Best stereo setup

[bastardsquad]

Dunno about the best, but the best Ive seen, played with, and spent a lot of time listening to while enjoying scotch and decent red wine was:

B&W 801 Nautilus speakers, braided 8T cables (~ 28K) Much better than the Thiel 7.2 previous.
Krell Amp (~5K) , Also heard the 801's with dual Plinius monoblocks - stupid money, prefer the Krell !
Audio Research LS9 preamp(~7K)
Audio Research transport(~4K)
cant remember the DAC unfortunately, high end interconnects all round.

I couldnt fault the setup with decent recordings, if money's no object the above brands are top quality kit and fairly readily available at high end audio retailers here in NZ.

[Tank]

Its all very well talking about what we would put in homes if we all have $$$$$$$$$$$ to spend.

But - what you put in BASED OFF A NORMAL budget. (yeah yeah no such think as a normal budget etc) - buts limit it to a normal working blokes expendable income based on the fact he enjoys it - but its not his sole passion in life.

[bungbung]

But Tank, what is normal?

I probably have $3k of stereo/HT (not including tv/dvd etc).
That is far too much for some, and underdone for others.

My bro bought (all tardme)

Tannoy bookshelves
Rotel integrated amp
sansui tuner
Infinity sub
Denon cd

For a total of about $1200

To me, he is at the diminishing returns point for sound quality/price

[psycho22]

I'm just running on Logitech Z-5500s which for $500 are damn good. They can rattle the whole house at 3/4 volume and the sound quality is pretty high.

[Tank]

But Tank, what is normal?

There isnt a $ = normal calculation - which is why I gave it a loose defination

[Skyryder]

I was thinking of McIntosh.

Anyone got one of these??


Skyryder

[Headbanger]

Dunno about the best, but the best Ive seen, played with, and spent a lot of time listening to while enjoying scotch and decent red wine was:

B&W 801 Nautilus speakers, braided 8T cables (~ 28K) Much better than the Thiel 7.2 previous.
Krell Amp (~5K) , Also heard the 801's with dual Plinius monoblocks - stupid money, prefer the Krell !
Audio Research LS9 preamp(~7K)
Audio Research transport(~4K)
cant remember the DAC unfortunately, high end interconnects all round.

I couldn't fault the setup with decent recordings, if money's no object the above brands are top quality kit and fairly readily available at high end audio retailers here in NZ.

Whats the approximate cost of that setup?

[HenryDorsetCase]

there is at least as much shit talked about home theatre/stero kit as there is motorbikes.

NZ makes some of the best kit in the world though, so keep a few fellow countrymen in jobs and buy:

Theophany or Image speakers
Plinius or Perreaux amplifiers
Perreaux CD player
slinkylinks cables and interconnects (though having said that..... if you havent read this article, I liked it a lot: http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-01-06 or http://2eyespy.tripod.com/id3.html)

You'll have to go offshore for a turntable if you are so minded: Pro-ject do one for a grand that is worthwhile. Basically spend your money on the parts that convert electrical energy to mechanical (speakers, headphones) or vice versa (turntables) because even if there are differences between audio products they are very small compared to the difference between a set of $1000 speakers, and a set of $3000 speakers. The other point is that good gear lasts: My Plinius amp is nearly 20 years old, my speakers are 10 years old, my turntable was bought by me in 1982, and my CD player is also ten years old. My speakers and CD player are likely to be upgraded this year...... but if you spend good money you get a good longlasting well made product that has a second hand value also.

So, uh, yeah.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Its all very well talking about what we would put in homes if we all have $$$$$$$$$$$ to spend.

But - what you put in BASED OFF A NORMAL budget. (yeah yeah no such think as a normal budget etc) - buts limit it to a normal working blokes expendable income based on the fact he enjoys it - but its not his sole passion in life.

Sell said, Sir.

actual money dollar figure in 2009 $: the MOST I would spend would be ten large, but I reckon you could get something decent-ish for $5k

[Eyegasm]

I dunno, I had a budget and got the 7.2 Sony set up for a grand and I can't complain.
Was half price which was perfect timing.

Mainly used for gaming and movies and I can not fault it. except that there are to many
and my room is not big enough.

[Headbanger]

Anyone got a spare $20,549?

http://www.imageaudio.co.nz/index.ph...tv6q3g8u2hikj6

Luckily its on special, savings of 10 grand.

wank wank wank.

[Headbanger]

NZ makes some of the best kit in the world though, so keep a few fellow countrymen in jobs and buy:

(though having said that..... if you haven't read this article, I liked it a lot: http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-01-06 or http://2eyespy.tripod.com/id3.html)

Hmmm....I didn't even know NZ had an audio equipment industry.

Reading the first article you linked to, Interesting stuff.

[Big Dave]

The Harmon-Karden on the Electraglide seemed best
Followed by the Goldwing and the Vision's.

[Big Dave]

I mostly play MP3s from my computer to the stereo in my studio.
A $300 Panasonic does that job fine.

Spending any more would be like buying a new Hyabusa, but letting Skidmark ride it.

[Headbanger]

You don't want to play mp3's over a good system anyway, They sound absolute crap compared to the original.

I've spent thousands rebuilding my CD collection after finally hearing how poor the ripped audio is, and anyone paying for that crap is mad.