[SharkyRivethead]

 Maybe I'm taking this circle the wrong way. I'm not sure what I am. An Audiophile, HT Enthusiast, I don't know. I'm sure I'm going to hear it now...But if it has to do with electronic home entertainment, I love it! Would I like to have a listening room with a 2 channel system, mono block tube amps powering ML Electrostatic towers. Sitting in my big easy chair and getting lost to any of my favorite LPs. I would also love to have a dedicated Home Theater. I could easily spend 500k on equipment alone and be in my own little heaven.

 But no, I will not have such things. For it is my lot in life. lol. Just kidding. What's funny is that amongst my friends, I have the "sick" setup. I come on the forum and get dished a slice of humble pie, real quick. Not from anyone being rude. It's just clear that a lot of you have put a lot into your systems. Rightfully so, your entitled to it. You work hard for it and it shows. Kudos to all the beautiful systems on this forum.

 It got me thinking though. If what I see here is the standard for Audiophiles, and HT Enthusiasts. Then what was I? It kinda has me second guessing what I'm doing and the direction I'm going in. Because as much as I want that dream system, I love playing with my system. It's an awesome feeling when I come across a component in a Goodwill that no one else knows what it is. Maybe the name is not familiar to them, like Sony or Kenwood. I mean, who's ever heard of Energy? Well, not the average joe. Even better. Going to a garage sale and coming up on the deal of the century. It's about building my system one piece at a time. It's about the upgrades, whatever they are. It's about playing with the new stuff, setting it up, placing the new speakers, comparing them with the old ones. Not wanting to get rid of any of it. =)
  That's the part I don't want to loose. After all, if I just spent 500k on a dedicated home theater. I'm not about to make a trip to the local thrift store to see if I can come up on something better. Though it may be the only place I could afford to shop at.
   So, this is the scoop. I have a very modest system. If there is anything high end in my system. Then it's most likely entry level or it's a few years old. (I really don't like saying outdated or obsolete. it's such a killjoy) I am going to list what I got and what it cost me. This will include my HT and the stuff I'm not currently using. Here we go...

Hitachi 43UXX10B 52" HD Rear Projection   Free
Yamaha RX-V661 7.1 A/V Receiver           Free   
PS3                                                 599.00  I think this is the only thing I paid full price on.
Hitachi HT-L303 Record Player              Free
Pioneer Elite DV-37 DVD Player             17.00
Numark EQ-2550 10 Band Graphic EQ    Free
Sony CDP-C215 5 Disk Carousel            Free
Sony PS-FL77 Record Player                Free
Sony TA-AX500  Amp/Pre Amp            Free
B & W - DM-305.  Main L&R                  10.00
Fosgate Audionics - LCR  MC-220  THX Cert.  Center Channel   25.00
Energy - Encore Series.                      15.00     When I originaly bought the speakers, ther was 3. The L, C and R
KLH 10" 150 watt Sub                         9.99
Boston Acoustics 10" 200 watt Sub       200.00     Was part of a 6.1 Sat and Sub set. I gave the Sats to my in-laws.
Gecko 14x24 Flat Panel speakers (2 pair)   Free
Sony DVP-S9000ES ES SACD/DVD              75.00    replacing Pioneer Elite
AR  M2 Holographic Imaging                   5.00
All speaker wire is Monster 14-2 THX w/ Monster banana plug or pins.  I paid for the terminations, the wire was free
My interconnects are 50/50      Monster THX the other half is Audio Quest     All free

 As you might have guessed, a lot of this stuff was given to me. I also do custom home theater installation as a side job. You might be surprised at how many people say " I don't know what to do with it. you take it, or throw it away." A lot of my work is involved in some wealthy areas. That's where all the wire comes from, plus a couple components. Everything else is thrift stores and garage sales. There still so much more I could list, but theres no point. It's been sold or given away by now.

 If you have been able to last this long, post your story and system.

[jrtrent]

I have what I consider a very modest system, but most everything in it was purchased new; I just don't feel a connection to things purchased used.  I like the process of researching, listening to the dealers/manufacturers pitch their wares (not intended as a negative; they're all knowledgeable, but have different priorities/philosphies about sound reproduction, and I learn something different from each of them), and hearing both show-room and in-home comparative demonstrations where possible.  This part of the hobby just doesn't exist to anywhere near the same degree with used equipment, plus I like knowing that should there be a blemish on the equipment, it was me who put it there.  I have enjoyed and felt a connection to used equipment that has been given to me by a friend or family member, but I just don't appreciate used gear bought just to get a good deal; it never feels like it was really mine.

I, too, will never have $500,000 tied up in equipment (a public school teacher's salary doesn't stretch quite that far), but it's amazing how much enjoyment my bottom-of-the-line system, assembled mostly last year, provides.  The Well Tempered Record Player, Grado Blue cartridge, Audio by Van Alstine OmegaStar PAT-5 preamp (used in the sense of new circuits built into an old Dynaco chassis), Audio by Van Alstine Insight 240 power amp, and Vandersteen 1C speakers do a nice job of bringing the pleasure of music into my home, and all for about $6,000.  I have every expectation that this system will provide 20 years or more of fine sound, just like my previous system, bought in the 1980's, did (an LP12/LK1/LK2/Sara all-Linn system, total cost about $3500 with purchases spread out over a three-year period as I could afford them, and most pieces being store demo models at a discount price).

[JeffBrown]

I have long believed that the joy someone receives from an audio system should not be tied directly to the cost.  I was at an unnamed audio store this weekend thoroughly enjoying a modest pair of speakers.  They sounded fast and energetic, I could have listened of hours.  The speakers were ~$600.  They had a magic that is somewhat common from stand mounted monitors that allowed them to completely disappear from the room.  The sound didn?t fill the room. While it wouldn?t have been as enjoyable for a live concert reproduction, it was amazing for string ensembles, and 5 piece bands at moderate to low listening levels.  It doesn?t amaze me that you can get a good sounding speaker for 2500, but having spent time with speaker builders, I am amazed that you can get something that sounds that good for 300 each.

[JLM]

The most affordable/remarkable system I've had in the last ten years consisted of Fried A6 speakers (2-way floorstanders) that I picked up discontinued for $300/pair with a factory reconditioned 70 wpc Harmon Kardon receiver for $160 and an Oppo 970 disc spinner for $160.  The Frieds offer a full bodied sound down to 40 Hz.  The HK had a huge power supply.  And the Oppo is true value.

[planet10]

I feel a really good Frugal-phile(tm) system has a lot of diy in it...

My speakers are diy (Fonkens with FE127eN), my amps are diy (monoblock RH84 variants), pre (sorta like a Foreplay, but with 6N1P built in a Dynaco SCA35 chassis -- ie Fornaco), diy speaker cable (Cat 5 & packing tape), diy sub. I'll diy my own interconnects when i get a chance. Used Yamaha tuner with diy tubed output stage. Thrift store power amp for the sub. And in the right place at the right time, a demo Myryad MCX6000 CD player. A Rega 2 with Linn Basik & Garrot Brothers P77.

Cash outlay <$1000. Best system i've had yet (bought or borrowed -- i have worked in the biz retail) and easily outdistances sytsems i've heard at the local hifi empoirum that are more then an order of magnitude pricier.

I can't get too excited about new stuff, it almost always needs tweaking under the hood, so if i can get it used so much the better.

dave

[JIMV]

Some seem to be confusing cheap with affordable here. I have the following:

PrimaLuna Dialog II with KT77 tubes - $2800
Rotel 1070 - used - $300
Benchmark DAC1 - used - $600 (including a factor update)
Audio Alchemy digital cable (14 years old) - ???
Transparent Cables newest interconnect - $250 with trade in
Energy C2 speakers - 12 years old - ???
Cardis speaker cables - used - $100
PS Audio power cables - Cheapest - $200 total
Salamander rack
Monster Cable Power box 2500 - 10 years old - ????
Kontac cleaner - $50
HiFi fuse - $30

A lot of old gear that seems to work together very well built around a new integrated amp.

[JeffBrown]

I like the differentiation between "Affordable" and "Cheap".  I consider the current state of my setup to be pretty affordable.  Total outlay of around $3200, but almost half of that is speakers.  I have other speakers that are much more affordable, they just don't quite integrate in to this particular system as well as these do.  I could easily live with a pair of $600 speakers, if they were the right ones.  I just dont see doing that and leaving the Fritz speakers in the garage when they sound better.  So the un-named $600 speakers are in the garage!

The system I am currently enjoying is as follows.  This could change tomorrow, or even when I get home tonight.  My system is rarely static for long, this is one of the reason I love reviewing. 

Source
SB Duet (~$300)

Preamp
nOrh ACA2b (~$300 Retail) I bought this from a pawn shop and I don't remember what I negotiated, but it was REALLY CHEAP!

Amp
Ideal Innovations Elite 80+ (~$750)

Speakers
Fritz Custom Dynaudio monitors (~$1500)

Cables
Stager Silver Solids interconnects (~$150)
Audioquest CV-4 Speaker Cables (~$250)

This system works very well.  It is amazing how musical it is in my listening space.  If I went to a bigger room, it probably wouldn?t work nearly as well.  The prices listed above are approximate to what I actually paid for the items not true retail.  A lot of it was purchased used.

As a little teaser, I will be swapping out the Fritz speakers to test some DIYs I am finishing up soon?  (Future Review?  Oh Yeah!)

Jeff Brown

[rockadanny]

Not cheap, but affordable for me. My goal was perfection in sound for the cheapest amount of dough. I think I've accomplished my goal, though it took a great amount of investigative effort and time. I am not much of a DIY guy, but did the best I could.

CDP - used - 50% off retail, though I did have it modified for couple hundred bucks.
Preamp - new - but an extremely extreme bargain.
Amp - new - but a good bargain, plus a discount made it an extreme bargain.
Speakers - demos - more than 50% off retail.
Subs - new - one was not cheap but IMO Titans are best sub for the money;
          other was B-stock + special sale price + contest winner money applied + free shipping
          which made it over 50% off retail.
Speaker cables - DIY Cat5 recipe.
ICs - plain jane from www.bluejeanscable.com.
Bass traps - new - but a bargain, and since I work near GIK I picked them up so no shipping cost.
Power protection/conditioning - Brick Wall (Zero Surge) for all but amp.

Tweaks, all inexpensive:
Diffraction protection - wool tweeter surround pads from Jim Goulding.
CD cleaner/conditioner - L' Art du Son (or something like that) but only for CDs which sound etchy.
Speaker spike protectors for floor - few fender washers and wool pad glued together.
Gear isolation - two "sad" balls sliced in half per piece.
Passive hi-pass in-line 85Hz filters for mains.
NOS Mullard tubes - pair from Jim McShane for amp, < $100 pair.
NOS 12SX7 tubes - pair from Dr. Lloyd for preamp, < $50 pair.

Non Tweaks:
Power cords, fuses, power source - stock.

[iGrant]

Still being a Frugalphile (Dave's phrase) by heart prior to GF my system consisted of:

Radford Monitor 180 Speakers ($100 on eBay, they didn't have a clue what they where)
Harmon Kardon Dual Mono SS amp (55/ch, $75, I spent about 6 months buying and selling vintage amps until I got the magic combo, including McIntosh, Marantz, Sansui, NAD, Bryson etc)
E-mu based computers (needed it for work anyways, but typically around $200 for the soundcard)
Whatever cable fit the hole.
Skylan Stands ($20 garage sale, again didn't know what he had).

This system was just so much better than any studio monitoring, mixing and especially playback system I had owned and payed big bucks for over 20 years of studio owning/operating, including names such as Tannoy, JBL, Genelic, B&W, Bryston, Marantz, NAD, McInstosh etc.

It also was a great playback system that was able to play any style of music properly, including typical audiophile elevator music. It was in Toronto a few years ago I was able to borrow my speakers back to compare against our new gear, they still sounded great, not as refined as newer designs, but still more fun. If you can ever find a set of Radford Speakers, do check them out.

Cheers,
Ian

[Mortsnets]

I'm amazed at what you can get for between $100 and $200 in older used components.   I'm using:

Modified Sony Playstation cdp $85
Cyrus II integrated $150
Fried Model R $100
or
Epos ES-11 $200

[76doublebass]

I have put together an SET SYSTEM that has been alot of DIY INVOLVED thus far and affordable.
The front end is a ZCD CDplayer from Decware. This player is a modified Tascam 160mk2 with tube class A Output and dual attentuators along with a tube power supply with seperate transformer and a detachable IEC for installing your own power cord. I bought the Tascam on ebay first for $199.00 then I had the updated mod work done for $450.00.
I also bought used a pair of David Parker Sigature 95 speakers a 2 way from 40HZ to 40Khz with a ribbon tweeter for $600.00. I have installed my own special internal wire in them and had bought Deflex Panels to install internally all over the place inside the speakers.
 My power amp I bought in kit form from DECWARE and made from scratch a 1.8 watt SET INTEGRATED 84C ZEN. The kit had cost me $299.00,But after I had finished it and bought the tubes for it plus needed bailed out from my local tech to fix some problems I had I was almost up to $600.00 when I finally fired it up and ran correctly.
ALL MY CABLES ARE DIY including power cords. So I probably spent on parts maybe $150.00 for everything to make my monsterous speaker cables, 4 guage power cables, along with my ic's which may be magnet wire. Not sure bought the raw wire years ago from a friend who had them cyro treated,But looks like magnet wire.

[JLM]

Pawn shops and garage sales are great sources if you're patient.  A friend bought a pair of Klipsh Heresy speakers for $5 from a college student moving out at the end of the school year.  They were in working order, but the cabinets looked like they had survived nuclear attack.  These definitely need some tube mellowness if used in a small/medium room.

Vintage stuff doesn't do much for me as some of it is "worshipped" now way beyond what it was at the time.  A classic example is the SX series (who said that sex doesn't sell?) of Pioneer receivers from the 70's. 

[S Clark]

Probably the most bang for the buck was with the following
amp- Vintage Knight KB-85   $10 from junkyard + $200 repair 35 WPC class A
Preamp-  This is the place that I had to upgrade.  My old NAD just wasn't doing it, so I bought a Dodd Battery Pre for a large chunk of change after hearing the prototype in my system.
Speakers- GR-Research AV-3 and now Neo-2X.  Kit prices around $300 each.
Source- used Cambridge 640C  $200
Interconnects- DIY silver <$50 (I plan on replacing with Electra cables soon)
Speaker cables- Blue Jeans  <$50

Basically, the system was around $1K until the Dodd. Now around $4K... very modest by AC standards, but in line with the finances of a retired teacher.

Scott

[mcgsxr]

I have a fair amount of DIY in my system, but there are components in there too.

Source/Transport - Dell PC - $100 used, eBay.
Source/Transport - 500G, 500G, 300G drives - $140 used, AC members.
DAC/Preamp - Bolder modified SB3 - SB3 was $300 new, Mods and PS ran another ~$1250 retail - Wayne at Bolder here on AC.
Active Xover -  - $60 new, CSS - Audiocircle participant.
Main amp - Magnavox EL84 SE - $110 shipped, eBay.
Sub amp - BASH 300w - $300 new, retail in GTA 8 years ago!
Felicia Power Conditioner - $100 or so, DIY.
Main speakers - b200 Visaton drivers, DIY open baffle - $285 used, AC member.
Subwoofers - Mach12 Audio 12's - $120 new, shipped, for the pair 3 years ago.
Cables - Bolder Nitro PC, Bolder Nitro IC, generic speaker cables (darn 50+ year old amp connectivity!) - $200 used - Wayne at Bolder, here on AC.

All in, under 3K, for a system that keeps me happy years later!

[MrAcoustat]

Bow Wazoo XL integrated amplifier
Electrocompaniet EMC-1up cd player
Acoustat 1+1s 25 years old modified speakers

[mcgsxr]

More affordable is my 2nd system - a JVC EX-A1 bought off eBay for $150.  Was MSRP of $1000 in Canada!

[jimdgoulding]

Bow Wazoo XL integrated amplifier
Electrocompaniet EMC-1up cd player
Acoustat 1+1s 25 years old modified speakers

I owned Model Three's for years.  Some of the best choral playback I've ever heard was thru the 1+1's.  I'm drinkin to you, ole man!

[stevecuss]

Here's my system.  Looking at it, I think a DAC will be next, or maybe sell the pre/pro and build a DIY Tube preamp.

Rotel 980BX power amp:  $125 used from audiogon.  (cosmetically rough, but sounds great.)

Rotel RSP 980 Pre/Processor.  $100 used.  No one wants a pro logic processor, but some of them have great 2 channel audio and are bargains on the used market.

Oppo 980 DVD player bought a refurb from Oppo for $140 or so.  A great budget player.

Itunes/airport express system.

GR Research AV2 DIY speakers.  $400 or so.  Built them myself.  Love them, and want to upgrade to the Neo2x one day.

For very little money, its an awesome system and like I said, I'm either heading for a DAC or a DIY tube pre.

best wishes everyone

Steve

[musiciseverything]

The most affordable system I have ever put together: Oppo 970 + home made silver ICs + Sonic Impact T2024 amp + home made speaker cable out of 3 wire extension cord + used Dynaudio 7-0 floorstanders.  $300 plus the speakers that I bought new years ago but could now be had for $600. Amazingly articulate with great bass, just not too loud.