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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.
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 . . .
There's an interesting thread started by Letitroll98 on some cheap, possibly high quality options ("Ain't This Hobby Great?), but I'm afraid that building kits and buying product with no chance to audition it first is a little too adventuresome for me.
At RMAF there were two outstanding complete systems shown with bang for the buck. The Oddesey and Emerald Physics [ $6500 including a DSP unit ] rooms. The new Jolida tubed DAC sounded very good in the Emerald room.charles
Many of the kit amps offer a built option for only a few dollars more, and most online retailers offer 15 or 30 day trial periods if you'll just pack it up as received and pay the return shipping. Inherent with Cheap and Cheerful is a small amount of risk. One hopes that most of the experiences are more cheerful than not, which has been my experience on the whole, but one has to accept that the $29 DAC you got on eBay may not be what you hoped it would be, or that you might have to track down that 60hz hum in the $175 amp you assembled. You can do C&C without these risks, but it does limit your options and you might not get the highest fidelity available at the price, witness your example of Denon and Bose.I'm sorry for busting on you here Charles, you've brought so much to AC and the C&C circle, but I have to call you out on this one. I know the above comment is in the context of mega buck systems at a show, but imagine the shock of telling someone in the real world interested in buying a quality audio system for their home, that their budget should be $6500 for entry level. Understanding of course that a potential customer may be looking for only one component at a time out of that $6500 whole, it's still way over what I'd be recommending to someone looking for a C&C system. I have a friend at work that was looking to add some speakers to his home theater. His budget was around $100 and he showed me an ad for some box system or another. I steered him toward a pair of Pioneer SP-BS22-LR's, the ones designed by Andrew Jones that have made such a splash, that he got for $95 on sale at Best Buy. He couldn't happier, he's hearing three distinct guitars in a mix that was a mass of mixed up sound in his old set, his GF instantly noticed the difference. Granted most AC'ers, even in the C&C circle, may be looking for a little more, it's pretty close to what we're attempting to achieve on this circle.Even tho I have to extend apols for calling you out Charles, I also have to thank you for giving me a chance to use you to frame the picture. The whole idea of the circle is not to settle for less, but to find the nooks and crannies where truly great audio products hide at bargain basement prices. The Oddyssy amps are great products at reasonable prices, but higher than we allow on C&C. The mission is to find something that sounds as good as an Oddyssy Khartago at half the price.
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.
On many of the lesser quality files/CD's, there is still a bit of digital harshness that most on this circle won't like. But basically, even though my system won't make you feel like the performers are in the room, it doesn't really do anything wrong on good recordings.
I just treated my room and the number of cd's that sound harsh has dwindled dramatically. I can't get over the difference and regret not having done this sooner .My treatments were cheap as heck too ...
Let's see some picture! I really think I need to do this in my small room, but have no clue where to start.
Where I put my money was the Dennis Murphy designed Philharmonic Audio .5 Monitor with a ribbon tweeter and a Seas 7" mid-woofer.
He did this - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=110572.0
As a guy who is perpetually on a budget with expensive audio tastes, this is how I did it this time. I found an older Denon receiver for $40 bucks. (I don't think anything newer on the Pioneer/Onkyo level is going to give you anything better.) I bought a JDLabs ODAC for $150 to connect to a laptop using JRiver Media and FLAC files. (Thanks to AC members for that recommendation.) Where I put my money was the Dennis Murphy designed Philharmonic Audio .5 Monitor with a ribbon tweeter and a Seas 7" mid-woofer.
Maybe it would be good to have a thread of recommended sub $1K systems in the C&C circle with specific components listed to get more specific and serve as a resource to newbies?
Just out of curiosity, what's Murphy asking for those .5 monitors?
