn't the place to come and brag about how much money you spent on gear. That would be more a source of embarrassment here, if it looked "too high" as "audiofools spending unnecessary money" is often derided.

 

[Purité Audio]

Your ‘dream’ room, would bring very real benefits and almost certainly be cheaper.
If you have the space/planning permission/ funds that is where I would spend.
Keith

 

[Waxx]

First of all a dedicated large music room that is wel isolated from outside noice and has mastering studio level acoustics, while still having windows and a nice atmosphere. That would be more important than the technical setup for me.

Turntable: Technics SL-1000R motor and platter, SME 3009 tonearm, AT540ML cartridge
Turntable Preamp: Cambridge CP2 (i have that one already), it's cheap but it's the best i know. If i had to add an other one, an Eear 834 would also be nice (and very different sounding, as it's very coloured the right way).

streamer: a passive computer without fan running JRiver

dac/dsp/preamp: miniDSP Flex for the active system

dac for passive system: Topping E30 is probally good enough, but the D90 is off course better, the only thing is that the difference is not hearable, only measurable.

Preamp for passive system could be a lot, but should be full analog. I'll probally go for the diyaudio BA2018 kit, a clean jfet based preamp designed by Wayne Colburn that i'm busy with now.

Amps, for active crossover system, that probally would be the amp in the original Klein & Hummel o410, that is now sold as the Neumann KH420. It's since i know it (and it's precestors) by far my favorite studio monitor/clean speaker, and the measurement here confirm my subjective opinion on that... I've heard many newer designs, and higher rated designs in the studio world, but hte K&H o410 is still not beaten if you ask me, also not by Genelec or Kii Audio.

Amp for passive system. A good tube amp in push pull, i'm actually quiet happy with my Prima Luna Prologue 4, i just may need a bit more power than the 35w it gives per channel. But i like to have options so i probally would also get a Purifi based amp like the one of Audiophonics tested here also and swap from time to time (like i do now).

Passive speakers, something diy based, i made a lot of those already, but i'm not done yet... my next builds are a compression driver/big woofer combo (for a garden system of a friend) and a try to build a studio monitor (more as experiment than a real need) that both are active. But after that (probally next summer) i'm going to try to improve the Devore O series speakers, as i know that Seas A26 woofer can do much better than Devore does, and add a better tweeter as i don't like the Morel Cat378 they use.... The Seas A26 kit (the same woofer with a Seas tweeter in a cabinet based on the Dynaco A25) is already a lot better, but i'll try to do even better than that.

 

[Dctaylor]

I am pretty satisfied with my current system but if I had to replace it with the current versions (which I could not afford) it would look like this.


Moon 740p. $9800

Bryston 3b cubed $6200

Magnum MD 105 $4500

Thorens 1500 $ 3500

Harbeth 30.2xd $6900 or
Rogers LS 5/9 $9,000
Speaker stands $600

Total $30,000ish

 

[Gorgonzola]

Say, isn't this a déjà vu all over again topic? No matter, I like it. The only constraint I apply to myself is that it's a system that would work in my present, small-medium size room, about 12' x 8'x 22'.

Active speaker system:

1. Speakers: Genelec G Five
2. Turntable: n/a
3. Cartridge: n/a
4. Streamer: Windows computer with Foobar2000 music player
5. Room EQ device: miniDSP SHD Studio
6. DAC: Benchmark DAC3 L
7. Preamp/control: Benchmark HPA4
8. Amplifier: n/a
9. Headphones: Focal Celestee, (I'm not a frequent headphone listener)
10. Subwoofer: Genelec F Two
11. CD/SACD Player: Denon DCD-2500NE

Slightly over-the-top passive speaker system:

1. Speakers: Revel Studio2
2. Turntable: n/a
3. Cartridge: n/a
4. Streamer: Windows computer with Foobar2000 music player
5. Room EQ device: McIntosh MEN220
6. DAC: see preamp
7. Preamp/control: McIntosh C49 with DA2 digital interface
8. Amplifier: McIntosh MC312
9. Headphones: Focal Celestee, (I'm not a frequent headphone listener)
10. Subwoofer: Revel B112v2
11. CD/SACD Player: McIntosh MCD600

 

[JeffS7444]

If I had to start over from scratch, couldn't sneak in a combined 2-channel / multichannel system or discontinued items, can't carry over items already owned, then maybe (in US Dollars):

Linkwitz LX-Mini DIY speakers (no subs, because current space is limited) ~$600, unassembled
MiniDSP SHD to serve as preamplifier, electronic crossover, Dirac Live room correction. $1299. Has just 4 outputs, complicating possible future addition of subwoofers.
MiniDSP UMIK-2, $195
(2) Topping LA90 power amplifiers, $1800/pair
(?) Fiio BTA30 Bluetooth transceiver, $125 is this the fanciest BT transceiver or what - too fancy?

Unfortunately I see no indication that MiniDSP SHD's headphone jack has any DSP features, so might need to figure out how to implement headphone correction. Maybe via built-in Volumio software?

OTOH, given Amir's positive review, simply choosing IEMs which don't need eq becomes an option @ $50:
https://www.amazon.com/TRUTHEAR-Crinacle-Earphone-Dynamic-Drivers/dp/B0B7DS1QHZ?th=1

Media PC: If Volumio software built into MiniDSP SHD will do what I want, why bother?

Music storage: Provided that MiniDSP SHD's Volumio software can utilize USB drives, then I'll just directly connect a copy of my music in that manner. 1 TB USB external SSD ~$100.

Turntable: Sure why not. Been wanting to sample U-Turn Orbit. Birch-ply, acrylic platter, built-in preamp. Provided that pitch stability etc is reasonably close to Technics DD, it might do nicely. Besides choice of finishes, the slender profile and low mass are attractions. Vinyl is an occasional plaything for me, so why devote a permanent space for it? If sufficiently small and light, stowing it on a high shelf becomes an option. $500

Phono cartridge: Audio Technica AT95ML? $170

Still well under $5K USD, so let's include cables, SpeakOn connectors, surge strips, shipping, microphone stand. $500 ought to be a very generous budget for these.

And a radio! Although Tecsun offers audiophile-oriented products, their S2000 is more of a general-coverage receiver, and I can use it as a standalone device (~$350 USD)
http://www.tecsun-radios.com/product/tecsun-2000-ham-receiver/

"Remote control", let's say $1500:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-pro/11-inch-display-256gb-silver-wifi-cellular

Am pretty bored with the old status-fi scene, but if I must have a conspicuously pricey item, how's about this @ $5500?:
https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/tuners/MR87
It's a software-defined radio in a very nice case, but kudos to McIntosh for implementing physical controls and user interface.

 

[Jim Shaw]

So it seems the proper understanding of the thread is to actually ignore what might happen to be your dream system, because it has something more to do with putting together a system "for a reasonable portion of the market." So the real question is (irrespective of whether it's your dream system) "What system would you put together for around $20,000?"

Question: "Who was the inventor of the sound recording machine?"
ASR Audiophile: "I might know an answer, but I only want to complain about the question."

 

[Fregly]

I think I would get an anxiety attack everytime looking at an Ultra system if I had one. Too much of much. In my space Neumann kh150s with a Topping dac/pre would be well into dream category no doubt.

 

[MattHooper]

Question: "Who was the inventor of the sound recording machine?"
ASR Audiophile: "I might know an answer, but I only want to complain about the question."

I honestly wanted to just contribute to your thread.

I didn't imagine that going beyond your $20,000 cap (as some others did as well), would annoy you that much. I bow out...thanks.

 

[MAB]

A pair of Genelec 8361A stacked on a pair of W371A. It's somewhat above your 20k threshold.
The JBL M2 also breaks the budget, but I dream of it too from time to time.

If I absolutely positively have to stay below $20k, it would be a pair of 8361A, and a pair of 15" subs and a MiniDSP SHD crossover. There are quite a few subs that are fantastic and keep the kit below 20k.
Or just a pair of 8361A, and spend the difference on room treatment... and cable-lifters.

 

[tomchris]

Hmm, a modern dream system...Most of the stuff I am interested in is predominantly vintage equipment. For the most part, modern equipment is boring and not to my liking.

Let's see what do you need: Media Player/Streamer → DSP/DAC → Amplifier(s)→ Loudspeakers

• Media player/streamer: iPad + Roon subscription + Music Server
• DSP/DAC: 8 channel DAC + maybe BACCH-dSP, if the premise holds up. Although, the GUI really looks horrid.
• Amplifier(s): 6-8 channel amplifier. Probably, Class D modules from either Purifi or Hypex.
• Loudspeakers: Modern loudspeakers? I have no idea.

Even though I know that the performance of modern equipment have advanced considerably, the actual physical equipment is not something that I would be thilled about.
I find the user experience of modern equipment pretty awful.

 

[napfkuchen]

A pair of Genelec 1236 as an addition to my current setup (8331 + 7350). And probably a new house with a dedicated, optimized listening room where the new speakers can be flush-mounted.
While this will stay a dream unfortunately I'm already looking forward to moving into my new new flat this December where the small (16 m2) home office / media room will get some proper acoustical treatment.