[Guy 13]

Hi all Audio Circle members.

Everywere, there tons of hi end stuff to acquire,
but what about good quality/price ratio entry level stuff?

To me, is seems that during these days of recession,
manufacturers are more busy making and offering hi end stuff.

It look as if the poor audiophiles like me,
are put aside and are forgottent.

Guy 13

[JLM]

I'm with you 110%.

But there are options out there (don't know how you define entry level, but here's a high quality sample system):

NuForce DDA-100 (pure digital DAC/50 wpc integrated amp): $550
Tekton M-Lore (38-20,000 Hz, 95 dB/w/m, 8 ohm floorstanding speaker): $650

And if you don't want to use your computer as a source:
Dune Smart B1 (audio/video digital source with built-in CD/DVD/Blu-Ray & HDMI/toslink/RCA outputs):  $255

[Doublej]

There's a ton of cheap stuff out t/here. A lot of it it gets discussed on AC over time but in the circle of the component, e.g. speakers, amps, CD player,s DACs, etc. or in a manufacturer's circle so you have to spend time reading threads to see if the item under discussion would Cheap and Cheerful. Too bad AC doesn't support tagging. If it did threads could be tagged and then Cheap and Cheerful items would be easier to find.

Is there something in particular that you are looking for?

[Guy 13]

There's a ton of cheap stuff out t/here. A lot of it it gets discussed on AC over time but in the circle of the component, e.g. speakers, amps, CD player,s DACs, etc. or in a manufacturer's circle so you have to spend time reading threads to see if the item under discussion would Cheap and Cheerful. Too bad AC doesn't support tagging. If it did threads could be tagged and then Cheap and Cheerful items would be easier to find.

Is there something in particular that you are looking for?

Hi Doublej and all Audio Circle members.

I look for nothing in perticular and everything in general...

It seems that audiophiles talk more often about the arrival of hi-end products.

Maybe, because manufacturers of hi-end products have the financial resources
to make big lauches and lots of advertising.

It's like the Tekton Lore at 649 USD, it's because of Audio Circle,
otherwise, I would never knew about that fantastic little manufacturer.

I will soon be looking at (Maybe) purchasing the Lore at less than 1,000 USD
with a wopping 98db efficiency.

I have a Decware SE-84C+ with only 2wpc and the Lore would be a long term marriage.

Maybe as long as the marriage of Dany DeVito. (30 years)

To conclude:
Yes, there are some inexpensive and good quality audio stuff,
but you have to really look hard to find it.

Guy 13
 

[Guy 13]

I'm with you 110%.

But there are options out there (don't know how you define entry level, but here's a high quality sample system):

NuForce DDA-100 (pure digital DAC/50 wpc integrated amp): $550
Tekton M-Lore (38-20,000 Hz, 95 dB/w/m, 8 ohm floorstanding speaker): $650

And if you don't want to use your computer as a source:
Dune Smart B1 (audio/video digital source with built-in CD/DVD/Blu-Ray & HDMI/toslink/RCA outputs):  $255

Hi JLM and all Audio Circle members.

My sources are IPod for in bed music listening.

CD for the choice of different type of music from my large collection of CDs.

LP when I want the best sounding music.
(Of course that's my opinion, you don't have to agree with me.)

FM for ambiance music.

As much as possible, amplification with tubes.
(SET or Pentode or even push-push.)

Of course in the future I will bu abluray player, probably not the OPPO 105,
but maybe a good Panasonic Bluray at 500 USD ?
For movies, but also from time to time, for music.

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

Guy 13

[Doublej]

There's a new Oppo BD player coming out for $500. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=109588.0

There's also a sub $300 Samsung but I think it's been discontinued. I am told the audio on it was very good. Perhaps their latest is as good as the one below.

http://www.hometheater.com/content/samsung-bd-d6700-blu-ray-3d-player.

Yes one definitely has to look harder but stuff's out there.

[charmerci]

I think your best bet is - when you're ready to buy something, come here with a budget and say, "I'm looking for a DAC/pre-amp/etc. around $xxx. Any suggestions?" 

[wushuliu]

I think there's a ton of affordable entry level overperforming/underrated gear. It's just that most of them are mainly found on the internet, either through forums or retail websites/reviews, definitely not in print media - and print media is dying out. The way in which gear is marketed is changing w/ technology and how information is disseminated. State of the economy aside, I think lesser known and cheaper gear get better exposure now than they probably have before.

[OzarkTom]

Check out the TBI Millenia amp, 32wpc, for $500. It has SET-like sound without breaking the bank. This amp easily beats any of the SET amps under $1K and competes with SET amps in the $5-8K range.

Positive Feednack gave it a glowing review, but you might want to watch for another review by PF in the near future. TBI, just last week, came out with a new AC power supply mod that sends this amp even further up the ladder. You can have it tweaked especially for your speakers. Now, the AC sounds as good or better than on batteries. My buddy Rex is now testing it out in his system and he is very surprtsed. The TBI-Lore combo is going to be a very best buy in the audio world for a very long time.

There is a new Dac-Pre-headphone amp  beung introduced at RMAF this week called the Idac and will be less than $400. If it stands up to the rumors, this will add the finishing touches for the under $2K system crowd.

[Audioclyde]

Tom,

Can you tell us more about the new power supply?  Cost, mod to existing amp?

Thanks!

Randy

P.S.  Any news re the dac we were discussing?

[TONEPUB]

Hi Doublej and all Audio Circle members.

I look for nothing in perticular and everything in general...

It seems that audiophiles talk more often about the arrival of hi-end products.

Maybe, because manufacturers of hi-end products have the financial resources
to make big lauches and lots of advertising.

It's like the Tekton Lore at 649 USD, it's because of Audio Circle,
otherwise, I would never knew about that fantastic little manufacturer.

I will soon be looking at (Maybe) purchasing the Lore at less than 1,000 USD
with a wopping 98db efficiency.

I have a Decware SE-84C+ with only 2wpc and the Lore would be a long term marriage.

Maybe as long as the marriage of Dany DeVito. (30 years)

To conclude:
Yes, there are some inexpensive and good quality audio stuff,
but you have to really look hard to find it.

Guy 13
 

You don't have to look hard at all, there is a ton of new gear that is reasonably priced (i.e $200 - $1200 a box)
and more being released all the time.

[SET Man]

Hi all Audio Circle members.

Everywere, there tons of hi end stuff to acquire,
but what about good quality/price ratio entry level stuff?

To me, is seems that during these days of recession,
manufacturers are more busy making and offering hi end stuff.

It look as if the poor audiophiles like me,
are put aside and are forgottent.

Guy 13

Hey!

   I know what you mean. You are not the only one noticed this. There is an interesting article in Stereophile about this....

http://www.stereophile.com/content/skin-deep

   Interesting isn't it? In real life how many people you know own a pair of $20K speakers? Yes, I do know 2 or 3 among the audio community here in NYC, but none out side among regular people I know.

   Not to worry. There are more affordable audio today also, if you don't mind the "Made in China" part. Please don't get me wrong, there are more good stuff coming out from there today than couple of years back.

   Anyway, if you really want your money to go even farther, do the "Cheaper and even more Cheerful" buy used! Lately I see lots of nice used stuffs on sale here and other places. Shop wisely   

Take care,
Buddy 
     

[7x57]

A good headphone will tune up your ears to discern audiophile sound in loudspeakers and upstream components. I have owned various Sennehiser, Beyerdynamic DT880 and Grado SR200, but I now use the AKG K601. AKG K701, K702, and K550 are some alternates to good sound.

The Denon MC cartridges have always punched way above their price points. DL110, DL160, DL103 are the affordable Denons that have a huge fanbase among frugal audiophiles.

Jelco of Japan makes good tonearms that are usually private labeled by companies like Audioquest and Graham, but you can get them for less as Jelco tonearms straight out of Japan.

There are lots of good old entry levcel turntables out there: VPI HW-19Jr., SOTA Comet, Rega Planar, Oracle Alexandria, Maplenoll, Technics direct drive, etc.

Conrad-Johnson is now only building tube gear, but their recent solid state gear is a very underrated bargain in the used market. Their Sonographe range of preamp and amps had same circuit topology as solid state C-J, but used less expensive componentys. I got a used but almost new C-J MF-2250 in near mint condition for $911 delivered when it sold new for $2195. The C-J PFR, MF-2200, MF-2300, MF-2250, MF-2500, PF2, EF1 are some of their outstanding designs at very reasonable used prices, and with full factory support.

The Vandersteen Model 1 range of loudspeakers are perfect entry level speakers. Fried, Ohm, VMPS and many others also made excellent entry level speakers that are bargains on the used market.

You can probably find a lot of 20-year-old B&K amps out there that are still going strong without ever having a single problem. Same goes for Bryston.

There is an enormous amount of excellent recent vintage gear out there at bargain prices if you care to hunt it down.

[jcotner]

I think your best bet is - when you're ready to buy something, come here with a budget and say, "I'm looking for a DAC/pre-amp/etc. around $xxx. Any suggestions?" 

OK I'm not him, but I'll follow your suggestion.
I am looking for an integrated amp with DAC for under $1000.
Must be able to drive 4 ohm speakers. Output power between
60-100W @ 4 ohms maybe a little more.
Nearfield monitors in a studio. Looking for sonic accuracy over
other things. Speakers are very flat (1/2db 50-20Khz) response.
USB is nice but I need at least SPDIF to tie it to the mixer.
AES/EBU is also an option for me, mixer does both.
Can add a sub and probably will so the amp doesn't have to be
a current monster for big bass, speakers don't go that low anyway.
Right now I'm thinking Decco65 but I'm open to suggestions.
Maybe $1000 is not cheap but to me it would be a bargain for what
I need. BTW I could build something but really don't want to do that.

[Rclark]

 
 There's tons of entry level equipment and it's totally easy to find and buy on a million websites that sell it. Does the OP mean why don't we discuss it much here? I think it's because most of the forum regulars aren't much interested in entry level equipment, but when the questions arise as to what to buy from newer members the said threads usually become flooded with suggestions.

 I actually think it's far more difficult to find sites like this, that provide a real path and framework out of entry level and not just into midfi. There are far more forums that when discussing gear beyond entry level, don't travel much beyond a few midfi brands and don't really discuss what's sota. Don't really get into the truly technical side, don't push the boundaries of what's possible.

 It's also much rarer to find a forum like this with the combined technical knowledge of the regular, veteran posters (I don't include myself yet, despite my post count).

 So.. yeah, I see the problem differently. Plenty of sources of information for entry level, not enough Audiocircles.

[wushuliu]

 There's tons of entry level equipment and it's totally easy to find and buy on a million websites that sell it. Does the OP mean why don't we discuss it much here? I think it's because most of the forum regulars aren't much interested in entry level equipment, but when the questions arise as to what to buy from newer members the said threads usually become flooded with suggestions.

 I actually think it's far more difficult to find sites like this, that provide a real path and framework out of entry level and not just into midfi. There are far more forums that when discussing gear beyond entry level, don't travel much beyond a few midfi brands and don't really discuss what's sota. Don't really get into the truly technical side, don't push the boundaries of what's possible.

 It's also much rarer to find a forum like this with the combined technical knowledge of the regular, veteran posters (I don't include myself yet, despite my post count).

 So.. yeah, I see the problem differently. Plenty of sources of information for entry level, not enough Audiocircles.

agreed

[JLM]

OK I'm not him, but I'll follow your suggestion.
I am looking for an integrated amp with DAC for under $1000.
Must be able to drive 4 ohm speakers. Output power between
60-100W @ 4 ohms maybe a little more.
Nearfield monitors in a studio. Looking for sonic accuracy over
other things. Speakers are very flat (1/2db 50-20Khz) response.
USB is nice but I need at least SPDIF to tie it to the mixer.
AES/EBU is also an option for me, mixer does both.
Can add a sub and probably will so the amp doesn't have to be
a current monster for big bass, speakers don't go that low anyway.
Right now I'm thinking Decco65 but I'm open to suggestions.
Maybe $1000 is not cheap but to me it would be a bargain for what
I need. BTW I could build something but really don't want to do that.

NuForce DDA-100 (pure digital, 4 inputs to DAC, 50 wpc at 8 ohms, $550 USD).  Check out the NuForce circle:  manufacturer link/comments, TNT review, couple of owner quick reviews, and a teaser review from 6moons.

What speakers are you using?

[jcotner]

What speakers are you using?

Ok that looks like a very worthy contender, I'll check it out.
Speakers are GR research Diluceo. Danny built these himself
for a show and the drivers and components were matched
by him personally. They are flat and accurate.
So I'm looking for a good sub $1000 integrated to drive them with.

[Doublej]

Ok that looks like a very worthy contender, I'll check it out.
Speakers are GR research Diluceo. Danny built these himself
for a show and the drivers and components were matched
by him personally. They are flat and accurate.
So I'm looking for a good sub $1000 integrated to drive them with.

I've never heard them but Peachtree Audio has two integrated in your price point and a third just outside it. At a much lower price point (sub $550) there's a Teac integrated w/DAC.

[toocool4]

I think there are plenty of very good entry-level stuff out there, it’s just a case of looking around and see what people are saying. Also like other people have said, second hand gear is good value for money.

You hear more and more about the hi-end stuff, as we all aspire to and want to see the good stuff.

Also more hi-end stuff are released as the people with money still have it, they may have a bit less but they still have it.

If you look at the housing market in the UK, houses under £2 million are not selling that well but houses over £10 million are selling very well. Just goes to show the money is out there somewhere just not in our pockets.